This review contains spoilers
I shouldn't rate this game this high, cuz it's a mess. But it's also a very ambitious and heartfelt project for a new JRPG series, that brings a lot to the table.
Obviously it's the second game named Shadow Hearts and chronically the third game starting from the story told in Koudelka, so why should this one be so special?
For one, gameplay-wise it just improves so much from the first Shadow Hearts. This time the judgement ring is not just testing your timing to actually execute the turn based combat, but it also offers a lot of options for customization and either playing it more safe or going for higher risk and higher reward in dealing more damage/ stronger heals/ more effective buffs. This is exacerbated by the sanity point system from the previous game, where from turn to turn your characters loose points and when it drops to 0 they'll go mad and attack people randomly or start healing enemies. You want to take some risks to finish the enemies faster, to not go insane.
From a purely gameplay perspective the party is probably one of the best in any JRPG, their skills and abilities are so diverse that every single on of them can be put to good use and you can further customize their spells via the different "crests" to mix and match different magic abilities. They also have pretty involved side-quests to gain more abilities and equipment (and rarely reveal a bit more about their background). The cast in general is super colorful and memorable, even if many of them stay rather one-note, they all still manage to make an impression with their eccentric mannerisms and skills. There is also stuff like actually good puzzles for dungeons and a discount system for merchants that again tests your dexterity and timing, same with the lottery. Just a lot of stuff that makes this game stand out mechanically.
Then there is the setting. Gone are the days from the original Shadow Hearts where every second village is cursed, overrun by man-eating demons, haunted by ghosts or where mad scientist try to revive their loved ones by sacrificing a bunch of people and instead demons, ghost as well as other abominations take a backseat, making the horror themes more of a backdrop. Shadow Hearts' theme of overcoming trauma however gets a more societal focus this way. In this way it combines it's blend of alternative history and horror in a rather interesting way. While it doesn't analyze (historic) injustices in a material or systemic way, - framing the ever increasing violence and cruelty of WW1 as the outcome of a power hungry cult possessed by demons and Japan's ongoing imperialism as influenced by the inability of the antagonist to overcome his trauma, resulting in occult experiments for creating new weapons - it still provides an interesting premise for conflict.
The acceptance of trauma and cherishing the good memories of lost lovers on the side of the protagonist and the inability to do so on the side of the antagonist is an interesting and engaging conflict that can actually pertain to the actual lives of the players. However, the portrayal of historic conflicts also is where it gets messy.
The fictional foreign minister of Japan is supposed to have formed a shadow government, which while it does paint a scathing picture of Japan's ever increasing militarism at the time it does also shift the blame - like so many modern Japanese revisionist narratives do - to a military gone rogue. In reality, ever since the days of the modern Empire, Japan did in fact pursue to become Asia's super power comparable to the British Empire. Military conquest, cultural subjugation and economic enslavement where goals the whole nation strived for.
Especially with on the one hand the final confrontation with the foreign minister and on the other hand with the antagonist and the last boss fight, ist is clear, that this game really wants to portray the Japanese Empire as a corrupt and cruel. Some parts just don't match up though. The rehabilitation of Naniwa Kawashima for example: Kawashima was a spy that tried to help Chinese nobles found a new state in Manchuria. This is the same goal the foreign minister pursued in the game and it's the same goal the Japanese did in fact strive for. In actual history Japan eventually cut support for the Chinese nobles and instead went for the establishment of a settler colony via military means. Either way, both were meant to strengthen Japan's economic control in the region. Kawashima and the foreign minister should be equally bad in the game, yet one is framed as evil incarnate while the other is our benefactor and kinda mentor.
On the side of Europe in WW1 it doesn't fare much better. Not once is the game interest in investigating the struggles for power underlying the conflict between the super powers and we're even supposed to feel sympathy for the Russian nobles as they are a victim of Rasputin's evil plots. (I do admit however that Rasputin is a really entertaining villain).
Another thing is the retcons. They just make the narrative unnecessarily complicated. The villain of the last game suddenly had a rival, he just wanted to stoo, which is the only reason he wanted to destroy the world. Naniwa Kawashima did in fact love his daughter and didn't order her killing in the last game (though he still has enough of say in the military to even stand against the foreign minister and his plots, so why didn't he prevent her death then?). And the Emigre Manuscript suddenly also controls time... A bit at least. It's all just really messy. Some plot threads feel like there existed two or more scripts for the story and they were just kinda mixer together.
Lastly there are the character stories, which can be really endearing (although never too deep), but sometimes also convoluted or downright problematic. Joachim for example is a super cool character, a gay vampire wrestler. His side-quest though is full of homophobia, racist caricatures and even rape "jokes". Another example is Karin, a female German officer, that is quite capable in combat, but barely has any agency in the story and just runs after our protagonist the whole game. In the end when she is time traveling to become the protagonist's mother (who for the entire game she had a crush one) everything just becomes really ridiculous.
...so why do I rate this this high then? Like I said, the conflict and theme of trauma is actually engaging. The atmosphere with monster ridden mines, secret headquarters of evil cults, research centers full of military machinery and half-science, half-magic experiments, ruins full of ancient monstrosities is generally unique as a setting for an JRPG and the historic epoche gives the whole thing another special touch, that you'll never see anywhere else. The battle system keeps you on edge, as a missed hit can mean the early downfall of your characters. Building your party is generally engaging. Having a protagonist that actually turns into demons, that absorbs the suffering, hatred and despair of the monsters around you to turn in into something positive, is a super effective metaphor.
I really wish someone would make a spiritual successor to this series with less homophobia, sexism and racism and that also does a little more historical research to not fall victim to this stuff, as it had so much potential and could even through the use of horror and history actually discuss stuff like colonialism really interestingly.
As it stands now though, it's just my most problematic favourite.
Obviously it's the second game named Shadow Hearts and chronically the third game starting from the story told in Koudelka, so why should this one be so special?
For one, gameplay-wise it just improves so much from the first Shadow Hearts. This time the judgement ring is not just testing your timing to actually execute the turn based combat, but it also offers a lot of options for customization and either playing it more safe or going for higher risk and higher reward in dealing more damage/ stronger heals/ more effective buffs. This is exacerbated by the sanity point system from the previous game, where from turn to turn your characters loose points and when it drops to 0 they'll go mad and attack people randomly or start healing enemies. You want to take some risks to finish the enemies faster, to not go insane.
From a purely gameplay perspective the party is probably one of the best in any JRPG, their skills and abilities are so diverse that every single on of them can be put to good use and you can further customize their spells via the different "crests" to mix and match different magic abilities. They also have pretty involved side-quests to gain more abilities and equipment (and rarely reveal a bit more about their background). The cast in general is super colorful and memorable, even if many of them stay rather one-note, they all still manage to make an impression with their eccentric mannerisms and skills. There is also stuff like actually good puzzles for dungeons and a discount system for merchants that again tests your dexterity and timing, same with the lottery. Just a lot of stuff that makes this game stand out mechanically.
Then there is the setting. Gone are the days from the original Shadow Hearts where every second village is cursed, overrun by man-eating demons, haunted by ghosts or where mad scientist try to revive their loved ones by sacrificing a bunch of people and instead demons, ghost as well as other abominations take a backseat, making the horror themes more of a backdrop. Shadow Hearts' theme of overcoming trauma however gets a more societal focus this way. In this way it combines it's blend of alternative history and horror in a rather interesting way. While it doesn't analyze (historic) injustices in a material or systemic way, - framing the ever increasing violence and cruelty of WW1 as the outcome of a power hungry cult possessed by demons and Japan's ongoing imperialism as influenced by the inability of the antagonist to overcome his trauma, resulting in occult experiments for creating new weapons - it still provides an interesting premise for conflict.
The acceptance of trauma and cherishing the good memories of lost lovers on the side of the protagonist and the inability to do so on the side of the antagonist is an interesting and engaging conflict that can actually pertain to the actual lives of the players. However, the portrayal of historic conflicts also is where it gets messy.
The fictional foreign minister of Japan is supposed to have formed a shadow government, which while it does paint a scathing picture of Japan's ever increasing militarism at the time it does also shift the blame - like so many modern Japanese revisionist narratives do - to a military gone rogue. In reality, ever since the days of the modern Empire, Japan did in fact pursue to become Asia's super power comparable to the British Empire. Military conquest, cultural subjugation and economic enslavement where goals the whole nation strived for.
Especially with on the one hand the final confrontation with the foreign minister and on the other hand with the antagonist and the last boss fight, ist is clear, that this game really wants to portray the Japanese Empire as a corrupt and cruel. Some parts just don't match up though. The rehabilitation of Naniwa Kawashima for example: Kawashima was a spy that tried to help Chinese nobles found a new state in Manchuria. This is the same goal the foreign minister pursued in the game and it's the same goal the Japanese did in fact strive for. In actual history Japan eventually cut support for the Chinese nobles and instead went for the establishment of a settler colony via military means. Either way, both were meant to strengthen Japan's economic control in the region. Kawashima and the foreign minister should be equally bad in the game, yet one is framed as evil incarnate while the other is our benefactor and kinda mentor.
On the side of Europe in WW1 it doesn't fare much better. Not once is the game interest in investigating the struggles for power underlying the conflict between the super powers and we're even supposed to feel sympathy for the Russian nobles as they are a victim of Rasputin's evil plots. (I do admit however that Rasputin is a really entertaining villain).
Another thing is the retcons. They just make the narrative unnecessarily complicated. The villain of the last game suddenly had a rival, he just wanted to stoo, which is the only reason he wanted to destroy the world. Naniwa Kawashima did in fact love his daughter and didn't order her killing in the last game (though he still has enough of say in the military to even stand against the foreign minister and his plots, so why didn't he prevent her death then?). And the Emigre Manuscript suddenly also controls time... A bit at least. It's all just really messy. Some plot threads feel like there existed two or more scripts for the story and they were just kinda mixer together.
Lastly there are the character stories, which can be really endearing (although never too deep), but sometimes also convoluted or downright problematic. Joachim for example is a super cool character, a gay vampire wrestler. His side-quest though is full of homophobia, racist caricatures and even rape "jokes". Another example is Karin, a female German officer, that is quite capable in combat, but barely has any agency in the story and just runs after our protagonist the whole game. In the end when she is time traveling to become the protagonist's mother (who for the entire game she had a crush one) everything just becomes really ridiculous.
...so why do I rate this this high then? Like I said, the conflict and theme of trauma is actually engaging. The atmosphere with monster ridden mines, secret headquarters of evil cults, research centers full of military machinery and half-science, half-magic experiments, ruins full of ancient monstrosities is generally unique as a setting for an JRPG and the historic epoche gives the whole thing another special touch, that you'll never see anywhere else. The battle system keeps you on edge, as a missed hit can mean the early downfall of your characters. Building your party is generally engaging. Having a protagonist that actually turns into demons, that absorbs the suffering, hatred and despair of the monsters around you to turn in into something positive, is a super effective metaphor.
I really wish someone would make a spiritual successor to this series with less homophobia, sexism and racism and that also does a little more historical research to not fall victim to this stuff, as it had so much potential and could even through the use of horror and history actually discuss stuff like colonialism really interestingly.
As it stands now though, it's just my most problematic favourite.