12.7.2012

Ok, to start off I just want to say that I think people are way, way too harsh about this game.Shadow Hearts I and II are extremely hard to live up to, so you've got to appreciate how difficult it is to create a game that will be just like those.I've heard many people complain that Yuri was not the main character of this game. Now, I understand he is a much loved character, and I agree, but there's only so much you can do with his story. In I, the bad ending was canon. In II, the good ending was canon, so, in turn, it was actually the good ending that happened in II the second time around, as Yuri knew how to save Alice. So there's your happy ending for them.What else could you do with him?He's been developed a decent amount and he's been fun to play with. I think it's only fair that they come up with a new main character.I'll split the rest of the review up into various categories.Graphics: I admit that the first time I started playing this, I was a little taken aback by the graphics. They were strange, and extremely bright and garish compared to what I was used to with the other two. But then I found that if you adjust the lighting settings on your tv, or play it on a different tv, it's fine. The FMVs are gorgeous as usual, and it's a great pleasure to see the amount of them increased from the previous games.Gameplay: It sure is fun! There aren't too many, or too little battles. It requires a little grinding when it comes to the end if you're not into finishing the side quests, but that doesn't detract from the game too much. The battle system is fantastic, improved even more over the II, allowing for easier and more enjoyable battles, and a much stronger chance against the bosses which are difficult in this game compared to the other two.Story: Ok, let's be fair on the story. Compared to the other two, there isn't much story to the game, yet it lasts long, however isn't boring. It may start off a little rocky and I myself was unsure whether I wanted to play this, however I gave it a chance, and it actually improves a lot as you go on. There are some touching and plenty of humorous moments which make this game have laughs yet a serious and emotional side to it. To be honest I didn't find II that dark, so I don't know what people mean when they say the third is nowhere near as dark as it. The first was very dark, however, but I think the second was a little lighter, and III the lightest. That's not to say there aren't sad or creepy parts to the game. Granted there are few, but it does happen.Characters: These characters are just downright fun. Well, a few of them. It takes a while to become attached to them, but in the end, you'll find yourself caring for them and loving them like you would with any other game where you "raise" characters up through levels. I'll break it down into each character here.Shania: I admit I don't like her very much, and I'm glad she's not the main protagonist. She seems rather moody and sassy, and doesn't seem to care for Johnny that much, when he cares for her a lot, as shown later in the game. She's rather weak for a Harmonixer, as all of her fusions are dark elements, and while some people see her as the best physical fighter, I disagree, there. I found myself keeping her out of the party about half way into the game to make way for characters I found more likeable.Johnny: What a cute protagonist. I was sceptical about him at first, and wasn't sure whether I'd like him at all, but his goofy ways got to me and I found myself liking him more and more. I think it's a nice change that he starts off as a very weak character, as in the first two you start with Yuri who is automatically a great physical fighter with many advantages. It's interesting to see the main male as weaker, needing the female to protect him at the beginning, and therefore makes it more of an effort to train him up, therefore bringing you closer to him. He's a very sweet and hilarious character, and I think he makes a great main hero.Ricardo: Again, I was sceptical. I didn't think I'd like him as much as I do. But I find his "muse" attacks and support moves extremely valuable to the party, and the nice little guitar tunes that play are very pretty and have a distinct sound to them. He has an interesting story, and a sad one, as he finds himself searching for revenge, but discovers many other things on the way.Frank: Frank is damn hilarious. And adorable. If you use him, and you train him, he can easily be one of the best members of the party. His physical attack is strong, he can gather up a huge load of HP in the higher levels, and his ninja arts are actually extremely useful when used correctly. He's got a good heart, and is funny to boot, making him a very likeable character.Hilda: Hilda is wonderful. The fact that she can take on three forms is unique and makes the gameplay a whole lot more intricate. What's great about her is you can change her to whichever suits your needs. If you want a great mage, go for slim Hilda. If you want a kick arse physical attacker, go for curvy Hilda. And if you want a good physical attacker who you're not worried about losing HP, go for the Pink Bat. The connection of her to the second game makes her that much more appealing, as I enjoy all of the Valentines and the fact that they appear in all three games.Natan: I find his character quite boring to be 100% honest. I don't think there was much to his personality, and he's quite a background person. I took him out the party quite soon when I could.Mao: A drunken female cat. Now that's what I'm talking about. She's hilarious and snarky, and can dole out some pretty fierce moves even when she's at a low level. I enjoyed her time in the party I had her, and I like her more than I thought I would as well.Length: Now this game can last and LAST when you want it to. All the side quests chalk it up to at least 60 hours the first time around, otherwise it's a good 30-40 hours of gameplay if you just want to follow the story. I often see people complaining about RPGs being too short, and this certainly isn't. Yet it isn't too long, either. You have a choice to make it last or not.Voice acting: Again, at first I was rather iffy about this, but it turns out this is better voice acting than most games out there. I think it was as good if not better than Shadow Hearts 2 voices.Music: Oh, God. The music. The OST is still as mind blowingly gorgeous as ever, with "Dead Fingers Talk" and "Garland Detective Agency" ranking in some of my top VGM ever. It still has that lovely Shadow Hearts charm to it as well. Really wonderful sound work.All in all, I find this game extremely fun, and I recommend it to everyone, Shadow Hearts lovers or people who've never played SH at all. You should give it a try.I think the main problem is people didn't give this game a chance. If you just play through a while, I'm sure you'll find something about you enjoy. It picks up pretty fast after a few hours. Give it a shot.A truly lovely game that has received way too much stick in my opinion. Try it out!

18.7.2012

Ok, to start off I just want to say that I think people are way, way too harsh about this game.Shadow Hearts I and II are extremely hard to live up to, so you've got to appreciate how difficult it is to create a game that will be just like those.I've heard many people complain that Yuri was not the main character of this game. Now, I understand he is a much loved character, and I agree, but there's only so much you can do with his story. In I, the bad ending was canon. In II, the good ending was canon, so, in turn, it was actually the good ending that happened in II the second time around, as Yuri knew how to save Alice. So there's your happy ending for them.What else could you do with him?He's been developed a decent amount and he's been fun to play with. I think it's only fair that they come up with a new main character.I'll split the rest of the review up into various categories.Graphics: I admit that the first time I started playing this, I was a little taken aback by the graphics. They were strange, and extremely bright and garish compared to what I was used to with the other two. But then I found that if you adjust the lighting settings on your tv, or play it on a different tv, it's fine. The FMVs are gorgeous as usual, and it's a great pleasure to see the amount of them increased from the previous games.Gameplay: It sure is fun! There aren't too many, or too little battles. It requires a little grinding when it comes to the end if you're not into finishing the side quests, but that doesn't detract from the game too much. The battle system is fantastic, improved even more over the II, allowing for easier and more enjoyable battles, and a much stronger chance against the bosses which are difficult in this game compared to the other two.Story: Ok, let's be fair on the story. Compared to the other two, there isn't much story to the game, yet it lasts long, however isn't boring. It may start off a little rocky and I myself was unsure whether I wanted to play this, however I gave it a chance, and it actually improves a lot as you go on. There are some touching and plenty of humorous moments which make this game have laughs yet a serious and emotional side to it. To be honest I didn't find II that dark, so I don't know what people mean when they say the third is nowhere near as dark as it. The first was very dark, however, but I think the second was a little lighter, and III the lightest. That's not to say there aren't sad or creepy parts to the game. Granted there are few, but it does happen.Characters: These characters are just downright fun. Well, a few of them. It takes a while to become attached to them, but in the end, you'll find yourself caring for them and loving them like you would with any other game where you "raise" characters up through levels.Music: Oh, God. The music. The OST is still as mind blowingly gorgeous as ever, with "Dead Fingers Talk" and "Garland Detective Agency" ranking in some of my top VGM ever. It still has that lovely Shadow Hearts charm to it as well. Really wonderful sound work.All in all, I find this game extremely fun, and I recommend it to everyone, Shadow Hearts lovers or people who've never played SH at all. You should give it a try.I think the main problem is people didn't give this game a chance. If you just play through a while, I'm sure you'll find something about you enjoy. It picks up pretty fast after a few hours. Give it a shot.Read full review...

24.6.2007

The Shadow Hearts series has been my favourite RPG series of this generation, much better then the incredible FF series even. The judgement ring was a superb innovation and is very flexible. The dark overtones, great collection of characters and strange sense of humour makes Shadow Hearts that little bit special.From the New World is no different to its predecessors. Your selection of characters is good fun and the camp Brazilian Ninja will almost certainly give a few giggles. Fusions are still in the game, but this time the main character is not the one who has the Harmonixer power and also there are only a few Fusions in the game. For most of the title,

16.8.2016

This is another ps2 rpg classics and the latest (hopefully not the last) in this ps2 series. Many people claim that this instalment is weaker in story than the second one, but I believe it is strong in its own right.The gameplay remains almost unchanged; while the main crust of the battle system is still turn based, there is a distinguishing feature in the series which is the real-time mechanic of the 'Judgement Ring' in which every attack needs to hit certain areas in real time in a ring for a number of times normally and some areas deal more damage than others.Graphics; They are some of the best I've seen on ps2 and very colourful in contrast to the second part which was generally darker and gloomier for the most part.Music: very good and some soundtracks are amazing.

6.11.2007

I played this game through at 60hrz no problem. Not so much as a glitch. If this is holding you back from buying the title, don't let it.This entire game was absolutely hilarious. Sure it's not as dark as its predecessors, but it has the same tongue-in-cheek humour, mixed in with the purely silly. Every character is unique, each with their own side-missions and special abilities that need to be earned. The judgement ring now affects most everything you do and makes Shadow Hearts stand out from other RPGS.What I enjoyed most was the variety in this game. If you didn't feel like smashing your way through a dungeon or solving a puzzle, then there are dozens of other mini-quests to be enjoying instead.If you've played any Shadow Hearts games,

13.10.2008

I was a bit apprehensive about this one as I had heard some dissapointing things said about it,ultimately it's not as polished or deep as Covenant but it's still a very good rpg.Yes,Yuri's gone but I found Johnny Garland a decent enough 'replacement',likewise Shania for Karin.the graphics are slightly less polished than Covenant but since the game almost never came out that'a small price to pay.If anything the Judgement Ring is even easier to use this time and the 'Double/Combo'attacks are a welcome addition,The main story is very good although a teeny bit shorter than last time but it has just as many sidequests,some of which I didn't/couldn't do.Saying that it still clocked in at over 60 hrs

31.5.2007

If you would have researched a little and read a couple forums you'd realise playing the game in 60hz mode the game is fine.Only noobs play RPG's in 50hz!Anyway a very good RPG, with an interesting style of battle, with the judgement rings.I'd ignore this other comment as you can play the game through perfectly in 60hz.Haven't quite completed all the side quests yet, and i've still play for well over 60 hours.A must for any RPG fans, especially fans of the other shadow hearts and final fantasy games.

26.9.2015

big fan of the shadow hearts series and this was hugely underrated people said it was crap compared to the first 2 games however I disagree it is a great game which is great in its own way have just re-bought this game for £4 absolute bargain for that price and throughly enjoyin it just like I did years ago wish they wud bring them out again on the ps4 wud make my day if they did absolutely amazing game buy now!

14.3.2011

Fantastic RPG with a great battle system, memorable characters, and nicely depicted locations.There is a bright look to it, but with some dark undertones which reminded me alot of Digital Devil Saga.This is a must if you are looking for a classic PS2 RPG, but if you have played the 1st 2 games in the series, it may disappoint.Package arrived well on time, no damage at all.

17.5.2012

i enjoyed this game - much more involving than the original (which was painfully short). lots of side- and sub-quests, and plenty of involvement with the characters. clocked up 100+hours easily working my way through the game, so no complaints about the length of gameplay. characters were likeable and locations were attractive. good game.

5.3.2011

bought it since iam wanted to test out some "Old" rpg in wintertimes when there are usual never any good realeases on wii,ps3 or xbox 360.you can get real cheap ps2 now. even new ones.so its kinda cheap and you might get suprised of some of theese "Old" games.

20.9.2017

pleased with the order arrived early pleased with the condition of the game it very good first time playing on the game love it pleased with the service excellent

13.3.2015

Bought this as a gift. Grest price. The disc is in perfection condition. It also arrived really quick. My partner loves it.

24.7.2016

A great game, not quite as great as it's predecessor but a lot of fun to play.

22.2.2018

This seller was true to there word n game played beautiful

Shadow Hearts - From The New World (PS2) - Reviews

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