Shadow Hearts: From the New World

"Look into the New World through the eyes of Shadow Hearts"

Yes, the New World is here in the third cast of Shadow Hearts. Shadow Hearts has been known for its funky cool characters, the transformations of fusions, using our world as the area to explore and no other then the judgment ring.

We start off as our young fellow named Johnny Garland who lives in New York as a detective. His day starts off like no other with little cases to crack and cats to save. He later on hears about a case that will later on link him to his memory that he lost in an accident when he was younger. His memory will be what links the story as to who his enemies are and the outcome of the world. It is another story of saving the world but gives some great comedy relief throughout with some of the most unique characters casted and just like other Shadow Hearts games, they are no disappointment. If you've played the second game, you might see a little reoccurring theme when it comes to how some of the characters are which may be a little negative for some but it doesn't hurt the game entirely.

The graphics take us to the Americas and are beautifully well done. You'll be able to visit some familiar areas and while a little small to explore at times, they are still an eye catcher. The attacks and magic are bright with color and pleasing to look at.

The battle system is just like the other predecessors but is more finely tuned with a little more customization. The Judgment ring is back and you hit your target areas to determine how many times you attack as well as how powerful the attack is. You can also change the ring by increasing the width of the target areas so you don't miss as much as well as add effects to it. The judgment ring is used everywhere from battles, to puzzles, to shops and will take to time to master but with practice, that shouldn't be a problem. When encountering enemies, you still can choose whether you want to do your standard attack with four different ways to send them flying in whatever direction you choose. When it comes to magic, you equip the character with a stellar chart resembling the constellations of the zodiac. From there, you can equip various stellar magics and can distribute who gets what spell. When you visit a shop, you can tweak your stellar chart even more so that you can put on more powerful magic, change the attribute, as well as give status increases to make them more effective. Also while in battle, you can use stock to do more damage to the enemy. Stock increases when you attack the enemy or the enemy attacks you. When your stock is filled up to a substantial amount, your able to do more attacks as well as combo up for even more damage. What's even greater is that each character has their own unique attacks as well. All in all, the battle system has stayed with it's roots while giving us something different to feel.

The music in the game has it's times where it makes you feel like your there and other times it feels just "ok". I thought the battle music that you mainly hear in the first part of the game was one of the best. As with the music, the voices and sounds are also up to par. When you meet all the characters and hear how they are and what they say in battle, it perfectly fits their aura. The designs and voices of the characters is what makes the funny moments in the game feel real. On the negative side, sometimes I felt some of the music was overly used so I thought there could have been a little more variety. I don't like to hear the same music in at least half the dungeons there are. Overall, it gets the job done.

To sum up some of the positives and negatives that I may or may have not mentioned are:
+Battle music
+Character design
+Concrete detail and pictures of all the items in the game
+Library of monsters and characters

-Some music overused
-A little more variety in unique attacks for a few characters
-Story can get a little repetitive
-Some locations are a bit small

Shadow Hearts is something to look forward to if you want an innovative and a different kind of RPG to play. It stands out on it's own and is indeed a great pickup. I got the game when it was $39.99 but since it has been out for awhile, chances are you'll get a good deal. Off to the Shadow Hearts world you go!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/07