Shadow Hearts is a by-the-book RPG with a unique setting and a neat battle system that set it apart.
If first impressions are everything, though, Shadow Hearts nails this concept down with class. The opening cinema is awesome, at times horrifying and at times action-packed, and although it didn't look state of the art in 2001 and it certainly doesn't now, it's still very entertaining, and a good sight better than most games. It's worth re-watching several times, actually, and does a great job of engaging the player into the game's world from the word, "Go."
After the excellent opening cinema, the game moves forward with one of its strongest aspects: its humour. Shadow Hearts isn't a laugh a minute kind of game, but it doesn't take itself all that seriously, and when three heroes line up for turn-based combat against one to four enemies who also patiently wait their turn, a game that isn't too serious works well. It's funny and irreverent, and the translation, while not perfect, has a lot going for it; the dialogue in Shadow Hearts never feels stale or processed.
Once the player gets involved in a few fights, they will note the title's one major claim to originality and innovation: the Judgement Ring. Basically, for every action in a fight, or when a player is trying to markup an item for selling or discount an item for purchasing, a circle appears on screen, and one to four "hit" zones show up, and in battle, a blue "critical" zone shows up as well, very small areas at the end of the hit zones that enhance the potency of a given spell or attack. The concept is rather simple, but it's also fresh, and it brings about timing-based attacks in a manner that other titles, like Sony's Legend of Dragoon, just couldn't hack. It's very entertaining, and even though it seems like a simple idea, the amount of interactivity it brings to a battle really goes a long way. Even at the end of the game, most players will still find themselves trying to perfec ttheir timing, still struggling with balancing normal, easy to hit attacks and perfect criticals all the way through.
The game's second claim to ingenue is a bit less impressive, and, at times, annoying. Whereas most RPGs have Hit Points and Magic/Mana/Skill/Tech/Whatever Points, Shadow Hearts has those AND Sanity Points... basically, Shadow Hearts theorizes that even extraordinary people experience mental disturbance fighting hordes of demons, and each round, their SP decreases, and if a battle runs too long, and a character's SP is not replenished with the proper restorative items... the character goes berserk. This can be remedied, but in the end, it just gives the player yet another meter to watch, and outside of its novelty only affects the gameplay during the more difficult boss encounters. It's a good concept, but there has to be a better way to implement it.
Another aspect of gameplay that Shadow Hearts brings to the table is Malice. The lead character, Yuri, essentially takes the hatred of defeated monsters into his soul, and in doing so, he must go to the "Graveyard of his Soul", which actually plays a fairly prominent role in the story, and fight there to remove the Malice in his soul. Without a greater purpose to the graveyard the concept would be repetitive and unecessary, but since Yuri also upgrades his Fusions there (Yuri has the ability to morph into demonic form during battle, which understandably can take up a huge amount of SP, but makes him stronger, or more damage-resistant, or what have you), and since part of the plot revolves around the keepers of his soul and the malice he accumulates, this serves a purpose that is very in line with the story.
The game more or less moves forward in the standard fashion, as the protagnists go somewhere to advance the plot, find out about a dungeon they need to go to, move through that dungeon, defeat the boss that inevitably lies there, and moves on for hte next bit of plot or occasional additional character. None of it is all that different or new, but the way in which it is delivered does help it along.
Other than the setting ,which is Eurasia on the brink of World War I, the game also dives heavily into some sort of pseudomysticism, and it's this combination of time, place, and circumstance which really sets Shadow Hearts apart. Fighting across Asia, and then Europe, in a time not so long ago, and visiting real places while doing so, all adds up to an experience that feels familiar, but also new, and it's this mix, this combination of standard elements with different coats of paint, that makes Shadow Hearts such a good game.
The visuals are easily the game's worst suit, as they come off as a bit of a mixed bag. The backgrounds are pre-rendered and look about average, but everything else is low on detail; sure, everything moves all right, but it could probably pass for a high end Dreamcast game, and second-generation PS2 games really could look better. Luckily, the game has good character and artistic design to fall back on, and overall, it's a very stylish game. The only exception to this is the monsters, who admittedly are bland and pretty uninspired... they're ugly, and that works well, since the player is trying to kill them, but many of them don't make much sense, especially when it comes to bosses, who generally look bizarre more than anything else, including menacing or scary.
The audio is much better, however, as the game's composer, who did a fairly good job, also had help from Chrono Cross composer Yasunori Mitsuda... the music stands up well, and the songs that really need to deliver do just that, whether its the tenseness of an important boss battle or the harsh strings of an old folk tale (which is probably Shadow Hearts' strangest scene, both compelling to experience and kind of funny in delivery). The voice acting is also well done, feeling natural and professional.
The game has its strengths; in audio presentation, a great opening and great ending, and a neat battle system, it rises to the cream of the crop for RPGs. But it also could have used better monster design, quicker flow of battle, and a bit more in the way of deviation from standard RPG progression. Shadow Hearts is a unique, macabre, enjoyable RPG, and a fantastic break from the fantasy or science fiction settings of most in the genre. For players who'd like to try an RPG without Square Enix' stamp on it, or for those who'd just like something a bit off the beaten path, Shadow Hearts is a worthy game.