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Biggest surprise of the year

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 75 / 80
Date: December 31, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Midway is publishing an RPG? Surprisingly enough, yes, and it happens to be a well-translated adaptation of a fine Japanese RPG. Featuring a dark, macabre story and premise, memorable characters, as well as some of the finest music compositions yet heard on the PS2, it is not an RPG to be missed by any fan of the genre.

This game was created by ex-Squaresoft members who left Squaare and created a development company called Sacnoth. Much like Monolithsoft, developers of the upcoming prequel to Xenogears, Xenosaga, Sacnoth members were sick of creating yet more Final Fantasy related games and wanted to do something different. And something different Shadow Hearts certainly is.

The game features a Square-esque polish, so it is solid in its presentation and has excellent character and plot development. Unlike Square's recent Final Fantasy games, however, you end up playing more than watching.

Pros:
Dark, unique story and good character development
Excellent dialog breathes life into the characters
Beautiful and haunting musical score.

Cons:
Graphics are dated (true gamers realize the unimportance of pretty graphics)
Battle system a little too simple.

So please, put down Final Fantasy X and pick this game up. FFX will be there tomorrow, however, this game may not. This is because it will most likely be overlooked due to FFX's early release date. Don't let that happen, you'll be missing out on one of the best RPG's to come our way in quite a while.

Ignore the bad reviews, a true game will love this game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 28 / 31
Date: February 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because I saw a friend (A true RPGer to the core) playing it and I liked what I saw. I personally like RPGs but I was really more of a mainstream gamer (FFs, PE, WA, and other RPGs you will recognize by acronyms). When I got home and played it I loved it just as much as I had anticipated. To save time and space and make everything easier for everyone, I will finish this review in the Pros vs Cons format.

Pros:
Solid story involving dark scenes, cool characters, and plot twists.
Timed hits!!!
Non-ATB battle system
Cool environments
Good graphics
The game just causes you to have a fun time

Cons:
Story forces you to use characters against your will
Battles can get boring with basic 2 attackers and a healer as a required strategy
... Japanese music and names

Now a section for the RPG players with a basic outline of the game:
Turn based battle similar to CTB from FFX and FFT but you can't see the upcoming turns
Just about everything is timed hits
3 character party
Characters have specific special attacks placing them in either attacker or healer class with no customizability
Gain a level, gain a spell system
Lower scale where 999 HP, MP, Damaage, so on is the max but everything has a perfect balance including money
Extra stat called SP, lose 1 point every turn. If it gets to 0 character berserks and may attack own party. Continues to drop into negatives unless items are used.

That's about it. A must have for any RPG fan and a GREAT game all things being considered

Shadow Hearts just plain RULES!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 21
Date: June 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

... For me, Shadow Hearts is right up there with Final Fantasy 10, and even higher. Great graphics, excellent storyline, and especially great battle system. The new "Judgement Ring" gives a new twist to the game, and all out I'd say that any true RPG fan would love this game. It's got everything. Don't let the beginning fool you; once you really get into the plot, you'll get my point. The story can be different depending on which path you take, so choose wisely. And as for the characters... Yuri's the star of the game, and I would say he's the ultimate RPG character, unlike Tidus from FFX. Yuri can fuse with souls from certain monsters from the Graveyard, which makes his special attacks amazing. His partner, Alice's offense is pretty weak, but she makes up for that with her magic moves. And the Malice (rhymes with Alice) is pretty cool too, just don't get it red. So, in all that, Shadow Hearts is the best RPG game ever; I can't wait to see what the company comes up with next! So, if you want a great game with twists and all that, you've found it.

A "dark" RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 22
Date: December 20, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Exorcist Alice Elliot is the focal point of the game Shadow Hearts. She is the young woman you see being held by Yuri Hyuga, a "harmonixer", in the cover photograph. In this dark RPG, many characters are encountered and quite a few pass through your party. The reason I call is dark is due to the fact that I never ventured into a cannibal town in any Final Fantasy game. (There's quite a lot of blood, language, and sexual innuendos that earned it the "M" rating.) Shadow Hearts introduces the use of the judgment ring, which determines the outcome of your actions. It requires practice, but using it successfully greatly increases the effectiveness of attacks, spells, and item usage. Also, in addition to HP and MP, there is a SP or sanity point gauge. Each action in battle costs one SP and when all points are depleted, the character goes "berserk" and can potentially kill fellow party members. Also, each action a berserked character takes sends the gauge into NEGATIVE numbers, which is obviously bad.
As mentioned previously, Yuri is a harmonixer, meaning that he can fuse with specific monsters. (Think self-contained Guardian Forces/Aeons.) These monsters must be defeated and attained in The Graveyard, a place full of sorrowful souls in Yuri's mind. The Graveyard is also where Yuri must quiet the malice accumulated from defeated enemies. Each character has a unique second skill that relates to their innate element and personality. In conclusion, the graphics are beautiful...the story is brilliant...and the game play is innovative and fun. Shadow Hearts will make a great addition to any RPG collection, even for a die-hard Final Fantasy fan.

A great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 24
Date: December 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I just got my PS2 and I needed a game.I was looking for an RPG but not one of the traditional ones. And that's how I came across Shadow Hearts. I started the game and in the beginning of the game the CG graphics were pretty good. The Judgement Ring system made the fight scences more interesting. The game is a mix of Horror and RPG and with a Mature rating is really made for people who don't mind an occasional blood and gore scene. I found the story to be very deep and it made you want to play the game to the end just to find out more about the character's past. The music is one of the highlights with music that blends in with the scenario. With over 100 monsters you fight and an intriguing plot line, this is a must have.

You never know whats gonna happen next :)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is pretty awesome. It has its pros and cons like any other game. The graphics, I admit, could be a lot better, but the story line is really interesting. There is A LOT of reading, and the fighting isnt all that tough (ofcourse I'm using codes). But I still think its worth it. It took me a little while to get into it, but it's addicting. And they're coming out with a sequel too. Hopefully they'll have voice overs though. If your into Final Fantasy and other games like that, I'd buy it. Otherwise I'd borrow it or rent it from somewhere.

The best game EVER !!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: February 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is awesome! Our hero in this game, Yuri, can fuse some incredible monster with his body and kill all the enemy with one blow. The battle system here is kinda like FF, but we use a ring called the judgement ring. There are also some sidequest you can do, sometimes, you can obtain the ultimate weapon for your party member or the ultimate fusion monster for Yuri, the Seraphic Radiance (I've got it and i still can't stop being proud of it.) through those sidequest. This game is the very great one that all gamer must own.

One of the best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is one of my favorite RPG - I've gotten many many hours of enjoyment without the normal frustration you get with many of the games because you have to have the reflexes of a ten year old. As an adult player - I truly recommend this one - it's a keeper.

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 5
Date: December 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game. It has everything an rpg should and is unique in many ways. Especially the ring of judgement. It has an intriguing story line and is a welcomed change for any rpg gamer.

Most excellent!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 18
Date: July 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I really loved this game. I'm a big fan of RPGs and this reminded me forcefully of a RPG (Not computer/game console based) I used to play with a number of college friends. The dark fantasy story line appealed to me greatly, and there was even a romance sub-plot (better & better). I liked the Judgement Ring, which helped pull you into the game, since you actually had to concentrate on the controls in order to get it right; in the beginning, it's just as if you're learning the skill along with the characters, and the level of difficulty in making the hits can get harder (but not impossible). Lots of monsters and villians for you to kill, too. Characters are good, and I'm glad they finally added Sanity Point system to a dark fantasy RPG. My only peeves: 1. The main female protagonist has a very low pointage (on almost all counts except magic) in the beginning, but if you're patient enough to level her up, she has a final spell that will knock just about everyone's socks off. 2: Some of the secrets are very hard to find out about; even though I've beaten the game a couple of times, I still haven't gotten through all the side-quests (Hee, hee). But still and all, this a great game. Check it out if you want something just a little bit different.

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