One of the best rpgs out there. Addictive battle system, clever script, very high production values, massive and unique.
In the first Shadow Hearts, it is only a matter of an hour or so before you are dragged into a very humourous horror-themed mini-story that is instantly engaging. This sequel takes a bit longer to pick up, mostly due to the huge ranges of the storyline that need time to unravel, but the payoff comes soon enough and is worth it.
The story follows up from the end of Shadow Hearts, following the "bad ending". It is impossible to describe the storyline without spoiling one of the two possible endings from the first game, but I'll put it in brackets just in case you desire to forego this part.
[GAAHSPOILER --- Despite Yuri's efforts, Alice passes away. The beginning of Shadow Hearts II takes place less than a year later. He has no time to grieve, as malevolent forces are continuing to zero in and him and his future comrads.. /SPOILERDONE]
Okay now the following should be spoiler-free. The first Shadow Hearts managed to be both humorous and dramatic in nearly equal portions. It was amusing and disturbing, much like how the gameplay was so fun but the backdrops could be horrific and bathed in the supernatural.
Shadow Hearts II follows up on that same idea, but manages to build upon it by many times, create a giant epic storyline taking place after the turn of the century, some threads of it which are inspired by events that took place in real life. But it goes far in every direction, whether the mood be comedic or dramatic. The enemies and plot twists are many.
All of it is held together by the main character, Yuri. He is almost (not entirely, but more so than not) the opposite of what has come to be known as the generic rpg hero, and he ends up being a refreshing character. Despite some awful translation choices that I'll get into in the audio section of this review, he is very easy to like. He has managed to overcome some terrible events in his life, and face the future with good humor- but he doesn't quell the dark side within him, he is quite frank about his feelings. He has ethics and a good heart- but he has no desire to be a saint, and will become bloodthirsty when pushed to the brink.
Whether he's going through hell or enjoying himself, he seems natural and easy to relate to. Thankfully his chancely companions are also well-written. They are also all new.
First is Karin, a lonely swordswoman who is quickly tags alongside Yuri in hopes to unravel an awful turn of events that she could have unwittingly helped provoke. There is another amusingly brusque but wise old guy like Zhuzhen from the original Shadow Hearts, there is a wolf- who this time can talk and set up a chain of amusing side quests, a princess from Russia named Anastasia *hinthint*, a bishounen samurai (you know, a bonus for the girls), a beautiful fortune teller, and finally one of my favorites, a passionately funny vampire who acts like a body-building Wakka on huge doses of caffeine.. it is easy to tell that these are quirky characters, and they go well with the changing tides of the storyline and making it very multi-faceted and different.
Characters from the first game also make tiny cameos that you can seek out-, which is a treat. But overall Shadow Hearts II thrives on it's own fresh settings.
The villians are just as interesting- and sometimes surprisingly sympathetic, as they seem just as strong in characterization. Like in all drawn-out videogames, the main boss and the reason for incoming disastor are not quickly revealed, and the outcome can be admirably unpredictable. Even when it is isn't at it's strongest, the writing and construction of the world is solid enough to make it readable. (or in this case, watchable.)
-- Gameplay/Difficulty Level/Side Quests
The original Shadow Hearts had a dynamic battle system. It all centered around what was called the "Judgement Ring". A hand (not an actual hand, think the minute hand on a clock) spins around a circle that has certain areas shaded in, and pressing the X button at the right time (when the hand is on a shaded area) would result in a successful action. Whether that action be solving a puzzle, attacking an enemy, applying a healing spell, or testing your skills to get get some special items. Intense precision was rewarded with better results. It was a unique implementation that worked well and never became boring. It does not sound as good as it plays though, so I'd recommend watching some videos or just trying it for yourself to get a better feel for how it works.
Now this sequel does more than just bring back that idea, it quadruples the possiblities, sharpens the mechanics, and makes the system go from intruiging to an utterly solid turning point in new design that future roleplaying games should try to work torward. The new features in this battle system include many varients of the judgement ring in size, difficulty level, speed, number of hit zones, and a bunch more. The characters can be easily customized via the expansive menus. Equipped items and status effects can change the ring, and thus, change your timing and strategy from character to character in each battle (particularly boss fights). It is easy to see your actions in battle change over time, as you take preference upon certain characters. Each one is very worthwhile though, and has a wide range of different special attacks. Many of which are acquired in side quests and hidden areas. Yuri can still shape-shift into a demon, only rather than just having 8 possible demon forms, he now has over 30, and there is another character similar to him that will join your party later in the game.
Aside from HP and MP, SP returns again. SP are sanity points. This is how they work- certain characters have special powers and when used too often, their SP will deplete. When it becomes zero the character will go "insane" just like a confusion status effect in other rpgs. Some monsters can attack your SP. The SP system works pretty well, as it can limit how powerful you are and plays a role in what you decide to do during battles. The length of battles is also a nice feature- you will be rewarded with additional experience, money, or an item if you finish battles (especially boss battles) swiftly, further encouraging speed and skill.
The only weak point- it was not a weak point for me, but others could consider it a giant misstep.. the difficulty level is brought down several notches. Even the most challenging hidden bonus features are overcome with minimal pain unless you carefully try to bring some artificial challenge by underleveling and not exploring all of the features available to you. But going at the general pace results in a game that is very low on tension and problem solving. This did not interfere with my enjoyment, and I was able to clock over 100 hours without getting bored.
The dungeons are big and often contain puzzles. While not superbly clever, they are enjoyable to complete and impressive in number at least. You are often met with a boss at the end of your trek, one that has certain weaknesses to be discerned. Save points are strewn kindly, and while I did face the game over screen once and awhile, I don't recall having to redo areas.
There are many towns (or rather, cities) strewn around the world map. It truly is a world map, borrowing locations from both the east and west. While the 3rd person perspective does not allow for the best view of your surroundings, they are still lovingly detailed- and surprisingly not at all dull despite the aged (this is the 1900s after all) and often dark settings.
When you're not exploring towns and dungeons, defeating bosses, and furthering the story, there are a myriad of side quests to explore. By myriad I mean at least 30-40 hours of additional quests to uncover and complete in order to experience bonus events in the storyline, do every single mini-game, and just try to get 100% completion. Vital to getting the best weapons, items, armor, max out your magic/skills/demon soul list. Even if you're not not a completist, even dabbling in the side quests is enjoyable and can easily ratchet the already addictive gameplay to an admirable length. As mentioned, I finished the game at a little over 100 hours with 100% completion.
So I'm guessing the average gamer could get at least 60 hours, or at the very very least 40 hours from this game. It is worth every cent. The side quests fall into different categories- some are rather well hidden and don't occur till quite late in the game. Talking to certain characters will trigger new areas on the map to explore, old dungeons will sometimes have new areas or portals open for exploration, there are hidden bosses, a sort of tournament with rules (like a battle arena) to collect the best demon soul for Yuri, playing the lottery (this was also in Shadow Heats, and here it has been expanded upon a great deal more), playing many other mini-games, and alot of dueling to get new skills- and several more all over the place. The volume of them make for some of the best bonus areas I've seen in any rpg.
There are two endings, and thankfully you don't have to play through the game twice in order to get them (unless you save at an obviously wrong time very late in the game.) Both are short, but incredibly good and open to interpretation. Always a treat for those who value a good storyline in their rpgs. Anyway, I recommend reading GameSpot's review of this game as they do a better job at describing the story than I do. ^^;
-- Graphics
There are many rpgs out there on the PS2 that are not quite awesome in this category, rather, adhearing to older graphical styles in favor of other elements. It is nice to see a game in this day and age that delivers both fantastic gameplay and fantastic, cutting edge graphics. The in-game graphics are not amazing- such as while running through dungeons and towns, it is a 3rd person perspective, but still detailed enough to be solid.
However, the very frequent cut-scenes are just beautiful. The character designs are great, and we are often treated to CG that is as good as anything Square has come out with, and just among the best the PS2 has to offer.
-- Sound
I loved the soundtrack to the original Shadow Hearts. It is one of my favorite game soundtracks to this day. You know you love an OST when you sit in an area for a prolonged amount of time just to hear the background music more than once. The music added so much to the atmosphere, and was just so unique and full of personality. So understandably, Shadow Hearts 2 had alot to live up to. It does meet my expectations halfway. It is very good- as good as anything else out there, but doesn't quite have that extra oomph to make it really compelling.
Now the voice acting.. in Shadow Hearts, it was terrible. Laughably terrible. And thankfully very infrequent. Shadow Hearts II has a new cast that give performances that are up-to-par with everything else out there right now. A mammoth step up from it's predecessor, and very listenable. Except for the phrases during and after battles- but those are bad in ALL games, so that is not an issue.
All translations seemed spot-on.. except for one catch-phrase that Yuri uses at the most inoppurtune times. I refuse to believe that it is a suitable translation of whatever he said in the original japanese audio track. It is just one thing, just two words, and no matter how miniscule it is my soul dies a little every time I hear it. -_- But since that is only two words out of.. a great countless many, I would never dare deduct from the score for that.
-- So overall..
Pros
- Fantastic graphics during cut-scenes, top-notch character designs
- Great storyline, interesting characters and varying tone. It can be hilarious at times and disturbing or touching at others. It takes awhile to reach it's peak though.
- Battle system expands the original in many great ways.
- Every inch of the game, whether it be dungeons or bosses, towns or side quests, or the in-game encyclopedia and collective of cinematics, all have an astonishing amount of detail and high quality.
- The length of the game is satisfying, and potentially very long (I clocked in at 100 hours) if you explore the many optional quests and areas.
Cons
- Character development is lacking, some characters get too little facetime. But the main events of the storyline make up for this.
- Music is good but not as astonishing as the first entry.
- Can be too easy for some.