Shadow Hearts: From the New World

Plot

It begins in North America in the year 1929 and features two new main characters: a 16 year old New Yorker named Johnny Garland, and a 21 year old Native American woman named Shania, who has powers of fusion similar to Yuri and Kurando in the previous Shadow Hearts entries, however, Shania is not a harmonixer. She makes pacts with spirits while Yuri and Kurando turned into demons. The story begins with Johnny, a private detective, being hired by a man named Gilbert to find one Marlow Brown. When Johnny finds the man, however, a mysterious 'window' opens, and from it emerges a monster. The rest of the game follows Johnny, Shania, and company as they attempt to uncover the truth about Gilbert and his plans.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, a wanted criminal who was severely injured was being pursued by the police. He met a mysterious woman who rescued him by finishing off his pursuers with ease. Then, she healed his wounds with the 'Kiss of Malice.' Nobody knows what her intentions or motives are, nor did she speak a single word. The man who identified himself as 'Killer', called her 'Lady' and thereafter followed her where ever she would go.

Shania later teams up with Johnny, accompanied by her guardian, Natan to investigate the strange happening Johnny has witnessed. Arriving at Arkham University, they meet Gilbert, who reveals his true intentions to open the Gate and rain Malice upon the world. Gilbert later teams up with Lady and Killer to achieve his goal. Johnny continues his pursuit to stop Gilbert and meets new allies along the way. They include: Frank; a wacky ninja, Ricardo; a lone guitarist, Master Mao; a feline cat specialized in the Drunken Fist and Hildegard Valentine; sister of the vampire brothers Joachim and Keith Valentine in the Shadow Hearts series.

Together, Johnny and his friends travel across the globe to stop the evil plans of Gilbert, Lady and Killer. Johnny finds out a shocking truth along the way - that he was revived using the Emigre Manuscript and that Lady was actually his sister, Grace Garland. Their father had revived them after losing them in an accident. He was eventually killed by Grace as she had transferred all her Will into Johnny in exchange for his Malice. This explains why Lady does not speak; she has no memories and is only acting instinctively on the Malice in her body.

An epic battle with Killer eventually defeated unlocks Johnny's "Awaker" powers and Lady calls out Killer's name for the first time. The ritual to invoke the opening of the Gate of Malice is going underway and Johnny is determined to stop his sister. The team battles Gilbert, powered by Malice, for one last time before the final confrontation with Lady. Lady is finally put to rest with Johnny delivering the final blow and she disappears along with Killer's body.

Months later, Johnny receives a case from his detective agency and he proceeds to investigate. There are two different endings; one in which Shania follows Johnny out of the agency and another one where Shania watches over from a building with red eyes; an evidence that she has been consumed by Malice. The different endings can be obtained by maxing out all of Shania's fetishes and vice versa.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a console role-playing game developed by Nautilus and published by Midway in 2004. It is a direct continuation of Shadow Hearts and the second official game in the Shadow Hearts series. The game features two DVD-ROM discs instead of the usual one, which provides, according to the publisher, over forty hours of gameplay.

The game is also known as Shadow Hearts II (シャドウハーツII ,Shadō Hātsu Tsū). This is the name used within the game itself: the name "Shadow Hearts: Covenant" was used only on the American and European packaging and in advertising.

The story starts a year and a half after Shadow Hearts in the midst of World War I. The heroes are drawn into an intriguing plot involving the demons of demonolatry, the chief advisor of the tsar of Russia and a man from main character Yuri's past.

The release of Shadow Hearts: Covenant generated much more fanfare than its predecessor. As such, the series gained a much wider following in the United States.^{[citation needed]} It was named RPG Vault PS2 Game of the Year for 2004

Plot

The town of Domremy has stubbornly refused to fall to the German advance at the beginning of World War I thanks to the aid of a "demon" which seems to defend it. Lieutenant Karin Koenig of the German army is sent along with a person who claims to be an Inquistor from the Vatican, Nicolas Conrad, to acquire a means of exorcising this demon, the Holy Mistletoe. However, the 'Demon of Domremy' is actually the Harmonixer Yuri from the first Shadow Hearts. Nicolai casts the curse of the Mistletoe on Yuri, which causes him to lose his fusions and weakens him; in addition, this reveals that Nicolas is a member of the sorcerous faction called Sapientes Gladio who wishes to rule the world through dark magic.

Karin and a weakened Yuri manage to escape with help from Domremy residents Blanca and Gepetto and make their way across Europe, gathering their strength and new allies as they chase after Nicolas and in turn are chased by other members of Sapientes Gladio. Eventually, the group learns how deep the influence of Sapientes Gladio really runs, and that Nicolas is far from the one in charge. The real leader of the sinister organization is Rasputin of Russia, which sends the group to Petrograd in an attempt to stop him and save the Russian royal family from his influence and nefarious plot. Along the way, Yuri also discovers the true origins of Sapientes Gladio, which, in turn helps him regain most of his power. Using Yuri's rediscovered abilities, Yuri and his group soundly defeats Rasputin. However, Nicolas, who was revealed to be Nicolai, a bastard son in line for the Russian throne who had hoped to use Rasputin's plot to gain rule over Russia, makes one last attempt to inflict evil on the world by opening a door sealed in the same tower the Holy Mistletoe was stored in, which contains malice. Although Nicolai is fused with the powerful demon Astaroth, he is physically defeated. Nevertheless, the door is opened and malice is released into the world. As Yuri and his group recover, Nicolai is taken by his ally, Japanese Envoy Kato, to Kato's homeland.

Due to malice being released, the war's brutality escalates. The group follows Kato and his agents to Japan in an attempt to find and destroy Nicolai, who still contains the demon Astaroth, once and for all. However, this leads the group to be in conflict against the Japanese government because Nicolai is under the custody of the Japanese government. With the Emigre Manuscript, Kato creates the Mutant Apes, powerful warriors who loyally follow his command. One of the Mutant Apes, Ouka, is created from DNA of his deceased lover, Yoshiko Kawashima, who died six months ago in the first Shadow Hearts. After Yuri's band stops the Japanese government from starting a war with Russia using the captured Nicolai and his powers, Nicolai himself escapes and intends to destroy the world. Yuri and Kato's groups both go after Nicolai, now completely corrupted by the demon Astaroth. Although Astaroth is eventually defeated by Yuri, Nicolai causes the death of the Mutant Ape Ouka before he is finally destroyed.

Kato is completely devastated by the second death of his love, and after he kills Nicolai, decides the world is full of too much evil and suffering and must be destroyed. Using the magic of Emigre Manuscript, he begins a ritual that will transport him 100 years into the past, where he can use his power and foreknowledge to remake the present world according to his own desires. Believing that the future they want is the one that they create for themselves, Yuri and his friends and allies stop Kato from carrying out his apocalyptic plans.

Like its predecessor, Covenant has two endings, depending on a choice made by the player earlier in the game. In the "bad" ending, Yuri's personality and memories are erased by the Mistletoe's curse, and he lives out the rest of his life in Wales under the care of Roger Bacon. In the "good" ending, Yuri is killed before succumbing to the curse. He retains his personality, and is escorted into the afterlife by his true love Alice. (It is also implied that Yuri may be projected back in time to the beginning of the first Shadow Hearts and given a chance to prevent Alice's death, but this is open to interpretation.) In both endings, Karin travels back in time to 1887 and meets Yuri's father Ben Hyuga. It is hinted that Anne, Yuri's mother, is actually Karin.

Playable characters

Yuri Volte Hyuga

Yuri Hyuga

• Age: 25
• Nationality: Japanese
• Special Ability: Fusion
• Weapon: Knuckle mounted Claws
• Class: Darkness/Changeable
• Special Accessory: Flare Brooch, halves SP consumption during fusion.

Returning from the first Shadow Hearts, Yuri settles in the town of Domremy after burying Alice Elliot. He uses his Fusion form to scare invading soldiers away from the village, but runs into problems when Nicolai Conrad from the Vatican strikes him with the Holy Mistletoe, cursing him and diminishing his powers. He now travels with the party, hoping to regain his abilities and fight off the new evils infecting the world. His aloof and rude traits have been somewhat tempered by the loss of Alice, but are still there in many situations. Yuri is one of the characters able to have five hit areas alongside Joachim and Kurando. Yuri has the highest SP (Sanity Points) in the party. His numerous transformations along with each of their unique stats and abilities make him incredibly balanced, allowing him to fulfill any position of the party (i.e.: physical fighter, magic-user, healer, etc.)

Karin Koenig

Karin Koenig

• Age: 25
• Nationality: German
• Special Ability: Sword Arts
• Weapon: Sabres
• Class: Fire
• Special Accessory: Anne's Cross, prevents Status/Ring abnormalities, restores HP.

An officer in the German army and descendant of a long line of Bavarian nobility, Karin first encounters Yuri at the church in Domremy, when he saves her from an errant grenade. After accompanying Nicolai to obtain the Mistletoe and watching the ensuing events, Karin joins Yuri's side. Fiercely independent and well-mannered, she harbors a crush and later deep love for him, and sticks by him in any situation. She uses swords, especially rapiers, in battle and obtains Sword Art power-up through the score of the Wagner opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. Karin doesn't really have a weakness nor strength. She is a balanced fighter between physical and magical, but is more toward the former.

Gepetto and Cornelia

Gepetto

• Age: 60+
• Nationality: French
• Special Ability: Marionette
• Weapon: Strings
• Class: Changeable
• Special Accessory: Silver Chair, allies protect Gepetto from incoming blows.

Once a renowned showman and puppeteer known throughout Europe, Gepetto retired to the quiet village of Domremy only to become mixed up in the affairs of Yuri and Nicolai. He offers good advice, but also has a bit of a lecherous side. He uses his beautiful puppet Cornelia (named for his late daughter) to fight and channel his magic-based Marionette skills. Gepetto has the highest magic stat in the party in exchange for a weak physical and special defense. Cornelia can obtain new dresses which give her different elemental attributes by collecting Stud Cards.

Blanca

Blanca

• Age: 2
• Nationality: French
• Special Ability: Manifestations
• Weapon: Whetstones
• Class: Wind
• Special Accessory: Colorful Comb, agility up during crisis.

A white wolf, and unofficial guardian of Domremy, he joins Yuri after his young owner Jeanne is killed by Sapientes Gladio. Loyal and wise, Blanca encounters other wolves throughout the world which he can fight in Wolf Bouts to raise the power of his Manifestation skills. Blanca's balanced between physical and magical attributes (though more toward the latter) like Karin along with a high speed potential.

Joachim Valentine

Joachim Valentine

• Age: 400+
• Nationality: Romanian (Transylvania)
• Special Ability: Muscle Arts, Joachythms
• Weapon: Anything he finds
• Class: Earth
• Special Accessory: Gold/Prism/Electro Band, makes it easier for Joachim to turn in to Golden Bat/Invisible/Grand Papillon

After briefly appearing in the original game taunting his brother Keith, Joachim is found as the protector of the French village of Le Havre. Joachim is both a vampire and a trained wrestler who joins the party when he succeeds in defeating the mayor, who has been pestering Granny Lot for her store. He uses several forms to fight in battle, which change depending on his Joachythms. His regular form is most frequently seen; "Invisible" form lowers his chance of being targeted; "Golden Bat" form greatly raises his physical strength but eliminates his magic abilities, and his super hero form, "Grand Papillon" (which is French for "Butterfly"), is a powered-up version of his regular form. Joachim has the highest physical damage potential (even exceeding Yuri), but the trade-off is his slow speed, weak magic defense, and random transformations. He is also able to equip five hit areas.

Story - Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Fayt Leingod is the main character of Star Ocean 3. He is a seemingly-normal college student from Earth. His father, Robert Leingod, is a famous authority on symbological genetics, a highly controversial scientific field, and does much of his work on the orbital colony of Moonbase. Fayt is somewhat lazy when it comes to his college work and takes every opportunity during his vacation to Hyda IV, a famous resort planet, to ignore that work. He does this mostly by playing games, specifically, combat simulation holographic games. Sophia Esteed is a childhood friend of Fayt's who accompanies him to Hyda IV. Sophia was born on the orbital colony Moonbase and moved to Earth later. Because she is such close friends with Fayt and his parents, as well as her parents and Fayt's parents working together, she is considered a member of the family and refers to Fayt's parents as "Uncle Robert" and "Aunty Ryoko".

Shortly into the events of the game, Fayt is introduced to Cliff Fittir and Mirage Koas, his partner, who are Klausians born on the high-gravity planet Klaus III. They are members of the anti-Federation organization Quark, which is labeled a terrorist group by the Federation government. Both Cliff and Mirage have a special interest in Fayt which Fayt does not understand.

On the planet of Elicoor II, a backward planet with a technological level similar to that of 17th century Earth, the kingdoms of Airyglyph and Aquios feud. Nel Zelpher is an agent of Aquios who specializes in infiltration and intelligence gathering and is a user of "Runology," which is suspiciously similar to Symbology studied in the Federation (or, for that matter, "Heraldry" on Expel in Star Ocean: The Second Story). Meanwhile, Albel Nox is the commander of the Black Brigade, one of the three military divisions of the Kingdom of Airyglyph, and is known as "Albel the Wicked," whom you fight early on in the game.

Later into the game, Maria Traydor is introduced, an enigmatic young woman hunted by the Federation.

Minor characters include Peppita Rossetti, a young Velbaysian dancer from a group known as the Rosseti Troupe; Roger S. Huxley, a young Menodix from the Lost City of Surferio, which lies in the Sanmite Republic on Elicoor II; and Adray Lasbard, the father of Clair Lasbard and member of the Crimson Blade of the Aquarian Kingdom on Elicoor II.

Adray Lasbard and Mirage Koas were added into the Director's Cut version of Star Ocean: Till The End of Time. Mirage was already in the original version as part of the story, but she never joined the party. Adray is a completely original character who was not in the original version of the game at all, and was added primarily to increase the appeal of the game's second release.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (スターオーシャン ティルジエンドオブタイム ,Sutā Ōshan Tiru ji Endo obu Taimu^?) is the third main game in the Star Ocean video game series. The game was developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 console system. It was released in Japan, North America, and the PAL territories. The original Japanese release date was in February of 2003 by Enix, shortly before its merger to become Square Enix. It was re-released in 2004 as a two disc Director's Cut version with bonus features such as new characters and dungeons. The North American and European version are based on the Director's Cut version. The game takes place four hundred years after the first two Star Ocean games.

Story - Star Ocean: The Last Hope

"AD 2064. Humanity made its third and most costly mistake. World War III. Weapons of mass destruction deployed with complete impunity, razed the land in the blink of an eye. People believed it was the end of the world. The planet Earth was dying. So humanity began to search for a new home in space."

"AD 2074 first contact. SD0001 first warp. SD0010 -- first official SRF mission. The first official SRF mission ventures forth into the great Star Ocean."

It is said that World War III ended in 2064, but the effects of the war remained. When humanity began to search for a new home in space, the Universal Space and Technology Administration (USTA) was established. In AD 2087, Professor Trillas Bachtein succeeded with his space warp experiments. This was the last day of the AD calendar and first day of the SD Space Date calendar. After the success of Professor Trillas Bachtein, the USTA began to secretly implement its SRF project. In SD 0010, the first official SRF mission begun.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Star Ocean: The Last Hope (スターオーシャン4 ,Sutā Ōshan 4) is a console role-playing game developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix for the Xbox 360, and the fifth installment in the Star Ocean. Famitsu has revealed that the battle system will now feature four party members, and be more team-oriented. The hero's name is Edge Maverick, while the heroine is named Reimi Saionji. The game will also feature more of a sci-fi emphasis than past titles with the ability to control your own ship. It's been said this ship is quite large, and will be able to land on at least 5 planets or other space-based destinations. One will be able to travel through the "star ocean," jumping across planets. The game will also take place a few centuries before the original Star Ocean (around S.D. 10, or approximately 2097 CE).

Ar tonelico II Sekai ni Hibiku Shōjo-tachi no Metafalica