Shadow Hearts: From The New World

"A fun, quirky RPG that may not be what some are in the market for, but is certainly worth a chance by fans of the genre."

"Shadow Hearts: From the New World keeps the series' bizarre flavor alive and well, matching it with a great battle system and a myriad of side quests to explore."

"Shadow Hearts: From the New World is not a bad game, by any means. The battle system is entertaining, and the emphasis on the Judgment Ring ensures that things never get too monotonous. But despite being filled with loads of quirky characters and scenarios, the overall plot doesn't come together like one would hope, and the frustrations of a high encounter rate and unclear design don’t help to rectify the situation. Still, it's a fun game, and those that can look past its flaws, those looking for something a bit different, those that have found themselves bored with the status quo of RPGs today, owe it to themselves to give Shadow Hearts: From the New World a chance."

"If you don't have any expectations, then Shadow Hearts: From the New World will probably surprise you with its trademark weirdness and entertaining battle system. There really are some great "Wow" moments that happen over the course of its story too, and the high-end CG cutscenes and musical score are easy to fall in love with. The problem is, the story itself suffers from horribly uneven pacing, the dungeons can be a little boring, and the ultimate payoff isn't really worth the effort (all important aspects of any RPG). These shortcomings have a lot more impact when you're a fan of the previous game as well, because in a lot of ways, From the New World feels more like an imitation than a sequel."

"Speaking of side quests, the main storyline often simply feels like a series of these. There are some segments involving pirates in the Caribbean and busting the notorious Al Capone out of Alcatraz that do little to improve the overall plot. It isn’t even until after 20 hours that one of the sub-plots mentioned in the opening introduction is even seen. At this point, there are only a couple hours left in the game, unless the optional quests sound appealing. The events really pick up steam here, but it’s too little, too late. No matter how engaging the last several hours are, there’s still a ridiculous giant cat and a host of other obnoxious characters that ruin it."