Current Events > shadow hearts is a great game

(+) Yeah! (+)

my first playthrough of it and it has exceeded my expectations tbh...is covenant even better? i have heard it is the best but the original one is really solid itself so far. i just made it to prague btw

@Shotgunnova
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I think it's a lot better than the original, yeah. Both games are great though and From the New World is pretty good as well
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ultimate reaver posted...

I think it's a lot better than the original, yeah. Both games are great though and From the New World is pretty good as well

i have heard a lot of people critical of new world but the reviews for it are pretty solid. i bought all 3 and plan on playing them in order. expected the original to be good but it has been even better than i expected so far
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Hear about this game often. How good is the: plot, gameplay, music, lore/world building?
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never playyed it, but i've played and beaten Covenant which is amazing. great story, characters, gameplay, world, and music.

i should play it and new world tbh
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MelzezDoor posted...

Hear about this game often. How good is the: plot, gameplay, music, lore/world building?

so far the plot is really solid and the pacing is good too. also, combat is refreshing and a lot of fun for an rpg of that era. different mechanics than the norm but a lot of fun. the world is unique in that it is set in pre world war 1 asia to start and then transitions to europe. it incorporates real world elements of that era with fantasy elements to make a unique and refreshing experience. i am only 20 hours in so far but i find myself craving the next time i get to play when i am not playing.

Paper_Okami posted...

never playyed it, but i've played and beaten Covenant which is amazing. great story, characters, gameplay, world, and music.

i should play it and new world tbh

yeah i am really looking forward to covenant as i have heard it is the best in the series but the original is great and definitely worth a play imo as someone that is probably not even halfway through the game
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andel posted...

so far the plot is really solid and the pacing is good too. also, combat is refreshing and a lot of fun for an rpg of that era. different mechanics than the norm but a lot of fun. the world is unique in that it is set in pre world war 1 asia to start and then transitions to europe. it incorporates real world elements of that era with fantasy elements to make a unique and refreshing experience. i am only 20 hours in so far but i find myself craving the next time i get to play when i am not playing.

Neat. Thanks for reminding me of this. Should try to actually get around to playing it this time.
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Yes, Covenant is head and shoulders above the original Shadow Hearts. That's not a knock against the original (it's still a really good game), but Covenant is on another level. From The New World was a disappointing game, but it wasn't bad. It was still pretty good, but definitely the weakest link of the series in terms of story and characters. The gameplay was still great though.

MelzezDoor posted...

Hear about this game often. How good is the: plot, gameplay, music, lore/world building?

PLOT & LORE/WORLD BUILDING
It's fantastic. The games take place in rather unique settings and time periods for JRPGs (first two games span across China, Europe and Japan just before and during World War I, and the third game takes place in America and South America in the late 20's). They also feature some re-imagined characters based on real historical figures (Rasputin, Princess Anastasia Romanov, Al Capone, etc). The games also mix humor with rather dark storylines and moments (though if I remember correctly there's considerably more humor in the second and third games compared to the first).

GAMEPLAY
This is one of the series' real standout features. It's a turn-based RPG, but it utilizes a system called the Judgment Ring. Basically any time you use an attack, skill or item the game brings up a wheel and spins a hand all the way around it. Depending on what it is you're doing you have to press a button when it reaches certain colored points on the wheel. The colors also have a second, much smaller colored portion that give you extra damage or an extra boost if you hit them. So the game requires you to constantly be focused on combat (instead of just mashing an attack button).

In the later games they introduce a combo system where you can do various types of regular attacks (standard, high angle to knock the enemy into the air, knock-down to hit an airborne enemy into the ground, and knock-back to push the enemy away). You can also chain these hits between party members (resulting in one long combo against an enemy). Here's a demo video posted by IGN from way back explaining it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmYeHdwOpfo" data-time="

MUSIC
Great soundtracks between all three games (though again I feel Covenant had the best overall). Here's just a few samples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGWVzDhDHMc" data-time="

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcm3ak-SLqM" data-time="

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaRmFcPG7o8" data-time="

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU1Z5UwBlQo" data-time="
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Actually you know what, I deleted my entire post. The more I think about it the more I feel it could have some noticeable spoilers for the first game, which @andel hasn't finished yet.

Suffice to say I'll also chime in and say the series is great and Covenant is probably one of my favorite PS2 games ever (and easily in my top 20 of all time).
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M_Live posted...

This is a game I always wanted to try but never got the chance to

that is how i was until i picked it up. i ordered like 50 ps1/ps2 games recently on amazon and this is the first one i am playing because i always wanted to check out the series and just never did back in the day. so far it has exceeded my (high) expectations.

BMXJouster posted...

Actually you know what, I deleted my entire post. The more I think about it the more I feel it could have some noticeable spoilers for the first game, which @andel hasn't finished yet.

Suffice to say I'll also chime in and say the series is great and Covenant is probably one of my favorite PS2 games ever (and easily in my top 20 of all time).

thanks man. i didnt see your initial post but i appreciate you not leaving spoilers up. i am pumped to get home tonight and continue playing. the asia part of the game was great and i am currently about to go to the first dungeon in prague. also i am really pumped about covenant considering how much i like this game and all the acclaim i have read about covenant. the ps2 is one of my favorite consoles and so far shadow hearts is up there with anything on ps2 as far as how much i am drawn in and wanting to play more

@BMXJouster
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andel posted...

thanks man. i didnt see your initial post but i appreciate you not leaving spoilers up. i am pumped to get home tonight and continue playing. the asia part of the game was great and i am currently about to go to the first dungeon in prague. also i am really pumped about covenant considering how much i like this game and all the acclaim i have read about covenant. the ps2 is one of my favorite consoles and so far shadow hearts is up there with anything on ps2 as far as how much i am drawn in and wanting to play more

I should clarify that nothing I typed up was spoilers necessarily, but the IGN gameplay video showcasing the Judgment Ring system in Covenant and the videos of music tracks from Covenant I posted could potentially spoil you. So that's why I deleted it.

But yeah, if you're loving the original Shadow Hearts I'd like to think Covenant is gonna continue that trend.
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BMXJouster posted...

andel posted...

thanks man. i didnt see your initial post but i appreciate you not leaving spoilers up. i am pumped to get home tonight and continue playing. the asia part of the game was great and i am currently about to go to the first dungeon in prague. also i am really pumped about covenant considering how much i like this game and all the acclaim i have read about covenant. the ps2 is one of my favorite consoles and so far shadow hearts is up there with anything on ps2 as far as how much i am drawn in and wanting to play more

I should clarify that nothing I typed up was spoilers necessarily, but the IGN gameplay video showcasing the Judgment Ring system in Covenant and the videos of music tracks from Covenant I posted could potentially spoil you. So that's why I deleted it.

But yeah, if you're loving the original Shadow Hearts I'd like to think Covenant is gonna continue that trend.

awesome. i recently completed another playthrough of suikoden iii on ps3(psn) and shadow hearts is the first actual ps2 game i am playing out of the dozens that i purchased. it is awesome when you have high expectations for something and it actually exceeds them, definitely planning on playing covenant as soon as i complete the original
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bump
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I'd love an HD compilation of the series. Still need to play the first one, but the second and third games were very fun.

nemu posted...

I'd love an HD compilation of the series. Still need to play the first one, but the second and third games were very fun.

as someone who hasn't played the 2nd or 3rd yet the first is really good like 25 hours in
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It's too bad they were all on the ps2 and didn't get any sequels
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