Shadow Hearts: From the New World

"A bit lacking"

Alright, I've played Koudelka, beaten Shadow Hearts one and two, and this game looked incredible. Looks can be deceiving I suppose.

Story - 3/5: Well the stories these days all seem to blend in, I've played so many RPGs that this ones story isn't anything special. It was better than some, but compared to a lot of games it just didn't cut it to me. Of course the game is about gameplay, but in an RPG story counts. It's one reason people prefer RPGs to the shooters, the sad thing is the story in Halo and Half-Life is better than this.

Characters - 2/5: Something about the characters annoyed me, most of them seemed so two-dimensional. In an era of three-dimensional characters this urked me. The only character I really liked was Ricardo. Though the appearance of Al Capone was something I found fun.

Music - 5/5: Nothing to say here really, the music was excellent as to be expected from the Shadow Hearts series.

Graphics - 5/5: Yeah sure graphics were great, but I couldn't care less if it had 8-Bit graphics if the Story, Characters, and Gameplay made up for it. I don't count graphics for or against any game (unless the camera angles interfere, which they don't)

Gameplay - 4/5: I like the judgement ring and all, but maybe they could have tweaked the system a little more. It almost feels like playing the second shadow hearts again, the bosses were too easy, and I hate having to find every skill. I'm a fan of the level-up and get your own magic thing, well at least to an extent, but no it seems you have to find every skill, save a couple of Shania's fusions.

Overall it's good and all, but just not all that great. If you want a fun game to play try the original Shadow Hearts. Sure it may have less fanservice, but the characters and story are much better. I'd have to say this game is the worst in the series (yet oddly better than most FF games).

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 05/25/06