 "Fun and Unique" | 2009-04-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: APOI5LOXHRZPX |
| This is a fun and unique RPG for anyone looking for a good story, fun game play, and interesting characters. For people who like RPGs, you should least give this game a try. With the unique Judgment ring which I've only ever seen in this game and its sequels (ignore shadow hearts 3 it SUCKS!!), keeps you on your toes and interested in the combat going on. With Great characters and the occasionally funny back and forth banter between them the story fleshes out very well and shouldn't be missed. For anyone with a PS2 or a backwards Compatible PS3 that loves RPGs you should have Shadow hearts 1 & 2 in your collection. =D |
| |
| "Awesome Game!" | 2009-03-04 |
| - Reviewed By User: A27G9LMQTMND03 |
Shadow Hearts is great game, I got it when it first came out in '01 when I was still young. The second you start up the game you get a nice opening FMV (doesn't look so hot now,-almost 8 years later) And within the first few minutes of it there is already some blood n' gore action :D After that the game picks up nicely and one of the first villages you enter is full of BLOOD! The game has a dark and scary atmosphere and was very engaging. So why did I wait so long to review it?
Final Fantasy X
That's right, Shadow Hearts was literally released on the heels of the greatest franchise in gaming, poor SH never stood a chance against it, And I was one of the many who took SH out of the PS2 saying I would play it later. I never did get around to it.
Fast forward to '09, I now have a 60GB PS3, And I have no games to play,no money to buy any games,And I'm waiting for Amazon to ship me one(seriously). So with that said, I was looking for a game to play, I couldn't find anything, so I said to myself ''lets see where I left off in SH'' Turns out I was 9 hours into the game and stuck at Master Xifa's temple, Took me and hour to get out, but after that it didn't take me long to re-introduce myself to it. And after that I let the good times roll, I thought I was almost done with it but, I was far from it, Story was amazing,lots of characters to choose from that are also very likable, The battle system sometimes get flamed, but I don't mind it, good way to keep you on your toes. And I was very shocked to see it was published by midway! (they publish mostly action/fighting games, nevr RPG's) To the best of my knowledge, this was the only RPG midway published.
Pros:
-Excellent story
-Great Characters
-Cool battle system
-Not to long
-Nice Character models
Cons:
-Pre-Rendered environments
-Hard to find (Midways fault for releasing it right before FFX,should have waited a month or two)
-A little bit to easy at times (not really a con, because it is noob-friendly for people just getting into RPG's)
Well that's about it, Was a great game, just wish I would have finished it sooner rather than later :( |
| |
 "Old School RPG" | 2009-02-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1XDURIND45JP0 |
| A great RPG. It requires some skill but is not overly difficult. I enjoyed the whole series. |
| |
| "Not soon forgotten..." | 2008-11-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2Z9S3Z1Y407H9 |
I feel like the game is only 50% complete, as if only half the game was finished...
And yet, it is the best RPG I've played in a long time. The game is quirky, dark, stylish... It's not as good as I hoped, but the 40 - 50 hours I spent on it, was well worth the ride I recieved.
First off, the music is unique. Not all RPG music is created equal, and this is one of those interesting soundtracks [Same person who did Xenogears contributed]. Unlike a radiant Final Fantasy soundtrack, this one is dark, but brilliant at times.
Second, the artwork in the game is wonderful. Yes, it is.
However, it is low resolution and suffers from that, making the 2d background art pixelated/blurry. Thus the comments about the graphics being poor or something...
But no, the art itself is really interesting and memorable. The attention to unnecessary details in this game made it very enjoyable for me. Areas that are just for transition had some incredible artwork for backgrounds...
Character designs are great. Although it bothers me that all the characters look the same from beginning to end. No costume changes ;(
Character development is good. Sidequests are a must! Do those and you'll get some scenes that'll make you appreciate the characters that much more. The game doesn't feel as complete without them...
How many games make you dislike a character/want to get rid of him, and before you realize it you've suddenly become attached saying don't go!
Battles and the judgement ring stuff are pretty straight forward. It keeps you interested from beginning to end, but it's not revolutionary.
Like I said in the beginning, the game feels like it's only 50% complete. If it had been fleshed out however, you'd walk away from this game saying it should be a Final Fantasy or maybe better in terms of quality...
But even if it isn't complete, I loved the adventure, and those moments of brilliance. Downside is I'm left craving more... [gimme an expansion! arghhhhh!] |
| |
| "Solid, and well done!" | 2008-09-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: AG2SZ238GJFZ8 |
Shadow Hearts - The best RPG you've never played. That's right. This largely unplayed (and possibly unheard of) game is extremely good.
The characters are really likable, each one has depth, and it's easy to feel like you know them all.
The story is extremely compelling and deep. Full of twists and turns, always keeps you on your toes and not knowing what to expect.
The gameplay itself, while short on hours, is nonetheless great. The Judgement Ring system seems kind of rough at first, but easily becomes second nature within an hour or so in. There's everything you'd expect in a good RPG, towns with shops and vendors, hidden items everywhere, weapon/armor upgrades, random battles, turn based combat, etc. There is however no summoning, instead the main character Yuri can actually fuse with demons he's killed and become them. It works well, and it's pretty cool.
The graphics are where the game falls short, having been made for the PS1 originally, looks very much like FF7, at least to me. The cut-scenes and CGI however are still fairly good, and the spell animations are bright, and colorful.
The music is nothing short of awesome, and really helps to set the mood of the dark story.
I highly recommend this game to any lover of old-school type RPG's, namely the FF7/Dragon Quest series - but remember, Shadow Hearts is unique at the same time, and it doesn't try to be a FF clone.
With that said - Enjoy! |
| |
 "Decent, for what it is" | 2008-05-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3UDUP5V4KP81O |
| This is a fairly good game. It is not a great game, nor a terrible game, but simply a decent game. It fails where so many do, in the gameplay. The story is interesting enough, the characters fairly deep, but the combat is, as is all turn-based combat, a crime against gaming. If you like Final Fantasy games, and are looking for something a bit darker, then you will love this game. If you liked Morrowind, Oblivion, or Kingdom Hearts, you may find this game acceptable, as I did. Worth a try, but don't expect a life-changing experience. |
| |
