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Shadow Hearts franchise

G

Gamedude

Member
Beside all those Xbox 360 hype threads (ZOMG PD0) it's time for another PS2 RPG thread.
I was always interested in the Shadow Hearts franchise, though I never bought one of the 2.

Shadow Hearts: http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/459510.asp?q=shadow hearts
avg score of 76%

Shadow Hearts 2: Covenant: http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/915253.asp?q=shadow hearts
avg score of 86%

I was checking the review of SH2 on eurogamer, my favourite gamesite to check out reviews, and they said the following:

Fans of the original Shadow Hearts (we can't be the only ones, surely?) will enjoy the game but feel a little disappointed, perhaps, by its failure to be as memorable or as high quality as the first title; those who didn't play the original should either track it down (which we really do recommend), or steer clear of this sequel.
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That seems pretty odd, they are kinda saying the opposite

What does GAF think? Should I buy both of them? Is it a direct-sequel? as in: do I know what's going on if I didn't play Shadow Hearts (1) --> I have a problem with time vs games, as many gamers on this board seem to have (: http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=71757) I still have a lot of games to finish:

MGS3, RE4, Conker, KOTOR, ToS, Paper Mario 2, SC3 and a few more

so if you recommend me to play SH1 before I start with SH2 --> it better be worth the time I spend on it. ;p

PS: I didn't hear that much good about Shadow Hearts 3? coming from Duckroll and Bebpo
Does Shadow Hearts 2 end with an open-ending? So you are basically forced to play Shadow Hearts 3 if you want to know how it all truely ends
 
I enjoyed playing SH:Covenant even without having played the original. The problem is, if you are planning on tracking down the first game, Covenant is loaded with spoilers. I still want to play SH1 eventually but I pretty much know how everything will unfold now that I've beaten Covenant.

As far as I know, the upcoming SH3 has very little to do with the other two. There are no returning lead characters to worry about. I intend to pick it up next year even if the story is lacking. As long as the gameplay is similar to SH:C I'll be happy.
 
Gamerankings is wrong, Eurogamer is right. Shadow Hearts 1 is better than Covenant when it comes to atmosphere, story, and music. Covenant just has better graphics. You might enjoy Covenant if you like over-the-top silliness, but when I played Covenant I just missed the creepy vibe of the first.
 
Shadow Hearts 1 is the best. That's all I need to say, really. Great game, better than the sequel. But I'm not saying Covenant is bad either. That's a good game as well.
 
Shadow Hearts series:

Graphics, battle system and humor have been improving and added yet
it's been like the opposite for the music, atmosphere and story.
Shadow Hearts I & II are directly connected and have those extra
few Mitsuda tracks that make a whole difference! :D

From the New World may feel like what Chrono Cross was to Chrono Trigger.
It's like you get the idea it's in the same universe but what you'll have come to like
the most (characters, story, atmosphere) are now replaced by new unrelated people,
more fruity colors and the "magic" seems to have gone somewhere else.
 
Raiden said:
Is the Voice-acting really as bad as they claim?
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char_ash.gif

"Well my VA certainly does SH1 justice."

char_brock.gif

"Maybe. But it's mine that really makes the game shine!"

Edit: Don't get me wrong, the game was great, but it certainly wasn't the acting that made it so imo.
 
I really think you should play the first, first. It's not necessary, but it does add to the experience. And the first is a much better game than it got credit for at the time. As a matter of fact a lot of reviewers and gamers got on board with the US series after the 2nd impressed them. I remember starting a thread on old GAF about SH1, and people were barely interested, calling it crap, etc. But while the 2nd is wackier and better looking, there are some great atmospheric twists and themes which shouldn't be missed. It's a hell of a lot more interesting than many rpg's in the genre.
 
The first one is pretty weak, although it has a great localization. It's just a homely game and really fails to do the Judgment Ring system justice -- after about hour five, it becomes completely monotonous.

SH2 is the *vastly* superior sequel that not only upgrades the Judgment Ring system, but really kicks off the core conceit that differentiates the series: the wacky character specific skills and mini-games. It's also a better paced, better looking, and better produced game all around.

I really have no idea why folks would prefer SH1 to SH2, save some non-specific personal hand waving about the assumed "darker" atmosphere of Part 1.
 
Drinky Crow said:
SH2 is the *vastly* superior sequel that not only upgrades the Judgment Ring system, but really kicks off the core conceit that differentiates the series: the wacky character specific skills and mini-games. It's also a better paced, better looking, and better produced game all around.
Click to expand...
This is the second time I've agreed with you today. (Third if you count the development cycle affecting proper implementation of solid programming design, but thats a different thread).
 
Drinky Crow said:
I really have no idea why folks would prefer SH1 to SH2, save some non-specific personal hand waving about the assumed "darker" atmosphere of Part 1.
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Because the music is far superior and the storyline is more refined. Also Yuri was at his best in Shadow Hearts 1. He becomes a pussy in Shadow Hearts 2.
 
Given that the difference in atmosphere and characterization between the two is at BEST marginal and given the overwhelming superiority of the mechanics and pacing in SH2, yeah, I'd say the atmosphere is pretty damn trivial.

Really, an emphasis on something as nebulous as "atmosphere" (literally) is an utterly personal point of distinction, making it almost meaningless and hence "trivial". I know some of you wacky kids substitute the miserable plots of most RPGs for legitimate reading exercises, but that doesn't really validate the notion that the difference between two crappy RPG narratives is something only of worth in messageboard debates.
 
Drinky Crow said:
Are you trying to change the subject?
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Of course not. Shadow Hearts is pretty much mainly about atmosphere in my opinion. It was the main draw in. And then they took away Yuri's personality and turned him into Squall and then used crappy quality music (the OST version is great, at least) and shrinked the judgement ring to make it clearer or "harder" to use I guess. It has some nice things behind it but the story and music still isn't as good. Plus being forced to hear the poor voice acting most of the time isn't really fun at all.
 
And I'm saying quite a few folks don't play RPGs for the "atmosphere," and that one man's bad "atmosphere" is another man's good one -- it's a completely personal distinction and is ultimately trivial to a public discussion. Throw in the fact that in 90% of all cases arguing over which console RPG has a better plot is like debating whose lawn has prettier dog turds, and you have a case where "trivial" is *precisely* the modifier I was looking for.
 
Drinky Crow said:
And I'm saying quite a few folks don't play RPGs for the "atmosphere," and that one man's bad "atmosphere" is another man's good one -- it's a completely personal distinction and is ultimately trivial to a public discussion.
Click to expand...

And I believe gameplay could be explained the same way. As well as everything else opinion involved :lol
 
Gameplay can be discussed in terms of its component mechanics and the rules that define them. Personal evaluations of those elements can be discussed.

"Atmosphere" is a completely meaningless term that can include any number of internal or external factors, or be as completely intangible as the temperature of the room the day you were playing the game. It's not worth discussing.
 
Meh the atmosphere I'm talking about is the game overall not involving the random battle gameplay. The music, the surroundings, the dialogue.
 
Okay, about "atmosphere", perhaps it's the choice of words here.

Taking FFX to X-2 for example. Although not as much, for
SH to SHII they "toned down" the seriousness and dark approach.
Going with a more lively setting/mood even though it's a direct sequel.

Like the torture stuff in the first isn't meant for comedy.
In the 2nd they really went for the jokes.
It's the way they pulled things off in a lighter manner.

Although it's for another reason that they gave an M rating to the first and T for the 2nd,
(short cutscene in the beginning) it's pretty fit for both when it comes to that.
 
I have Covenant but have yet to open the plastic wrap. I really want to find the first one and play it before Covenant, but it's pretty hard to find even used in stores.
 
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