Shadow Hearts -- The Covenant
A RPG game with magic, curses and weird characters. A judgment ring to amplify your
attacks and the ability to transform into more than 20 characters.
The game opens in 1915, in France with German soldiers fighting for control of
village, when a dragon - yes a dragon - massacres the army leaving only Karen who
witnesses the demon reverting to human form. And this sets the stage for Yuri and Karen continue on their quest that includes truly strange characters.
The Judgment ring controls your battle action. Timing is required to coordinate action
with the special colored areas in the ring. There is replay value with this game because
different relationships will effect the ending.
Reviewed by: Editor - 10/04
Travel through 1915 Europe, Japan, and scenic unearthly locations! Solve easy
puzzles! Battle monsters and demons! Unravel a mythical plot surrounding
the sacred ... mistletoe? Whatever.
Second in its series, this feels easier than the genre mainstay Final
Fantasy, but shares many of the same traits (and, as it turns out, some
developers). But where Final Fantas never doubts its own universe,
this RPG is filled with slightly off-key details. Like the "ring soul"
that has to correct listeners that get his name wrong, "I'm a soul -- not a spirit!".
then cuts a conversation short to get back to his wife;
or the "stud cards" - pictures of nude male bodybuilders traded to gay shopkeepers for magical puppet dresses. It's as if the game was almost done when the writer was struck by lightning and his kid brother took over and finished it.
However, there's nothing off-key about the turn-based battle system.
It uses a ring with different colored areas. Hit a button at exactly
right time and hit stronger; miss, and miss your turn. A character
can add more strike zones to their ring, can grow the basic hit and the
special strike zones, and rings can grow smaller, faster, slower, and
even run backwards. Because all this messes with your muscle memory of
exactly when to twitch, it really engages you in battles, rather than
making them just another thing to get through.
Add well-directed voice talent that really brings characters to life,
competent camerawork, landscapes full of lush detail, a system of elements
and powers that lets you strategize but doesn't get in the way if
you don't, and you get 40, 50 hours worth of gameplay whose details
will keep you entertained and, occasionally, make you giggle at yet
another off-the-wall character or incredibly cheesy piece of dialog.
Reviewed by: Jutta Degener - 10/04
Ages: Teen