Shadow Hearts: From The New World

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Shadow Hearts: From The New World
Developer(s) Nautilus
Publisher(s) JPN Aruze
NA XSEED Games
EUR Ghostlight
Designer(s) Takamasa Ohsawa (director)
Miyako Kato (character design)
Yoshitaka Hirota (composer)
Series Shadow Hearts
Release date(s) JPN July 28, 2005
NA March 7 2006
EUR May 2007

(TBC)Australia May 2007
Genre(s) Console RPG
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) CERO: 12
ESRB: T PEGI: 7
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Media 1 DVD

Shadow Hearts: From The New World is a console role-playing game developed by Nautilus and published by XSEED Games in 2005. It is the third official game in the Shadow Hearts series.

The game departs from Europe and centers around the "New World", the Americas. It is not directly related to the previous games in the series but it occurs in the same universe. The main characters' quest is to investigate mysterious "windows" from which vicious monsters pop out.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

Gameplay follows that of its predecessors, using the Judgment Ring to decide most battle outcomes, as well as many other more mundane actions throughout the game. A new "stock" system was made for this game which enables special attacks, including combination attacks between party members, and "double attacks".

[edit] Plot

It begins in North America in the year 1929 and features two new main characters: a 16 year old New Yorker named Johnny Garland, and a 21 year old Native American woman named Shania, who has powers of fusion similar to Yuri and Kurando in the previous Shadow Hearts entries, however, Shania is not an harmonixer, she makes pacts with spirits while Yuri and Kurando turned into demons. The story begins with Johnny, a private detective, being hired by a man named Gilbert to find one Marlow Brown. When Johnny finds the man, however, a mysterious 'window' opens, and from it emerges a monster. The rest of the game follows Johnny, Shania, and company as they attempt to uncover the truth about Gilbert and his plans.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, a wanted criminal who was severely injured was being pursued by the police. He met a mysterious woman who rescued him by finishing off his pursuers with ease. Then, she healed his wounds with a 'Malice kiss.' Nobody knows what her intentions or what her motives are, nor did she speak a single word. The man who identified himself as 'Killer', called her 'Lady' and thereafter followed her where ever she may go.

[edit] Development

While some may argue that From The New World is closer to a spinoff than to a sequel, it is important to notice that the game has several links with the previous games. Beside a few returning characters (Roger Bacon, Lenny Curtis, Joachim and Keith Valentine, and Gerard Magimel) and items (Émigré Manuscript), as well as a reference to Nicolai Conrad's release of Malice from the Apoina Tower from the last game, and a store in Times Square named "Gepetto and Cornelia", named after said people in Covenant.

Shadow Hearts: From The New World was released in Japan on July 28, 2005, when Midway decided not to translate the game, due to the weak sales of Covenant. Xseed then picked up the license, and released the game on March 7, 2006 in the United States. A PAL release is now planned for May 2007 from Ghostlight [1].

[edit] Characters

[edit] Playable Characters

  • Johnny Garland (ジョニー・ガーランド): A sixteen year-old boy who runs a detective agency in New York City, Johnny is on his own after his family perishes in a fire. Like in all Shadow Hearts games, nothing is as it appears, and much of the story's main plot involves Johnny discovering the truths about his past. Johnny can use Handy Tools, such as a magic camera to photograph his enemies in order to reveal information about them, a magical vacuum cleaner to suck up his enemies' stock gauge and give it to himself, and a cell phone to call his butler, Lenny, who can attack Johnny's enemies no matter where Johnny is on the planet. Johnny uses knives as his main weapon, and later in the game gains the ability to channel malice through them in battle, creating a weapon visually resembling a lightsaber. Also, much later in the game, he gains the ability to change form, similar to Shania's Fusion power.
  • Shania (シャナイア): A Native American woman, with the power of Fusion, which she controls by making contracts with spirits in order to use their powers. She's hunting the mysterious villain known simply as Lady in order to avenge her murdered tribe. Cold and single-minded, she and her companion Natan travel the continent looking for Lady so that she may have her revenge. Shania's primary element is darkness, and she uses twin tomahawks to fight.
  • Natan (ナタン): Shania's guardian, Natan was the only other survivor of their tribe's massacre by Lady. He is faithful to the end, even as he questions many of Shania's motives throughout the story. Although he is quiet, he is also warm and affectionate. Natan's side quests involve searches for rare creatures called UMAs to power up his abilities. His element is wind and his primary weapons are twin guns, allowing him to use the special abilities of a style he crated, which he calls Gun Fu.
  • Frank Goldfinger (フランク・ゴールドフィンガー): First encountered at Arkham University, Frank joins the party hoping to learn more about Professor Gilbert. He is a skilled ninja, which he became after the airplane he was traveling in crashed near a remote ninja village in the rain forests of Brazil. Highly eccentric, Frank fights to preserve America's freedom. He uses Ninja Arts that are obtained throughout the game. Frank's element is light and his weapons of choice are giant sabres, which he usually constructs from found-objects, in the manner of Joachim Valentine from Covenant.
  • Mao (マオ): Frank's master and good friend of Al Capone, Mao is most notable for being a giant talking cat with a penchant for alcohol. She tolerates little foolishness, especially from her former student, but can be compassionate and wise when it is called for. She also harbors a secret desire to be a movie star; her side quest actually revolves around her making a film in which she fights her way through a five-story pagoda against other giant felines who are parodies of famous action stars, such as Sammo Meow and Cat Morita. Mao's element is water, and she uses flasks of alcohol to fuel her Drunken Fist-style of fighting.
  • Hildegard Valentine (ヒルデガルド・ヴァレンティーナ): Stranded in America after a crash-landing in an experimental ship with Roger Bacon in Roswell, New Mexico, Hilda decides to travel with the party to sightsee while Roger fixes the ship. A vampire, like her older brothers Keith and Joachim, Hilda fancies herself to be a true super heroine. Hilda can change forms; while she has a bat form like the other Valentines, her main ability to change revolves around Calories; positive calories turn her from Slim form to Pink Bat form to Curvy form, while negative calories have the opposite effect . She uses wands and keys to attack, as well as an elemental set of Magic Arts. Hilda's primary element is earth.
  • Ricardo Gomez (リカルド・ゴメス): Although he is seen early in the game performing at Capone's nightclub, he is the last character to actually join the party. A talented flaminco guitarist, his thoughts are turned from music to revenge when he is forced to kill the woman he loves after she becomes tainted by Lady with malice. He uses his guitar in battle, which is modified to include a shotgun, rocket launcher, and flamethrower. He also uses Serenata, which he learns by collecting certain items. His Serenades are musical tunes played on his guitar, which give status boosts to allies (though they don't effect Ricardo himself). His primary element is fire.

[edit] Villains

  • Lady: A mysterious woman of untold strength, she rescues a mortally-wounded suspect (Killer) from the police and restores his life with malice. She does not respond with speech, nor does she show any emotion, therefore Killer dubs her "Lady". Although mute, she plainly holds regular existence in disdain as she interferes in the lives of the party and earns their wrath, especially from Shania and Ricardo. Her ultimate goal is to gain enough malice and open a sinister porthole known as "The Gate", which will rain terror and hatred down upon the world.
  • Killer: A serial killer hunted by a majority of the U.S, he was granted malice powers by Lady when she saves his life; this action gains her his devotion. When it is hinted that increasing the powers and opening the Gate will gain her happiness, he decides nothing will stand in her way. Ruthless and malicious, his newfound powers make him far from a pushover.
  • Professor Gilbert: At first, he seems to be a simple client of Johnny's; later he shows he knows much more about the affairs surrounding malice and Lady. He wishes to harness the powers of the Gate for himself; to do so, he must ally himself with Lady and Killer. Ultimately, he wishes to betray them and take the powers of malice for himself.

[edit] Other Characters

  • Lenny Curtis: Johnny's loyal butler. Lenny does all of Johnny's household chores, helps him practice his math skills, and often encourages him to take over his father's business. Lenny Curtis also appeared in Covenant, where he obtained a soul contract with the demon "Godhand", thus can shoot a mystical ball anywhere on the planet so long as he has Johnny to call him on his cell phone.
  • Gerard Magimel: A homosexual shopkeeper returning from Covenant, Gerard once again serves as the primary shopkeeper for the party. With his lover Baigen, he journeys across America in a motorcycle, appearing in the strangest and most remote places as a demonstration of the lengths he will go to in order to make a sale.
  • Buigen: Gerard's leather-clad, motorcycle driving boyfriend. Baigen is primarily responsible for aligning the party's Stellar Charts for a fee.
  • Zonda: Betrothed to Shania, Zonda is the chief of another tribe who helps Shania gain one of her Fusions. He is saddened by her desire for revenge at any cost, and hopes she will one day over come it and come to love both him and life itself.
  • Al Capone: Held in Alcatraz, he must be rescued by the party when an assassin is sent to kill him in prison. He is deeply indebted to them thereafter, assisting them on a number of occasions.
  • Edna Capone: Sister of Al Capone and infatuated with Ricardo and his masterful guitar playing. But when the MacManus family, which is rival to Capone, kidnaps her, and is almost killed, she gets entangled in Lady's affairs.
  • Elliot Ness: The famous adversary of Capone, Ness tracks the party for information on the notorious gangster. However, he never quite seems to be able to get a hold of him. Despite the fact that Ness is trying to put Capone in jail, they both have deep respect for each other.
  • Britney: A fellow ninja from Frank's village, she constantly plays helpless in order to trick Frank into doing things for her, but fails, as Frank gets the rewards anyways.
  • Roger Bacon: Once again, Roger is mixed up in the affairs of Shadow Hearts when his experimental spacecraft crashes. Mistaken for an alien and taken to a government base, he is soon rescued where he goes about repairing his ship so he and Hilda can return to Europe. There are hints he may know more about other, more serious affairs than he lets on.
  • Anne Lafitte: A young girl who heads a band of ruthless Caribbean pirates, Anne is actually the guardian of a secret treasure left by her grandfather. She captures the party when they stumble upon her island on their way to find Lady, thinking that they came to steal the treasure that in on the island.

[edit] Audio

The English voice actors are as follows:

[edit] Reception

The game received a somewhat weaker reception than Shadow Hearts: Covenant, though it was still for the most part positive. Most Scores ranged from 7-8/10. Most complaints were about the shift in tone from the darker nature of the previous two to a more light-hearted atmosphere, as well as the shorter length of the game, around 25 hours, compared to Covenant's average 40-hour length. However, the game did receive several positive comments about the improved graphics and gameplay. Most agreed the game overall was a decently made RPG most fans of the series would enjoy.

[edit] References

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  1. ^ gamesindustry.biz confirmation of Ghostlight/PAL/May release. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.

[edit] External links

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