A dark and twisted alternate history tale, set as a prelude to WWI in a world gone mad with demons and magic.
The story has considerable depth to it, but Shadow Hearts also has a rather unique combat system. Like your standard RPG, you'll be thrown into random, turn-based combat as you move about the map. However, in Shadow Hearts, your battles are conducted through the use of a device called the Judgement Ring. Imagine it as a sort of wheel of fortune, with a little spinner passing through shaded areas that signify hits. Each shaded area has a red arc near the end of it that signifies a stronger or critical hit. Your object is to stop that spinner before it leaves the shaded area. If you do that, your attack is a success. The Judgement Ring is also used for magical attacks and when using items in battle, so this is a system you have to quickly master. It won't be long before you have to overcome additional challenges where that Ring is concerned, because a majority of your enemies can cast a status effect on it, making the spinner travel erratically, or erasing the strike zones entirely. Later on, you'll gain another item that will be used in conjunction with the Judgement Ring so that you can gain discounts at your item shops.
It's not all fun and games in the world of Shadow Hearts, though. With the whole world gone made with demon infestations, it's no surprise that one of your characters is carrying a pretty hefty curse himself. It seems that Yuri, a young man with the power to transform into monsters, is carrying quite a bit of darkness in his soul. So much, in fact, that the spirit world wants to suck him into hell. As you fight the monsters in the world, Yuri collects up their Malice. If he gains enough Malice, the Grim Reaper shows up to kill him. In order to clear this Malice, you have to travel into the graveyard of Yuri's soul. This graveyard can only be accessed from save points, however, so there's several sections where you have to race to get back to an appropriate location before Death shows up to take Yuri away. This kind of ruins a lot of opportunities to stay in an area and level up, so (moral of my story) if you're near a save point, use it to your advantage before you get overwhelmed at the wrong time!
Gameplay - A very long and in depth story, but that's pretty standard for RPG fare. Some of the gameplay elements (and by this I'm referring to Yuri's malice) can get kind of irritating really fast. The Judgement Ring is definitely a neat little element, and well worth mastering. The game isn't too difficult, as long as you keep your various characters leveled up as best as possible.
Graphics - A variety of different areas as you progress through the game, the animation is magnificent. A number of the cinematic sequences here use live-action images to move the story forward in addition to your standard CGI fare. The characters look terrific, and the enemies are suitably varied, so you won't run into one type of monster that just gets bigger or changes color as the game goes on.
Sound - The music is flawless, but the voice acting is . . . kind of strange. For the most part, the dialogue is over-the-top exaggerated, and there are a number of sequences where the original Japanese voice work is still present. The result is a jarring hodgepodge of different sounds. However, it does go hand-in-hand with SH's rather off-the-wall sense of humor, so it can be taken in stride.
Value - This is a huge game with a variety of different side missions to occupy your time. A standard playthrough is roughly 40 hours, which isn't too bad at all.
Tilt - A fun game, although there are times when the Judgement Ring gets very tiresome. Overall, a worthwhile addition to your collection!