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Shadow Hearts: Covenant

January 01, 1970

Shadow Hearts: Covenant[a] is a role-playing video game developed by Nautilus (Sacnoth) for the PlayStation 2, and is the second entry in the Shadow Hearts series. Published in Japan by Aruze in 2004, the game was released internationally by Midway Games in 2004 (North America) and 2005 (Europe). A director's cut with additional content was released in Japan in 2005.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant
North American box art, showing protagonist Karin Koenig.
Developer(s)Nautilus
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Matsuzo Machida
Producer(s)Asako Oikawa
Designer(s)Takehiro Ishida
Programmer(s)Izumi Hamamoto
Artist(s)Miyako Kato
Writer(s)Matsuzo Machida
Composer(s)Yoshitaka Hirota
Yasunori Mitsuda
Kenji Ito
SeriesShadow Hearts
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: February 19, 2004
  • NA: September 27, 2004
  • PAL: March 11, 2005
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Covenant takes place in 1915, six months after the events of the first game. At the height of World War I, German Army lieutenant Karin Koenig is drawn into a conflict between original protagonist Yuri Hyuga and the secret society Sapientes Gladio. During gameplay, the player explores various locations through a growing party of characters. Four characters take part in turn-based battles against a variety of enemies, with actions relying on a timing-based system dubbed the Judgment Ring. The game's worldview combines alternate history with elements of Lovecraftian horror.

Covenant began development in the autumn of 2002; returning staff members included writer and director Matsuzo Machida, artist Miyako Kato, and composer Yoshitaka Hirota. The team redesigned the battle system and altered the story's tone based on feedback from the first game's players. The localization was handled by Jeremy Blaustein, who remembered the game as one of his favorite projects. Selling around 240,000 units in Japan and North America, the game was praised by reviewers. It has since been ranked by several journalistic sites as one of the best games of its time. A third Shadow Hearts title, Shadow Hearts: From the New World, was released in 2005.

Gameplay edit

 
A battle in Shadow Hearts: Covenant: battle actions depend on the proper use of the Judgment Ring. Shown is one part of a "Combo Trial" between multiple characters.

Shadow Hearts is a role-playing video game (RPG) where players take control of a party led by either Karin Koenig or Yuri Hyuga as they progress through the game; progress is split between a linear story-driven first half and a second-half which allows greater exploration and access to optional areas.[2] During gameplay, the party explores a number of towns and country areas across the Eurasian continent, collecting and buying items and equipment, talking to non-playable characters who act as quests givers and merchants, and completing both story-centered quests and side quests.[3][4][5]

The game's turn-based battles are triggered through both random and scripted encounters.[4] Turn order is dependent on a character's "speed" statistic.[6] Each player character has hit points (health), skill points (magic), and sanity points (SP). SP ordinarily decreases once per turn, and when a character runs out of SP they go berserk and cannot be controlled by the player.[7][4] Actions include a variety of normal attacks, special attacks specific to characters which are earned through side tasks, Crest magic which can be assigned to different characters, Items such as healing and modifiers for character abilities, and defending against attacks.[2][7] After each battle, characters earn experience points to raise their level and character attributes, and Soul energy from defeated monsters. The higher a character's level, the more Crests can be equipped.[8][9]

A key element of gameplay is the Judgment Ring. Represented as a disc with colored areas on its surface, the player's aim is to hit those areas as a pointer passes over them.[6] If the player fails to hit an area, the attack can either be shortened or canceled altogether. Magic attacks use green hit areas during the initial stages of an attack. For items, blue hit areas are used with increasing hue; the deeper the hue when the player triggers the action, the more effective that item is on its target.[2][7][10] The final portion of each target area is red, and if the player hits it the attack or skill is boosted in power.[6] The Judgment Ring is also used outside battle in shops; when shopping at a merchant, hitting the right areas can discount prices and increase sale values for items.[4][10]

The Judgment Ring is used with every battle action, from standard attacks and special abilities to item use.[11] Some status ailments impact how the Judgment Rings behave.[2] An individual character's Judgment Ring moves at a different speed, and can be customized; options include adjusting hit zone numbers, increasing hit area size, increasing damage while decreasing hit area size, and activating an auto-battle option at the cost of attack power.[4][6][11] Characters, including some enemy types, can use combos with two or more characters. Combos require successful use of the Judgment Ring, in addition to a button trigger to continue and complete the combo. If the button input fails, or a non-compatible ability is used, the combo is broken and all remaining characters lose their turn actions.[7][6] Each successful hit in a combo increases damage for the next character's action. Using four characters in a successful combo triggers a fifth special magical attack.[4]

A key ability for both Yuri and late-game playable character Kurando Inugami is Fusion, the ability to transform into a monstrous creature with access to unique abilities.[3] Character attributes are also changed depending on the Fusion type.[12] New fusions for Yuri are unlocked in the Graveyard, a realm within his soul accessed either at save points or on the world map. Charging gravestones with Soul energy gathered from defeated enemies unlocks new Fusions within a specific group.[7][12] Activating a Fusion costs a set amount of SP, with additional SP reduced each turn by an amount dictated by the Fusion form's power.[7]

Synopsis edit

Setting and characters edit

Shadow Hearts is set in an alternate reality, taking place in the year 1915 during World War I, and mingling historical events and people with supernatural elements including divine beings and cosmic horror.[13] The story shifts locations between Europe, Russia, the Near East and Japan.[14] Another key location is the metaphysical Graveyard.[12] The story takes place six months after the events of Shadow Hearts, following on from that game's "bad" ending.[15][16]

The main protagonists are Karin Koenig, a German Army lieutenant; and Yuri Hyuga, the main protagonist of Shadow Hearts. Following the events of Shadow Hearts which culminated in the death of his lover Alice Elliot, a depressed Yuri buried Alice in Domrémy-la-Pucelle, taking it upon himself to defend the town from the War. During their journey, Karin and Yuri are joined by a large cast including Gepetto, Alice's uncle; Blanca, an intelligent wolf-like dog; Joachim Valentine, a vampire obsessed with wrestling; Lucia, a fortune teller; a fictionalized version of Anastasia Nikolaevna; and Kurando Inugami, a swordsman from Japan.[7][17]

The main antagonists are members of Sapientes Gladio, a formerly peaceful secret society perverted into a terrorist group; key characters are its current leader Grigori Rasputin, and his right hand man Nicolai Conrad. Additional characters include Roger Bacon, a 12th century philosopher who achieved imperfect immortality; Kato, a former ally of Yuri's; Jeanne, a young girl from Domrémy; Shadow Hearts antagonist Albert Simon, who appears as a vision in Yuri's mind; Jovis Abraham, the original co-founder of Sapientes Gladio; the Japanese foreign minister Kantaro Ishimura; and Ouka, a cloned version of Kato's dead lover Yoshiko Kawashima.[15][17]

Plot edit

During a mission to Domrémy, Karin's unit is attacked by a demon. To combat him, Karin is partnered with Nicolai to retrieve an artifact called the Holy Mistletoe from Apoina Tower in the Vatican City. Returning to Domrémy, the "demon" turns out to be Yuri, and Nicolai reveals his true goal of destroying Yuri before he can threaten Sapientes Gladio while holding the girl Jeanne hostage. Yuri ends up impaled by the Mistletoe, which begins disrupting his powers and releasing trapped Malice, dark energy generated by monsters. During the attacks on Domrémy, Jeanne is killed, and in Yuri's journey, her spirit resides in the Graveyard. Nicolai blackmails Yuri into retrieving the forbidden Émigré Manuscript in exchange for releasing the captured Roger Bacon. The group is double-crossed and ultimately rescues Bacon, although Nicolai takes the Émigré Manuscript. Guided by Bacon, they head to Russia to face Rasputin. Rasputin is fuelling the war through Sapientes Gladio and an alliance with Japanese sympathizers, his ultimate goal being to replace Nicholas II of Russia with Nicolai, the tzar's illegitimate heir. After learning of Rasputin's invulnerability due to his pact with the god Asmodeus, the group flees Russia along with the endangered Anastasia.

To overcome Rasputin's power, the group finds Abraham; he reveals that Albert Simons' actions during the events of Shadow Hearts were an attempt to foil Rasputin. Yuri travels inside his soul with Karin's help, meeting Simons' spirit and taming the god Amon. The group returns to Russia, exposing Rasputin. Defeated by Amon, Rasputin sacrifices his soul to Asmodeus, who takes over his body and summons a magical fortress, aiming to obliterate humanity. Prior to leaving, Nicolai confronts Rasputin, revealing that he has made a pact with the god Astaroth. Yuri's group defeats Rasputin, but before dying he reveals that the Mistletoe's Curse will destroy Yuri's memories and that Nicolai intends to release the Malice from Apoina Tower, increasing the war's barbarity. The group is too late to stop Nicolai from releasing Malice into the world as an act of defiance against Yuri. They are about to kill him when Kato intervenes, sealing Apoina Tower and leaving with both Nicolai and the Émigré Manuscript due to Japan's alliance with Russia.

In Japan, Foreign Minister Ishimura intends to use Nicolai to destabilize the West and protect Japan from its influence. Attempts to extract Astaroth give the demon full control of Nicolai's body. Yuri's group, allied with his cousin Kurando, fails to prevent Astaroth's escape due to the opposition of Kato and his cloned group of soldiers which includes Ouka. After Astaroth's escape, Kato helps Yuri's group defeat the god at its lair in Mount Fuji. The enraged Nicholai tries to kill Yuri, then attacks Kato when he intercedes; Ouka blocks the blow, dying in Kato's arms. Kato kills Nicolai, later giving Yuri the Émigré Manuscript to attempt Alice's resurrection and declaring them now enemies. The group confronts Ishimura, and when his grandson appears and Ishimura begs they spare him, Yuri flies into a rage and beats Ishimura nearly to death before breaking down in tears, having forgotten his reason for fighting. Bacon helps Yuri attempt Alice's resurrection. The ritual briefly works, with Alice assuring her love for Yuri before her new body disintegrates. Bacon deduces that Kato encouraged the ritual to use its side effect of time warping for his own ends; Kato plans to travel back in time and rewrite history, unmaking the current world.

After meeting Alice's spirit and having a final talk with Jeanne, Yuri faces Kato as he summons the magical Asuka Stone Platform to enact his plan. Kato is defeated, and before dying tells Yuri that the group must wish for their heart's desire in order to escape. As the others depart to places they can find happiness, the Mistletoe's Curse manifests, and Yuri bids Karin farewell and remains behind. Depending on his answer to a question from Jeanne, Yuri can allow the Curse to consume him and end up in Roger's care as an amnesiac; or commit suicide, reuniting with Alice's spirit before going back in time to the day they met and getting the chance to save her. The latter has been confirmed as the canon ending.[15][16] Whatever Yuri's choice, Karin is sent back in time to Tokyo in 1887, there meeting Yuri's father and deciding to move on with her life; Karin uses the name "Anne", and becomes Yuri's mother.[15]

Development edit

Covenant was developed by Sacnoth, the same studio that had handled both Shadow Hearts and series predecessor Koudelka.[16] During the game's development, Sacnoth was rebranded as Nautilus, with Covenant being the company's first title released under the new branding.[18][19][20] Matsuzo Machida returned as director and writer, and Miyako Kato as character designer. The art director was Takamusa Ohsawa.[16][21][22] Production of the game began in the autumn of 2002. For the sequel of Shadow Hearts the staff wanted to maintain the serious atmosphere from the prequel, while still containing punchlines as comic relief.[21] This was due to feedback from players who felt the storyline and overall tone of Shadow Hearts was too dark and disturbing.[16]

The theme of the game is "happiness", alluding to how people may find happiness in many different ways, reflected mainly in Yuri's story. Due to Yuri's popularity, the character returned for the sequel. The staff initially had the idea of bringing him back alongside Alice as a happily married couple, but ultimately believed that this did not fit the serious tone of the game. As a result, the plot begins with Alice dead, resulting in a negative response from the fans. Machida, impressed with the fans' backlash regarding Yuri not being Karin's lover due to their preference for the relationship between Yuri and Alice, answered that they should play the game.[21] The final plot twist of Karin being Yuri's mother was not decided until Machida was writing the ending. While the more conventional route would be to have Yuri partner with Karin, he felt that went against the "pure love theme" around Yuri and Alice. He also reasoned that Yuri would not have the impetus to change the past if he accepted Karin's love.[16]

Ohsawa reported that Machida gave his team the "impossible" task of making the 3D character models exactly match their 2D concept illustrations.[22] As with the first game, monster designs drew inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.[16] Incorporating real-time events into the game proved difficult for the staff, although they enjoyed the challenge it provided. Excluding Blanca, who was used for comic relief, real actors were used for all the cast's motion capture. Machida created the storyboards at the beginning of production; initially planning two and a half hours of cutscenes, it eventually extended to over four hours.[21] The game's CGI cutscenes were produced by Avant.[23] A focus for the developers was adjusting the camera angles during real-time scenes.[22]

The combat system of Shadow Hearts was revamped for Covenant, in response to criticism of the first game's mechanics. The Judgment Ring was redesigned, resulting in the addition of multiple ring types and an "auto" mode. The combo system was implemented to make the game feel more rewarding for advanced players.[21] Designer Takehiro Ishida said the reworked battle system would provide a greater sense of speed and action for players, describing its production as a challenge.[24] Machida estimated the gameplay content as being around 40 hours, twice that of the first game.[22] Adjustments and tuning of the mechanics went on until the end of development.[24]

Music edit

Main article: Music of the Shadow Hearts series

The music of Covenant was composed by Yoshitaka Hirota, with additional contributions by Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito and Tomoko Kobayashi; Kobayashi's contributions were limited to story-related pieces.[25] The three composers were asked to examine and deconstruct the sound of the original Shadow Hearts.[24] Due to the shift in tone, Hirota made the soundtrack more dynamic and emotional without surrendering the signature Shadow Hearts sound.[25] The final soundtrack included over sixty pieces.[24] The previous game's main theme "Icaro" returned in arranged forms.[26] The ending theme "Getsurenka" was written by Hirota and performed by Mio Isayama, with lyrics by Kumiko Hasegawa.[25] A 2CD soundtrack album, Shadow Hearts II Original Soundtrack, was published by Team Entertainment on March 24, 2004.[27]

Release edit

The existence of a sequel to Shadow Hearts was first revealed in early June 2003 by the Japanese video game website Quiter.[28] It was officially announced under its official Japanese title Shadow Hearts II two weeks later.[1] The game was released on February 19, 2004 by Aruze. It came as both a standard edition and a limited edition featuring a CD with cast interviews and artwork, and themed merchandise.[29] A budget release "Director's Cut" was released on March 10, 2005. It included new and expanded dungeons, new story sequences, new sections where players controlled a group of the main antagonists, and a new CGI cutscene replacing the real-time cutscene of Yuri and Alice's meeting.[30][31] Four guidebooks were released between February and June 2004. An authorized comic anthology was published by Studio DNA in June 2004. Other merchandise included sheet music and a perfume-themed after the main protagonist.[32] In 2008, Aruze used Covenant as the theme for one of its slot machines.[33]

A Western release in North America and Europe from Midway Games was announced in April 2004 as Shadow Hearts: Covenant.[34] The game was translated into English by ZPang America, and dubbed at the studio of Intersound Post Production.[7][35] The English script was written by returning translator Jeremy Blaustein, returning from Shadow Hearts.[36][37] Looking back on his work, Blaustein picked out Covenant as one of his favorite projects and the one he would wish to be remembered for. He was given "a relatively free hand" when translating, and arranged for voice recording to happen at a good studio in Los Angeles. As a voice director, Blaustine brought on Richard Epcar, who was noted for his work in both anime and gaming. In addition to directing voice acting, he took some roles in Covenant.[36] The game was released in North America on September 27, 2004.[38] It released in Europe the following year on March 11.[39]

Reception edit

According to Aruze, sales in Japan had reached around 150,000 units by November 2004.[46] A different estimate from an unnamed Nautilus program director said that it sold 120,000 units in Japan by 2005.[18] The game was counted as a success by Aruze and cited as a factor in their gaming division earning a profit during the late 2004 period.[46] Alongside other titles, the game was credited with a rise in sale revenues for Midway Games during the 2004-2005 fiscal year.[47] Sales in North America were similar to that of the Japanese version by 2005 according to Nautilus.[18]

Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu recommended the game to players who enjoyed dark settings and characters.[43] Jeremy Parish, writing for 1UP.com, praised the narrative for its contemporary setting and open association with real-life political and religious organisations.[41] Eurogamer's Rob Fahey criticised the increasing complexity of the plot and need for players to know the original game's story.[42] GamePro focused on the game's comedic elements, which it praised as having translated well from Japanese to English.[45] Bethany Massimilla of GameSpot lauded the blend of serious narrative, mystical elements, and different types of comedy.[6] GameSpy's Steve Steinberg was also positive, warning that those looking for a serious narrative might be turned off by the humour, and also noting some pacing issues.[11] Jeremy Dunham, writing for IGN, praised both the wider narrative and how the characters were written.[2] PALGN's Mark Marrow said that Covenant "produces one of the finest available [stories]" in RPGs.[4] Patrick Gann of RPGFan was positive overall, praising the game's alternate history setting.[5]

Lisa Mason of Game Informer referred to the graphics as "jaggy, but really nicely detailed",[44] sentiments echoed by GamePro.[45] Massimilla called the blend of background art, in-game graphics and CGI cutscenes "very easy on the eye".[6] Dunham cited the general presentation as a step up from that of Shadow Hearts despite console-specific graphical faults.[2] Marrow had similar comments to Dunham, saying the game was "extremely fulfilling and very nice on the eyes."[4] Gann generally lauded the game's graphics as a significant improvement over Shadow Hearts, and praise the character designs.[5] The soundtrack met with general praise, although some felt it was inferior to the first game.[2][4][5][6][41][42][45] Reactions to the English voice work were mixed; some praised it, while others felt it lacked polish.[2][4][5][6]

Famitsu lauded the game's "unique and detailed" battle system, and expanded breadth compared to the first Shadow Hearts.[43] While Parish found the battle system enjoyable, he noted an archaic structure that was at odds with many other RPGs of the time and a sense of the developers including a little of anything to catch attention, which could potentially hold the game back from mainstream appeal.[41] Fahay found the turn-based mechanics refreshing after recent action-oriented titles like Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, and praised the Judgment Ring mechanics despite it feeling old-fashioned compared to the similar turn-based system of Final Fantasy X.[42] Mason again praised the Judgment Ring and combo system, saying they made up for the slow character progression system.[44] GamePro was generally enthusiastic about the gameplay,[45] and Massimilla lauded the various mechanics for the need for player engagement compared to other similar battle systems.[6] Steinberg called Covenant "a nifty twist on the traditional RPG" due to its unconventional battle mechanics.[11] Dunham again called the system superior to the first game, giving praise to the battles and wider customization options available to players.[2] Marrow once more shared these sentiments, saying that players would be pleasantly lost in the breadth of content available beyond the main story.[4] Gann praised the battle mechanics, and enjoyed the game's level scaling system.[5]

Covenant won the 2004 NAVGTR Award for "Costume Design" and nominated for "Sequel RPG Game of the Year".[48] In RPGamer's 2004 staff awards, Covenant won in both the "Best PlayStation 2" and "Best Overall" categories.[49][50] It was also IGN's RPG Vault PS2 Game of the Year,[51] IGN PS2's The Best of 2004 Editors' Choice Awards for Best PlayStation 2 RPG Game,[52] and Editors' Choice Awards for Best PlayStation 2 Game That No One Played.[53] RPGFan staff, in an episode of their retrospective series "Retro Encounter", fondly remembered Covenant as one of the best RPGs they had played in 2004, despite some aspects not aging well over the years.[54] In the years following its release, websites including IGN, GamesRadar, PlayStation Lifestyle Game Informer, and Polygon ranked it as either one of the best RPGs or one of the best games of all time.[39][55][56][57][58] GameTrailers called Covenant "the greatest JRPG that no-one talks about" due to its unconventional tone and battle system.[59]

Sequel edit

Main article: Shadow Hearts: From the New World

According to Machida, plans were made for a Shadow Hearts III which would have continued Yuri's story, but these never materialised.[16] A third game in the series, Shadow Hearts: From the New World, was produced by Nautilus.[20] Many team members returned, and the game's production was completed in a very short time.[60][61] Released in Japan in Aruze in 2005, it was published in by Xseed Games in North America the following year, and in Europe by Ghostlight in 2007.[62][63][64] From The New World was the last game produced by Nautilus before their 2007 absorption into Aruze, when they ceased console game development.[65][66][67]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Known in Japan as Shadow Hearts II (Japanese: シャドウハーツII, Hepburn: Shadōhātsu Tsū).[1]

References edit

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External links edit

  • (Archived 2005)
  • Shadow Hearts: Covenant at MobyGames

January 01, 1970
shadow, hearts, covenant, role, playing, video, game, developed, nautilus, sacnoth, playstation, second, entry, shadow, hearts, series, published, japan, aruze, 2004, game, released, internationally, midway, games, 2004, north, america, 2005, europe, director,. Shadow Hearts Covenant a is a role playing video game developed by Nautilus Sacnoth for the PlayStation 2 and is the second entry in the Shadow Hearts series Published in Japan by Aruze in 2004 the game was released internationally by Midway Games in 2004 North America and 2005 Europe A director s cut with additional content was released in Japan in 2005 Shadow Hearts CovenantNorth American box art showing protagonist Karin Koenig Developer s NautilusPublisher s JP AruzeWW Midway GamesDirector s Matsuzo MachidaProducer s Asako OikawaDesigner s Takehiro IshidaProgrammer s Izumi HamamotoArtist s Miyako KatoWriter s Matsuzo MachidaComposer s Yoshitaka HirotaYasunori MitsudaKenji ItoSeriesShadow HeartsPlatform s PlayStation 2ReleaseJP February 19 2004NA September 27 2004PAL March 11 2005Genre s Role playingMode s Single player Covenant takes place in 1915 six months after the events of the first game At the height of World War I German Army lieutenant Karin Koenig is drawn into a conflict between original protagonist Yuri Hyuga and the secret society Sapientes Gladio During gameplay the player explores various locations through a growing party of characters Four characters take part in turn based battles against a variety of enemies with actions relying on a timing based system dubbed the Judgment Ring The game s worldview combines alternate history with elements of Lovecraftian horror Covenant began development in the autumn of 2002 returning staff members included writer and director Matsuzo Machida artist Miyako Kato and composer Yoshitaka Hirota The team redesigned the battle system and altered the story s tone based on feedback from the first game s players The localization was handled by Jeremy Blaustein who remembered the game as one of his favorite projects Selling around 240 000 units in Japan and North America the game was praised by reviewers It has since been ranked by several journalistic sites as one of the best games of its time A third Shadow Hearts title Shadow Hearts From the New World was released in 2005 Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Synopsis 2 1 Setting and characters 2 2 Plot 3 Development 3 1 Music 3 2 Release 4 Reception 5 Sequel 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksGameplay edit nbsp A battle in Shadow Hearts Covenant battle actions depend on the proper use of the Judgment Ring Shown is one part of a Combo Trial between multiple characters Shadow Hearts is a role playing video game RPG where players take control of a party led by either Karin Koenig or Yuri Hyuga as they progress through the game progress is split between a linear story driven first half and a second half which allows greater exploration and access to optional areas 2 During gameplay the party explores a number of towns and country areas across the Eurasian continent collecting and buying items and equipment talking to non playable characters who act as quests givers and merchants and completing both story centered quests and side quests 3 4 5 The game s turn based battles are triggered through both random and scripted encounters 4 Turn order is dependent on a character s speed statistic 6 Each player character has hit points health skill points magic and sanity points SP SP ordinarily decreases once per turn and when a character runs out of SP they go berserk and cannot be controlled by the player 7 4 Actions include a variety of normal attacks special attacks specific to characters which are earned through side tasks Crest magic which can be assigned to different characters Items such as healing and modifiers for character abilities and defending against attacks 2 7 After each battle characters earn experience points to raise their level and character attributes and Soul energy from defeated monsters The higher a character s level the more Crests can be equipped 8 9 A key element of gameplay is the Judgment Ring Represented as a disc with colored areas on its surface the player s aim is to hit those areas as a pointer passes over them 6 If the player fails to hit an area the attack can either be shortened or canceled altogether Magic attacks use green hit areas during the initial stages of an attack For items blue hit areas are used with increasing hue the deeper the hue when the player triggers the action the more effective that item is on its target 2 7 10 The final portion of each target area is red and if the player hits it the attack or skill is boosted in power 6 The Judgment Ring is also used outside battle in shops when shopping at a merchant hitting the right areas can discount prices and increase sale values for items 4 10 The Judgment Ring is used with every battle action from standard attacks and special abilities to item use 11 Some status ailments impact how the Judgment Rings behave 2 An individual character s Judgment Ring moves at a different speed and can be customized options include adjusting hit zone numbers increasing hit area size increasing damage while decreasing hit area size and activating an auto battle option at the cost of attack power 4 6 11 Characters including some enemy types can use combos with two or more characters Combos require successful use of the Judgment Ring in addition to a button trigger to continue and complete the combo If the button input fails or a non compatible ability is used the combo is broken and all remaining characters lose their turn actions 7 6 Each successful hit in a combo increases damage for the next character s action Using four characters in a successful combo triggers a fifth special magical attack 4 A key ability for both Yuri and late game playable character Kurando Inugami is Fusion the ability to transform into a monstrous creature with access to unique abilities 3 Character attributes are also changed depending on the Fusion type 12 New fusions for Yuri are unlocked in the Graveyard a realm within his soul accessed either at save points or on the world map Charging gravestones with Soul energy gathered from defeated enemies unlocks new Fusions within a specific group 7 12 Activating a Fusion costs a set amount of SP with additional SP reduced each turn by an amount dictated by the Fusion form s power 7 Synopsis editSetting and characters edit Shadow Hearts is set in an alternate reality taking place in the year 1915 during World War I and mingling historical events and people with supernatural elements including divine beings and cosmic horror 13 The story shifts locations between Europe Russia the Near East and Japan 14 Another key location is the metaphysical Graveyard 12 The story takes place six months after the events of Shadow Hearts following on from that game s bad ending 15 16 The main protagonists are Karin Koenig a German Army lieutenant and Yuri Hyuga the main protagonist of Shadow Hearts Following the events of Shadow Hearts which culminated in the death of his lover Alice Elliot a depressed Yuri buried Alice in Domremy la Pucelle taking it upon himself to defend the town from the War During their journey Karin and Yuri are joined by a large cast including Gepetto Alice s uncle Blanca an intelligent wolf like dog Joachim Valentine a vampire obsessed with wrestling Lucia a fortune teller a fictionalized version of Anastasia Nikolaevna and Kurando Inugami a swordsman from Japan 7 17 The main antagonists are members of Sapientes Gladio a formerly peaceful secret society perverted into a terrorist group key characters are its current leader Grigori Rasputin and his right hand man Nicolai Conrad Additional characters include Roger Bacon a 12th century philosopher who achieved imperfect immortality Kato a former ally of Yuri s Jeanne a young girl from Domremy Shadow Hearts antagonist Albert Simon who appears as a vision in Yuri s mind Jovis Abraham the original co founder of Sapientes Gladio the Japanese foreign minister Kantaro Ishimura and Ouka a cloned version of Kato s dead lover Yoshiko Kawashima 15 17 Plot edit During a mission to Domremy Karin s unit is attacked by a demon To combat him Karin is partnered with Nicolai to retrieve an artifact called the Holy Mistletoe from Apoina Tower in the Vatican City Returning to Domremy the demon turns out to be Yuri and Nicolai reveals his true goal of destroying Yuri before he can threaten Sapientes Gladio while holding the girl Jeanne hostage Yuri ends up impaled by the Mistletoe which begins disrupting his powers and releasing trapped Malice dark energy generated by monsters During the attacks on Domremy Jeanne is killed and in Yuri s journey her spirit resides in the Graveyard Nicolai blackmails Yuri into retrieving the forbidden Emigre Manuscript in exchange for releasing the captured Roger Bacon The group is double crossed and ultimately rescues Bacon although Nicolai takes the Emigre Manuscript Guided by Bacon they head to Russia to face Rasputin Rasputin is fuelling the war through Sapientes Gladio and an alliance with Japanese sympathizers his ultimate goal being to replace Nicholas II of Russia with Nicolai the tzar s illegitimate heir After learning of Rasputin s invulnerability due to his pact with the god Asmodeus the group flees Russia along with the endangered Anastasia To overcome Rasputin s power the group finds Abraham he reveals that Albert Simons actions during the events of Shadow Hearts were an attempt to foil Rasputin Yuri travels inside his soul with Karin s help meeting Simons spirit and taming the god Amon The group returns to Russia exposing Rasputin Defeated by Amon Rasputin sacrifices his soul to Asmodeus who takes over his body and summons a magical fortress aiming to obliterate humanity Prior to leaving Nicolai confronts Rasputin revealing that he has made a pact with the god Astaroth Yuri s group defeats Rasputin but before dying he reveals that the Mistletoe s Curse will destroy Yuri s memories and that Nicolai intends to release the Malice from Apoina Tower increasing the war s barbarity The group is too late to stop Nicolai from releasing Malice into the world as an act of defiance against Yuri They are about to kill him when Kato intervenes sealing Apoina Tower and leaving with both Nicolai and the Emigre Manuscript due to Japan s alliance with Russia In Japan Foreign Minister Ishimura intends to use Nicolai to destabilize the West and protect Japan from its influence Attempts to extract Astaroth give the demon full control of Nicolai s body Yuri s group allied with his cousin Kurando fails to prevent Astaroth s escape due to the opposition of Kato and his cloned group of soldiers which includes Ouka After Astaroth s escape Kato helps Yuri s group defeat the god at its lair in Mount Fuji The enraged Nicholai tries to kill Yuri then attacks Kato when he intercedes Ouka blocks the blow dying in Kato s arms Kato kills Nicolai later giving Yuri the Emigre Manuscript to attempt Alice s resurrection and declaring them now enemies The group confronts Ishimura and when his grandson appears and Ishimura begs they spare him Yuri flies into a rage and beats Ishimura nearly to death before breaking down in tears having forgotten his reason for fighting Bacon helps Yuri attempt Alice s resurrection The ritual briefly works with Alice assuring her love for Yuri before her new body disintegrates Bacon deduces that Kato encouraged the ritual to use its side effect of time warping for his own ends Kato plans to travel back in time and rewrite history unmaking the current world After meeting Alice s spirit and having a final talk with Jeanne Yuri faces Kato as he summons the magical Asuka Stone Platform to enact his plan Kato is defeated and before dying tells Yuri that the group must wish for their heart s desire in order to escape As the others depart to places they can find happiness the Mistletoe s Curse manifests and Yuri bids Karin farewell and remains behind Depending on his answer to a question from Jeanne Yuri can allow the Curse to consume him and end up in Roger s care as an amnesiac or commit suicide reuniting with Alice s spirit before going back in time to the day they met and getting the chance to save her The latter has been confirmed as the canon ending 15 16 Whatever Yuri s choice Karin is sent back in time to Tokyo in 1887 there meeting Yuri s father and deciding to move on with her life Karin uses the name Anne and becomes Yuri s mother 15 Development editCovenant was developed by Sacnoth the same studio that had handled both Shadow Hearts and series predecessor Koudelka 16 During the game s development Sacnoth was rebranded as Nautilus with Covenant being the company s first title released under the new branding 18 19 20 Matsuzo Machida returned as director and writer and Miyako Kato as character designer The art director was Takamusa Ohsawa 16 21 22 Production of the game began in the autumn of 2002 For the sequel of Shadow Hearts the staff wanted to maintain the serious atmosphere from the prequel while still containing punchlines as comic relief 21 This was due to feedback from players who felt the storyline and overall tone of Shadow Hearts was too dark and disturbing 16 The theme of the game is happiness alluding to how people may find happiness in many different ways reflected mainly in Yuri s story Due to Yuri s popularity the character returned for the sequel The staff initially had the idea of bringing him back alongside Alice as a happily married couple but ultimately believed that this did not fit the serious tone of the game As a result the plot begins with Alice dead resulting in a negative response from the fans Machida impressed with the fans backlash regarding Yuri not being Karin s lover due to their preference for the relationship between Yuri and Alice answered that they should play the game 21 The final plot twist of Karin being Yuri s mother was not decided until Machida was writing the ending While the more conventional route would be to have Yuri partner with Karin he felt that went against the pure love theme around Yuri and Alice He also reasoned that Yuri would not have the impetus to change the past if he accepted Karin s love 16 Ohsawa reported that Machida gave his team the impossible task of making the 3D character models exactly match their 2D concept illustrations 22 As with the first game monster designs drew inspiration from H P Lovecraft s Cthulhu Mythos 16 Incorporating real time events into the game proved difficult for the staff although they enjoyed the challenge it provided Excluding Blanca who was used for comic relief real actors were used for all the cast s motion capture Machida created the storyboards at the beginning of production initially planning two and a half hours of cutscenes it eventually extended to over four hours 21 The game s CGI cutscenes were produced by Avant 23 A focus for the developers was adjusting the camera angles during real time scenes 22 The combat system of Shadow Hearts was revamped for Covenant in response to criticism of the first game s mechanics The Judgment Ring was redesigned resulting in the addition of multiple ring types and an auto mode The combo system was implemented to make the game feel more rewarding for advanced players 21 Designer Takehiro Ishida said the reworked battle system would provide a greater sense of speed and action for players describing its production as a challenge 24 Machida estimated the gameplay content as being around 40 hours twice that of the first game 22 Adjustments and tuning of the mechanics went on until the end of development 24 Music edit Main article Music of the Shadow Hearts series The music of Covenant was composed by Yoshitaka Hirota with additional contributions by Yasunori Mitsuda Kenji Ito and Tomoko Kobayashi Kobayashi s contributions were limited to story related pieces 25 The three composers were asked to examine and deconstruct the sound of the original Shadow Hearts 24 Due to the shift in tone Hirota made the soundtrack more dynamic and emotional without surrendering the signature Shadow Hearts sound 25 The final soundtrack included over sixty pieces 24 The previous game s main theme Icaro returned in arranged forms 26 The ending theme Getsurenka was written by Hirota and performed by Mio Isayama with lyrics by Kumiko Hasegawa 25 A 2CD soundtrack album Shadow Hearts II Original Soundtrack was published by Team Entertainment on March 24 2004 27 Release edit The existence of a sequel to Shadow Hearts was first revealed in early June 2003 by the Japanese video game website Quiter 28 It was officially announced under its official Japanese title Shadow Hearts II two weeks later 1 The game was released on February 19 2004 by Aruze It came as both a standard edition and a limited edition featuring a CD with cast interviews and artwork and themed merchandise 29 A budget release Director s Cut was released on March 10 2005 It included new and expanded dungeons new story sequences new sections where players controlled a group of the main antagonists and a new CGI cutscene replacing the real time cutscene of Yuri and Alice s meeting 30 31 Four guidebooks were released between February and June 2004 An authorized comic anthology was published by Studio DNA in June 2004 Other merchandise included sheet music and a perfume themed after the main protagonist 32 In 2008 Aruze used Covenant as the theme for one of its slot machines 33 A Western release in North America and Europe from Midway Games was announced in April 2004 as Shadow Hearts Covenant 34 The game was translated into English by ZPang America and dubbed at the studio of Intersound Post Production 7 35 The English script was written by returning translator Jeremy Blaustein returning from Shadow Hearts 36 37 Looking back on his work Blaustein picked out Covenant as one of his favorite projects and the one he would wish to be remembered for He was given a relatively free hand when translating and arranged for voice recording to happen at a good studio in Los Angeles As a voice director Blaustine brought on Richard Epcar who was noted for his work in both anime and gaming In addition to directing voice acting he took some roles in Covenant 36 The game was released in North America on September 27 2004 38 It released in Europe the following year on March 11 39 Reception editReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScoreMetacritic85 100 49 reviews 40 Review scoresPublicationScore1Up com7 10 41 Eurogamer7 10 42 Famitsu32 40 43 Game Informer8 10 44 GamePro4 5 5 45 GameSpot8 6 6 GameSpy nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 11 IGN9 10 2 PALGN8 10 4 RPGFan93 5 According to Aruze sales in Japan had reached around 150 000 units by November 2004 46 A different estimate from an unnamed Nautilus program director said that it sold 120 000 units in Japan by 2005 18 The game was counted as a success by Aruze and cited as a factor in their gaming division earning a profit during the late 2004 period 46 Alongside other titles the game was credited with a rise in sale revenues for Midway Games during the 2004 2005 fiscal year 47 Sales in North America were similar to that of the Japanese version by 2005 according to Nautilus 18 Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu recommended the game to players who enjoyed dark settings and characters 43 Jeremy Parish writing for 1UP com praised the narrative for its contemporary setting and open association with real life political and religious organisations 41 Eurogamer s Rob Fahey criticised the increasing complexity of the plot and need for players to know the original game s story 42 GamePro focused on the game s comedic elements which it praised as having translated well from Japanese to English 45 Bethany Massimilla of GameSpot lauded the blend of serious narrative mystical elements and different types of comedy 6 GameSpy s Steve Steinberg was also positive warning that those looking for a serious narrative might be turned off by the humour and also noting some pacing issues 11 Jeremy Dunham writing for IGN praised both the wider narrative and how the characters were written 2 PALGN s Mark Marrow said that Covenant produces one of the finest available stories in RPGs 4 Patrick Gann of RPGFan was positive overall praising the game s alternate history setting 5 Lisa Mason of Game Informer referred to the graphics as jaggy but really nicely detailed 44 sentiments echoed by GamePro 45 Massimilla called the blend of background art in game graphics and CGI cutscenes very easy on the eye 6 Dunham cited the general presentation as a step up from that of Shadow Hearts despite console specific graphical faults 2 Marrow had similar comments to Dunham saying the game was extremely fulfilling and very nice on the eyes 4 Gann generally lauded the game s graphics as a significant improvement over Shadow Hearts and praise the character designs 5 The soundtrack met with general praise although some felt it was inferior to the first game 2 4 5 6 41 42 45 Reactions to the English voice work were mixed some praised it while others felt it lacked polish 2 4 5 6 Famitsu lauded the game s unique and detailed battle system and expanded breadth compared to the first Shadow Hearts 43 While Parish found the battle system enjoyable he noted an archaic structure that was at odds with many other RPGs of the time and a sense of the developers including a little of anything to catch attention which could potentially hold the game back from mainstream appeal 41 Fahay found the turn based mechanics refreshing after recent action oriented titles like Star Ocean Till the End of Time and praised the Judgment Ring mechanics despite it feeling old fashioned compared to the similar turn based system of Final Fantasy X 42 Mason again praised the Judgment Ring and combo system saying they made up for the slow character progression system 44 GamePro was generally enthusiastic about the gameplay 45 and Massimilla lauded the various mechanics for the need for player engagement compared to other similar battle systems 6 Steinberg called Covenant a nifty twist on the traditional RPG due to its unconventional battle mechanics 11 Dunham again called the system superior to the first game giving praise to the battles and wider customization options available to players 2 Marrow once more shared these sentiments saying that players would be pleasantly lost in the breadth of content available beyond the main story 4 Gann praised the battle mechanics and enjoyed the game s level scaling system 5 Covenant won the 2004 NAVGTR Award for Costume Design and nominated for Sequel RPG Game of the Year 48 In RPGamer s 2004 staff awards Covenant won in both the Best PlayStation 2 and Best Overall categories 49 50 It was also IGN s RPG Vault PS2 Game of the Year 51 IGN PS2 s The Best of 2004 Editors Choice Awards for Best PlayStation 2 RPG Game 52 and Editors Choice Awards for Best PlayStation 2 Game That No One Played 53 RPGFan staff in an episode of their retrospective series Retro Encounter fondly remembered Covenant as one of the best RPGs they had played in 2004 despite some aspects not aging well over the years 54 In the years following its release websites including IGN GamesRadar PlayStation Lifestyle Game Informer and Polygon ranked it as either one of the best RPGs or one of the best games of all time 39 55 56 57 58 GameTrailers called Covenant the greatest JRPG that no one talks about due to its unconventional tone and battle system 59 Sequel editMain article Shadow Hearts From the New World According to Machida plans were made for a Shadow Hearts III which would have continued Yuri s story but these never materialised 16 A third game in the series Shadow Hearts From the New World was produced by Nautilus 20 Many team members returned and the game s production was completed in a very short time 60 61 Released in Japan in Aruze in 2005 it was published in by Xseed Games in North America the following year and in Europe by Ghostlight in 2007 62 63 64 From The New World was the last game produced by Nautilus before their 2007 absorption into Aruze when they ceased console game development 65 66 67 Notes edit Known in Japan as Shadow Hearts II Japanese シャドウハーツII Hepburn Shadōhatsu Tsu 1 References edit a b Shadow Hearts 2 announced by Aruze GameSpot 2003 06 18 Archived from the original on 2019 06 28 Retrieved 2019 06 28 a b c d e f g h i j Dunham Jeremy 2004 09 23 Shadow Hearts Covenant Review IGN Archived from the original on 2008 09 17 Retrieved 2008 09 01 a b シャドウハーツ2 ザ コンプリートガイド 電撃プレイステーション in Japanese ASCII Media Works 2004 05 31 ISBN 4 8402 2669 5 a b c d e f g h i j k l Marrow Mark 2005 12 01 Shadow Hearts Covenant Review PALGN Archived from the original on 2008 03 23 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b c d e f g Bracken Mike 2004 11 02 Review Shadow Hearts Covenant RPGFan Archived from the original on 2019 05 23 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b c d e f g h i j k Massimilla Bethany 2004 09 27 Shadow Hearts Covenant Review GameSpot Archived from the original on 2013 10 28 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b c d e f g h Midway Staff 2004 09 27 Shadow Hearts Covenant Instruction Booklet Midway Games Shadow Hearts Covenant PS2 Review GameZone 2004 10 04 Archived from the original on 2017 05 08 Retrieved 2017 07 06 Shadow Hearts Covenant Review RPGamer 2004 Archived from the original on 2019 07 06 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b シャドウハーツ公式サイト シャドウハーツII システム ジャッジメントリング Shadow Hearts website in Japanese Archived from the original on 2016 10 29 Retrieved 2019 07 06 a b c d e Steinberg Steve 2004 09 27 Reviews Shadow Hearts Covenant GameSpy Archived from the original on 2009 04 14 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b c シャドウハーツ公式サイト シャドウハーツII システム フュージョン Shadow Hearts website in Japanese Archived from the original on 2016 07 02 Retrieved 2019 07 06 Wallace Kimberley 2012 12 14 Remembering Shadow Hearts Game Informer Archived from the original on 2018 07 05 Retrieved 2018 12 22 シャドウハーツ公式サイト シャドウハーツII 舞台 Shadow Hearts website in Japanese Archived from the original on 2016 11 07 Retrieved 2019 06 28 a b c d シャドウハーツII 公式設定資料集 World Guidance in Japanese ASCII Media Works 2004 07 01 ISBN 4 7973 2772 3 a b c d e f g h Robuschi Majkol 2016 01 02 Intervista a Matsuzo Machida e Miyako Kato il duo creativo della serie Shadow Hearts Geek Gamer in Italian Archived from the original on 2016 03 08 Retrieved 2017 09 07 a b シャドウハーツ公式サイト シャドウハーツII 登場人物 Shadow Hearts website in Japanese Archived from the original on 2017 10 14 Retrieved 2018 12 22 a b c Winkler Chris 2005 RPGFan Exclusive Interview 2 Nautilus Aruze Consumer Game Division RPGFan Archived from the original on 2014 11 26 Retrieved 2014 02 15 2001年3月期決算説明会資料 PDF Universal Entertainment Corporation in Japanese 2001 Archived PDF from the original on 2017 12 26 Retrieved 2018 12 22 a b Alfonso Andrew 2005 09 26 Shadow Hearts 3 Odaiba Roundtable IGN Archived from the original on 2012 09 28 Retrieved 2018 12 24 a b c d e インタビュー シャドウハーツII Dengeki Online in Japanese 2003 Archived from the original on 2016 05 27 Retrieved 2018 12 22 a b c d 開発秘話も多数 シャドウハーツII 前夜祭 ITMedia in Japanese 2004 02 16 Archived from the original on 2015 06 01 Retrieved 2019 06 28 Avant Works シャドーハーツ2 Avant in Japanese Archived from the original on 2019 06 25 Retrieved 2019 06 28 a b c d アルゼ シャドウハーツII 前夜祭イベント開催 開発者 作曲家 声優などゲームに関わる人たちが続々登場 Game Watch Impress in Japanese 2004 02 16 Archived from the original on 2009 02 14 Retrieved 2018 07 08 a b c Schweitzer Ben 2013 05 09 Shadow Hearts Covenant Original Soundtrack Commentary Video Game Music Online Archived from the original on 2017 06 21 Retrieved 2018 07 08 Near Death Experience an interview with Yoshitaka Hirota Square Haven 2007 09 01 Archived from the original on 2007 10 11 Retrieved 2018 07 08 Discography Shadow Hearts II Original Soundtrack Procyon Studio in Japanese Archived from the original on 2016 07 23 Retrieved 2018 07 08 Shadow Hearts 2 is Coming IGN 2003 06 11 Archived from the original on 2017 07 21 Retrieved 2014 02 26 Dunham Jeremy 2004 01 07 Shadow Hearts II Limited Edition Details IGN Archived from the original on 2019 06 28 Retrieved 2019 06 28 アルゼ 新要素を追加した廉価版パッケージPS2 シャドウハーツII ディレクターズカット Game Watch Impress in Japanese 2005 02 04 Archived from the original on 2017 08 07 Retrieved 2019 06 28 シャドウハーツII ディレクターズカット Shadow Hearts Website in Japanese Archived from the original on 2016 08 19 Retrieved 2019 06 28 シャドウハーツ公式サイト シャドウハーツII グッズ Shadow Hearts Website in Japanese Archived from the original on 2016 03 25 Retrieved 2019 06 29 Yip Spencer 2008 12 18 Shadow Hearts Lives On As A Slot Machine Siliconera Archived from the original on 2009 11 08 Retrieved 2019 07 05 Fudge James 2004 04 29 Shadow Hearts Covenant Announced GameSpy Archived from the original on 2015 09 20 Retrieved 2019 06 28 About Zpang ZPang Archived from the original on 2011 01 21 Retrieved 2019 06 28 a b Carless Simon 2010 03 31 Interview The Life And Games Of Jeremy Blaustein GameSetWatch Archived from the original on 2018 05 12 Retrieved 2018 12 22 An Unsung Gaming Hero An Interview With Jeremy Blaustein The Gaming Library 2011 02 13 Archived from the original on 2011 02 15 Retrieved 2018 12 22 Winkler Chris 2004 09 08 Shadow Hearts Covenant Goes Gold RPGFan Archived from the original on 2015 09 06 Retrieved 2019 06 28 a b The 15 best JRPGs GamesRadar 2017 04 07 Archived from the original on 2019 06 27 Retrieved 2019 06 28 Shadow Hearts Covenant for PlayStation 2 Metacritic Archived from the original on 2016 06 22 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b c d Parish Jeremy 2004 09 27 Reviews Shadow Hearts Covenant 1UP com Archived from the original on 2005 11 08 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b c d Fahay Rob 2004 11 19 Shadow Hearts Covenant Review Eurogamer Archived from the original on 2014 11 28 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b c PS2 シャドウハーツII Famitsu in Japanese Archived from the original on 2014 06 20 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b c Mason Lisa 2004 05 19 Shadow Hearts Covenant Heart of Darkness Game Informer Archived from the original on 2006 05 24 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b c d e PS2 Review Shadow Hearts Covenant GamePro 2004 10 05 Archived from the original on 2005 08 17 Retrieved 2017 07 06 a b 2004年11月09日中間決算短信 PDF Universal Entertainment Corporation in Japanese 2004 11 09 Archived PDF from the original on 2017 12 26 Retrieved 2019 07 02 Feldmen Curt 2004 11 08 Midway revenues climb 47 percent GameSpot Archived from the original on 2019 06 29 Retrieved 2019 07 02 2004 Awards The National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers Archived from the original on 2020 04 06 Retrieved 2021 07 04 RPGamer Awards 2004 Staff s Best Overall Results RPGamer 2004 Archived from the original on 2008 05 13 Retrieved 2019 07 06 RPGamer Awards 2004 Staff s Best PlayStation 2 RPG RPGamer 2004 Archived from the original on 2008 05 12 Retrieved 2019 07 06 2004 RPG Vault Awards Part 1 IGN 2005 01 10 p 3 Archived from the original on 2010 04 03 Retrieved 2019 07 05 IGN PS2 Best of 2004 Awards Best RPG IGN 2004 12 28 Archived from the original on 2004 12 28 Retrieved 2021 02 03 IGN PS2 Best of 2004 Awards Best Game No One Played IGN 2004 12 28 Archived from the original on 2012 06 12 Retrieved 2021 02 03 Retro Encounter Final Thoughts Episodes 70 71 Shadow Hearts Covenant RPGFan 2017 Archived from the original on 2017 02 26 Retrieved 2019 07 06 Top 100 RPGs Of All Time IGN 2017 Archived from the original on 2019 05 16 Retrieved 2019 07 06 Van Duine Erin 2015 03 06 The PlayStation 2 A Trip Down RPG Lane PlayStation Lifestyle Archived from the original on 2019 02 18 Retrieved 2019 07 06 The Top 100 RPGs Of All Time Game Informer 2018 01 01 Archived from the original on 2019 05 10 Retrieved 2019 07 06 The 500 best games of all time 300 201 Polygon 2017 11 25 Archived from the original on 2019 06 26 Retrieved 2019 07 06 GameTrailers 2014 03 04 Top 5 JRPG Battle Systems YouTube Archived from the original on 2021 12 13 Retrieved 2019 07 06 シャドウハーツ フロム ザ ニューワールド ダイアリー Shadow Hearts From The New World Website in Japanese 2005 Archived from the original on 2015 08 24 Retrieved 2018 07 08 Shadow Hearts From the New World Original Soundtrack Commentary Video Game Music Online 2013 05 09 Archived from the original on 2015 03 29 Retrieved 2018 07 08 Winkler Chris 2005 05 10 New Shadow Hearts From The New World Info Released RPGFan Archived from the original on 2008 05 09 Retrieved 2019 07 05 Yip Spencer 2006 03 06 Shadow Hearts rises again Siliconera Archived from the original on 2010 10 18 Retrieved 2019 07 05 Shadow Hearts Pre Orders now being taken Ghostlight 2007 04 25 Archived from the original on 2007 05 16 Retrieved 2019 07 05 2007年10月03日IRリリース事業再編に関するご案内 PDF Universal Entertainment Corporation in Japanese 2007 10 03 Archived PDF from the original on 2017 11 05 Retrieved 2018 12 22 アルゼマーケティングジャパン株式会社との合併に伴う 特別損失の発生 PDF Universal Entertainment Corporation in Japanese 2009 08 07 Archived PDF from the original on 2018 01 24 Retrieved 2018 12 22 Wallace Kimberley 2012 11 15 Lost RPG Franchises Where Are They Now Game Informer Archived from the original on 2013 07 10 Retrieved 2019 07 05 External links editOfficial website Archived 2005 Shadow Hearts Covenant at MobyGames Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shadow Hearts Covenant amp oldid 1210551426, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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