Post by Leonia on Apr 20, 2006 21:12:26 GMT -5
Finished with Kingdom Hearts II? Already done with Grandia III? Completed Tales of Legendia AND Tales of Phantasia? Looking for another RPG to play?
Shadow Hearts: From the New World is the third game in the Shadow Hearts RPG series. While most RPGs take place in made-up, fantasy worlds, the Shadow Hearts series' trademark is a (somewhat anachronistic) twist on 20th-century world history where magic and monsters are of no surprise to anyone (the first game, Shadow Hearts, took place in 1913 China and Europe, and the second game, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, took place in 1915 Europe and Japan, in the heart of World War I and is a direct sequel to the first game.).
If you haven't played either of the first two titles, don't worry. You can play From the New World without any knowledge of the previous two games as it features an entirely new cast of characters and a brand-new storyline. However, those new to the series will miss out on a few in-jokes from the series as well as a few plot ties to Shadow Hearts: Covenant. As the title implies, From the New World takes place in the Americas, this time during the Great Depression.
The Story, in general: 8/10
The devastation left behind from World War I has triggered paranormal activity across the world: various green portals, known as "Windows", have recently begun appearing in the United States, pouring out monsters that devour unsuspecting citizens. A Native American woman, Shania (and her companion, Natan) makes a living as a bounty hunter, traveling across the country and using her ability to take a spirit's form to track down the monsters that appear from these "Windows".
You'll start the game off with Johnny Garland, a teenage private detective who was involved in a car accident that killed his father, sister, and took away a good portion of his memories three years ago. Johnny was supposed to inherit his father's company and fortunes, but he turned down both offers and opened his own detective agency in New York with his faithful butler, Lenny. However, the cases he's been getting (chimney sweeping, finding lost cats, spying on someone's wife) are not as glamorous as he thought it'd be.
One day, though, a suspicious client named Professor Gilbert hires Johnny to track down Marlow Brown, a criminal wanted on various charges ranging from disorderly conduct to murder. Finally, he gets something decent, for once! Unfortunately, when Johnny confronts Marlow, a "Window" opens up and a monster appears to devour the criminal. Just when it seems Johnny is about to become the monster's next meal, a Sky-Spirit looking like a half-human/half-bird (Shania) crashes in and kills the monster, saving Johnny's life.
From there, Johnny, Shania, and various other characters (not limited to, but including a somewhat idiotic East European ninja, a vampire who changes form by consuming calories, and a giant cat with ties to the Mafia) join their journey across the Americas and figure out what Professor Gilbert is really up to.
While the story starts off great, it slackens a bit around the middle, turning into a bit of a "solve this puzzle and get a cutscene to progress things" chore. However, it picks up again towards the end, with several plot twists coming one right after another.
The game is also legitimately funny and weird. The way some of the characters introduce themselves and join the party is downright hilarious, especially with Frank, the East European ninja, and Hilda, the vampire.
Is it pretty to look at?: 8/10
For a game set in the Great Depression, it's very colorful and bright. All the character designs, no matter how weird, are great to look at, and the monster designs are equally ghoulish. The FMV sequences are also nice, too. However, this is not a game you'd want to show off that nice new home theater system of yours.
What about the sound?: 8/10
The voice acting is great, but not excellent if you've played the previous games. While the main cast of characters are well done, the secondary characters are more or less hit-and-miss, but generally with more hits than misses, thankfully.
The music, on the other hand, is better than the voice acting. The music for each area varies, in New York and Chicago you'll be hearing jazz, and at the Grand Canyon it'll be a bit more ethnic, with woodwind instrumentals. Traversing through dungeons such as Alcatraz and Vilcabamba, the music will not be as cheery and upbeat, appropriate for the settings.
Enough about video and the music, how does it play?: 10/10
From the New World is a turn-based RPG, very much in the vein of the Final Fantasy series. However, unlike most turn-based RPGs, the Shadow Hearts series utilizes a concept called the Judgment Ring.
The Judgment Ring is a circular disk that puts an emphasis on timing. Whenever you want to do something during battle (attack, special skills, magic), the Judgment Ring will appear, with a segment of the ring colored in (say, orange). You'll have to hit the colored segment for an action to be carried out, and some actions (magic, skills) will have more than one colored segment on the Ring. Many of the colored segments will have an extra red sliver, which can extend the effect of an action, from dealing more damage to an enemy to being able to squeeze a bit more from restorative items.
The Judgment Ring is not limited to battles, though. The Judgment Ring can also be used to buy items at a cheaper price or sell items at a higher markup. The Judgment Ring is also used for Lottery games, which can be played for rare prizes.
Two gameplay aspects added to From the New World are the Stock Gauge and the Height Zones. The Stock Gauge determines whether or not your character can pull off a combo and gang up on one enemy, or even do two actions in one turn. The Height Zones play a major role when it comes to combos, because not every enemy will be standing on the ground. Ground-based attacks will miss aerial enemies, and conversly, air-based attacks will have no effect on enemies with their feet planted on the ground.
In Shadow Hearts: Covenant magic was utilized through Crests, in From the New World, magic is utilized through Stellar Charts. Everyone, except Shania, can use Stellar Charts, and the Stellar Charts can be customized to suit your style of play.
Outside of battles, the puzzles in the game are not very difficult, but at the same time, not very easy. Some of the puzzles in the game are very tricky, but these are relegated to side quests and shouldn't impede on the main game.
Speaking of side quests, side quests are the only way for the characters to gain new skills, abilities, and items. Johnny can take pictures of enemies and trade with certain people for rare items. Natan needs to hunt down UMAs (Unidentified Mystery Animal) and bring them to the healer of his tribe for medicinal purposes in exchange for new skills. And Mao, the giant cat with Mafia ties, is also an actress trying to raise money and finance a new movie at Hollywood. These are just a few of the many side quests in the game, and the side quests are generally fun to play with, since it delves into some of the other characters' histories and personality quirks that might not be apparent in the main storyline.
The AI of the enemies you run into for battles are aggressive. They're smarter, and they're not afraid to target the magic users or healers if they can. In fact, some of the boss battles in the game are near impossible without doing some of the aforementioned side quests.
Anything else I need to know?
There are multiple endings to the game, so there's some replay value. People who are new to the series should enjoy the story, and people already familiar with the series should be able to enjoy the gameplay once more.
Final Verdict: 8.5/10. The Shadow Hearts series has been compared to the Final Fantasy series, so if you're tired of the same "press one button, sit back, and watch your characters attack" RPGs, give Shadow Hearts: From the New World a try.
Shadow Hearts: From the New World is the third game in the Shadow Hearts RPG series. While most RPGs take place in made-up, fantasy worlds, the Shadow Hearts series' trademark is a (somewhat anachronistic) twist on 20th-century world history where magic and monsters are of no surprise to anyone (the first game, Shadow Hearts, took place in 1913 China and Europe, and the second game, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, took place in 1915 Europe and Japan, in the heart of World War I and is a direct sequel to the first game.).
If you haven't played either of the first two titles, don't worry. You can play From the New World without any knowledge of the previous two games as it features an entirely new cast of characters and a brand-new storyline. However, those new to the series will miss out on a few in-jokes from the series as well as a few plot ties to Shadow Hearts: Covenant. As the title implies, From the New World takes place in the Americas, this time during the Great Depression.
The Story, in general: 8/10
The devastation left behind from World War I has triggered paranormal activity across the world: various green portals, known as "Windows", have recently begun appearing in the United States, pouring out monsters that devour unsuspecting citizens. A Native American woman, Shania (and her companion, Natan) makes a living as a bounty hunter, traveling across the country and using her ability to take a spirit's form to track down the monsters that appear from these "Windows".
You'll start the game off with Johnny Garland, a teenage private detective who was involved in a car accident that killed his father, sister, and took away a good portion of his memories three years ago. Johnny was supposed to inherit his father's company and fortunes, but he turned down both offers and opened his own detective agency in New York with his faithful butler, Lenny. However, the cases he's been getting (chimney sweeping, finding lost cats, spying on someone's wife) are not as glamorous as he thought it'd be.
One day, though, a suspicious client named Professor Gilbert hires Johnny to track down Marlow Brown, a criminal wanted on various charges ranging from disorderly conduct to murder. Finally, he gets something decent, for once! Unfortunately, when Johnny confronts Marlow, a "Window" opens up and a monster appears to devour the criminal. Just when it seems Johnny is about to become the monster's next meal, a Sky-Spirit looking like a half-human/half-bird (Shania) crashes in and kills the monster, saving Johnny's life.
From there, Johnny, Shania, and various other characters (not limited to, but including a somewhat idiotic East European ninja, a vampire who changes form by consuming calories, and a giant cat with ties to the Mafia) join their journey across the Americas and figure out what Professor Gilbert is really up to.
While the story starts off great, it slackens a bit around the middle, turning into a bit of a "solve this puzzle and get a cutscene to progress things" chore. However, it picks up again towards the end, with several plot twists coming one right after another.
The game is also legitimately funny and weird. The way some of the characters introduce themselves and join the party is downright hilarious, especially with Frank, the East European ninja, and Hilda, the vampire.
Is it pretty to look at?: 8/10
For a game set in the Great Depression, it's very colorful and bright. All the character designs, no matter how weird, are great to look at, and the monster designs are equally ghoulish. The FMV sequences are also nice, too. However, this is not a game you'd want to show off that nice new home theater system of yours.
What about the sound?: 8/10
The voice acting is great, but not excellent if you've played the previous games. While the main cast of characters are well done, the secondary characters are more or less hit-and-miss, but generally with more hits than misses, thankfully.
The music, on the other hand, is better than the voice acting. The music for each area varies, in New York and Chicago you'll be hearing jazz, and at the Grand Canyon it'll be a bit more ethnic, with woodwind instrumentals. Traversing through dungeons such as Alcatraz and Vilcabamba, the music will not be as cheery and upbeat, appropriate for the settings.
Enough about video and the music, how does it play?: 10/10
From the New World is a turn-based RPG, very much in the vein of the Final Fantasy series. However, unlike most turn-based RPGs, the Shadow Hearts series utilizes a concept called the Judgment Ring.
The Judgment Ring is a circular disk that puts an emphasis on timing. Whenever you want to do something during battle (attack, special skills, magic), the Judgment Ring will appear, with a segment of the ring colored in (say, orange). You'll have to hit the colored segment for an action to be carried out, and some actions (magic, skills) will have more than one colored segment on the Ring. Many of the colored segments will have an extra red sliver, which can extend the effect of an action, from dealing more damage to an enemy to being able to squeeze a bit more from restorative items.
The Judgment Ring is not limited to battles, though. The Judgment Ring can also be used to buy items at a cheaper price or sell items at a higher markup. The Judgment Ring is also used for Lottery games, which can be played for rare prizes.
Two gameplay aspects added to From the New World are the Stock Gauge and the Height Zones. The Stock Gauge determines whether or not your character can pull off a combo and gang up on one enemy, or even do two actions in one turn. The Height Zones play a major role when it comes to combos, because not every enemy will be standing on the ground. Ground-based attacks will miss aerial enemies, and conversly, air-based attacks will have no effect on enemies with their feet planted on the ground.
In Shadow Hearts: Covenant magic was utilized through Crests, in From the New World, magic is utilized through Stellar Charts. Everyone, except Shania, can use Stellar Charts, and the Stellar Charts can be customized to suit your style of play.
Outside of battles, the puzzles in the game are not very difficult, but at the same time, not very easy. Some of the puzzles in the game are very tricky, but these are relegated to side quests and shouldn't impede on the main game.
Speaking of side quests, side quests are the only way for the characters to gain new skills, abilities, and items. Johnny can take pictures of enemies and trade with certain people for rare items. Natan needs to hunt down UMAs (Unidentified Mystery Animal) and bring them to the healer of his tribe for medicinal purposes in exchange for new skills. And Mao, the giant cat with Mafia ties, is also an actress trying to raise money and finance a new movie at Hollywood. These are just a few of the many side quests in the game, and the side quests are generally fun to play with, since it delves into some of the other characters' histories and personality quirks that might not be apparent in the main storyline.
The AI of the enemies you run into for battles are aggressive. They're smarter, and they're not afraid to target the magic users or healers if they can. In fact, some of the boss battles in the game are near impossible without doing some of the aforementioned side quests.
Anything else I need to know?
There are multiple endings to the game, so there's some replay value. People who are new to the series should enjoy the story, and people already familiar with the series should be able to enjoy the gameplay once more.
Final Verdict: 8.5/10. The Shadow Hearts series has been compared to the Final Fantasy series, so if you're tired of the same "press one button, sit back, and watch your characters attack" RPGs, give Shadow Hearts: From the New World a try.
