PlayStation 2

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

All I can say is WOW! This game is amazing! Shadow Hearts: Covenant is in my opinion one of the best RPG to hit the scene this year. Shadow Hearts: Covenant has a great storyline with characters that you want to care about. And the graphics are top notch for the Playstation 2 system. You also have over 40+ hours of great gameplay. I also love the battle engine. Midway has to be hailed for bringing this great game to the US. I think they just gained a new fan in this series. I hope to see more Shadow Hearts games in the future. If you have a Playstation 2 system you MUST go out and buy this great game. Don’t let this bad boy pass you buy! Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a gem of a game!

As a loyal fan of the role-playing genre, I’m overjoyed with the amount of truly stellar RPG titles that are currently being released for our beloved PS2. Starting with the outstanding Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, the recent crop of RPGs are not only breaking from the usual Final Fantasy formula but are showing far more imagination and creativity. This was the case with the first Shadow Hearts, a game with not only a great story but also fun battles. Its sequel, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, is one of those rare gems that is just waiting for fans of the genre to pick up. And trust me when I say that you’ll love every second of it.

What follows is an event that players who are unfamiliar with the original probably won't expect, but suffice it to say, Yuri comes back to the party and brings his Harmonixer abilities with him. Well okay, so that's not entirely true -- Yuri has lost all of his monster transformation powers because of a curse given to him by a mysterious secret society. For a good while afterwards, the whole premise of the adventure is to travel the world in search of this secret society to find out why Yuri has been cursed, what can be done to remove it, and to discover what the enemy's true plan really is.

You can expect to invest no less than forty hours or so to get through this and a good deal more if you spend any time with the multitude of side quests that you can perform. Midway has a masterpiece on their hands, let’s hope everyone notices this time.

In Shadow Hearts: Covenant, you’ll discover the story of Karin Koenig who is sent to invade a village by the German army, to which she belongs to in this World War I-era title. Along the way, you’ll meet up with Yuri Hyuga who protects that village and is able to defend it, until Karin returns with a helper, who disables Yuri’s special abilities. Sensing that something isn’t quite right there, Karin decides to help Yuri regain his powers and figure out what exactly is going on. Throughout the game, the guys at Nautilus manage to provide a good bit of humor and as much sexual innuendo as they could possibly fit in a Teen-rated game.

Midway is taking another stab at dark role-playing in its Shadow Hearts sequel, a tale of martial talent and enchanting wizardry that has garnered an unexpectedly large fan base in its motherland. With splendid visuals, new fighting innovations, and a snappy sense of humor that anyone can comprehend, Shadow Hearts: Covenant dazzles you every step of the way.

Covenant comprises two discs' worth of lengthy adventure (around 40 hours) that's easily extendable with all the bonus items to collect, special moves to learn, weapons to acquire, and dungeons to visit. Even if you don't explore all the nooks and crannies, Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a great game that any fan of the role-playing genre would likely enjoy; its style, its humor, and its well-crafted battle system set it apart in a world of Final Fantasy clones.

A seriously fun battle system combined with some genuinely hilarious moments round out a solid package worth of your attention and (platonic) affection.

Guess that World War I was different than I had thought. If Shadow Hearts: Covenant is to be taken as a truthful approximation of the times and places it shows, people said things like "Bite me," and wore stuff like metal codpieces and shoulder-pads fashioned with steel spikes. Dude, 1915 sounds so bitchin’.

It's not often that a role-playing game tests the player's reflexes and coordination, or calls upon the kind of skills crafted by playing Tiger Woods. But, in Shadow Hearts: Covenant, all the planning and endless battling that's par for the RPG genre is merged with a healthy reliance on thumb dexterity, making for a rewarding experience.

Adding to the challenge is that the ring for each of the characters in your party is different. The hit spots are in new location. The marker moves faster for some characters than for others. It adds a surprising level of difficulty to the thing. There were characters that I had no trouble meting out maximum damage with and others who I just couldn't nail down the timing for. It was like facing a knuckleball pitcher after getting used to swinging against a power pitcher. Having to deal with the ring with every encounter also means that there's no such thing as a sure victory. Even against a heavily outmatched enemy, all it takes is a couple of botched presses to make things interesting.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a pretty rare RPG, one that pokes fun at conventions while serving up a good combat system. It’s funny, bizarre and, at times, downright filthy, precisely the kinds of things I look for in my Japanese games. Unfortunately, it’s got other things I'm not so crazy about, like few sub-quests, constant random battles and excessive loading. But if you like your games sexy, this might be the perfect match.

Another week, another Japanese RPG review. It's one of the busiest few months we can remember for the genre; admittedly, our pals across the pond are faring rather better than we are, with the likes of Baten Kaitos and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne gracing their shelves but showing no sign of reaching European shores, but for a change, we're not being too badly done by. Star Ocean 3 may have suffered in the conversion to PAL, but at least it got here; and Tales of Symphonia is out today, giving Cube owners a shot at one of the finest RPG titles ever, albeit a few months after most American gamers got their hands on it.

Covenant is good for it what it is -- better than good, in fact. But what it is, unfortunately, is a relic. It's the last dinosaur left standing after the meteor, shivering in bewilderment at the first flakes of snow as winter comes and mammals ascend to dominance. It's mighty, but it's doomed. Still, there's 40 hours of solid, predictable fun to be had here for those who are into it. But if you're hoping for a new experience with that 40-hour investment, keep looking.