A solid turn-based RPG, with a weak story.
Shadow Hearts: From the New World is the third entry in the very good Shadow Hearts series. Shadow Hearts fits solidly in the turn-based console RPG genre, like Final Fantasy, Suikoden, or Dragon Quest. However, SH always stood a bit apart for a few reasons. First, SH is set in an alternate version of Earth's past. Most of the big events, like the World Wars or the Great Depression, are used as the backdrop to a fantastical world of demons and magic. Second, SH uses the "Judgment Ring" system during battle to add a bit of twitch gameplay to the standard RPG fare. Lastly, SH has always been weird. Like, really weird. From the New World continues all of these themes. However, it doesn't stand as tall as it's predecessor, Shadow Hearts: Covenant.
You play the role of plucky, fresh faced Johnny Garland. He's a detective from New York during the period of the Great Depression. You'll start out tracking down a criminal through New York, but you'll soon be traveling all over the US and South America on a mission to save the world from evil. Like the first two Shadow Hearts, most of the locations that you visit are real places, like Las Vegas, Rio de Janeiro, and Alcatraz prison. However, you'll be running into all manners of foul beasts and odd characters in your quest to save the Earth. The mix of fantasy and reality works to SH:FTNW's favor. You'll enjoy seeing Chicago as it was in the 30's, even if it's a stop off before going to some sort of magical temple that houses the elemental guardian of water.
As good as the setting is, the story line is the main reason why SH:FTNW just isn't on par with the other SH games. I won't spoil the plot, but the story didn't grab me like SH:C did. Shania and Johnny are the main drivers of the story, but they are the most boring characters. Shania, while hot, has absolutely no personality and Johnny is just too "normal" for this kind of game. He always feels like the outsider who just accepts that all of this crazy stuff is going on around him. Even after a few twists that show there's more to Johnny's past, he doesn't really change at all. Karin and Yuri from SH:C had a great chemistry and made for excellent protagonists. Shania and Johnny just don't bring that to the table. Even going beyond comparisons to Covenant; the story is a bit weaker than most RPGs.
Beyond the main story and characters, however, you'll find quite a bit to like about the people inhabiting this game world. SH:FTHW continues the goofy humor and contains dozens of the most bizarre people. In fact, it dials up the weirdness even more than the other games. Your party alone is the oddest crew I've seen. Beyond Johnny and Shania, you'll play as Shania's protector who is like Tanto if he were doing gun battles in the Matrix. You also meet up with a vengeance-seeking mariachi who hides all kinds of weapons in his guns ala Antonio Banderes from Desperado. These are the normal ones. You also have a giant female ninja cat, with a male's voice, who runs gang activities in Chicago. You meet up with a vampire that goes from hot and mean, to fat and innocent, to a pink bat depending on what she eats. Lastly, you have a European moron who was trained by Brazilian ninjas. Throughout the game, each will say weird things and act pretty off.
There are plenty of moments where SH:FTNW stops taking itself seriously. These are usually the best parts of the SH games, and FTNW is no different. Your store merchants are a pair of gay bikers. You'll run into men in diapers that have sushi on their head. You'll hit up Al Capone for information. There's no end to the insanity. Since RPGs tend to be weighty and serious, this is always a nice change of pace.
The judgment ring system returns pretty much untouched. When you're taking a turn in battle, buying items, or at a few other skill-based mini-games, a ring appears with several lit up areas. You'll time button presses with that ring in order to complete the action successfully. The judgment ring works flawlessly, and never ever gets old. As the game goes on, you'll have to hit the button more often and more quickly to do more advanced magic and attacks. So there's a balance between you getting better, and the game making you work harder to win. The ring really adds more interaction to the game, and you'll beat yourself up whenever you miss a hit area.
About the only thing that's changed within combat is the combo system. Previously, you stacked up a combo by moving next to a comrade in battle rather than attacking. This made combos very easy to do, though you had to "waste" a character turn to do it. FTNW changes the system by adding a stock gauge that goes up whenever you take a hit or perform an action. As it rises, you can pull off combos. This means that you'll be doing combos less frequently, but you can use a bit of strategy to get a series of single attacks in before you start up a four-person mega combo. The flipside is that your enemies can do the same. Managing your and your enemies' stock gauges becomes crucial to winning. This adds more strategy to the battles, but also can really get annoying when you catch yourself out of ways to keep your enemies from ganging up on you. SH's strength was always in this battle system, so it's a good thing that FTNW doesn't really mess with it.
Another unchanged element is how each character powers up throughout the game. While Shania uses "soul fusion" to power up her fusion beasts, Frank will take objects out of the ground to make his weapons. Mao has to fight a series of opponents to gain abilities, buy Hilda collects magazines to teach her new spells. It's fun to go around and collect everyone's special abilities. The only negative to this is that the way you go about getting those abilities is pretty repetitive to SH:C. I would liked to have seen a bit more variety.
While Shadow Hearts: From The New World is a good turn-based RPG on its own, it's very hard not to compare it to its predecessor, Shadow Hearts: Covenant. SH:FTNW borrows so many elements of that game, but doesn't quite nail down the story as well as Covenant did. If you're looking for a solid RPG, then this game is a good fit. If you're looking for a great one, you won't find it here.
