Bad luck! After shapeshifter Yuri survived his second import adventure with a bang, employer Midway sends him to old Europe and keeps him in a localized version of Shadow Hearts Covenant compete again. Friends of the Japanese role-playing game without an import dealer will be happy about a PAL-compatible double DVD with translated screen texts. Nevertheless, there are classic porting diseases such as a compressed image format and stylistically questionable text quality.
It could have been so beautiful. After Yuri in the first Shadow Hearts Having got his shapeshifting abilities under control, the cynical anti-hero was looking forward to a well-deserved rest in the south of France. But developer Nautilus has other things in mind with the ‘Harmonixer’. Along with half a dozen quirky characters, Yuri rushes through a hilarious RPG scenario that feels like a wild mix of Jules Verne and HP Lovecraft narratives. The game is played in classic Nippon RPG style. Fixed cameras pan through three-dimensional areas, random attacks shatter the screen and herald the numerous round battles. Although the graphics don’t really get the much-cited ‘last’ out of the aged PS2 hardware, you can still expect atmospheric scenarios in which hazy turn-of-the-century cities alternate with phantasmagorical nightmare labyrinths. Friend and enemy characters present themselves appropriately and walk a fine line between ingenious design and grotesque silliness.
The turn-based battles owe their high entertainment value on the one hand to the different fighting styles of your heroes, who put together individual fighting tactics from magic, combo and special attacks. On the other hand, the ‘Ring of Judgment’ provides adrenaline injections in combat. Success and defeat depend on your skill when you have to stop the speeding pointer in certain sections of the ring. In the course of Yuri’s fight against a mysterious brotherhood, you not only improve the property values of your menagerie, but also gradually shape the ring of the respective fighter according to your personal wishes.
