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Solid RPG

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

They say that 3rd times a charm, and this third installment to the series is no exception. It's a fun game overall, and has an engaging story and cast of characters. There is a lot of micromanagement which can be tedious at times, but it doesn't detract from the game. It's definitely worth the price of admission.

It's not happening this time around

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I've been a huge fan of the Shadow Hearts series, but "From the New World" is the weakest so far. I might be a little biased as I played it immediately after finishing Final Fantasy 12 and it just can't compare to that, but even so I remember having a far better time playing the first game and the sequel, "Covenant". The story of Yuri and Alice really made the first game memorable, and the second was almost as good, with Karin making a very sympathetic female lead. This time, however, I am not warming to any of them.

The story this time is a brand new one. A 16 year old called Johnny Garland has his own detective agency in New York (like all 16 year olds do), and one day a chance visit from a stranger begins a missing person hunt that leads to uncovering an evil force that threatens to wipe out the entire world. Along the way he gathers a team of new friends and so the stage is set for a typical RPG. Now, Shadow Hearts is famous for having off the wall characters and this time is no exception. I thought having the puppet master Gepetto and Princess Anastasia as part of your team in Covenant was whacky enough, but this time around you'll be joined by a giant drunken Kung-Fu cat, a kittenish female Vampire and a comedy Ninja. The trouble is that I'm having a harder time becoming attached to them in this game because they just don't seem to be original creations. Frank the Ninja is a direct copy of Joacim, with his weapon upgrades from found objects, and Hilda the childish and annoying vampire changes form between being fat, skinny or a bat in the same way that Keith and Joacim did. Shania the indian squaw can shape-shift into elemental fusion monsters like Yuri did, and characters learn new moves and spells by finding documents or manuscripts like Karin did. As this is supposed to be a completely new game, I found this amount of repetition in the characters to be very disappointing.

Another thing is that in this day and age, there is no excuse for the playable environments to be so small. New York is represented by four "boroughs", most with just one street and no visitable buildings. Go the wrong way or step off the kerb and you drift back to the world map, showing you how tiny each location is. There's no moveable camera and the scantest populations of NPCs to talk to in each place. The dungeons are little better, relegated to just a few rooms or stages, with no more than about three varieties of enemy in each. You can do each dungeon level and boss in a single sitting and it sometimes seems like the game is whizzing by. The game still plays with "alternative" versions of real places, but it doesn't impress much this time around, with Alcatraz prison and the Roswell UFO site being very lack-lustre.

There are some new ideas, but they are not all good. The stellar chart magic system is terribly clumsy and you have to navigate endless permutations of screens and options to set each character up with decent spells. Plus the stellar charts themselves have to be modified at shops to hold the better magic spells, which makes it even more of a bother. One good thing is that each character has unique abilities, which means that they are not endlessly interchangeable like in some RPGs (even in Final Fantasy 12 you could have built up all the characters in exactly the same way), and this gives some variety.

The best thing about the series, though, is still it's trademark Judgement Ring system, and if you enjoyed the first two games for this reason you will be well served here. The battles have even become more complicated with the introduction of the "Stock" guage, which acts like a meter that fills up when you give or receive damage. This can then be used to unleash devastating linked attacks once filled. Managing Stock is crucial to a good battle, and I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the Combo mechanism, with great results for those who have good reflexes (missing the correct symbol button and breaking a good combo is frustrating but fair, because if you want that 4 chain Combo magic you have to work for it!).

My overall impression is that "From The New World" has been created to ride on the glory of the games before it by simply copying them. It's nowhere near as impressive as "Covenant", and all it's ideas are second hand. It's also trying too hard to be funny. There's scarcely a serious moment in here, or anything approaching the depth or the adult orientated themes that the series did so well in the past. It's all now just a giant cartoon, and while Kung-Fu cats and fat vampires are funny for a while, they don't draw you into the story at all. There is scarcely any plot to speak of as it is, the whole game is just a chase from start to finish, following the villains all around the world. The fun in the game lies with the battles and becoming an expert using the Judgement Ring. Battles are complex and even random encounters need some forethought, especially as there are bonuses available for very good performances (perfect ring turns, enemies killed without having a single turn, etc), so there is a lot to enjoy. Boss battles can be long, but at the same time, the game never gets particularly difficult, and levelling up sems to happen very rapidly so you can easily make a powerhouse team to face almost anything. Sidequests are good - there are seperate side stories for each character which is a nice aspect, and something of a tradition now in the series. It's a shame that these good aspects are not complementing a more impressive basic game, because as it stands, the Judgemant Ring and the good "extras" are the only thing lifting a very short and mediocre RPG plot and characters into being a passable game.

Beautiful...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game, though it starts a little slow, gets better and better by the minute. The interactive battle system, using rings that spin around and around, is a fun addition to this RPG. It draws you slowly into the new Battle System so that it is not hard to get used to. There are also ways to slow the rings and create more opportunities to attack. Enjoyable game with beautiful graphics (mostly the movie modes but still good during gameplay) and even better music with a blend of a Native American style and old western with a modern rock influence. All in all, a great installment of the Shadow Hearts series and a great addition to any RPG collection.

Shadow Hearts: From the New World

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

An awesome RPG adventure with an unforgettable story with amazing game play the best in the series by far a must for RPG fans.

Interesting Twist on RPGs

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Teh combat system is the most interesting thing. Timing and correct button presses make a standard menu-driven RPG more interactive. Don't get me wrong - I'm no fan of the FFIXX/Kingdom Hearts style of full-speed combat RPG, but I do start dozing off sometimes during point-and-click scenarios.
The story itself seems to follow the trend of most modern RPGs: meet characters, learn how to use abilities, level up, save world.
Voice acting is mediocre, and a lot of characters seem to be there just to try and make the game more-notable in a politically correct era.
The game is alright, a nice deviation from most of the norm.

almost as good as its predecessor

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: May 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I thought I was buying Kingdon Hearts II when I bought Shadow Hearts 3. (I don't know what I was thinking, I just remembered Hearts was in the title) To my relief, I fell in love with this game. I played this game before the 1st two simply because I did not know they existed. When I read in a magazine that SH 1 is one of the top 10 rare rpg's to own, I had to have it, along with SH 2.

SH 3 has a new lead character than the 1st two. I know a lot of SH fans miss Yuri, but hey, this is a game, get over it. The characters in this game are equally impressive and hold their own in the game. I have to say that my favorite character would be Shania. She had this "like or not, I don't care attitude" and her fusions are awsome. Especially her La Sirene fusion. She only has 4 spirits she can fuse with unlike Yuri, who had like 20. I think that having just the 4 fusions is much better because it makes game play much easier to strategize.

Each character also had his/her own type weapon to control, like Johnny uses a knife, Shania uses her axes, Natan uses guns for his "Gun Fu". As you advance in the game, you're able to purchase more powerful weapons and better armor. However, do not buy for Frank, all his weapons are either found, or won. Also, only buy for the characters you use the most. Money in this game is not plentiful, unlike the first game. Spend your money wisely!!!

I can't say this game is as good as the 2nd Sh, but at least Sh 3 tries to tie in the 1st two games in a very subtle way. If you have played SH 2, when you are in Times Square in SH 3, you'll notice a shop named Gepetto and Cornelia, sound familiar? Some of you might have seen that the first play through, but I only recently noticed. And the ring spirit, Aya, her "daddy" was the ring soul in Sh 2. I guess they are just trying to keep some familiarity in all the games, sort of like FF did with the Chocobos.

The judgement ring is back and as always, it determines the success (or failure) of your attack, the ring spirit is back, and of course, Roger Bacon is back. If you've never played a SH game and don't know what I'm talking about, not to worry, you really don't need to play the 1st two games to enjoy the third sh installment.

The story is rather straight forward, nothing too complicated, which for me was good. And, if you get bored, go do some side quests, which there are many. Like snap collecting. Johnny takes pictures of all the monsters the team battles. He can then trade those snaps to various snap collectors throughout the game in exchange for rare and even necessary items. Be warned though, in order to open up the hardest side quest in the game, Johnny MUST take a picture of every monster. He might not be able to trade them, but they are necessary.

The battle system is your basic turn based rpg, but the judgement ring is what makes this game different. That is what makes or breaks your attack.

There is also something called Stellar Charts. Equip your characters with a specific Stellar Chart, like Libra, and then you can equip certain stellars to that chart, like Cure. Only Shania doesn't have a Stellar Chart because she had fusion forms. You can then upgrade your stellar chart to make your attacks more powerful and even cost less MP to use. Stellar Charts are a great way to customize your team.

There is so much more I can say about this game, but It's just easier to play. If you want to try an awsome, yet a little out there, rgp, I truly recommend this game.

Hey, if you like cracked out games...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 13
Date: February 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Shadow Hearts: From the New World... Hmm... How to put this...

If you're some Final Fantasy head who has various wet-dreams involving Cloud and Sephiroth in various positions this game isn't for you. If you're a person who has various wet-dreams involving imagination and interesting plot lines in various positions while game mechanics sits off to the side in a dark corner and does who knows what than this game is for you.

A bi disappointing

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 10
Date: November 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

"Freakin sweet, they're making a new Shadow Hearts!" Yeah, when i heard about it i was pretty happy, since the previous Shoadow Hearts games were about my favorite games ever, ranking right up there with the Final Fantasy series, in my opinion. So i go and buy the game and immediately say "...who is this loser playing detective?" First impression of the main character was that he thought he was great, but only because he was some 16 year old punk that didn't know any better yet. 33 seconds into the game and already miss Yuri. Overall game play isn't too bad, tho it's not as fun as Covenant was. I like how they do revisit some of the previous characters (Roger Bacon, Lenny from Sapientes Gladio, and even though i don't care for him Gerard Magimel), but think they could have done better with the playable characters. Frank the "ninja" is really reminiscent of Joachim from Covenant, only even stranger (which i didn't think was possible as i faced "Grand Papillion in battle). Hilda is decent, but the calorie system is a tad annoying, but made necessary by the fact that she has different abilities for each weight/form. I like her being there, once again as a reference to the previous game(the pink bat you fight to get Joachim's second strongest weapon, like Joachim is the gold bat you fight in the first shadow hearts to get Keith's final weapon) The cat is a bit much, as if the wolf in Covenant wasn't bad enough, they decided "hey let's put a giant, talking, drunken cat in this one" All in all, i found myself struggling to keep playing thru to see the end. After a while it just seemed really boring, and i found myself playing Covenant instead a few times, just because it's so great, and this one is so "blah"

good game overall and something I think for everyone

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: November 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Shadow Hearts 3 from the new world is a good game. The battle system is unique, it you have played the other 2 shadow hearts games then you would know of the judgment ring system, if you don't then you will just have to take my word that it adds a fresh spin on turn based battle systems and keeps you on your toes. The music is beautiful and addictive; the graphics are so so for a game coming out this late in the evolution of the PS2. Maybe 1-3 hours of learning curve to get the play down. Characters are original and very unique and entertaining. Not as good as final fantasy of course but a good solid RPG I think anyone would enjoy so long as you are open to the battle system.

Lmao just about the whole way through.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: August 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Right from the beginning this game is filled with wacky, crazy, just complete out of this world humor. As for that are like omg the gay biker merchant just hit on my 16 your old (who isn't really 16 btw.. but you'll find that out later if you actually play it long enough :P ) isn't funny then maybe you need to lighten up and go out and get a sense of humor. This game has everything from crazy super hero ninjas, talking drunken master cats, sushi gone wild, transforming vampire that has to watch her diet, native American gunslinger and spirit summoner (basically) team that fights off evil demons. Who all get throw together to fight a evil being and her serial killer boyfriend followed by a evil scientist to stop them from destroy the world. Sure some of the stuff is retarded, but hey how often do you get to play a RPG full of wacky humor? The story is actually really good and at the end I was really happy I played this game. I would say it's one of the best RPGs lately to come out for the PS2. The combat system is pretty cool Judgment ring that you can use to link combos and special attacks through. Example is I really like to do Double combos and it's where I'll build so much (TP basically) that I'll link every character together with double attacks. It's really in-depth how you have to use the attacks to watch where they land (ground, middle, or in the air) to match the next attack. I really liked this battle system and the fusion abilities to change into powerful beings were really amazing too. Best combo to date was a 132 hit combo for 5000 ish damage. Did that on a special boss fight ;) not saying any names. It has tons of side quests in this game not as many as say FFX, but a lot. In all beating this game and collecting everything it's about 50 hours of play. A lot of RPGs in the past I've been disappointed with one way or another, but truly this was a wonderful game and only reason I'm even giving it 4 stars is just because this is the 3rd part of a series and part was actually the best one. Though I think this one comes in second.

Key points
1) Very nice battle system
2) Really really funny storyline that has a seriousness to it when it needs to be
3) Nice slightly better then average graphics
4) Has a wonderful soundtrack and voice acting was really good
5) Lots of side quests
6) Game play never seemed to get boring actually played this pretty much none stop since the first day and very few RPGs keep me that in grossed.

Check it out a RPG that won't disappoint.

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