Shadow Hearts: Covenant

"Shadow Hearts: Covenant, what FF x-2 should have been..."

Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a must play for all RPG fans. I have played a number of RPG games including FF 1,5,6,7,8,9,10,10-2, Star Ocean 2&3, Xenosaga, Xenogears, Breath of Fire 2,3&4, Legend of Dragoon etc, etc. and I can safely say that Shadow Hearts: Covenant is one of the best RPG that I have ever played. It ranks right up there together with the best RPGS ever published…

Graphics: 8/10
I believe that Shadow Hearts: Covenant was originally released in Japan a year or two ago but has just recently been released in English. For a game that is already a year or two old, it boasts great graphics that are at par with most of the games that are currently being released. The character models are detailed and are animated quite smoothly, and the environment is beautifully dark and gloomy which really blends well with the game's story. Plus, the cinematic movies are eye popping beautiful….

Sounds: 9/10
The voice acting is beautifully done. Each voice actor/actress did their character justice. (well except for lucia whose voice I found really annoying…) Their acting gave the game additional emotional dept. The musical scores for the game are perfect. Each scene, each event, heck even the battles are accompanied by music that helps you get more engrossed in the game.

Game play: 10/10
I have to say that Shadow Hearts: Covenant has great game play. The judgment ring, back from Shadow Hearts has been revamped and adds more depth to the game. The judgment ring is used in battle. It is a system where in you have to hit specific areas of a circle in order to successfully carry out an action. This is a very refreshing change form the traditional turn base system in many RPG. Aside from the judgment ring, a combo system has also been incorporated into the game. This system allows you to chain your characters attacks and magic to perform combos. When performing combos, bonus damage can be made to the enemy.

Aside from its awesome battle system, Shadow Hearts: Covenant also offers a number of puzzles, ranging from easy to hard that will have your brain running on overtime trying to figure the puzzles out. Shadow Hearts 1 mostly used the judgment ring to solve almost all the puzzles, but in Shadow Hearts: Covenant, different puzzles have been used to give variety to the game.

The game also offers a variety of enemies. The various enemies in the game has been made to be difficult but not cheesy. Many games have bosses that are difficult or hard to beat just because they are irritatingly cheesy. But this is not the case in Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Each enemy can be defeated through the use of different strategies and proper preparations before battle.

In some games, the dungeons are so long and save spots are so rare that one could cry when one's party suddenly dies. But in Shadow Hearts: Covenant, the dungeons are long but not too long and there are save spots just before each boss or sub-boss battle. This makes the game “gamer friendly” since if one dies during a boss fight, one can easily reload the game near that boss battle.

The characters are also properly balanced. Each character has his/her strength and weaknesses. No character is totally weak, and no character is over powered. This gives the gamer the chance to cho0se his/her party not base on power but base on their favorites which is good.

Finally, Shadow Hearts: Covenant has plenty of side quests, extras and secrets that can be unlocked. This gives the gamer a reason to play the game more than once.

Story: 9/10
I wont be talking to much about the story to avoid spoilers. But I will say that the game's story is very deep. It has a lot of plot twists that I makes you want to keep on playing just to find out what happens next. IMO, Shadow Hearts: Covenants story is very compelling and deep. It has a mix of romance, comedy, and tragedy.

The development of each character is also given great detail giving each character very unique personalities. And finally, this is one of the few games where in the hero is a bad ass and isn't a shmuck kid which is one of the games strong points.

Replay: 10/10
Like I said, this game has a lot of side quests, extras and secrets to merit another play through. I finished my first game in about 75 hours (it took me that long coz I kinda got carried away and got my characters to level 82). I've restarted the game so that means another 60 or so hours of pure joy.

Final Rating: 10/10
Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a very good game with a very compelling story. I recommend this game to everyone and not just to RPG fans. This game is a must play for everyone

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/04