Shadow Hearts

a series of games developed by sacnoth and released by midway games ltd.
the first game was made on playstation 1 and was named koudelka, set in 1898.
shadow hearts was then set alot later in late 1913 in j-pan, the main character named yuri hyuga who is a harmonixer and has the ability to “morph” into different monsters that are based on six elements: water, fire, wind, earth, ligh and dark.
yuri encounters a young european girl named alice elliot, on a trans-siberian railroad train, where a man named roger bacon attempts to kidnap her. yuri comes to her rescue and is drawn into a deep and dark plot, involving his father who died while he was younger. yuri and alice become close, and they travel around the world with many companions to find out the truth behind roger bacons intent and to save the world.

shadow hearts 2: covenant is set some time after shadow hearts, after alice has died from the end of the first game and yuri is living in domremy, helping to defend it against the german army, as the game is set in world war 1. yuri is troubled by his loss of alice and sets out to try and bring her back from the dead with the aid of an ancient book. yuri and his many companions that he gains along the way, get entangled in a dark plot, involving the vatican, the romanovs(tsar, russian royal family) and even rasputin himself. although these people actually existed, the events that happen during the game are not related to true events.
many characters from the first shadow hearts make an appearance, either aiding, or trying to destroy, yuri and his friends.

both shadow hearts and shadow hearts 2: covenant use turn based rpg style battle styles. attacks and abilities etc. success is dependant on the judgment ring, a ring that appears with highlighted sections and a swinging arm that rotates around the ring, the aim is to “hit” the ares which are highlighted, depending on how accurate you do this depends on the damage and effect of the ability etc.
there are many status effects which change the judgment ring, such as making the arm swing faster, making it harder to hit areas. or making the ring smaller, also making it harder to hit the required areas.
both games have deep, dark storylines and music. the characters are unique and interesting, some more evil and twisted then others. the areas that yuri and co. visit are all beautifully designed.

both games have a long life, and there are many submissions to be done on both, including obtaining ultimate weapons and armor.
this game is a good game for any rpg supporters, especially those that enjoy darker storylines and more mature gameplay and characters.
shadow hearts, midway ltd. game