Historical references in Shadow Hearts
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This is a listing of many of the various historical references found in the games Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts: Covenant and Shadow Hearts: From The New World, for those unfamiliar with events of the time (the early 20th century).
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[edit] Shadow Hearts Series
Roger Bacon: In history, he was a 13th century scientist and alchemist who went to both Oxford University and the University of Paris. He was born into a wealthy English family.
[edit] Shadow Hearts
China and the Japanese army: From 1840 onward, China was slowly partitioned by European nations seeking influence and special trading rights. As Japan matured and Westernised, they eventually started doing the same, defeating China in 1895 and gaining Manchuria and Formosa (modern day Taiwan). Japan eventually had to fight Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905 over who would control Manchuria and the Liaotung Peninsula, with Japan coming out the victor. Fengtian, also known as Mukden or Shenyang, was the most important city of the Japanese-controlled Manchuria, and hence why it is the "base" seen in the game. (The Railroad seen at the very beginning was, ironically enough, most likely built by the Russians themselves before the Japanese re-conquered the area).
Margarete Gertrude Zelle: This is the real name of famous spy and double agent Mata Hari.
Bistritz: Bistritz (Romanian Bistriţa) is the capital of a county in the section of Romania known to the rest of the world as Transylvania. The relationship between Transylvania and vampires in popular culture is fairly well-known.
Kawashima Yoshiko: The adopted daughter of Kawashima Naniwa was, indeed, the last princess of the Manchu dynasty, who grew up to be an alleged spy, and was executed by the Nationalist Party of China. The Hong Kong film Kawashima Yoshiko, starring Anita Mui as the title role, was made about her life.
The term "Space-Time": Albert Einstein published his theories on relativity in 1905 and 1910, so it might make sense that a well-read sage such as Roger Bacon would know about them. Of course, relativity was not confirmed until 1919, which would be in the future, but considering that Roger has built devices that can teleport a person to the moon, it would seem that Bacon probably has his own independent confirmation of the work.
[edit] Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Apoina Tower: Nicolai claims that it is also known as "The Tower of Atonement." In Greek, Apoina means "ransom," perhaps referring to the ransom of the souls trapped within.
Domremy: Domremy was the birthplace of Joan of Arc, known in French as Jeanne d'Arc. Yuri's friend Jeanne is almost certainly in reference to this. Also, to be technical, the town's full name was later changed to Domremy-la-Pucelle in Joan's honor (la Pucelle roughly equals "the maiden"), as that was how she was known during her lifetime.
Mistletoe: Mistletoe has had mystical associations before — notably in Norse mythology, Loki tricked Hod into killing his brother Baldur, using a dart made of Mistletoe.
Rasputin: The "real" Rasputin was a Russian peasant monk who preached a rather strange blend of theology - roughly, the more you sin, the more you can be forgiven. Thus, Rasputin soon acquired a reputation for hedonism and massive promiscuity. Some thought him a saint sent down by God, and others hated him as a demon; there was rather little middle ground. However, his reputation as a mystic eventually drew the attention of the Empress, desperate for some cure to Alexi's hemophilia. Somehow Rasputin blunted the progress of Alexi's illness, or at least convinced the Empress that he had. Soon, Rasputin was an extremely important figure at court, second only to the royal family itself. Rumors abounded that Rasputin and the Empress were also indulging in private sessions that involved more than simple prayer. These accusations were false, since Rasputin was always careful to portray his "saintly" side to the Empress. She never believed the stories of his sexual aggression. However, the rumours about them did enormous damage to the popularity of the Russian monarchy Rasputin is believed to ne one of the worlds greatest insperations to modern Satanism having been rumored to consort with demons and claim that he hard a part of the "divine" being in him to his followers .
These rumors, Rasputin's rapid rise to power, and his unapologetically hostile stance towards most aristocrats at court he'd displaced quickly gained Rasputin even more enemies than he had before. Eventually, a plot was organized to kill Rasputin by Prince Yusupov (who did, indeed, help you against him in the game): Rasputin was to be invited over, and fed poison in his food. After cheerfully consuming lethal amounts of poison with seemingly no effect, it seemed that Plan B was in order, and he was shot and stabbed repeatedly. He still didn't seem to die and was still struggling against his captors as he was tossed into the Neva River, where he finally drowned. Rasputin's mystical talents and seeming invulnerability has lent itself well to fiction.
The Russian royal family: Tsar Nicholas II was, as the game indicates, a kind-hearted man, but an ineffectual ruler. The government beneath him tended to be incompetent, cruel, or both. The Emperess Alexandra caused her own problems. When Tsar Nicholas was at the front, she was the figurehead of the regime. Unfortunately, she had a rather condescending attitude for the Russian nobles not in her very small inner circle. Even worse, she was German, the very country Russia was fighting. Lastly, her reliance on Rasputin, a peasant, managed to convince most of the Russian aristocracy in Petrograd that the Tsars had to go. While Alexandra was also not a bad person by most judges of character, she proved a poor ruler. Alexi, tsarevitch and heir, was afflicted from birth by hemophilia, and that fact ruled most of his short life. The actual Anastasia was relatively intelligent, but historians state that the most intelligent of the Tsar's children was Anastasia's eldest sister Olga. Most of Anastasia's fame comes from speculation on her possible escape from the execution of the rest of the Romanovs.
Eventually, the Russian Revolution removed the Romanovs from power. Kerensky's Provisional Government, democratic but not wanting challengers, merely put the Romanovs under house arrest, although they eventually transported them to Siberia. After Lenin and the Bolsheviks came to power and the Russian Civil War began, the Reds decided that the Romanovs would prove too strong a rallying point for the Whites should they lose control of them - and thus they were executed in July, 1918. Ironically enough, the jewels and gems that the Romanovs had snuck away from the Palace proved to be more harm than good. They had taken them to sell abroad because the Empress didn't want to live on the charity of her relatives. The Romanovs had hidden their jewels behind their shirts and throughout their clothing, so when the execution time came by soldiers with machine guns, rather than a quick death, they seemingly survived full clips being emptied into their chests. The extremely hard gems had acted as a sort of bulletproof vest. As a result, they probably died of blood loss or perhaps suffocation after being buried alive. Great care was taken to hide the bodies, and they were moved at least once, and even today, it seems that one (or possibly two) bodies are missing. Much speculation has gone on that Anastasia (or one of the other sisters) might have somehow escaped, and that the Romanovs lived on. This speculation was fueled by (at least) two people who claimed to be Anastasia; however, thanks to DNA, it has been discovered that both of these possible-Anastasias were mistaken. For the best personal biography of the Romanovs see Robert K. Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" or John Klier and Helen Mingay's "The Quest for Anastasia: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Romanovs."
The Lusitania: Rasputin is correct when he talks about how the Lusitania was carrying a weapons shipment for Britain, and how its sinking helped rally the United States to war. However, it was not a quick thing. The Lusitania was sunk in 1915, but the United States didn't go to war until 1917. The arms shipment that the Lusitania was carrying wasn't as large as Germany stated; and it was a coal dust explosion caused by the torpedo's impact which caused the luxury liner to sink so quickly - not a munitions explosion in her cargo hold.
Goreme Valley: The Goreme Valley was indeed a home to early Christian groups in Turkey. The caves are still able to be visited today.
Thomas Edward Lawrence: Lawrence wasn't actually a spy, and was simply part of the military to our knowledge. Also, his orders weren't quite as explicit as what he offers in a conversation towards the end of the game ("High Command wants me to go lead a revolt among the Bedouin against Turkey"); Lawrence was sent more as an observer and aide, and the British were rather surprised that he ended up taking such a critical part in the revolt.
World War I, the Eastern Front: Rasputin claims that Karin's hometown was burnt. It's hard to say exactly where Karin's hometown is; we know that her grandparents were nobility in Munich, but where you're nobility isn't necessarily where you live, or your children. However, Munich was pretty safe throughout the war. It is true that Russia invaded Germany in the early days of the war (most of the German troops went west when the war started to deal with the more pressing threat of France). So, if Karin grew up in Prussia or Silesia, the easternmost parts of Germany that were invaded, perhaps Rasputin could easily have ordered her hometown burned. This seems somewhat unlikely though, as those areas are fairly far from Munich, and the Russians didn't get too far in before having their armies utterly smashed by the Germans - part of the reason for the Tsar's fall was their atrocious performance, and a smaller German force pursuing and defeating their remnants right into modern day Poland.
World War I, Japan: Japan's involvement in WWI was somewhat strange. Theoretically both Japan and China were on the same side. However, most of Japan's offensive operations were inside China. The "Open Door" policy had made it so that while sections of China weren’t directly annexed by other countries, there were "spheres of influence" which amounted to almost the same thing. The Japanese army simply attacked the German spheres of influence in China (this is part of the reason why it wouldn't exactly be wise for Karin to be traveling abroad with her real name). Many of the Pacific islands that the Japanese attacked the United States from in World War II (the Marianas, and so on) were taken from the Germans in WWI.
In Russia during the Russian Civil War, chaos reigned. The Japanese took advantage of this by sending in their army to interfere with what little Russian operations were left in Manchuria, and smash around the eastern side of the country. They didn't support the Whites or the Reds particularly, as it was mostly an attempted land grab, fighting any Russians who opposed them. Only once the Reds finally came into power, and some modicum of order was restored, were the Japanese eventually pressured to leave.
Susano-O: Susano-O is the vaguely Loki-like brother of Amaterasu. Considering that the Platform calls upon the energy of the Japanese gods, this is an appropriate choice to summon. He was neither entirely good nor entirely evil, and would alternate between beneficial deeds and harmful ones. Notable among his achievements include slaying the Yamata-no-Orochi, a gigantic eight-headed snake (similar to a hydra) large enough to coil around a mountaintop.
The Kusanagi Sword, Yata Mirror, and Yakasanki Gem are collectively known as the Imperial Regalia, given by Amaterasu to her descendants, the royal line of Japan. The Kusanagi Sword, in fact, was found by Susanoo in Orochi's dead body before being given to Amaterasu.
Ernest Seton: In his time not devoted to dressing up in wolf costumes, Ernest T. Seton was one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America. He was also a highly prolific author, penning many books about animals and wildlife and, unsurprisngly enough, several about a wolf named Lobo.
The Great Gama: An actual professional wrestler (real name: Ghulum Mohammed) who lived from 1888-1953. Gama came from a family of highly skilled professional wrestlers, and after winning the title of Champion of India in 1909, proceeded to travel the world as part of a circus of Indian wrestlers. He retired undefeated in an estimated 5,000 matches. (Source: Professional Wrestling Online Museum)
Key of Solomon: The Key of Solomon that appears as a map in this game uses references to demons (via the Crests that are placed on the map) that King Solomon is believed to have summoned and then constrained. The techniques he used and the list of demons are given in the 17th century Grimoire Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, or The Lesser Key of Solomon. This list appears in the first section of that text, known as the Ars Goetia.
Superman: Princess Anastasia makes a reference to her father Tsar Nicholas II as being 'better than superman'. Possibly it is a reference to Nietzsche's Übermensch, as the fictional character was not introduced until 1932, a little over two decades after the setting of the game.
[edit] Shadow Hearts: From The New World
Al Capone: Chicago's mafia leader throughout the 1920s. Al Capone was sent to Alcatraz in 1934 and released in 1939 (as opposed to the game where he was sent to prison and escaped in 1929) over tax evasion. Although Al Capone did have two sisters, none of them was named Edna as the game claims. Also of note is the fact that at no point was a giant cat ever in a position of power in his organization.
Eliot Ness: Leader of The Untouchables. Thanks to the television series and two movies based on the group, it is widely believed that The Untouchables were responsible for the capture of Al Capone, when in fact it was the IRS that built the case against Capone. Ness and his group did however seize over $1 million in alcohol from Capone's illicit operations.
Roswell, New Mexico: The Roswell UFO Incident was an event in which a UFO supposedly crashed and was captured around the town of Roswell, New Mexico. After some time, the event was said to be caused by a crashed weather balloon, although it is still a popular event amongst conspiracy theorists. The game gives us a concrete answer as to what the "UFO" was, but obviously it's not historical fact, as the event did not occur until June 24, 1947.
H. P. Lovecraft: Howard Phillips Lovecraft, was in real life a horror writer in the 1920s-1930s. In this game, he appears as a temporary professor at Arkham University (itself based on Lovecraft's Miskatonic University, which is in Arkham, Massachusetts) to take over for the missing Dr. Gilbert. He fills in the role of being in charge of "arena battles".
Machu Picchu: This is one of several historic locations where the player must track down Gilbert.
Chichen Itza: A large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization, located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, present-day Mexico. Johnny and his gang explore here to go after Gilbert and Killer where they ultimately fail at capturing them.
Grand Canyon: A very colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park — one of the first national parks in the United States. Along with it being a National Park it is also the home to many Indians, including Shania's tribe. Here Johnny, Natan, Shania, and Frank come so that Shania can see her tribe and to get her second Fusion, Tatan'ka.
