Shadow Hearts: From the New World

"Needs improvement, but still a worthwhile purchase."

*Note that I use all 10 numbers in the rating scale. 5 = average for a turn based RPG. 10 = flawless, I can not think of a way in which it could possibly improve.

Shadow Hearts: From the New World has eaten up about forty hours of my free time and I'm glad I bought it. Turn based RPGs are becoming exceedingly rare in the market, so if you like this sort of thing almost any entry in the genre instantly becomes worth checking out. Shadow Hearts as a series stands out among the competition for a few reasons – the games take place in the real world, trademark humor, bizarre characters, and the Judgment Ring system.

This installment has a few cliché's that detract from the overall experience, though. The main character has a strange power and amnesia. Antagonists are evil just for the sake of power and being evil – there isn't any subjectivity to it, no depth as explored in real literature. Party members who can be considered “supporting cast” get snagged into the story via some kind of hook, and then afterwards, have no real reason for sticking around but do so anyway. It should be noted that these are annoyances – while they do detract from the overall enjoyment of the game, Shadow Hearts: From the New World is still fun to play.

System: 10/10
The Judgment Ring system is unique and enhances the gameplay one typically experiences with a turn based RPG. Therefore it really deserves praise. Whenever you take an action, a ring with “hit areas” appears. An indicator moves along the circumference of the ring much like a radar. You push the “x” button when the indicator is on the hit areas. This can be harder than it sounds. Some monsters have attacks that make it more difficult to use the Judgment Ring – for example it could become half the size, or the indicator could sweep with erratic speed. Thanks to this system combat stays interesting throughout the game. On top of that, there is an interesting combo system that allows you to chain attacks together. It improves on what appeared in Shadow Hearts: Covenant by allowing double attacks and double combo attacks. If you play your cards right, your party of four could attack an enemy eight times in a row. There's a certain satisfaction to be had in racking up a 70+ hit combo for sure.

Graphics: 7/10
Above average, but not perfect. The character models look good, and there are a lot of cool monsters to be fought. Shadow Hearts features some of the best monster designs out there. When an actor moves it's perfectly fluid. Special attacks are often interesting to watch, but it's rare that they impress the viewer.

Sound: 5/10
The sound effects in this game aren't very good at all, and the battle music is just a sad attempt at imitating gothic EBM. Area tunes can be somewhat catchy. Voice acting frequently lacks emotion. Honestly, I enjoyed the game more on mute and with subtitles. The reason I give this an “average” rating is because the sound in RPGs is usually horrible, therefore, this is on par.

Story and Setting: 7/10
There are a few great moments in the story. Overall I liked it, and I was satisfied with the details as they trickled down. The lead character is a detective, and the story starts with a new and creepy client asking him to find a man named Marlow. Once you do, that's when the supernatural comes in, and it comes in heavy. The detective makes two new friends who have made it their work to hunt down evil monsters. Slowly this turns into a task of preventing an ultimate evil from being unleashed. There are a few portions of the game that make no sense – supercomputers and sharp looking leather jackets in the early 1930s for example. Stuff like that broke verisimilitude and immersion on one level. But on another level it added to the lovable quirkiness that is Shadow Hearts. Like the last game, they seem to have toned down interesting plot points to achieve that ‘T' rating and thus, more sales. For example that man you're supposed to find in the beginning, Marlow, is not a murderer. But he has committed attempted murder nine times. People get killed over the course of the story, but the camera focuses on something else entirely while you hear them get mauled or shot. It's adult subject matter and it's diluted to make parents happy – the final product is a story that's somewhat awkward for adult players.

Overall: 7/10
While some people on the gamefaqs message board think that giving this game a review of less than 10 deserves death (no really, there is such a thread) I'm giving it a seven. And I'm hiring a bodyguard just in case. It's a good game that stands out among its peers, and I really enjoyed playing it. That's it though – it's a good game. There are many ways it could improve. As a fan of the series, I hope Shadow Hearts eventually comes back to its roots – an ‘M' rated occultism fest that is not at all nice, cute, or apologetic about it.

Special Note
If you don't like anime and certain aspects of Japanese culture, you will not like this game. It features at least one character who is so cute it could nauseate the casual observer. But over the years I've built up a cold indifference to that kind of thing. One character turns into different kinds of monsters, and takes off her clothes (except for her panties and this strip of cloth over her nipples) when doing so. It's annoying and pointless from the perspective of a gamer who has access to the real thing.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/14/06