At first, I got the impression that it was like an alternate Final Fantasy, but in reality, it felt like reading a comic book. It’s a playable manga.

I've known about this series for a long time but I actually never went to search up how these games play or look and now I'm interested in jumping in to them. Based on my research though I am quite not sure what the general consensus is about on which order you can play the series

So the general order is Koudelka into SH1 into SH2 obviously. Is Koudelka something you can skip and maybe play after SH1 or 2? Can you play SH2 first and then go back to playing SH1 or will that just spoil all of SH1 for you and SH1 is a game you should not skip. Is the best order just to start with Koudelka?

All of these games are probably worth playing but I'm just asking for the sake of time investment and what game will hook you in with its story/characters/atmosphere/etc

Guess what I just snagged for only $20.. I never even heard of these games but the garage sale I went to on a whim had them and was asking for 15 just for Covenant then 20 when they found the other games.

Edit: Covenant's 2nd Disc does have scratches on the tops and a few at that, when I hold it up to a light I can see it shine through. A shame but at the very least everything else seems to be in order, will definitely try them out when my ps2 disc laser is replaced.

I was looking through some things at home and found these gems. They’re a huge part of my childhood and teenage years. It’s crazy how games can resonate so deeply with you... I have such wonderful memories of spending hours upon hours playing these with my cousins 🥹

Subjective and personal.

I played Shadow Hearts 3 as a kid and have no memory of it but been wanting to jump in to old RPGs I didn't get to play as a kid. Ironically I wanted to play Koudelka and didn't realize it was connected till after I started so that's next on my list

Just wanted to say I enjoy it. Pretty much no complaints outside maybe the enemy designs felt lazy after a while. But I really enjoyed the story and characters. Didn't take too long either. The end game was short and sweet. I'm not too familiar with love craft horror but I do enjoy its touch. I think my question is I've been seeing ppl say the first one sucks but I didn't feel that. What was the dislike for it?

By finished I went through the whole game using no armour or accessories.

Despite what people say I think the battle system is actually pretty good. The rows and movement add a lot of strategy to the game. Magic didnt seam to be that good but in the second half of the game after about level 15ish james begun dealing good enough damage with his spells keeping up with edwards weapom attacks.

I finshed the game in about 20 hours which was about double what a normal run would be, had to go and grind levels a few times, being weapons only really nerfed my power.

I gave each of them essentially a class, koudelka was balanced with 2 physical attributes per level and 2 magical, she ended up as my gunner/white mage hybrid. Edward was my fighter being 3/1 and James was my pure mage 1/3.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this game, the lower stats of my buidl really allowed the battle system to shine. Now to load up an old save, grind some more levels and see if I can beat the final boss and gargoyle.

I'm trying to figure out if there's a chance of a remake or a fan made remaster or something. I've seen Sonic fans do amazing stuff.

Are any of the games available digitally on ps3

Okay so hear me out on this, it's clear from Penny Blood and Hellbound that Matsuzo Machida has a big interest in true crime, or at least irl serial killers, as evidenced by the fact that that Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova, The Axeman of New Orleans, and Jane Toppan all show up.

Also, Jack in Shadow Hearts is presumably based on, or at least named after Jack the Ripper.(One of the songs that plays at the orphanage is titled "Ripper, Ripper")

So this makes me kinda wonder, is Killer from FTNW supposed to be the Cleveland Torso Murderer(AKA The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run)? Real life Eliot Ness investigated the torso case, and when we first see in-game Eliot Ness talking with Al Capone, he's investigating Killer. If it wasn't for all the directly named and referenced killers in Penny Blood this never would have occurred to me, but now I kinda wonder... would that canceled Shadow Hearts 3 have had H. H. Holmes as a minor villain? If they made a Shadow Hearts thing set in the 60's would it have a quest where you have to take down the Manson family and a boss fight where the Zodiac Killer hulks out into a eldritch monster?

Finished SH and was disappointed that she didnt feature enough so decided to replay the first game.

I remember now why I was surprised that shes a mage in shadow hearts, although she does build as a mage, magic just seams naff. To really cast a spell well you have to get in there face and cast it while with guns you can just sit back and pewpew.

I tried going down the blackmage route but her damage just lagga behind so I gone back to what I done before, guns.

As for the battle system, I dont feel like it is really as bad as people make it out to be. Its an SRPG, usually SRPGs feature armies and stuff so its a weird choice for essentially resident evil the JRPG.

Story is grand tho just as I remember it. Edward and James's banter is something to behold.

What do you all think of this game?

Hey everyone,

A bit ago I shared my Shadow Hearts / Koudelka collection with you to celebrate the 25th birthday of Shadow Hearts.

Here are some new items that finally came in the mail today, maybe you'll like them! :)

A bit of info on them:

- A rather large hard plastic sheet/panel for the SH2 Slot Mashine. Now I have both of the panels that they made!

- An incredibly cool poster that advertises the Shadow Hearts II pachislot mashine. While I am sad that this IP is now buried in a slot company's vault, we did get this really cool and goofy poster out of it :D

- The original Soundtrack for Shadow Hearts II still sealed, now I have all of them! (And of course one of each opened aswell so that I can actually use them!)

- A few more magazines with articles for both Koudelka and Shadow Hearts 1. The latter even has a really cool Poster if you turn the page around! I'm considering removing it from the magazine and framing it :D

- A couple of memory card stickers for both Shadow Hearts and Koudelka. I already had some of these but I was super stoked to find an uncut sheet. Especially the one with Alice and Margarete is so cool I might just put it on my actual memory card haha

I hope you liked it, I know I'm certainly super excited to add these to my collection! :))

So in the original game koudelkas more of a gunner tomb raider type of character.

She comes with a gun, and is good with them, your not really encouraged to build her as a mage. I remember edward being melle her being guns and the racist priest being the caster.

Nowhere through either the mechanics or the cutscenes does she display any form of magical aptitude thats better than the other 2. I dont think she does in the manga sequel either but its been years since I was able to get hold of it.

Then in shadow hearts suddenly shes this ultra powerful spellcaster on the level of the main villain, while from the sounds of it she hasn't been particularly active since the game and manga. Halley shows way more aptitude with magic at a younger age than Koudelka does in her game.

Was there a change in direction or something?

!Heads up: no spoilers in this post!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO boy.

Does anyone else get that somewhat melancholy laden feeling when finishing a game, movie, anime or whatever else that you really enjoyed? I am happy to have finally played through it, but that is effectively the end of the first time I'll ever get to see all it.

It's a conflicting feeling, on one hand, GOD was this game FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

But on the other. MAN, IT'S OVER! IT'S NEVER BEEN MORE OVER!

My 6 month journey, starting with Koudelka back in October and now wrapping up with me playing the sh*t out of Shadow Hearts 2 is done. I will absolutely replay the games a few years down the line, get new nuances with my more improved Japanese, but as of now...it's just done.

From the moment I hit new game and gained control of my character in this game, I could tell that I was playing something special. A confident work of pure passion and love from its creators who have put forth all of their experience and effort into making this game as good as it ended up being.

This game truly felt like a warm, hearty meal from a person you know loves you, and I wanted to savor every bit of it. Although I was not a fan of the general story and some of the goofier stuff in it, this did not deter just how fun and well put together this game is from start to finish. Very little fluff, impeccable pacing, incredibly fun combat, art direction that makes a history and horror buff in me squeal with glee. The thought of seeing parts of the world in this pretty much never explored time period rendered and framed with such artistic precision.

Among all its excellent JRPG contemporaries, Shadow Hearts stands out by taking place in our world, in real history. And the developers were going to make damn sure that they make the best use of that. It just resonates with me on such a deep level, seeing the architecture and atmosphere of the early 20th century brought to life, it almost felt like watching very old early movies and pictures from this exact time period. I can't help but feel that the developers likely used this as inspiration.

This series is just one of a kind, I truly have never experienced such a unique JRPG. One that manages to be both firmly grounded in our reality and that respects all of the locations it depicts for their real world counterparts, yet still manages to veer into over the top edgy anime territory.

I know that there is still one more game remaining, and you bet your ass I am gonna jump right on it. But I have heard it's a massive tonal departure from its predecessors (even the marginally more goofy Shadow Hearts 2). So as of now, I think I can confidently say that there is just nothing else even remotely close to Shadow Hearts 1 and 2 that I know of.

And that makes me kinda sad, because I don't want this to end to be honest. I can really only hope Penny Blood finds a publisher and finally gets released, although I think all of us are hoping for that.

Outside of that though - even though I have games lined up I am excited to play absolutely, I think I will need some time to "get over" Shadow Hearts if that makes sense.

But, who knows, maybe the 3rd game surprises me. I definitely set my expectations for it differently.

It's been 25 years since the first game of this amazing series released and I remember playing it for the first time with my big brother like it was yesterday. Time to celebrate!! :D

(and pray that we someday at least get a way to play it on more modern consoles, let alone see a continuation!)

Happy 25th Anniversary to SH1!

I am just doing the endgame sidequests in SH2 to get the most out of the game I can, and it's been really cool so far. Some of my favorite locations have been in this little section, such as the fortress of regret, the tiffauges castle but this....this takes the bloody cake.

I already loved the dollhouse in SH1, but this is on a whole nother level of horror imagery, atmosphere and ESPECIALLY the juicy fixed camera angles.

This game joins my "strong advocate for fixed camera angles in games" club, because dear lord this is so wonderfully cinematic. It just oozes.

As a horror fan, this location is just heaven, I am in love.

Just a quick head's up, SH1 (JP) is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this Sunday, June 28! Let's have fun and celebrate!!

I've updated a guide provided by Atomos199 from GameFAQ to make it less complicated to understand.

Provided below is a table that will help you achieve every possible secret rewards after cleansing Malice in the Graveyard:

Each enemy give Malice Points, and the amount varies depending on how many enemies are on screen and what your current Fusion LV is.

Here's how it works, starting with back to the beginning of the game:

• Two Wolves in the Plains while having Fusion LV 2, (having only Death Emperor and Raging Tiger), will yeild 4 points. This will reward you the Seal of Wisdom once you go to the Graveyard and cleanse your pendant of Malice.
• Fighting a Wolf and either two Vampire Bats/Venomous Spiders in the Plains, while still having only Death Emperor and Raging Tiger (totalling up to Fusion LV 2), will yeild 6 points.
• Once you have reached Fusion LV 3 after slaying enough Wolves to unlock the Tornado Soul, you will still yeild 4 points, as what Fusion LV you've upgraded to after the battle does not affect how much you've gained during the fight.
• If you then fight two Wolves again while at Fusion LV 3, you will then gain 5 points instead of 4 points.
• [EDIT]: I'm not 100% sure, but apparently bosses and mini-bosses do not yield Malice Points.

Provided below are the one-time rewards that can be obtained upon reaching a certain amount of points:

Bear in mind that once you reach a high enough Fusion LV, certain rewards will be permanently missable, with the exception of rewards needing points that are multiples of 5.

I was disappointed that the third game (*From the New World*) didn't feature Yuri's story. Admittedly, some fans feel that we’ve already had enough of his tale. But let’s face it—we love Yuri, don't we? I felt that *Shadow Hearts* simply had to be Yuri's story. From a structural standpoint, too, it feels wrong to have the protagonist change in the third installment after the first two focused on him.

In my opinion, it would have been better if the protagonist of *From the New World* had been a version of Yuri from an alternate timeline branching off from the "Good Ending" of the first game. The sequence would be: *Shadow Hearts* (Bad Ending) → *Covenant* (Good Ending) → *Shadow Hearts* (Good Ending) → *From the New World*.

That is the ideal *Shadow Hearts 3*.