I completed it in the early hours of this morning. I’m very satisfied with the experience. I don’t regret picking it up. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s still a great RPG. If you’re interested in playing it, I’d buy it now before the restock copies disappear. I expect it’ll become pretty steep once that happens. While it's a good game, I'm not sure if it's £60+ good...

Pros

First and foremost; the battle system. It’s one of the most interesting battles system I’ve came across for a while. It really makes you think several steps ahead and you how can make the most of damaging your opponents (especially later in the game). I also like the ‘Mana Burst’ that’s eventually introduced. This initially allows you to delete an opponent’s turn from the sequence, but each of the characters get their own unique abilities later in the game.

As I’ve said before, I like the way game handles time travel. It’s a bit different compared to other time travel games. While the two timelines may initially lead to some confusion, it’s nice how they weave together. I found the story to be enjoyable, too. It’s not the most original story (it’s also pretty predictable in parts), but I think it did the job. I personally liked the ending a lot. I’ll leave the battering to harsher critics.

The music is very well-orchestrated. It’s like some of the tracks were composed by Yasunori Mitsuda (maybe he was cloned and spread across the industry...who knows?). There is one problem, however, and I’ll get to that in a bit...

You can skip entire scenes that you’ve seen before by simply pressing ‘start’. It’s amazing what a difference the simple things make sometimes. I dread to think how I would have got on without it. Every game should have this feature.

Cons

There are one or two instances where you can easily advance from one battle to another without getting an obvious chance to save. I fell afoul of this once and I had to redo a boss battle as a result. A minor complaint, but I’m sure this will annoy some people.

As much as the music was great, it’s a pity there was so little of it. Pretty much all of the tracks are reused multiple times throughout the game. It gets to the point where you can kind of predict which one is coming up. A great shame, but I’m guessing they just didn’t have the technical budget for more tracks (it is a DS game, after all).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As planned, I’m going to play Shadow Hearts next. This will be my second attempt to complete it. I played it back in 2005 and I got pretty far (near the end, I believe). I forgot why I stopped playing it, but I expect I got stuck or distracted by another game. I remember certain parts of the storyline, but some of it is a bit hazy. I expect I’ll recognise parts as I play it. That doesn’t really bother me, as I can’t wait to get stuck into it again.

From the outset, Shadow Hearts is not a game which shies away from gore. It may play like a turn-based RPG, but the visuals are akin to a survival horror game. It’s clear they were going for a horror vibe, as I remember some of the enemies looking like things out of Silent Hill or the Shin Megami Tensei games. While I’m personally not creeped out by these things, it’s something to bear in mind if you’re interested in playing it. Another thing worth noting is that's set in the 'real world'. It takes place in 1913, just a year before World War I.

One of the main reasons for me wanting to replay the game is the ‘Judgement Ring’ that gets used in battle. Each action (attacking, casting a spell, using an item) is governed by it. If you want to boost the effectiveness of any of your actions, you have to hit the sweet spots on the ring. If you hit them, great stuff. If you miss them, your action either won’t be as effective or it won’t happen at all. It adds a nice element of ‘risk and reward’.

I tested it out with my PS3 the other night and there were no problems. It launched and it even looks as though the PS3 does a good job of upscaling the in-game graphics. I hope it continues throughout the game. I’ll be starting it later today.

Other Stuff

It’s really weird, but the 360 dying might be the best thing to happen to me for a while. It’s allowed me to jump back into the world of JRPGs. Even if I get a replacement 360 now, I’m likely to have more of a focus towards them compared to recent years.

For the next game after Shadow Hearts, I’m actually thinking of putting it up to a vote. What I’ll probably do is choose a selection of JRPGs I already own. Each of them will have their own unique features. Whatever wins the vote, I’ll play it. The current plan is to put up the vote when I’m nearing the end of Shadow Hearts (maybe in a separate blog). I’ll post more details when the time comes around.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disco x Prince – We Love Katamari

Aside from the obvious awesomeness of 'Katamari on the Rocks', this is my other favourite from the Katamari games. It's easily one the best tracks for me to listen to while I terrorise the inhabitants of the Katamari universe. Like with many other games, expect more Katamari music in the furture...

Your Affection – Persona 4

Even before the Endurance Run, this was one of my personal faves from P4. The Engrish doesn't ruin it for me (something about 'pickled peppers'...I think...).

VIP Lounge - Dead Rising 2

This could have easily gone to the other 'muzak' tracks in the game, but I think this is probably the best example of it. I realise some people hate muzak, but I personally like it a lot. I've liked it since the 'Pages From Ceefax' days (before you ask, it's a British thing).

As always, thanks for reading. More Shadow Hearts next week (and some other stuff, hopefully).