So, after playing Shadow Hearts: Covenant I was about ready to dive into the next game in the series. Covenant was a game that had a fun battle system, crazy cast of characters and, well… A story that, while interesting, was a bit to straightforward for my tastes. There were just not enough twists to keep me hooked. Still, it was a fun game and I enjoyed it. But this review is suppose to be about the third game in the series, Shadow Hearts: From the New World.
From the New World takes place during the year 1929, about 10 years after Covenant, and stars a new main character named Johnny Garland, a 16 year old wannabe detective. Johnny gets a job from a mysterious man named Gilbert to find a man named Marlow Brown. When Johnny finds him, a portal opens up behind him and a demon jumps out, killing Marlow. The demon turns to Johnny, when another demon bursts through the roof and kills the first demon, saving Johnny. Johnny passes out and later wakes up back home. It’s here we are introduced to the other main character, a Native American woman named Shania. We learn from Shania, and her guardian Natan, that they are demon hunters and they are hunting down Gilbert. It’s about here that the main plot kicks off with the hunt for Gilbert. Along the way you discover two mysterious people named Killer and Lady, and how they connect to the rest of the party.
I liked the plot of From the New World much more then Covenant. While Covenant had a straightforward “save the world” thing going on, From the New World manages to put in more then enough twists to keep the game interesting. Notably too, the characters were fleshed out causing them to be entertaining and likeable. Besides the three mentioned above, the rest of your party is very imaginative and fun to watch. From wacky South American ninja Frank Goldfinger, giant cat and wannabe-actress Mao, German vampire with an eating disorder Hildegard Valentine and Mexican guitarist Ricardo Gomez. Likewise, the three villains are notably fleshed out. By the end of the game, I really had trouble calling Lady a villain because she’s a really great and fleshed out character who really didn’t know what she was doing would blow up the world. A few characters even make a reappearance from Covenant, like Lenny Curtis, a former villain now turned into a butler. The series version of Cid, Roger Bacon, also makes a reappearance, but sadly his old voice actor was ditched for a new guy that changes his voice from believable old man to really f-ing annoying. Finally, some characters from history also show up, with versions of Al Capone, Eliot Ness and H.P. Lovecraft all making appearances in the game.
Since you do need to kill monsters and shit every now and again, there is a need for a battle system. From the New World has one of the more interesting battle systems I’ve seen in an RPG. While at first glance it looks a bit like an Final Fantasy X rip-off, there is a lot more at play then meets the eye. The first, and most important, thing you will notice is the Judgment Ring. This is a ring that determines everything from how many times you attack to if you hit for extra damage. It’s a simple system that just requires you to hit the X button at the right time, yet it does add an extra touch of interactivity rather then just mashing X to attack. Beyond this, enemies also have three different areas they could be in. While all enemies are in the middle area, flying ones are also in high while grounded ones are in low. This effects the kinds of attacks you can use, and if you need to knock an enemy up or down to use them. There is also a stock gauge which you can use to use doubles and combos. Likewise, there are knock back attacks that lower an enemies stock, something very important to use. There is also a system to learn stellar magic, the various spells of the game. Each character also has their own unique skills to go with them. The game sits at one of the easier RPG that I have played. There are no annoying spikes in difficulty for the game, with the exception of the last boss, but even that can be beaten at lower levels with the right strategy and equipment. Overall, the game manages to remain balanced, fun and have enough interesting things going on in the fights to keep you from calling it just another RPG.
Graphic wise, From the New World looks like a Ps2 game that came out in 2006. This is mostly because it is a Ps2 game that came out in 2006. There are quite a few full motion videos and they stand out as some of the best visuals of the game. The art design stands out, with many of the monsters taking inspiration from Lovecraft. The locations are nice to look at as well. Standing out among the crowd would be the Uynui Salt Lake which looks beautiful, and the hellish looking Gate. On the audio side of things the music falls into a hit or miss category. Again, there are a few interesting stand outs, like the battle music which has ominous Latin chanting. On the other hand, I could have done without the J-pop credits song. Just like the music, voice acting falls under hit-and-miss again. The main characters have some good actors who are a joy to listen to. The side characters… well, I couldn’t find the mute button fast enough. Rodger Bacon stands out as the worst of the bunch, and I know this is the second time I’ve mentioned him. It’s just that bad.
Overall, From the New World was one of the better Ps2 RPGs that I have played. I would go to say that it is the best of the three Shadow Hearts games, but I still need to play the first one. What I found was an interesting plot, entertaining characters, a fun battle system and some shinys to look at. While it may not be the best RPG of all time, I would put it higher on my list then most. This is definitely a game that most RPG fans may just want to look into.
