Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Gameplay

The Judgment Ring from Shadow Hearts returns with many modifications and improvements. Also, battle has been greatly expanded by different types of attacks as well as combo attacks. An element of physics has been added to battles as well, which links to the types of combo attacks which can be performed.

Players can customize the Judgment Ring to their own preferences with the introduction of two new Ring items: Hit Area Expand and Strike Expand, making the game easier or more challenging. Several ring types are also introduced to cater to the different players e.g. Practice Ring for beginners, Normal Ring for amateurs, Technical Ring for veterans and lastly, Auto Ring for gamers who do not want to aim at the Judgment Ring. Players can also equip Ring Items that can have added effects to the character's physical attack e.g. Poison, Paralysis etc.

A new battle mechanism is the Crest Magic system, in which players may equip Crests to certain characters to allow them to cast different types of elemental magic. Players collect new crests and gain access to more powerful magic. The crests may also be positioned in a key item called Solomon's Key; positioning the crests correctly will unlock new spells for each crest for a certain region. Most of the crests' names are derived from demonology.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant also includes "Hit Classes" which are incorporated with the physical and magical attacks. These include: Standard, Hard Hit, High Angle and Knock Down. Depending on the "weight" of the opponent monster, you'll be able to do more damage when connecting a combo during battle. Conversely, if an attack with an inappropriate Hit Class is used to continue a combo, the end result is a missed attack, or rather, a Combo Break.

For example, a Standard hit will simply push an enemy behind while attacking. This allows for any other type of Hit Class attack to be connected to do a Combo. A High Angle and Knock Down combo attack is another similar example. However, say if a Knock Down attack is applied to an enemy who has a "Heavy" weight followed by a High Angle hit, it will most probably miss since the enemy is still Knocked Down at that moment when the combo attack is made.

Combo shortcuts are also introduced where players are able to assign physical/magical attacks onto the controller buttons. This reduces the time taken to create a Combo attack as one character can attack immediately after another with a simple press of the button. However, this makes the game more challenging as players have to decide quickly what kind of attack they should follow up next as the combo shortcut menu appears only for a short amount of time i.e. when the preceding character is in the midst of launching his/her attack.

The shop system has been improved since Shadow Hearts. The player no longer has to perform the Strike Rings from the lowest level to the required discount level. Instead points are given when a successful discount purchase is executed successfully. The points are accumulated and the player's shop discount rank is leveled up once the points reaches a certain value. As the discount rank increases, so does the percentage of discount the player can try for is also increased. This applies to raising the selling price of items the players wishes to sell as well.

Plot

The game begins with Karin Koenig, a lieutenant in the German Army during World War I, traveling to the town of Domremy with a Vatican Inquisitor, Nicolas "Nicolai" Conrad, to exorcise a demon there. When they arrive, the demon is revealed to be Yuri from the previous game. Nicolai casts a curse on Yuri; this severely weakens Yuri, but also reveals Nicolas as a member of Sapientes Gladio, a faction of dark sorcerers seeking world domination.

Yuri escapes with Karin and they build a small party of allies to thwart Nicolas' plan. Nicolai, a bastard son of Tsar Nicolas II, hopes to take over Russia with the help of Rasputin, the current leader of Sapientes Gladio. Yuri manages to recover his strength with the help of a former Sapientes Gladio sorcerer, Jovis, though his memory is still affected by Nicolai's curse. The group then finds and defeats Rasputin and Nicolai. Before Nicolai can be finished off, however, he is rescued by Kato, a Japanese Envoy and old friend of Yuri's, and taken to Japan.

In Japan, the party tracks Nicolai to a research lab, where he is possessed by a demon. After learning where he is, the party tracks him, but not before Kato's wife is killed. In despair, Kato attempts to remake the world using his own sorcery, forcing Yuri and his party to put him down

The game has two possible endings. In the "bad" ending, Yuri's personality and memories are erased by Nicolai's curse, and he spends the rest of his life under the care of Roger Bacon, his old friend. In the "good" ending, Yuri chooses to die so that he doesn't lose his memories and personality to the curse. He then finds himself at the beginning of the previous game. In both endings, Karin travels back to 1887 and is revealed to be Anne, Yuri's mother.

Playable characters

Yuri Volte Hyuga (Urmnaf "Uru" Bort Hyuga (ウルムナフ・ボルテ・ヒューガ, Urumunafu Borute Hyūga, ウル) in the Japanese version)

Returning from the first Shadow Hearts, Yuri settles in the town of Domremy after burying Alice Elliot in Zurich, Switzerland. He uses his Fusion form to scare invading soldiers away from the village, but runs into problems when Nicolai Conrad from the Vatican strikes him with the Holy Mistletoe, cursing him and diminishing his powers. He now travels with the party, hoping to regain his abilities and fight off the new evils infecting the world. His aloof and rude traits have been somewhat tempered by the loss of Alice, but are still there in many situations. Yuri is one of the characters able to have five hit areas alongside Joachim and Kurando. Yuri has the highest SP (Sanity Points) in the party. His numerous transformations along with each of their unique stats and abilities make him incredibly balanced, allowing him to fulfill any position of the party (i.e.: physical fighter, magic-user, healer, etc.)

Karin Koenig (Kallen Koenig (カレン・ケーニッヒ, Karen Kēnihhi) in the Japanese version)

An officer in the German army and descendant of a long line of Bavarian nobility, Karin first encounters Yuri at the church in Domremy, when he saves her from an errant grenade. After accompanying Nicolai to obtain the Mistletoe and watching the ensuing events, Karin joins Yuri's side. In one of the endings it shows her causing a Predestination paradox when she meets Yuri's father and sets in motion a series of events. Fiercely independent and well-mannered, she harbors a crush and later deep love for Yuri, and sticks by him in any situation. She uses swords, especially rapiers, in battle and obtains Sword Art power-up through the score of the Wagner opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. Karin does not really have a weakness nor strength. She is a balanced fighter between physical and magical, but is more toward the former.

Gepetto (ゼペット, Zepetto)

Once a renowned showman and puppeteer known throughout Europe, Gepetto retired to the quiet village of Domremy only to become mixed up in the affairs of Yuri and Nicolai. He offers good advice, but also has a bit of a lecherous side. He uses his beautiful puppet Cornelia (named for his late daughter) to fight and channel his magic-based Marionette skills. Gepetto has the highest magic stat in the party in exchange for a weak physical and special defense. Cornelia can obtain new dresses which give her different elemental attributes by collecting Stud Cards.

Blanca (Blanc (ブランカ, Buranka) in the Japanese version)

A white wolf, and unofficial guardian of Domremy, he joins Yuri after his young owner Jeanne is killed by Sapientes Gladio. Loyal and wise, Blanca encounters other wolves throughout the world which he can fight in Wolf Bouts to raise the power of his Manifestation skills. Blanca's balanced between physical and magical attributes (though more toward the latter) like Karin along with a high speed potential.

Joachim Valentine (ヨアヒム・ヴァレンティーナ, Yoahimu Varentīna)

After briefly appearing in the original game taunting his brother Keith, Joachim is found as the protector of the French village of Le Havre. Joachim is both a vampire and a trained wrestler who joins the party when he succeeds in defeating the mayor, who has been pestering Granny Lot for her store. He uses several forms to fight in battle, which change depending on his Joachythms. His regular form is most frequently seen; "Invisible" form lowers his chance of being targeted; "Golden Bat" form greatly raises his physical strength but eliminates his magic abilities and halves his hit point capacity, and his super hero form, "Grand Papillon" (which is French for "Butterfly"), is a powered-up version of his regular form. Joachim has the highest physical damage potential (even exceeding Yuri), but the trade-off is his slow speed, weak magic defense, and random transformations. He is also able to equip five hit areas.

Lucia (ルチア, Ruchia)

A master fortune-teller as popular for her beauty as her abilities, Lucia is sent by her mistress, Carla, with the party to train her abilities. She is short-sighted, flighty, and tends to speak without thinking. Her Tarot Cards ability is risky, while her Aroma Therapy is an incredibly versatile supportive ability.

Princess Anastasia Romanov (Anastasia (アナスタシア, Anasutashia) in the Japanese version)(Russian: Анастасия Николаевна Романова)

The fourth daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Anastasia is outgoing, inquisitive and does whatever she wants (such as sneaking out from her castle at night and stealing snacks). However, Anastasia is the only one in her family who is suspicious of her father's adviser, Grigori Rasputin. When he frames Yuri and the party for controlling Anastasia and forcing her to attempt murder on her little brother Alexei, she joins forces with Yuri to stop Rasputin. Anastasia can use her Snapshot ability to get information on enemies and in some cases learn their abilities. She also possesses a magical stat that can rival Gepetto.

Kurando Inugami (犬神 蔵人, Inugami Kurando)

The samurai bodyguard of the Kawashimas, Kurando, as suggested by his master, Naniwa Kawashima (川島 浪速, Kawashima Naniwa), decides to join with Yuri and party after rescuing Yoshiko, Naniwa's adopted daughter. It was told in the game that Kurando's mother, Saki, is the sister of Yuri's father which makes Kurando and Yuri cousins. Kurando is the only other character in the party unable to use crest magic, however, like Yuri he is capable of fusing into demons. He has a maximum of 5 hit areas. His second form grants him a competitive strength and unrivaled speed that not even Yuri or Blanca can match. Kurando has two fusion forms; Tsukiyomi and Jutendouji, with the latter being stronger.

Villains

Other characters

Development

The game was first hinted at by Japanese video game site "Quiter" in June 2003. For the sequel of Shadow Hearts the staff wanted to maintain the serious atmosphere from the prequel, while still containing punchlines as comic relief. 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. Matsumi Machida, impressed with the fans' backlash regarding Yuri not being Karin's lover due to the fans' preference to the relationship between Yuri and Alice, he answered that "The fans should play the game." The theme of the game is "happiness" alluding how people may find happiness in many different ways, reflected mainly in Yuri's story.

The combat system of Shadow Hearts was revamped for Covenant, in response to criticism of the first game's mechanics. The Judgement Ring was redesigned, resulting in the addition multiple ring types and an auto mode. The combo system was implemented to make the game feel more rewarding for advanced players. The combo system increases damage outpoint significantly later in the game, to the point a staff member defeated the final boss in a short amount of time. Incorporating real time events into the game proved difficult for the staff, although they enjoyed the challenge it provided. Real actors were used for all the characters, excluding the wolf, Blanc, who is prominent in giving comic relief.

The localization from Japanese to English was done by Jeremy Blaustein who also assisted in the voice recording along with the director Richard Epcar. While the quality of the location was satisfactory, many lines of spoken dialogue and their accompanying subtitles do not reflect what the character is saying, or are left out entirely.

Director's Cut

After the release of the original game, a director's cut version was released in Japan. The Director's Cut included:

Changes also include some new music tracks, a slightly bigger Judgment Ring, and support for the PlayStation 2 HDD.

Japanese

The voice actors for the Japanese version of the game are as follows:

English

The voice actors in the English version of the game are as follows:

Soundtrack

Yoshitaka Hirota and Yasunori Mitsuda returned to compose the music for Shadow Hearts II but this time they were joined by Kenji Ito. The three of them collaborated for the joint composition of the Final Boss Battle Theme The 3 Karma ~ Decisive Battle.

The OST (Original Soundtrack) of Shadow Hearts II was released as two Compact Discs under the name of Shadow Hearts II Original Soundtracks by Team Entertainment in Japan on March 24, 2004.

The ending theme, titled GETSURENKA ~ Ending sung by Mio Isayama, was composed by Yoshitaka Hirota and the lyrics were written by Kumiko Hasegawa.

The music tracks exclusive to the Director's Cut version of the game were later released in Japan on the Shadow Hearts Special Sound CD which was included as part of the Shadow Hearts: From the New World Premium Box.

Reception

Shadow Hearts: Covenant has received positive critical response for having an innovative combat system, high-quality graphics and soundtrack, powerful storyline, and unique characters and atmosphere. IGN critic Jeremy Dunham awarded the game a 9.1 out of 10, calling it "the perfect sequel" which "deserves to be in every role-playing fan's personal library". It was named IGN's RPG Vault PS2 Game of the Year for 2004. According to an unnamed Nautilus program director, by 2005 the game had sold 120,000 units in Japan and around the same amount in the United States.