Shadow Hearts

"A fun throwback to the 32-bit RPG era"

It's currently 2006, and times have been better for the RPG genre. After constantly being recommended the Shadow Hearts games, I decided to give this series a shot. I picked up Shadow Hearts, and was not disappointed.

This game was originally intended as a PS1 release, and was moved to the PS2 at the last minute, which explains the pre-rendered visuals. It's very obvious why pre-rendered graphics have become a thing of the past. The camera can't pass through them, which means they must rely on a static camera, which means they must rely on less exploration, etc. etc. etc. The pre-rendered backgrounds themselves look very nice, (especially when indoors and the camera gets close to them,) and some look almost photo-realistic. But unfortunately, pre-rendered backgrouns just end up eliminating the visual scope. I'm not gonna spend a lot of time on graphics. Basically, if you've played a PS1 RPG, you know what to expect here. Just know, though, it's not NEARLY as bad as in Baten Kaitos (2004) which also used pre-rendered backgrounds, but to horrible effect. (Extremely static camera, no character movement, very weak in-game special effects...etc.) Shadow Hearts at least features a closer camera, characters who move around, and some awesome special effects during the cutscenes. There are also a couple amazing FMV's in here that are so well-done it's almost jaw-dropping. It's just too bad there weren't a few more of them.

Also what is missing is the voice acting, except during the (way too few) FMV's. Cutscenes are handled with text-only conversations. The game is also fairly short, clocking in at only about 22 hours.

....yet, it's worth playing. The gameplay is excellent. The storyline is good. The environment is dark. The music is great. The humor often works. Hidden under the extremely dated presentation is a great RPG.

The game begins with a fairly graphic opening FMV, (really the only thing securing the game an M-rating) where a girl is being escorted on a train; Now, if you've played many RPG's, you know that whenever characters are on a train, a cool scene's bound to happen. Sure enough, it does, with the main character coming to the rescue. After their escape, they must plot their next move. ...and eventually, a bunch of stuff happens that leads to the world needing saving.

The plot definitely isn't award-winning. It gets the job done, simple as that. What's really great are the characters, and while some aren't too well-developed, they're all likable and the scenes are fairly well-written, which lead to, overall, a good experience plot-wise. One thing that's awesome about this series is the fact that it takes place in our world, (this first installment in the Shadow Hearts series takes place in Asia and Europe right before World War I) which is great because it's not something that typically happens in RPG's. You visit real cities like Shanghai, Prague, London, and others. Again, due to the dated pre-rendered style, there isn't much exploration that goes on in most of these cities and towns, but it's at least better than other recent pre-rendered RPG's like Baten Kaitos.

One thing I've got to appreciate about this game, (and I think I'm gonna really like this series because of it. I plan to play Shadow Hearts 2 and 3 now,) is the fact that plot, characters, dialogue, and atmosphere come first. They are the most important thing. Way too many RPG's nowadays completely sacrifice these things in exchange for endless amounts of combat. (Grandia III, I'm looking at you.) I keep reading praise for games like this, saying things like "The plot's not great, but where the game succeeds is the combat system, making it worth playing." I never really understood that method of thinking; for me, a plot is the most important part of an RPG. As is atmosphere and well-developed world, music, etc. And Shadow Hearts is very successful at it. A good combat system's always nice, but it's not why I, (personally) play RPG's. The good thing is that Shadow Hearts delivers all these great things I personally look for in RPG's.

This game shows that to be a successful plot doesn't mean it necessarily has to be an "excellent storyline." Trust me, this game's isn't. It's a cool storyline that offers cool moments, but the plot takes a while to even start, the cast of villains is uninspired and cliche'd, (and when the villains have the ability to literally warp to the main characters whenever they feel like it, it totally ruins the mood,) the plot twist wasn't pulled off well at all, the ending was completely anti-climactic....yet the plot's successful.

I think that as long as an RPG developer actually takes their own story seriously and actually gives us characters worth caring about, then any RPG can have a "good plot." It was the same thing with Tales of Legendia; not every RPG has to have shocking plot twists or an epic ending to feature a "good plot." Yet when an RPG developer (like the makers of Grandia III) simply doesn't care about the plot and puts little thought into it, it shows, and that's when you get a "bad storyline" in RPG's.

Meh...I'm going on a rant here. But I guess my point is that Shadow Hearts took me back to the 32-bit RPG era, when developers of RPG's actually took their storylines seriously. When they actually made worlds worth exploring, and where the characters were actually interesting and well-developed. Some 128-bit RPG's, like the Final Fantasy series, of course, and Star Ocean 3 and Tales of Legendia, do have well-developed plots and worlds....so it's really not all of them that are lacking in this area. But it seems like many RPG developers lately are just trying to create "fun combat systems" and not really focusing on creating great plots or compelling worlds. Combat was never supposed to be fun in an RPG. Plot always came first. (Or it was supposed to, anyway.)

The irony is that the combat in Shadow Hearts IS fun. Making use of something called the Judgement Ring, this combat system always requires you to be alert while playing, and it's always fun. The difficulty isn't really hard at all, (although there is some challenge in some fights,) and while the combat system's slightly slow at times, overall, it's a great way to battle.

The world, (which is based on our world, again, right before World War I) is a cool one. Cities like Shanghai are great to explore, for example. (I just wish there were more big cities like that one in the game.) The atmosphere is dark; some towns you visit are actually kind of creepy, and although the setting is very realistic, there are some cool surprises. For example, the Nemeton Monastery's graphics have an almost a futuristic, Final Fantasy VII-like look to them. And of course visiting graveyards inside people's souls is perfectly normal. And, oh yeah, the main character can turn into demons.

Yeah, this game's out there. But it provides a really cool experience that's unlike most RPG's you've probably played, and if you can find it cheap, (it was discontinued, unfortunately. Despite huge success in Japan, the Shadow Hearts series never really caught on in America) Shadow Hearts is definitely worth a play.

Also worth mentioning is the excellent music. Aside from a terrible battle theme when in Asia, (who the hell allowed this in the game!?) The music in this game is really top notch. Particularly worth noting is the music that plays on the worldmap, as well as the music in Shanghai, as well as Prague's. The musical style also changes when you leave Asia and venture into Europe, which was a great touch. The event music is also well done.

There are so many great things about this game, but there are some issues (aside from the dated presentation) that I've got to bring up. For one thing...the heroine, Alice, is probably one of the most boring female leads I've played as in an RPG. There's no chemistry between her and the main character, which made some scenes later in the game, (meh...I won't spoil it, but you know the drill,) a little hard to believe.

Also, I mentioned it earlier; this game gets off to a slow start. After a great intro, the plot just kind of stops, and takes a long time to pick up. You visit 2 towns, (both basically pointless) to do pointless tasks before leaving and heading to the next area. It's basically padding out the clock. But once you reach Shanghai, the plot locks in and the game becomes great the rest of the way through. But until then, the game just feels slow and disconnected. I think they easily could have cut parts out. (Although that would have made the game a little too short, I guess.) The ending, also, wasn't pulled off. Something happens that was a BIG deal, ...but I missed it. The game didn't make a big enough deal out of it. I completely missed the big "surprise" at the end. If I hadn't read online exactly what happened at the end of this game, (literally in the last 10 seconds after the credits roll,) I would have been completely confused when I started Shadow Hearts; Covenant, which continues from where this one left off. (I'm about an hour into that game as I type this.)

My only other gripe, (and this is kind of a nitpick,) is that I wish the game had stuck with its darker tone. The introduction and first hour or so of the game sets the game up as an almost survival horror-like RPG, but the game eventually loses that feeling and turns into basically your standard (although, again, darker) RPG. I think they could have actually made this game scary if they wanted to, but they obviously chose not to. Too bad.

Overall, Shadow Hearts is a great RPG. It combines great gameplay with a good storyline and a cool, darker world than what you see in most RPG's. The very dated presentation holds the game back, though, as does a slow start and short length. Although it's really worth playing, I've gotta say, at the price most new copies (which are rare,) are going for, I think you'd be better off simply reading a plot summary and picking up the sequel, Shadow Hearts; Covenant, or just playing the standalone Shadow Hearts; From the New World. Not that the first one isn't worth playing, it definitely is. Is it worth the $30-$50? Probably not. Again, it plays like a PS1 RPG. If that doesn't bother you, though, definitely give this a shot because it's a great RPG and I can't wait to play the rest of this great series.

Note; This game has been given an M-rating by the ESRB for "Blood and Gore and Violence." If you go into this hoping for that rare graphically violent Japanese RPG, (there aren't many,) prepare for a disappointment. Violent intro aside, there's almost no blood to be found in this game. (Except some on the ground in one scene.) Granted, Shadow Hearts is definitely a strong "Teen-rated RPG," at heart. The subject matter can be dark, there's lots of suggestive humor, and some sexual themes in here as well. But really, nothing M-rated. (Aside from some blood in the intro.) I'm glad Midway didn't alter the game to try to receive a Teen-rating, but they easily could have appealed to the ESRB for it, since...truthfully, there's almost nothing to alter. According to the ESRB, a person under the age of 17 would not be able to buy this game without a parent or guardian. I can say with full confidence that if I played this when I was under 17, it would have had no effect on me whatsoever. (Except being a fun experience, of course.) This game did not deserve an M-rating.

The (unnecessary) M-rating and darker tones may lead you to believe that this game is some type of survival horror/Japanese RPG, but it's not. What it is is a darker, more down-to-earth Japanese RPG than most, with some great gameplay and a good storyline. Again, dated presentation holds it back from greatness, but it's really a good game to play if you can find it for a cheap price.

Also consider the more up-to-date Shadow Hearts; Covenant and Shadow Hearts; From the New World.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/06