It is hard to believe that after three games, all for one system nonetheless, a game series can still be considered underrated. Obviously enough people are buying these games, making each release profitable, yet even with that logical argument I am constantly discovering gamers unacquainted with the Shadow Hearts world. [You can add me to the list! Unaquaint-Ed]. Which is truly a shame, because from promising, albeit ugly duckling RPG beginnings (see Shadow Hearts, and to a lesser extent, the prequel Koudelka), the wonderful developers at Nautilus have been able to rear a beautiful flagship series that, starting with the first sequel, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, can travel proudly with any other RPG series on the high seas.

However, with a successful sequel comes higher expectations. Covenant was a colossally progressive step, a deep-cleansing facelift that addressed nearly all of my complaints (unattractive presentation, mediocre storytelling) about the first title, while still keeping in place its best features (the Judgment Ring battle system, historical setting and off-kilter characters). Coming out of nowhere, it was 2004's pleasant surprise and easily took a place near the top of my all-time favorite RPG list. Could this latest sequel, Shadow Hearts: From the New World, allow the series to one-up even itself, gracefully strutting into the upper echelon of RPG series? Unfortunately, like main character Shania's outfit, there is just too much missing for you to constantly keep your attention centered on what is there.

Starting off in New York City in 1929, roughly 11 years after Covenant's end in Europe, the story wastes no time putting together your motley crew and getting you out and about the Americas. You'll sightsee in Chicago, a historically inaccurate Las Vegas, Mexico, and many, many more - all of the locales are rendered nicely, especially the cities, though they are graphically no more or less appealing than the high quality Covenant, - which isn't a bad thing by any stretch. What is a bad thing though is that there is no town in From the New World (outside of New York - though it's broken into multiple sections) that is more than a few screens big.

These huge, bristling cities are reduced to mere blocks, constricting their presence and ability to draw the gamer in by their stature alone. Now, if each block was full of buildings to explore and interact with then I would have no qualms - but that's not the case; there are almost no buildings to enter and explore, NPCs rarely change position (though thankfully most of their conversations change multiple times throughout the game) and there aren't even shops to visit. This is not a new thing for the series - town exploration has never been a big factor, although this is the tightest it has been trimmed. Does that make it easier to accept Chicago and New York as mere blocks? Not so much, and non-linear folks will really feel claustrophobic here.

To keep with the theme of mild disappointment, the music rides the line between standard RPG fare and period and/or culture related pieces. Just as Shadow Hearts has never been one to fully indulge town exploration, neither has it done the same with music based on the period or culture where the characters were tromping about. The jazzy tune played around New York will either annoy you or have you singing the whiny trumpet part to yourself in public places - either way, it does, more or less, fit the time and place. However, go somewhere like the Native American village in the Grand Canyon and instead of hearing some sort of tribal song, we are given a song that could have been in any other RPG that had sunny, mountainous section. It does disappoint a bit, but with all the music definitely worth your ear's time, it is hard to make a big fuss out of it.

Now to buck the casual nay-saying for the moment! One of the staples of the Shadow Hearts series is the Judgment Ring battle system and this game is no exception. Thankfully very little has changed since Covenant and the Judgment Ring system remains one of the best RPG fighting systems on any system. This system plays out much like stopping a hand on a clock; by timing button presses as the hand moves clockwise past dual colored wedges (the biggest area is known as a hit area, smaller part as strike area) set along the Judgment Ring, you'll determine not only if you will execute the action, but how effective it will be. Everything in a battle must be done using the ring - attacks, magic, items and so on. This keeps you on your toes during the countless battles you're sure to fight throughout the game.

The ring itself is completely customizable, adding another layer of depth. For starters each character has a different ring, with their own hit area placement and strike area size, starting hit/strike area placement and hand speed. From there hit/strike areas can be added to an attack ring for more chances of attack. Hit and strike areas can also both be widened, making them easier to hit. The speed at which the hand moves across the ring can be slowed down, which is vital for consistent, maximum action effectiveness. Status effects can be added to a ring, which run the gauntlet from stat damage (defense, attack, etc.) to status effects (poison, fire, etc.) that are added to attacks.

Combos also make the transition from Covenant, but instead of having to run next to a character to 'link up' with them, you must first build up the new Stock meter. This meter, with one for each enemy and party member, allows for not only the aforementioned combos but also for a single character to double their actions for one turn. This is the first RPG I have played where every single random battle could end in my demise if I wasn't paying full attention - a lesson I learned the hard way! Not to mention what this means for boss fights; especially those that have more than one attacking character. If you do catch your enemies with full Stock meters, you can use special Stock-depleting attacks to keep yourself from being on the wrong end of a turn-altering Stock combo.

Magic has been the one part of the fighting system that Shadow Hearts has never been able to settle on. This time out, it is now handled much like skills were in Final Fantasy X-2, using interchangeable charts known as Stellar charts. These upgradeable charts, shaped like zodiac signs, have empty nodes that you fill with magic Stellar pieces. Each Stellar has a spell in it, along with a numbered rank, and can only fit into corresponding nodes - pretty simple stuff. This is the best system that the Shadow Hearts series has put together so far; very user-friendly yet it can be tailored to the player's whims and preferences.

Character-specific skills are as excellent as they have ever been and are almost all worth the time spent to gather them, not just for their usefulness but for the comedy they provide (though I'll leave that for you to discover!) Actually, the side quests finished to gain these abilities can be more fun than parts of the main story! Along with many of the best items, these special moves are nearly exclusively picked up and/or learned through the extensive list of side quests (at least ten hours' worth). Unlike many other RPGs, which reserve the majority of side quests for the end of the game, From the New World sprinkles the main quest with them, keeping it from feeling back heavy. Side quests range from filming movies at Purramount Studios (with a giant cat George Lucas and Arnold Schwarzenegger) to hunting animals of American lore such as Bigfoot to tracking down a cat thief - and that's only a taste of what's out there! All these side quests add a much-needed sense of non-linearity to what would otherwise essentially be a linear game.

Another nice addition to extend the playing time of this game is multiple endings to achieve and the option of playing the game again after beating it with the same levels, items, magic and so on that you gained on your first run through, more commonly known as a "Game+" scenario. Without those two and the side-quests, there would be little reason to come back after your thirty or so hours of play time. It seems like a rather easy and tacked on addition, but sometimes simple gifts can provide hours of fun - and this is one of those times.

Now for the best part of the game: the characters and the storyline. The characters, both playable and otherwise, are really what draw you in, especially initially. Despite dipping a bit too much into the race cliché bucket (Natan and Ricardo are prime examples of this), the main characters have all been granted depth and detail that sets them apart from other RPGs. It's not everyday your party consists of a man named Frank the Ninja who draws from MacGyver when it comes to swords, or his master, a giant cat/mob bodyguard/movie actor named Mao (or as Johnny likes to say, Master Meow). Though Johnny could easily be swapped out with any other effeminate male lead, the other characters look and feel specific to this game (or at least Americana). Character models are just as unique, sporting high quality graphical detail wrapped in original garb (thank you for different art for each weapon!) The cut scenes are animated perfectly, with excellent effort put into hair and clothes to further produce realistic characters - you may want to have a bib handy when a CGI movie comes on the screen to collect all that drool, as they are just unbelievable!

The voice acting is mostly acceptable - perhaps a bit awkward at times, but never offensive. All the characters have perfectly cast voice actors (though don't confuse that with excellent), with Marc Thompson's work as Frank and Mao topping my list. He hits each of their voices just brilliantly and with each voice being drastically different, it's quite a feat. My only complaint with the voice acting overall is the questionable line delivery that randomly plagues the story. Sometimes you have to wonder, " is anyone even directing this thing?" as lines are read out of context here and there.

The storyline follows a rather quirky route, to say the least - quirky and only loosely historical route (ie: don't write history papers based on what's in this game!) Sixteen-year-old rookie detective Johnny Garland starts up a detective agency in New York after his father and sister die, instead of taking over the running of his late father's business. I'm sure his deceased father just loved that - insert 'turning in grave' here. Through way of a case for creepy midget Gilbert, Johnny meets up with Native Americans (of the Generic tribe) Shania and Natan, two bounty hunters who are out to kill monsters and searching for the woman who killed nearly all their of their tribe. But before you get accustomed to a rather dark beginning, Frank the Ninja is thrown your way with all his old white man ninja qualities (yes, I realize what I just typed). He says his master can help with information to find Gilbert, who Johnny is looking for so he can give him a report on his case. This leads you to Al Capone-controlled Chicago, which is being watched over by the master of drunken fighting, movie acting and mob bodyguarding, the aforementioned Mao. And that's just the first few hours!

One of the more endearing qualities of the first half of From The New World is its ability to keep things light-hearted, even when dealing with heavy topics - not unlike a good comedian. Gabe from Penny Arcade laid it out best when he posted this on his site: "Personally my favorite thing about the game is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's actually really refreshing to play a game that sort of recognizes how convoluted the RPG stories are and decides to make fun of the fact." It's hard to get too wrapped up into any one serious moment of this game when the traveling merchants, two homosexual bikers who run the on-wheels store, "Just Us Guys," seem to pop up around every corner!

I only wish I could be loving about the final half of the game. The two antagonists, Killer and Lady, are just dropped into our laps at the beginning, with little explanation as to who they are, where they came from and why we should care. As the story progresses, cut scenes try to let us in on the relationship and personalities of both the antagonists and protagonists, attempting to endear all of them to us, but that is hard when both groups share the same scenes, and near impossible during blocks that are focused solely on progressing the storyline instead of the characters. Not only that, but during the same middle portion of the game, a portion normally used to add depth to existing party members, very little attention is paid to proper personality growth, and even when it is focused upon, it's done in a bumbling, amateurish way, quite unlike the beginning of the tale. This retards to near-irreconcilable terms the development of the relationship between the player and all the main characters - the story tries to address this towards the end with one excellently executed plot curve ball, but by then the damage has already been done, the emotional pull minimized; it broke my heart that such a wonderful plot twist moved me so very little.

I wish I could make some sort of excuse for these negative marks, but Nautilus has no one to blame but themselves for trotting out what feels like an unfinished game as far as the story goes. The battle system, graphics, voice acting, and music are all, for the most part, top notch, well deserving of the attention of not only fans of the Shadow Hearts' series, but also fans of RPGs in general. However, the eventual halt of the story (arguably the most important part of a RPG) brings the whole package down. I still find it hard not to gush about the positives and the fun I had in between letdowns though, so don't let my score or complaints keep you away from this Shadow Hearts: From The New World - just use them to prepare yourself properly!

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).