Shadow Hearts 3 : From the New World
This isn't really a game review - since I have yet to finish it - , it's just me ranting away about the game thus far...
The SH Trilogy (unless of course an SH4 is coming out) Timeline
- Shadow Hearts: 1913
- Shadow Hearts Covenant: 1915
- Shadow Hearts From the New World: 1929
It wasn't until I asked ladydouji if any of the only members from the previous SH game were going to be in it, cause I really wanted to see my favorite characters like Yuri, Joachim, and Kurando again - although it just might be the last two (cause if you got the "good" ending of SH2, Yuri died and doomed to either change ot repeat his past over and over again... no idea what is so "good" about that). Oh yeah, and Lenny - who has changed A LOT - personality wise- and now the 40yr old man-servant of a 16 year old boy. It must be true love since I don't recall Lenny calling either Nicolai or Rasputin "Master".
Onto the characters...
Johnny Garland: sure he's cute but on the annoying side. He doesn't seem to be much of a detective like to me. He has a cool knife/light-saber but that's about it. The only character he seems to interact in much is Shania - and it's not much, she's kinda-sort of like an older sister towards him. My only favorite bit so far - is him getting caught staring at her bust - and sadly doesn't get smacked for it.
Shania: the scantly-clad Indian bounty hunter is so far she's my only favorite character in the game, which is sad. Her fusions are cool - I only have three (I hope that's not all of them though), but damn I bet all the fan-boys are drooling over the controllers, while us fan-girls are pissed off because neither Yuri or Kurando had a strip-show when they transformed ::pouts::
Natan: I hardly use this character, he's the "man of few words" type. Which shouldn't bother me much because all the guys in the game have bad voice acting.
Frank: I hate this guy. He's an old American Ninja - who has no real ninja coolness in him. I guess he's supposed to be a sad attempt of Joachim in this game - by spouting off justice and good to all mankind and picking up random objects as weapons - except that Joachim was adorkable.
Mao: Frank's master who specialized in the drunken fighting style - and also happens to be a giant cat. Yes, I'm pretty sure the Shadow Hearts people party often with the Katamari Damacy game developers.
Hilda: I really thought she was going to be cool, and she kinda is - but not my favorite. Its kind of funny how she and Roger get mistaken as aliens on a UFO when they crash into a hotel (that happens to be like a yard away from the military/research base).
Ricardo: I didn't think of him much other than the Mexican stereotype - but when Johnny and co. go to Vegas to help Al Capone, we seem walking around like Death himself to avenge Edna - then all the coolness about him died when he got captured and learned that his main skill is to play his serenades in battle... Um WTF?
As for the rest...
Graphics are pretty, the music (other than the opening FMV)... eh... it's no work by Nobou Uematsu, but not as good as SH2 OST. The game play is almost typical Shadow Hearts with the judgment ring and all, but they added the "Stellar Chart" which OMG FFX flashbacks! Also this game seems pretty short and goes at a fast pace, almost so fast that its boring, since it's you going from point A to point B - but with no character interaction and little development. In a nutshell... I am hitting myself over the head for paying almost $40 for this game.
::goes off to beat Symphonia for like the 3rd time::
The SH Trilogy (unless of course an SH4 is coming out) Timeline
- Shadow Hearts: 1913
- Shadow Hearts Covenant: 1915
- Shadow Hearts From the New World: 1929
It wasn't until I asked ladydouji if any of the only members from the previous SH game were going to be in it, cause I really wanted to see my favorite characters like Yuri, Joachim, and Kurando again - although it just might be the last two (cause if you got the "good" ending of SH2, Yuri died and doomed to either change ot repeat his past over and over again... no idea what is so "good" about that). Oh yeah, and Lenny - who has changed A LOT - personality wise- and now the 40yr old man-servant of a 16 year old boy. It must be true love since I don't recall Lenny calling either Nicolai or Rasputin "Master".
Onto the characters...
Johnny Garland: sure he's cute but on the annoying side. He doesn't seem to be much of a detective like to me. He has a cool knife/light-saber but that's about it. The only character he seems to interact in much is Shania - and it's not much, she's kinda-sort of like an older sister towards him. My only favorite bit so far - is him getting caught staring at her bust - and sadly doesn't get smacked for it.
Shania: the scantly-clad Indian bounty hunter is so far she's my only favorite character in the game, which is sad. Her fusions are cool - I only have three (I hope that's not all of them though), but damn I bet all the fan-boys are drooling over the controllers, while us fan-girls are pissed off because neither Yuri or Kurando had a strip-show when they transformed ::pouts::
Natan: I hardly use this character, he's the "man of few words" type. Which shouldn't bother me much because all the guys in the game have bad voice acting.
Frank: I hate this guy. He's an old American Ninja - who has no real ninja coolness in him. I guess he's supposed to be a sad attempt of Joachim in this game - by spouting off justice and good to all mankind and picking up random objects as weapons - except that Joachim was adorkable.
Mao: Frank's master who specialized in the drunken fighting style - and also happens to be a giant cat. Yes, I'm pretty sure the Shadow Hearts people party often with the Katamari Damacy game developers.
Hilda: I really thought she was going to be cool, and she kinda is - but not my favorite. Its kind of funny how she and Roger get mistaken as aliens on a UFO when they crash into a hotel (that happens to be like a yard away from the military/research base).
Ricardo: I didn't think of him much other than the Mexican stereotype - but when Johnny and co. go to Vegas to help Al Capone, we seem walking around like Death himself to avenge Edna - then all the coolness about him died when he got captured and learned that his main skill is to play his serenades in battle... Um WTF?
As for the rest...
Graphics are pretty, the music (other than the opening FMV)... eh... it's no work by Nobou Uematsu, but not as good as SH2 OST. The game play is almost typical Shadow Hearts with the judgment ring and all, but they added the "Stellar Chart" which OMG FFX flashbacks! Also this game seems pretty short and goes at a fast pace, almost so fast that its boring, since it's you going from point A to point B - but with no character interaction and little development. In a nutshell... I am hitting myself over the head for paying almost $40 for this game.
::goes off to beat Symphonia for like the 3rd time::