LogFAQs > #933871398

#73. Shadow Hearts


Shadow Hearts is a strange game, and it leans into the strangeness. Yuri Hyuga is first introduced to us as Rude Hero and has the ability to transform into a variety of monsters. Usually the JRPG hero starts off pathetically weak, but Yuri shows off his strength right away, both in battle and in cutscenes. The first town you visit in the game is a village of cannibals possessed by demon cat spirits. The game has sparse (and often so bad its good) voice acting and chooses to use one of those times to have Sea Mama tell you a story where she often says Shloop over and over again. Theres a scene where the villain is maniacally laughing as he tries to make a getaway, and he gets hit in the back of the head by some debris and shouts, Doh! The game was released a week before Final Fantasy X, but it looks and feels like it should be a PS1 game.

I say all that, but it actually enhances Shadow Hearts! The atmosphere is what makes this game what it is. Its dark and grim. Theres not a lot of bright optimism and hope in this story. Yuri Hyuga is a fantastic protagonist who doesnt take crap from anyone and is always down for a fight, both physically and verbally. He reminds me a lot of Cloud in that he spends most of the game dealing with his inner demons, except this time its quite literal. They even make it an important gameplay and plot element. Its really well done. I like the Judgment Ring battle system, where each character has a unique ring where a dial spins around and you have to time it just right to hit in certain zones to attack. Theres an area where the attack/spell will be more effective, and its a lot of fun trying to nail the timing of it.

I really like the setting for Shadow Hearts, too. Its set during the World War I era, and you get to visit real locations that were relevant during that time period. You even get to recruit a historical figure into your party at one point, which was really cool. I dont want to go into too much detail for spoiler reasons, obviously, but if youre a fan of JRPGs with a grim atmosphere, a dark sense of humor, and a strong cast with a good villain (I havent even touched on him, but hes hard to talk about without spoilers. Lets just leave it at that), then I cant recommend Shadow Hearts more highly. It's a very obscure game (as evidenced by its contest showings) that deserves some more recognition and love. One of these days I even hope to make user SaveEstelle finish this game! He made it to the final dungeon and stopped just short for whatever the reason.

---

http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/080/145/638.png
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq