Jump to content

Shadow Hearts: Difference between revisions

Shadow Hearts (view source)

Revision as of 10:20, 8 January 2014

25 bytes added ,  10 years ago
m
Mass update links
VisualWikitext
m (remove unneccessary quote box template)
m (Mass update links)
Line 12:
After original developer Sacnoth was taken over by Aruze Entertainment, the Sacnoth team (sans Kikuta) created ''Shadow Hearts'' as a [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''Koudelka'', set in the same universe but [[Genre Shift|shifting the genre]] to pure [[Eastern RPG]].
 
The first two games star [[But Not Too Foreign|Yuri Volte Hyuga]], part [[Genre Savvy]] [[Badass]] [[Ineffectual Loner]] and part [[The Fool|goofy]] [[Idiot Hero]] [[Butt Monkey]] who just can't get a break. He also happens to be a Harmonixer, which means that he can fuse with the souls of the [[Cosmic Horror|Cosmic Horrors]] that he defeats and turn into various [[Super -Powered Evil Side|superpowered monsters]]. He would rather just coast through life beating up anyone stupid enough to give him lip, except in '''''Shadow Hearts''''' [[Spirit Advisor|there's a voice in his head that tells him to do stuff]] and isn't too appreciative if Yuri fails to fall in line. This leads him to rescue a young cleric named Alice Elliot, who the [[Big Bad]] needs to power his [[Doomsday Device]], and the plot leads on from there.
 
The sequel, '''''Shadow Hearts: Covenant''''', sees [[Bag of Spilling|Yuri's former powers sealed away]] by the new bad guys in town and introduces Karin Koenig as his new companion. They seek to find a cure for the Mistletoe Curse that Yuri has been afflicted with while struggling against the [[The Illuminati|Illuminati-like]] cult Sapientes Gladio, who naturally want to [[Take Over the World]]. ''Covenant'' later got an [[Updated Rerelease]] under the name ''Shadow Hearts II: Director's Cut'' which was unfortunately never released outside of Japan. Curiously, with a little bit of [[Game Shark|hackwork]] you can unlock some of the English-translated Director's Cut content in PAL versions of ''Covenant''.
 
The third game, '''''Shadow Hearts: From The New World''''', could almost be seen as a [[Gaiden Game]] (despite the fact it stays within continuity) in that it replaces Yuri with intrepid [[Kid Detective]] Johnny Garland, moves the setting to America (refreshingly, ''not'' [[Eagle Land]]) and gives the fusion powers to a [[Stripperiffic|scantily clad]] [[Magical Native American]] woman named Shania. She's searching for "Lady", the [[The Stoic|Stoic]] [[Cyberpunk]] woman who [[EverybodysEverybody's Dead, Dave|wiped out her entire tribe]], and Johnny [[Jumped At the Call|signs up for the ride]] after developing the ability to create a [[Laser Blade]] out of a powerful ([[Black Magic|but evil]]) force known as Malice.
 
For a very long time, the games in the series were notoriously hard to find. Recently, however, the first two were reprinted, making them rather easy to find at any good EB Games or Gamestop. ''From The New World'' is hard to find in stores but simplicity itself to order off the Internet. Good luck finding ''Koudelka'', though.
Line 48:
** The first game allows to play as Yuri's father Ben Hyuga for one battle.
* [[Anguished Declaration of Love]]: {{spoiler|Karin does one before the last dungeon.}}
* [[And Then What?]]: A sidequest boss in ''Covenant'', Orobas, has declared his intention to [[Take Over the World]]. After hearing it already before from someone else, Anastasia asked him this. Awkward pause.
{{quote| '''Orobas''': Then..I'll have to think about that.}}
* [[Anti -Hero]]: Yuri Hyuga all the way.
* [[Anti -Villain]]: Masaji Kato in ''Covenant'', as a contrast to Yuri's [[Anti -Hero]] act.
* [[Artistic License History]]: Part of the series' charm.
* [[The Atoner]]: Lenny in ''From The New World'', perhaps best shown by his solemn look as Shania describes how {{spoiler|Nicholai unleashed the world's Malice from Apoina Tower}} in ''Covenant''.
Line 78:
* [[Book Ends]]: ''Shadow Hearts'' begins and ends with a train ride; The first half of ''Covenant'' begins and ends at Apoina Tower; ''From The New World'' begins and ends with Shania standing atop a skyscraper (if you got the [[Downer Ending|bad ending]]).
** Koudelka begins and ends in the same place.
* [[Bonus Boss]]: Every game has quite a few [[Bonus Dungeon]](s) and pretty much every one has a boss to kill, which usually grants a character his/her [[Infinity Plus One+1 Sword]], unique accessory, a final skill, or even open new quests.
* [[Boss Rush]]: Some of the Pit Fight missions revolve around this. The first game has you fight them normally...but with only one character. The latter two will give you a random limit of party members, but with certain conditions.
* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: Yuri falls victim to this in the first game after the Malice consumes him. The rest of the party have to fight him to snap him out of it.
Line 84:
* [[Breakable Weapons]]: A prominent part of ''Koudelka'''s combat system.
* [[But Not Too Foreign]]: Yuri Hyuga has a Russian mother and a Japanese father, which makes his first name (at leas the [[Woolseyism|Woolseyfied]] version) into a [[Gender Blender Name|Gender Blender]]; "Yuri" is a popular masculine Russian name, but also a popular feminine Japanese name. ({{spoiler|He's actually half ''German'', not half Russian, but his mother was carrying falsified papers identifying her as a Russian envoy. Long story.}})
* [[Cain and Abel]] / [[Luke, I Am Your Father]]: {{spoiler|Nicholas and Anastasia}} in ''Covenant'', {{spoiler|Johnny and Lady/Grace}} in ''From The New World''.
* [[Call a Rabbit A Smeerp]]: A [[Painting the Fourth Wall|fourth-wall-breeching]] example in ''Koudelka''. The player can rename ''any'' item in the game, be it equipment or consumables. Want the cast to be healed by vials of crystal meth, or to attack enemies with the [[Chuck Norris]] Gun? Have at it.
* [[Call Forward]]: Hands up if you feel [[Funny Aneurysm Moment|slightly uncomfortable]] when the [[Historical Hero Upgrade|sugary sweet]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Anastasia_Nikolaevna_of_Russia Princess Anastasia Romanov] starts talking about how she's worried that if her parents don't improve their lot with the people then a revolution might be on their hands...
** A fat man in the third game mentions how rich he is...in 1929. Ouch.
* [[Came Back Wrong]]: A recurring theme in all four games: anyone brought [[Back From the Dead]] by the forbidden Emigre Manuscript returns as a hideous [[Cosmic Horror]]. {{spoiler|Only one person (Johnny) has ever returned with both mind and body intact, and it took a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] on the part of his sister to do it -- even then, he still eventually developed a [[Super -Powered Evil Side]] as a result of his resurrection}}.
* [[Casual Danger Dialog]]: The party have a habit of deadpanning villainous monologues: the more hammy or ridiculous, the better.
* [[Chain of Deals]]: ''Covenant'' has a long trading quest inspired by an old Japanese legend about a man who started with a single piece of straw and traded it until he was rich. The quest starts with the main character being told this story and then being given a piece of straw. {{spoiler|Depending on how you trade, you can get useless stuff, a squidload of money, or you manage to save the world from a horrible plague (oh, and you get Lucia's [[Infinity Plus One+1 Sword]] and the Dating Outifit as well). Good job!}}
* [[Character Magnetic Team]]: To Yuri's and Johnny's annoyance, he has a talent for attracting the most bizarre of characters.
* [[Character Title]]: ''Koudelka'', natch.
Line 109:
* [[Cute Monster Girl]]: Every one of Shania's transformations. Especially the earth one.
* [[Cute Mute]]: Lady of ''From The New World''. She's sweet when she's not killing people or trying to cause [[The End of the World As We Know It]], honest.
* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: The series rather loves this trope. Yuri, the main character of both 1 and 2, is, at worst, a Type 2 [[Anti -Hero]] with tendencies towards full-blown heroism. At best, he's just [[The Hero]]. He's Dark element and happy to be that way. Shania, the main heroine of 3, is a [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Proud Warrior Race Girl]], [[Magical Native American]], and ranges across the same moral spectrum as Yuri, going from Type 2 Antihero to simply [[The Hero]]. She's Dark aligned. For side characters, Lucia, from Covenant, is a gorgeous Italian woman, a bellydancing fortune teller, cheerful and loving, and a [[Dumb Blonde]] without being, well, blonde. She's Dark aligned. Also, while the Dark abilities constantly receive names like "Evil Edge", they are used by both heroes and villains with no comment. You even use a pack of freaking demons as spell sources in Covenant, and they never betray your trust at all!
** The series also averts this trope as well- many of the villains, like {{spoiler|Rasputin and Gilbert}} are Dark aligned. However, while their powers may be Dark aligned, this has no affect by itself on their evil- they're evil ''and'' Dark, not evil ''because'' they're Dark. So Dark Is Not Affecting Your Morality would be the best way to state the use of this trope in Covenant.
* [[Dark -Skinned Blond]]: Shania.
* [[Dead Little Sister]]: Both Yuri Hyuga and Masaji Kato lose someone they love in ''Shadow Hearts''. ''Covenant'' focuses on how they both deal with this tragedy in different ways: {{spoiler|Yuri eventually learns to overcome his grief and regains his will to live, while Kato begins as the stronger of the two but eventually descends into nihilism}}.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Yuri.
** Koudelka has a few moments of her own.
* [[Deal With the Devil]]: The Soul Pact. {{spoiler|Albert Simon controls Amon, Rasputin gains the power of Asmodeus and Nicholai claims Astaroth for his own use. A strong level of willpower is required to control the power without succumbing to [[Demonic Possession]]: Rasputin gets possessed after his [[Villainous Breakdown]], Nicholai's will is broken through torture, while Yuri [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|kicks Amon's ass]] and claims its power for his own, subjugating the demon through sheer [[Badass|Badassitude]]}}.
* [[Demonic Dummy]]: Each ''Shadow Hearts'' game has at least one sidequest revolving around one of these, always taking place in an abandoned, haunted mansion called the Doll House.
** Which leads the character involved with said quest to obtain their ultimate weapons. Alice and Gepetto's are gained at the end, but Ricardo can get his early if Johnny takes enough photos of a cockroach enemy.
* [[Devil in Plain Sight]]: Rasputin, though this is an example of [[Truth in Television]]. Also Gilbert in From the New World.
** [[Historical Villain Upgrade|Not really]]: real life Rasputin was more of a misblamed scapegoat than a devil, although he did look creepy, and he ''was'' working his way into the Tsar's inner circle. (Chances are, though, even ''if'' he wasn't assassinated the rebellions would have still happened.)
* [[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?]]: These heroes are ''not'' impressed by abominations from beyond the veil, and aren't shy about sharing this.
* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: Much of the premise of the games involve finding [[Cosmic Horror]] entities from beyond the stars and kicking their asses.
* [[Dirty Old Man]]: {{spoiler|The real Roger Bacon}}, who sends the heroes out to find porn for him in sidequests in ''Covenant'' and ''From The New World''.
** Also Gepetto, who reveals a worrying preference for [[Fetish Fuel|dominatrix-slash-villain]] Veronica.
Line 143:
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: Meta-god in the first game. Amon, Asmodeus, and Astaroth, the "three gods of destruction" in Covenant, arguably. LOTS of them in From the New World.
* [[Elegant Gothic Lolita]]: Cornelia's "Dark Beauty" dress in ''Covenant'', Hilda in ''From The New World''.
* [[Elemental Rock -Paper -Scissors]]: In every game, your party will eventually consist of one character of each element, plus one non-elemental. The "hurts more" pairings are Fire/Water, Earth/Wind, and Dark/Light. There are spells that change your physical attacks to one of the specifics, as well.
* [[Empty Shell]]: {{spoiler|Get the bad ending in ''Covenant'' and Yuri becomes this.}}
* [[Enemy Scan]]: Anastasia does this by [[First Person Snapshooter|taking photos of the enemies]], and [[Mega Manning|sometimes learns their abilities]]. In ''From The New World'', Johnny inherits her camera and ability.
** Anastasia gains attacks from certain enemies, but needs to be in battle to see the enemy's stats. Johnny gets a card, but doesn't need to be in battle to see the enemy's stats.
* [[Even the Dog Is Ashamed]]: Blanca in ''Covenant''. Coupled with [[Only Sane Man]].
* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: Killer and Lady. ({{spoiler|Though later you find out the latter's former name.}})
* [[EverythingsEverything's Better With Princesses]]: Princess Anastasia from ''Covenant''. Shania of ''From The New World'' is [[The ChiefsChief's Daughter]].
* [[Everything Trying to Kill You]]
* [[Evil Counterpart]]: Between a henchman and a non-core party member for a change. Veronica is this to Lucia.
Line 159:
* [[Fight Woosh]]: A swirly-thing in ''Koudelka'' and the original; ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World'' have a glass screen-shatter fight woosh for the normal battles, and a exploding ball of energy for bosses.
* [[First Person Snapshooter]]: Anastasia in ''Covenant''. Johnny Garland in ''From The New World'' actually inherits the camera she used.
* [[Five -Man Band]]:
** In Shadow Hearts:
*** [[The Hero]]: Yuri.
Line 207:
* [[Hard Gay]]: Joachim from ''Covenant''. And how!
** Not to mention the trading cards collected throughout the same game.
* [[Hello, Insert Name Here]]: [[Lampshaded]] in all three games by Roger Bacon, {{spoiler|who tricks you into thinking that you can rename him [[No Fourth Wall|then mocks you when you try]]}}.
** Unfortunately the developers did not think of everything in this case, {{spoiler|and there is no joke if you DO name him Roger Bacon in the naming screen. Boo!}}
** Bacon aside, played straight in the first game. Characters will still be called by their real names in voice-acted cutscenes, but those are pretty rare.
** You can also name your teams in ''Covenant''. Cue people naming their teams stuff like "Team Fortress" and "[[Homestar Runner|Girl Squad]]".
* [[Hey ItsIt's That Voice]]: ''Covenant'' has a ''lot'' of well-known voice actors who do a ''very'' good job in this game. Examples include:
** Say, don't Lucia and Alice sound familiar? They sound a bit like [[Bleach|Rukia Kuchki]], [[Tales of Vesperia|Rita Mordio]], and [[Digimon Tamers|Antylamon]] - albeit with a weird speech pattern.
** ''Covenant'''s narrator and Tsar nicolas are even voiced by [[Kingdom Hearts|Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]].
Line 222:
* [[Hiroki Kikuta]]
* [[Historical Domain Character]]: Anastasia and Rasputin, for one. And guess what [[Mata Hari|rather more famous stage name]] Margarete Zelle used?
* [[Historical in In-Joke]]: Heaps and heaps of them.
* [[Ho Yay]]: Joachim
* [[Hot Amazon]]: Shania.
* [[Hot Chick With a Sword]]: Karin.
* [[I Am Who?]]: Johnny in the third game {{spoiler|is the first human revived by the Emigre Manuscript who hasn't become a mindless abomination in the process.}}
* [[Idiot Hero]]: Yuri, though his boundless supply of [[Genre Savvy]] and wit counteract it very well. His ignorance is also quite justified, as due to losing both parents at an early age and being forced to fend for himself he never got a normal education.
** Johnny, on the other hand, is a detective who did have a rich background and education. No wonder he only gets chosen to find lost cats.
Line 233:
** Frank takes this to absurd extremes. He uproots the last living cactus in the Grand Canyon and puts a hilt on it. He puts a hilt on a giant marlin. He puts a hilt on a ''firework'', absolving himself of any lingering guilt over his failure to take over his father's fireworks company. Finally he puts a hilt ''on a sword that already has one''.
*** Said sword is also a [[Only the Chosen May Wield|Sword in the Stone]] ''with the stone still attached''.
*** His [[Infinity Plus One+1 Sword]] is a giant kebab!
** Anastasia attacks with ''Fabergé eggs''. With her just tossing those around, no wonder the peasants revolted.
*** They're actually small machines in the form of Faberge eggs.
Line 251:
* [[Intimate Healing]]: Practiced by Lady in ''From the New World''. Exactly why kissing people heals them (and infects them with Malice to boot) is never explained.
* [[Keep Circulating the Tapes]]: The first game went out of print fairly quickly, and had a relatively low print run to begin with. This led fans to have to resort to scouring eBay to obtain a copy. The sequel seemed doomed to the same fate, but the trope was averted when the publisher recognized it had a cult hit on its hands and re-released both titles.
* [[Kill 'Em All]]: Not many secondary characters from the first game survive. Basically if they have a portrait and they don't join your party, they will probably get offed.
* [[Knife Nut]]: Killer in ''From the New World''. To quote:
{{quote| '''Killer''': There, see? (''circles arm around to create a bunch of knives.'') Go get them! (''Points at target. Target becomes swiss cheese.'')}}
Line 258:
* [[Large Ham]]: Joachim. This seems to be a requirement for being a pro wrestler in the world of ''Shadow Hearts''.
** {{spoiler|Albert Simon}} in the first game has {{spoiler|his}} moments. {{spoiler|"Now it is time for the END OF THE WORLD!"}}
** Frank the [[Highly -Visible Ninja]] is the [[Large Ham]] of the party in ''From The New World''.
* [[Laser Blade]]: Johnny has one in ''From The New World''.
* [[Let's Split Up Gang]]: In Covenant, the party has to explore a battleship in order to find a certain girl. The party splits with one group being led by Yuri and the other being led by Kurando and Blanca. Both groups have to work apart to get through the ship, pushing switches to open doors on the other part of the ship. You're...not going to enjoy it.
Line 284:
* [[McNinja]]: Frank Goldfinger, a Polish immigrant who learned ninjutsu in the jungles of South America instead of taking over his father's fireworks company in New York.
* [[Mega Neko]]: Mao from ''From The New World'' and Andre, Lucia's pet from ''Covenant''.
* [[Merchandise -Driven]]: Hilda's rationale for changing the name of her ultimate weapon from "Magic Key Divine Angel Version 2, the Legendary" to "Magic Key Hilding". Namely, because that's easier to market.
* [[Mercy Kill]]: If you think about it, {{spoiler|Lady's final defeat}} in ''From The New World'' counts.
** Whoever got [[Came Back Wrong|resurrected]] by the Emigre Menuscript is better off killed, except {{spoiler|Johnny}}.
Line 293:
* [[Multiple Endings]]: And thanks to {{spoiler|[[Stable Time Loop|Stable Time Loops]]}}, ''both'' the good and bad endings to the first game are canon. {{spoiler|It was confirmed by [[Word of God]] that the Bad Ending (Alice dies) of ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'' leads to the events of ''Covenant'', which ends with Yuri being sent back in time to repeat the events of ''Shadow Hearts'', only this time he gets the Good Ending (Alice lives)}}.
* [[Mythology Gag]]: There is a girl named Jeanne in the french town of Domremy...DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything? Hint: {{spoiler|Jeanne d'Arc...aka ''Joan of Arc''. Who also was from Domremy.}}
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: The fight against {{spoiler|Albert/Amon}} in the first game {{spoiler|ends up generating enough energy to cause Neameeto to rise}}, in ''Covenant'' {{spoiler|it is revealed that Albert's defeat allowed Sapientes Gladio to grow stronger}} and in ''From The New World'' {{spoiler|defeating Killer generates enough Malice to finallly open The Gate, although it's implied that The Gate would have opened anyway, [[Take Your Time|although it would have taken a while]]}}.
* [[Nietzsche Wannabe]]: {{spoiler|Special Agent Kato, after the death of his "girlfriend", Ouka. Hell, Susano-O, the [[Final Boss]] of Covenant, is listed in the Library as "summoned by Kato's nihilistic spirit".}}
* [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot]]: Oh god, so many. The best is probably Joachim, however; He's a Shapeshifting Toku Superhero Vampire Professional Wrestler.
** Trumped only by Mao in ''From the New World''. She's a [[Mega Neko|giant cat]] movie star who serves as a martial arts mentor (to a [[McNinja]], no less) and ''Al Capone's bodyguard and second-in-command''.
* [[NoblewomansNoblewoman's Laugh]]: Anastasia, naturally.
* [[No Export for You]]: The Director's Cut version of Covenant
* [[Non -Elemental]]: The Neutral Element. Johnny is the only character to naturally be this, with Yuri, Kurando, and Gepetto getting forms to become neutral.
* [[Nonstandard Game Over]]: Taking the wrong path in the optional dungeon Black Forest hits you with a "Surprise! You're dead!" ending. If you listen to the flowers at the beginning, they tell you what each colored flower does. The White Flower wants you to go further into the forest, and the Black Flower wants you to leave. You put the rest together.
* [[Obviously Evil]]: Rasputin, who's sallow, has a long beard, and is ''blue''. Then comes the professor in ''From the New World'', who looks like Igor's older cousin...
* [[Ominous Latin Chanting|Ominous Japanese Chanting]] - "ICARO", a recurring song throughout the series.
* [[One -Winged Angel]]: Practically 85% of the bosses in the whole series are One Winged Angels. A good portion are never fought ''except'' in their One Winged Angel form.
* [[Our Vampires Are Different]]: One is a [[Improbable Weapon User|Improbable Weapon-Using]] [[Large Ham]] wannabe-superhero trained as a [[Professional Wrestling|pro wrestler]]. One is a [[Genre Savvy]] [[Elegant Gothic Lolita]] [[Magical Girl]]. [[Plain Name|And one is called Keith.]]
* [[Painting the Fourth Wall]]: Among other instances, in the second game, Yuri acknowledges the [[Infinity Plus One+1 Sword|Nautilus]] as Joachim's "last weapon", and decries the ''[[Ho Yay|Man Festival]]'' sidequest:
{{quote| '''Yuri''': You can't be serious... Not in such a pure, clean, mega-hit RPG as this...!}}
* [[Panty Shot]]: Plenty throughout the series, a direct effect of [[Stripperiffic|miniskirts]] and [[Male Gaze|low camera angles]]. Especially noticeable during battle.
Line 334:
* [[Shoot the Medic First]]: The final battle in ''Covenant'' has four targets. Defeating one actually ends the battle, but the other three make the battle much longer if you ignore them. One of which ''heals''. {{spoiler|If you don't take down any of them? Well, let this troper just say that the game gives you a chance to kill the big boss with all four characters getting a turn each. After that, it's better to restart the Playstation.}}
* [[Shout Out]]: In covenant one of the wolfs Blanca faces for his powerup sidequest is called "[[Fatal Fury|the Lonely Wolf]]" and wears a RED BASEBALL CAP.
* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: Yuri Hyuga will ''not'' take that sort of crap.
* [[Skippable Boss]]: Hilariously subverted. When Johnny arrives to the altar in the Aito cave, he founds out what looks like a colossal statue of a winged minotaur/centaur hybrid wielding a blood-stained sledgehammer. He tries to sneak around it...only to get caught in the middle:
{{quote| '''Johnny''': I guess that's typical. *cue boss battle*}}
Line 351:
* [[Stripperiffic]]: Veronica in the second game and Shania in the third. Just look at which part of her body Johnny looks at in their first meeting. And the there is [http://shadowhearts.wikia.com/wiki/Bride%27s_Dress Lucia's Bride's Dress]
* [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]]: {{spoiler|Meta-God}} in the first game.
* [[Super -Powered Evil Side]] - ''From The New World'': {{spoiler|Johnny Garland}}.
** Technically, Yuri's fusions all count as well. Particularly {{spoiler|Amon}}.
* [[Surprisingly Easy Mini Quest]]: In ''Shadow Hearts'', you have to constantly go to the Graveyard to clear out your accumulated Malice, which comes in the form of a monster whose strength is proportional to the level of Malice, and only with Yuri. Even at maximum Malice, these battles are surprisingly easy.
Line 379:
* [[Useless Useful Spell]]: Altered; you're not using MP on them, they're junctioned effects to your attacks. And you'd be surprised how nice Instant Death is against late-game [[Demonic Spiders]].
* [[The Vamp]]: Veronica Vera, a recurring villain from the second game who [[Whip It Good|wielded a mean whip]] and [[Stripperiffic|dressed in impossibly skimpy]] and [[Impossibly Cool Clothes|outlandish dresses]].
* [[The Virus]]: Malice. Portrayed in the first game as the lingering (and quite vengeful) hatred of the [[Cosmic Horror|Cosmic Horrors]] that Yuri has defeated and absorbed, portrayed in the second game as a [[Hate Plague]] formed from the accumulation of all negative emotions, and portrayed in the third game as a malevolent, living force that can actively infect people, granting them powers such as resuscitation from death and [[One -Winged Angel|transformation into a convenient Boss Form]], with a dose of [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] thrown in for free.
* [[Violation of Common Sense]]: Want to get Yuri the most powerful spells of his level three fusions? He needs to go berserk. This is something you typically want to ''avoid''.
** Hey, torture scenes. Want to get a weapon for them? Pick ''all'' of the options that involve your character getting hurt. The closest the first ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'' game has to a torture scene is the option for Alice to hit on Dehuai instead. This unlocks an optional dungeon. Thankfully this isn't as much of a [[Violation of Common Sense]] given that no harm really comes to Alice if she hits on Dehuai and a mischievious player can see what'd happen if they hit all those options and find a dungeon opened up, but picking an option where the character is zapped or poked with a sword? Yeah.
* [[The Voice]]: Yuri is guided throughout the events of the first game by a voice in his head. Later, it is revealed to be {{spoiler|the imprisoned Koudelka, who also happens to be the mother of one of your party, the psychic London street urchin Hally.}}
* [[Well -Intentioned Extremist]]: {{spoiler|Albert Simon}} pre-''Shadow Hearts'', according to ''Covenant''.
** Although both Rasputin and Gilbert both seem like [[Card -Carrying Villain|generic power-hungry villains]] at first, one of Rasputin's motives for trying to [[Take Over the World]] was that he believed that Europe's current government was incapable, and if Gilbert succeeded, nobody would have to be powerless.
** Kato in ''Covenant'' is the ultimate well-intentioned extremist.
* [[What Could Have Been]]: Early trailers of ''[[Shadow Hearts]] Covenant'' actually showed a beta...in which Yuri was actually nowhere to be seen in the party. But the harmonixer was still there...who was this Harmonixer? ''Nicolai'' - Kind of odd considering what his role in the final version was.
Line 401:
[[Category:Horror Video Games]]
[[Category:Shadow Hearts]]
[[Category:Video Game]][[Category:Pages with comment tags]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/480200"
Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies.
More information