The era of franchise revivals and reboots stretches on, but it’s not always in the form of a remaster or a remake. The PlayStation and PlayStation 2 JRPG franchises Wild ARMs and Shadow Hearts are both receiving spiritual successors from some of their original developers. Akifumi Kaneko, formerly of Wild ARMs’ Media Vision, is spearheading the western JRPG Armed Fantasia, while the writer of the first two Shadow Hearts’, Matsuzo Machida, has taken up his pen once again for the horror JRPG Penny Blood. The two titles are running together in an appropriately weird hybrid Kickstarter, which had achieved its base funding by the time 24 hours had passed.
Fans of Wild ARMs and Shadow Hearts can check out the Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood and Kickstarter for the rest of September. The games aren't due out for several years, but they already look like promising successors to these old, beloved RPG franchises. While Wild ARMs borrows parts from its Spaghetti Western influences, Shadow Hearts is rooted deeply in horror. Said horror gradually lessened across the universe’s four games, owing in part to the last being handled by another writer, but it maintained a unique style. The three Shadow Hearts games, and their canonical predecessor Koudelka, are all worth revisiting today, and ought to be remastered to compliment the upcoming Penny Blood.
Few JRPGs Do Horror Like Shadow Hearts
One of the most noticeable things when examining Koudelka and Shadow Hearts is their heavy emphasis on horror. This ranges from gothic horror to lovecraftian horror and everything in between, but they are certainly horror games nonetheless. Koudelka can even be compared to Resident Evil in how its map exploration and resource management plays out, although its gameplay is otherwise that of a tactical RPG. Where many RPGs are content to use foreboding atmospheres or dedicated horror sections, the Shadow Hearts universe fully merged the genres.
It doesn't take long to see this once one starts playing an early entry. While the latter two Shadow Hearts titles, Shadow Heart: Covenant and Shadow Hearts: From the New World, tone things down, Koudelka and Shadow Hearts are grotesque and foreboding. Human characters generally have simpler, more realistic designs, while enemies frequently have some sort of deformed human element to them. The tones of these titles in particular, as well as parts of Shadow Hearts: Covenant, are very grim compared to most JRPGs. Koudelka goes as far as to make its party out of a druidic wiccan, a Christian adventurer, and a Catholic priest. This vitriolic combination robs party interactions of the comfortable atmosphere that almost all JRPGs strive for, constantly highlighting everyone’s flaws. These games take risks, and their fans love them for it.
Shadow Hearts’ Unique Traits Deserve Preservation
That's not to sell the non-horror aspects of these titles short, as they hold up as well. The madcap antics of Shadow Hearts: Covenant and Shadow Hearts: From the New World stretch beyond the bounds of the average JRPG, even if the writer change for the final entry is sorely felt. Covenant’s party member-focused sidequests are near-mythical in how deranged they become. Supporting all of this is a battle system that holds true within the Shadow Hearts trilogy. While Koudelka tried to incorporate a battle grid, Shadow Hearts instead opted for normal turn-based battles using action commands. Combined with the occasional transformation ability that resembles Persona crossed with Digital Devil Story, and it's quickly apparent where Penny Blood is drawing its inspirations from.
These games are all getting harder to find, with copies of them gradually raising in price. As such, even if a remastered collection didn't improve the visuals much or released games piecemeal, it would still be worth it to make Shadow Hearts available again. If at all possible, Koudelka and Shadow Hearts should be brought back for modern audiences that crave experiences different from those in the average Tales Of or Xenoblade title. Hopefully, the excitement for the Penny Blood Kickstarter catches the trademark owner’s attention, and potential fans can learn what all the hype behind the latest RPG spiritual successors is all about.