Post by Bytor on May 5, 2011 21:03:44 GMT -5
Shadow Hearts: From the New World (シャドウハーツ・フロム・ザ・ニューワールド Shadōhātsu Furomu za Nyūwārudo) is the third installment in the series. The game was developed for the PlayStation 2 by Nautilus and published once again by Aruze in Japan, but this version sees XSEED take over in North America and Ghostlight in Europe. It was released in Japan on July 28, 2005, in North America on March 7, 2006 and in Europe on May 25, 2007. Takamasa Ōsawa directed the game while Miyako Kato designed the characters and Yoshitaka Hirota composed the music. The game received mostly good reviews from the critics as well as gamers although it did not have the selling power of Covenant nor as much praise.
The story takes place in the same alternate universe but this time it shifts to 1929 and takes place in North and South America. Two new main characters are introduced, Shania, a North American Indian woman and Johnny Garland, a teenage New Yorker. The plot twists are more personal in nature as opposed to the world threatening crisis in the first two games, although the story does eventually lead to this possible disaster. Part of many peoples complaints was this seemingly more lighthearted and shallow, at least until towards the end, story and character development.
The game play is actually changed very little in this installment. Although two noticeable changes are the increased emphasis on photography and the change in the fusion system. The side quests and min-games are very similar and while the characters are different they are certainly cast in the same style.
The game has done well overall but many feel the game is not a true sequel as very, very few characters returned and the story is certainly less dramatic, for the most part, than the two previous installments. Having said that many fans of the series still believe the series is evolving and continuing to grow and get better.
