History VideoGame / ShadowHearts

Set in Wales in 1898, the game tells the story of Koudelka Iasant, a young Romani girl with supernatural powers who is drawn to the mysterious Nemeton Monastery after experiencing a series of troubling visions. Along with adventurer/thief Edward Plunkett and bishop James O'Flaherty, they must delve into the dark history of the Monastery and stop the [[TheCorruption malevolent force]] that permeates its halls.

There exist a number of Japan-only media related to ''Koudelka'': a drama CD that retells key events of the game, a novelization of the game, and [[{{Manga/Koudelka}} a manga originally set as a direct sequel]] (but now considered in a separate continuity from the ''Shadow Hearts'' trilogy).

The first two games star [[ButNotTooForeign Yuri Volte Hyuga]], part badass IneffectualLoner and part [[TheFool goofy]] IdiotHero ButtMonkey 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}}s that he defeats and turn into various [[SuperpoweredEvilSide superpowered monsters]]. He would rather just coast through life beating up anyone stupid enough to give him lip, except in ''Shadow Hearts'' [[SpiritAdvisor 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 BigBad needs to power his DoomsdayDevice, and the plot leads on from there.

The 2004 sequel, ''Shadow Hearts: Covenant'', sees [[BagOfSpilling 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 [[TheIlluminati Illuminati-like]] cult Sapientes Gladio, who naturally want to TakeOverTheWorld. ''Covenant'' later got an UpdatedRerelease under the name ''Shadow Hearts II: Director's Cut'' which was unfortunately never released outside of Japan. Curiously, with a little bit of [[VideoGame/GameShark 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'', was released in 2006 and could almost be seen as a GaidenGame (despite the fact it stays within continuity) in that it replaces Yuri with intrepid KidDetective Johnny Garland, moves the setting to America (refreshingly, ''not'' {{Eagleland}}) and gives the fusion powers to a [[{{Stripperiffic}} scantily clad]] MagicalNativeAmerican woman named Shania. She's searching for "Lady", the [[TheStoic Stoic]] CyberPunk woman who [[EverybodysDeadDave wiped out her entire tribe]], and Johnny [[JumpedAtTheCall signs up for the ride]] after developing the ability to create a LaserBlade out of a powerful ([[BlackMagic but evil]]) force known as Malice.

Not to be confused with the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games which, while featuring [[TheHeartless shadows]], are not related to this series.

!!The series provides examples of:

* MoralDissonance:
** Yuri beats the living hell out of a mortally ill villain whose plans he has just completely and irrevocably ruined, while the villain's grandson looks on helplessly, having already been shoved to the ground. The reasoning is that [[spoiler:the Foreign Minister is the man responsible for the attempted invasion of China, making him indirectly responsible for the deaths of Yuri's parents, since Dehuai specifically targeted Ben Hyuga's family as revenge for him thwarting the first Demon's Gate Invocation as an agent of the Japanese government. More importantly, the Minster's pleading to spare his grandson mirrors the actions of Yuri's mother shortly before she was killed trying to protect her son. This explains why the Minister is the only villain in the series who actually manages to get to Yuri, causing him to go crazy and then break down in tears.]]
*** Unfortunately, if you didn't play the first ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' game, this is one of those moments that would have you confused as hell.
** ''From the New World'' ends in [[spoiler:willful fratricide]]... which the party angsts about for all of 10 minutes. [[spoiler:Which leads to the cutscene where mass murderer Killer says, in a moment full of irony, "You're not a very good brother, are you?" By that point, Lady/Grace was a soulless monster intent on destroying the world, and it was clear that killing her was their only option. Hell, one could even consider it a MercyKill.]]

* PantyShot: Plenty throughout the series, a direct effect of [[{{Stripperiffic}} miniskirts]] and [[MaleGaze low camera angles]]. Especially noticeable during battle.

* StandardStatusEffects: Aside from the RPG staples of poisoning and other debuffs, the Judgment Ring's presence ensures that there are a ''lot'' of meta-examples which screw with the Ring and its components. Going backwards, speeding up the bar, adding fake Hit Areas, having the Hit Areas vanish...unless you're good at the Judgment Ring, these effects will screw you up.
** Two items, The Mind's Eye and Extreme, will double and triple attack power respectively, but will make the Hit Areas disappear and Extreme will make the hit bar disappear.

** Combine this with the above entry, and you get [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/10/04/ this]]

* TheGrimReaper: In ''Shadow Hearts'', the Grim Reaper appears in random battles when your stored Malice reaches the maximum level. It manifests as the thing that Yuri fears the most: his father wearing a kitsune mask. He's nearly impossible to beat, given his ability to lower Yuri's health down to one point, and he's the only one fighting.[[spoiler:Later, the mask comes off to reveal Yuri's own face.]]

* CanonDiscontinuity: The ''Koudelka'' manga was written as a direct sequel of the game, and gave a lot of extra detail on the backstory of Roger Bacon and the Émigré Manuscript... but a line from Roger in ''Shadow Hearts: From the New World'' directly contradicts the manga (Specifically, [[spoiler:he has never seen a successful Émigré ritual, whereas at the end of the manga he was witness to the revival of Mary Vermont and several fetuses as angelic beings. Though it's possible he was specifically referring to a ritual that completely revives a person as if they had never died in the first place]].), making the manga's connection to the ''Shadow Hearts'' continuity questionable.
* CasualDangerDialog: The party, Yuri even more so, have a habit of deadpanning villainous monologues: the more hammy or ridiculous, the better.

* ChekhovsGun: Koudelka's amulet that she loses while scaling the monestary's roof. [[spoiler:Find it or else.]]

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In Koudelka if you don’t have Koudelka’s Pendant you will receive a NonStandardGameOver however if you discarded the pendant or didn’t pick it up there will be an enemy that will drop it in the final area preventing the player from being locked out of the actual endings.

** In addition to the hint of both of Roger and Dehuai's pervertness, said magazine was needed for an extra sidequest by giving it to Roger. And there was [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar the conversation below]]. God knows what actually made that happen...

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** Upon seeing Andre, the enormous pink kitten Lucia unleashes upon the party, Yuri observes, "That's one giant pussy!" (The game is rated T, by the way.) There was also an old woman willing to pose nude for photos, the ''entire'' Man Festival, and [[IncrediblyLamePun Yuri saying "shit" in a whole ton of cutscenes]].
** Also in ''Covenant'', one cutscene has Veronica waking up, fully naked, in Rasputin's bed. To further bring the point home, Rasputin mentions that Veronica had "quite the workout", and Anastasia mentions that they were so loud the previous night.

* ZettaiRyouiki: Each game has one - Koudelka, Alice, Karin, and Hilda.

* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: Downplayed. The series has been getting more zany and light-hearted with each new installment. [[CerebusRollerCoaster: They still do have their serious moments]].

** The Sacnoth Sword in ''Koudelka'' itself a reference within a reference; Sacnoth (the company) is named after Sacnoth, a sword in a short story by real-life author Edward Plunkett, Lord Dunsany ("The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth"). This same author shows up as [[HistoricalDomainCharacter one of the game's main characters]] and [[spoiler:even fathers a character for the next game]].

** Edward and Halley's surnames are rendered as "Plunkett" (after UsefulNotes/LordDunsany) in ''Koudelka'' and "Brancket" in ''Shadow Hearts''. [[spoiler:They qualify as this trope because they're supposed to have the same surname, which is rendered in the original Japanese as プランケット (Puranketto) since they're [[LukeYouAreMyFather father and son]].]]

*** In ''Koudelka'', unless you remember to fish a key item out of a fountain ''three discs'' after it fell in, the only ending you can get (without abusing [[RandomlyDrops random drops]] in the last dungeon until your brains dribble out your ears) is the one where [[spoiler:the final boss ambushes your heroes with an acid mist, their faces melt off and [[RocksFallEveryoneDies the trio dies]]]]. If you get that far without grabbing the item, it's not totally gone: you go to a certain place to fight a certain cat that will grant you the key item. But that place is hard to find for people who aren't aware of this.

** There's a part in ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World'' in which one of your characters is either tortured by a dominatrix named Veronica or interrogated by a pint-sized pirate. If you answer their questions ''incorrectly'', they'll repeatedly shock or stab your character. Picked the options that result in your character getting stabbed until they jump out of the barrel or are shocked into unconsciousness? [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential You sick bastard-]] wait, you get a good weapon for them if you do that?!

*** Thankfully if you do fail that sidequest, it's still possible to get the Fan, but it will cost you 500,000 cash (or 250,000 with a full discount).

Set in Wales in 1898, the game tells the story of Koudelka, a young Romani girl with supernatural powers who is drawn to the mysterious Nemeton Monastery after experiencing a series of troubling visions. Along with adventurer/thief Edward Plunkett and bishop James O'Flaherty, they must delve into the dark history of Nemeton Monastery and stop the [[TheCorruption malevolent force]] that permeates its halls.

There exists a number of Japan-only media related to ''Koudelka'': a drama CD that retells key events of the game, a novelization of the game, and [[{{Manga/Koudelka}} a manga originally set as a direct sequel]] (but now considered in a separate continuity from the ''Shadow Hearts'' trilogy).

''Koudelka'', while not a ''Shadow Hearts'' game in name, was the first to be released back in 1999, and exists in the same continuity as the ''Shadow Hearts'' games. It was originally developed as a radical new take on the RPG genre, but ExecutiveMeddling forced him to change the game from ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' style action-horror to ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' style traditional TurnBasedCombat. The result was a mess (teaching us, among other things, why SurvivalHorror games should ''not'' have RandomEncounters) with Kikuta resigning in protest after the game's completion.

* AndThenWhat: A sidequest boss in ''Covenant'', Orobas, declares his intention to TakeOverTheWorld; after hearing it already from someone else, Anastasia asks him this. Awkward pause.

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: You can only ever have three party members at one time in the first ''Shadow Hearts'' and four in ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World''.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Part of the series' charm. Keep in mind that these games are set during the time of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, or in the case of ''From the New World'', UsefulNotes/TheRoaringTwenties. Among the player characters alone, we have UsefulNotes/MataHari as a superspy, [[DidAnastasiaSurvive Princess Anastasia]] as a cameraman, a samurai in Taishō Japan who becomes Anastasia's fiancé, and a talking cat movie star who is revealed to be working with UsefulNotes/AlCapone.

** [[spoiler: Johnny's Awaker/Malice form carries over to NewGamePlus, but since his SP pool is extremely low, he won't be able to use it for a long time. Also, both of the Awaker's special moves (one of which is earned only after a LONG sidequest) have high MP costs]].
** Also, Lucia and Ricardo both have a skill that give all party members save for them the Third Key effect (aka allowing three spins of the Attack Judgment Ring). But you only get the skill late in the game, after completing their side quests. You can do it first, but the MP cost is HIGH. How much? 750 MP. According to Ricardo's leveling chart, he needs to be at least Level 65 to pull this off. By that point, the BonusBoss should be a cakewalk! Oh, wait, both him and the FinalBoss have a skill where they remove all buffs and get an extra turn... (There is an item that reduces MP costs, but still not enough to make the skill viable.)

* BadPowersGoodPeople: Heavily implied in the game world. Characters have made pact(s) with demons or use the powers of Malice, but aren't always bad people. [[spoiler: Lenny has made a pact with a demon. However, you learn that he is ''not'' a bad person at ''all''!]]

** ''Shadow Hearts'' has two possible endings: [[spoiler:one where Alice lives, and one where Alice dies]]. Unfortunately the sequel ''Covenant'' confirms the second ending as canon. However, it is implied that the "good" ending of ''Covenant'' [[spoiler:(where Yuri dies and is reunited with Alice back at the very start of their adventure) is also canon, which means that Yuri ''can now save Alice''. Put simply: [=SH1=] bad ending > [=SH2=] good ending > [=SH1=] good ending is the canonical order. So Yuri and Alice do finally get their happy ending.]]
** Another for Koudelka and Halley. [[spoiler:Koudelka appears in ''Shadow Hearts'' after being committed to an insane asylum. After the events of the game she and her son Halley go to America presumably to find Edward, Halley's implied father and one of the ''Koudelka'' trio.]]

** Every Shadow Hearts has a Doll House side-quest. It takes place in a HauntedHouse infested with [[CreepyDoll Creepy Dolls]] and other abominations that are trying to kill you.
* {{BFG}}: In ''Koudelka'', bow guns (crossbows) function as this. The weakest of these are almost the same size as the three main characters and they do the most damage in a single shot for a missile weapon.
* {{BFS}}: Frank's homemade ninja swords. Kurando's final Demon Morph (the Ogre Spirit Jutendouji) also wields one. In ''Koudelka'', there was the Sacnoth which is a massive sword guarded by [[BonusBoss a ridiculously strong gargoyle]].
* {{Bishonen}}: ''Covenant's'' Kurando a thousand fold. To hammer home the point, his first Demon Morph is Tsukiyomi, a god''dess''.

* BittersweetEnding: The canon endings of ''Koudelka'' ([[spoiler:James loses his life purifying Elaine's body.]]), ''Shadow Hearts'' ([[spoiler:Yuri saves the world but loses the one he loved. There is an apocryphal GoodEnding where she lives, but Covenant relies on Alice dying.]]), and ''Covenant'' ([[spoiler:Yuri commits suicide to save his soul from being wiped clean, and creates a time paradox that takes him back to the start of the first ''Shadow Hearts''.]]), plus the [[DownerEnding bad ending]] of ''From The New World'' ([[spoiler:Shania is [[BrainwashedAndCrazy overtaken by the power of Malice]].]]).
** There are some hints, at least, that ''Shadow Hearts'' and ''Covenant'' are supposed to canonically add up to a happy ending: [[spoiler:While most believe Yuri died at the end of ''Covenant'''s good ending (and assumed canon due to the poor quality of the bad ending) and the scene following was merely Yuri living out his fond memories in his soul as he promised Alice earlier, some argue he used the Asuka Stone Platform to travel time like the rest of the group for a second shot at his life. This interpretation is further supported by a line from Roger Bacon in ''From The New World'' claiming he has never seen an Émigré ritual.]] While the bittersweet ending is more commonly believed, neither interpretation should be discounted, as there is ample evidence for both.

* BlindIdiotTranslation: Karin's skills in the second game are all named in German, but it appears the original text represented them phonetically. Thus, you end up with "Heuervelk" (Feuerwerk, german for 'fireworks'), "Bullenfogel" (possibly "Bullenvogel", which combines the words for "bull" and "bird") and "Geuschbenst" (Gespenst, german for "ghost"). Only "Sonnestark" comes across unscathed.

** The enemies of the entire series generally end up being this instead of the usual RPG fare. Instead of generic mooks, you fight disembodied souls and finger legged spiders.

** Happens in battle, as a character run out of Sanity Points. They do random stuff (Blanca evens pees on someone for 1 damage.), and they don't receive EXP at battle's end if the battle ends with the character still berserk. SP is refilled all the way at the end of the battle, so the SP restoration items (Pure Leaf, Pure Seed, etc.) can only be used in battle. Also, ([[spoiler:to learn the third skill of the most powerful fusions in the first ''Shadow Hearts'', Yuri must go Berserk.]])

* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Gameplay-wise]], almost any enemy can do this to your party if you neglect the SanityMeter. For every member that ends up in Berserk mode at the end of the battle, your experience is stolen away in a drunken haze [[DarkReprise of trippy music]] and loss of character control. Sure, you regain your mental health at the end, but give a couple important battles missing from their record, and your berserking party members CantCatchUp.

** The Neam Ruins sidequest from ''Covenant''. The level is long and has annoying puzzles that often requires you to move to ''very specific'' areas that're hard to describe.
** The Purgatory from ''From the New World''. Unlocking it is hard on its own, as it requires completing a game spanning sidequest taking possibly mutliple photos of enemies, including bosses, which are missable. The dungeon itself is a maze which you start with Johnny only, so if something ambushes you, you might as well reset. The maze gets progressively harder as do enemies and you have to fight six Bonus Bosses, after which a party member gets freed, and the last of whom is the only boss harder than FinalBoss. The shop located here is the only shop giving you possibility of buying Third Keys, and completing it nets you Eternal Key and Awaker's final ability.
* BullyingTheDragon: She may look broken and semi-comatose, but the woman Viscount Rausan is trying to break the spirit of actually has the power of god. As [[spoiler: Albert]] points out, she is actually just messing with him by giving him the silent treatment. And the second her [[MamaBear son shows up]] and is put in danger, we see [[IAmNotLeftHanded exactly]] what he was talking about.
* CainAndAbel / LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: Nicholas and Anastasia]] in ''Covenant'', [[spoiler: Johnny and Lady/Grace]] in ''From The New World''.
* CallARabbitASmeerp: A [[PaintingTheMedium 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 Creator/ChuckNorris Gun? Have at it.
* CallBack:

* CameBackWrong: A recurring theme in all four games: anyone brought BackFromTheDead by the forbidden Émigré Manuscript returns as a hideous CosmicHorror. [[spoiler:Only one person (Johnny) has ever returned with both mind and body intact, and it took a HeroicSacrifice on the part of his sister to do it -- even then, he still eventually developed a SuperpoweredEvilSide as a result of his resurrection]].

** The first village in ''Shadow Hearts'' is filled with demonic versions of these. However they ''can'' appear human to lure unsuspecting visitors in.
** From The New World has them as well, but they're fairly normal and even live in Hollywood.
* ChainOfDeals: ''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 InfinityPlusOneSword and the Dating Outifit as well). Good job!]]
* CharacterMagneticTeam: To Yuri's and Johnny's annoyance, they has a talent for attracting the most bizarre of characters.

* ChekhovsGun: Koudelka's amulet that she loses while scaling the monestary's roof. [[spoiler: Find it or else.]]

** ''Koudelka'''s "Formation" screen opts to depict the three main characters as chess pieces. Koudelka is a Queen, Edward is a Knight, and James is (of course) a Bishop.
** The Queen's Garden in Covenant has a puzzle around using Chess pieces. The keys to doors are even chess pieces!
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite Edward Plunkett, Koudelka Iasant, and Halley Brancket being stated to live in America ever since the first ''Shadow Hearts'' game, they do not appear nor are even mentioned in ''From the New World'', which was explicitly set in the Americas.
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: During the ending of Covenant, [[spoiler:the party is stuck in the Field of Takamagahara, a realm beyond time and space. Just before he dies, Kato tells the party that if they want to escape, they must pray fervently to return to the world that their hearts wish for. The only catch is that they cannot return to the immediate present. And so, the party prays together for one last time, and Yuri watches his TrueCompanions fade away. Yuri's fate depends on what choice you made before the last two battles of the game.]]
* CoolOldGuy: Zhuzhen from the first ''Shadow Hearts'', and Gepetto from the second. Frank could also count, since he's 50 years old.

** Further expanded in ''From the New World'', however instead of moving characters next to each other, they must build up an energy meter (Stock) and characters can launch ''two'' attacks before the next character continues the combo. Combo Magic is still available, but it now needs both the MP cost and the character's Stock at Level 2.

* CrapsackWorld / CrapSaccharineWorld: The first two games definitely makes the world out to be like this. It becomes especially crapsaccharine around ''Covenant''.

** The Sacnoth Sword in ''Koudelka'' itself a reference within a reference, since Sacnoth (the company) is named after Sacnoth, a sword in a short story by real-life author Edward Plunkett, Lord Dunsany ("The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth"). This same author shows up as one of the [[HistoricalDomainCharacter main characters of the game]] and [[spoiler:and even fathers a character for the next game.]]
** Also Joachim's ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'', which has the tiny staff of Aruze causing a ruckus. The logo of the same company pops up during the Man Festival. His ultimate weapon, Nautilus, is also the name Sacnoth is known after it is taken over by Aruze. The fact that the weapon itself is a minimized submarine is also a reference to the fictional submarine captained by Nemo in two of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus_(Verne) Jules Verne's novels.]]

* CurbStompBattle: Early in the first ''Shadow Hearts'' where players control Yuri's dad when he saves Zhuzhen from Dehuai's lackey during a flashback of their first meeting. To put it into perspective, Ben Hyuga ''hits like a goddamn truck'' and effortlessly kills Wugui's lackeys (but considering they were regular mooks it was more or less Overkill) with one or two hits. Wugui himself can only survive four or five rounds of full-on hits. Oh, and Ben only has one Fusion: '''Czernobog''', the strongest Dark Element fusion in the whole game! You would have to be a colossal ''idiot'' to die while playing as Ben Hyuga.

* DarkIsNotEvil: The series rather loves this trope. Yuri, the main character of both 1 and 2, is, at worst, a Type 2 AntiHero with tendencies towards full-blown heroism. At best, he's just TheHero. He's Dark element and happy to be that way. Shania, the main heroine of 3, is a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girl]], MagicalNativeAmerican, and ranges across the same moral spectrum as Yuri, going from Type 2 Antihero to simply TheHero. She's Dark aligned. For side characters, Lucia, from Covenant, is a gorgeous Italian woman, a bellydancing fortune teller, cheerful and loving, and a DumbBlonde 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.
* DeadAllAlong: When you find [[spoiler: and battle]] Patrick Heyworth's corpse it's obvious he's been dead for many years before the game starts.
** [[spoiler: Johnny and Lady as well. It turns out Johnny CameBackWrong, but Lady gave him her will so that he may live]].
* DealWithTheDevil: The Soul Pact. [[spoiler:Albert Simon controls Amon, Rasputin gains the power of Asmodeus and Nicolai claims Astaroth for his own use. A strong level of willpower is required to control the power without succumbing to DemonicPossession. Rasputin can't handle it after Yuri smashes through his shield, and gets taken over. Nicolai manages to keep Amon in check until Dr. Hojo literally destroys his will through ElectricTorture, with Astaroth remarking it was the only thing keeping him in check. Yuri, meanwhile manages to keep his will and keeps Amon subjugated after taking Amon's soul from Albert]].

* DevilInPlainSight: Rasputin, though this is an example of TruthInTelevision. Also Gilbert in From the New World.

*** Special mention goes to the Spirits battle themes in ''From the New World'' - with the exception of one, all of them is a DuelBoss with Shania, who has the highest SP in the game (Meaning it's ''highly'' unlikely she will ''ever'' go berserk). There actually is a theme in the event that this happens.

* CanonDiscontinuity: The ''Koudelka'' manga was written as a direct sequel of the game, and gave a lot of extra detail on the backstory of Roger Bacon and the Émigré Manuscript... but a line from Roger in ''Shadow Hearts: From the New World'' directly contradicts the manga (specifically, [[spoiler:he has never seen an Émigré ritual, whereas at the end of the manga he was witness to the revival of Mary Vermont and several fetuses as angelic beings]]), making the manga's connection to the ''Shadow Hearts'' continuity questionable.

** The BigBad of the first Shadow Hearts, is quite a cordial fellow aside from his motives. He harbors no malice toward the heroes, even after they defeat him -- he sees the whole conflict as nothing more than an honest difference of opinion. [[spoiler:He has a meeting with Yuri in ''Covenant'', and even then Yuri is cordial and actually understands the reasoning behind the motives when explained in the larger context. ''And'' the former big bad thinks Yuri stands a better chance than he did in hindsight, both personally and in method.]]
** The final villain from ''Covenant'', [[spoiler:Kato]], is also like this. He and Yuri fight to the death, but even then, he considers Yuri his friend.

** St. Marguerite Island in ''Conveant'', where the party is captured and Blanca has to rescue them.
** The Alcatraz itself appears in the third game. Johnny and co. infiltrates it to free Al Capone.

** Edward, Yuri, Geppeto, Johnny and Elliot Ness all have perverted tendencies. Finding ultra rare porn magazines and giving them to Roger Bacon is needed for getting an ultimate weapon.

** Joachim, the Great Gama and the item vendors from ''Covenant'' are gay examples.

* AllThereInTheManual: Each game has an in-game reference library on every single character, item and monster in the game. You get to keep it in the NewGamePlus, making bosses slightly easier as you now know their weaknesses.

--> '''Jack:''' (''when Mammon appears'') Mother?! It's not even complete... Why?! (''beat, after Mammon dies'') I'm so sorry... Mommy...

* AndIMustScream: From Koudelka, a girl named Charlotte was kept in the Prison under Nemeton Monastery from birth and beheaded on her 9th birthday. [[spoiler: If you try to reason with her without the letters from Sophia she will curse you and trigger a boss fight which is also scream inducing.]]

** Happens quite a few times in ''Covenant''. You control Nicolai and then Karin during the prologue, before Yuri reclaims his main character badge. Anastasia becomes the playable character at the outset of her arc, Kurando becomes the playable character during his own, and you play as Joachim for a little while in Japan. There's also a section of the game where you control the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Mutant Apes]] during a training exercise. And in the ''Director's Cut'' there's a bit starring Nicolai, Lenny and Veronica. You also got to control Blanca on two occasions.
** ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World'' changes the lead character during specific side-quests.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: [[spoiler: Karin does one before the last dungeon.]]
* AndThenWhat: A sidequest boss in ''Covenant'', Orobas, has declared his intention to TakeOverTheWorld. After hearing it already before from someone else, Anastasia asked him this. Awkward pause.
--> '''Orobas''': Then...I'll have to think about that.
* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: You can only ever have three party members at one time in ''Shadow Hearts'' and four in ''Covenant'' and ''New World''.
** In the original game, you can only switch out characters if you visit them or talk to a certain character. [[CantDropTheHero Yuri can't leave the party]], and it's not until you're almost half-way through the game that you get to pick your own party. There are, however, still moments where a certain character will insist on being in the main party.
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Part of the series' charm. Keep in mind that these games are set during the time of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, or in the case of ''Shadow Hearts: From the New World'', UsefulNotes/TheRoaringTwenties. Among the player characters alone, we have UsefulNotes/MataHari as a superspy, [[DidAnastasiaSurvive Princess Anastasia]] herself as a cameraman, a samurai in Taishō Japan of all periods who becomes Anastasia's fiancé, and a talking cat movie star who is revealed to be working with UsefulNotes/AlCapone.
* AscendedExtra: Karin Koenig and Joachim Valentine from ''Covenant'' were present in the first ''Shadow Hearts'' under the names of [[spoiler:Anne Hyuga and the Golden Bat, respectively.]]
* AwesomeButImpractical: If you use the NewGamePlus in ''Covenant'', you have access to the Seraphic Fusion ''at the very start'' - and Anastasia comes with ''all of her abilities''. This should include Power Cannon and Euthanasia. However; using the powerful fusions at the first boss fight will drain your SP quickly, and using many of these ultra-powerful abilities normally restricted to the end of the game will drain your MP.

** [[spoiler: Johnny's awaker/malice form carries over to NewGamePlus, but since his SP pool is extremely low, he won't be able to use it for a long time. Also, both of the awaker's special moves (one of which is earned only after a LONG sidequest) both have high MP costs]].
** Also, Lucia and Ricardo both have a skill that give all party members save for them the Third Key effect AKA allowing three spins of the Attack Judgment Ring. But you only get the skill late in the game, after completing their side quests. You can do it first, but the MP cost is HIGH. How much? 750 MP. According to Ricardo's leveling chart, he needs to be at least Level 65 to pull this off. By that point, the BonusBoss should be a cakewalk! Oh, wait, both him and the FinalBoss have a skill where they remove all buffs and get a extra turn! (There is a item that reduces MP cost, but it's still too high to actually use in battle.)

** The official Japanese Shadow Hearts: Covenant guidebook confirms that the two games do indeed link up this way.

** Yuri's fire fusions in Covenant. He learns the ability 'Energy Charge' which triples physical damage for the next turn. Yuri can switch to a stronger or a elemental-superior fusion and deal some major damage, making a good number of bosses jokes.
*** A similar ability is gained from one of the first Crests you get. Put it onto Geppetto or Blanca for decent MP levels, start with Yuri's Dark or Earth fusions for high strength, and cast it on Yuri to start this strategy even sooner.
** From The New World subverts this, due to the Stock System. Using Energy Charge and the magic equivalent 'Gathering' on bosses will potentially wipe your party out when they get to act.
* BookEnds: ''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 in Johnny's detective office (technically, if you got the good ending) or Shania standing atop a skyscraper (if you got the [[DownerEnding bad ending]]).
** Koudelka begins and ends in the same place.
* BonusBoss: Every game has quite a few BonusDungeon(s) and pretty much every one has a boss to kill, which usually grants a character his/her InfinityPlusOneSword, unique accessory, a final skill, or even open new quests.
* BossInMooksClothing: If one of your characters goes berserk, they suddenly turn into this. Berserk characters don't just leave player control; they'll often start pulling out spells two or three times above what they know. If they use one of those on ''you'' before you have a chance to use a Pure Leaf, they can easily decimate one of your other party members in one go.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: Several characters, notably Geppetto (a puppet; his equips are strings that you don't see), Joachim (anything he can find) and Frank (anything he can find and mount on a hilt).

** Especially in ''Covenant''. We've got Japanese-Russian [[spoiler:(actually German)]] Yuri, who was raised in China, talking with German Karin, French Geppetto, and Russian Anastasia. Add to this the puzzle in the Russian underground involving Cyrillic letters that (in the English version at least) Yuri mistakes for Roman letters.

** Except for a certain special item to be found in Dehuai's tower, which gives Yuri a little heart over his head.
** [[spoiler:Check behind the tree in the Graveyard in the first game after defeating Yuri's dad to get his ultimate armor.]]

** The first game allows you to play as Yuri's father, Ben Hyuga, for one battle. After the time-skip, you play with Alice as the lead character.

** The first game subverts this, only giving you Yuri's fusions and the library. Until you have enough SP, you can't use higher-level fusions.

* BittersweetEnding: The canon endings of ''Koudelka'' ([[spoiler:James loses his life purifying Elaine's body.]]), ''Shadow Hearts'' ([[spoiler:Yuri saves the world but loses the one he loved. There is an apocryphal GoodEnding where she lives, but Covenant relies on Alice dying.]]), and ''Covenant'' ([[spoiler:Yuri commits suicide to save his soul from being wiped clean, and creates a time paradox that takes him back to the start of the first game.]]), plus the [[DownerEnding bad ending]] of ''From The New World'' ([[spoiler:Shania is [[BrainwashedAndCrazy overtaken by the power of Malice]].]]).

* BossRush: Some of the Pit Fight missions revolve around this, often with certain restrictions. The first game has you fight them normally... but with only one character. The latter two games will give you a random limit of party members, but with certain conditions.

** Happens in battle, as a character run out of Sanity Points. They do random stuff (Blanca evens pees on someone for 1 damage.), and they don't receive EXP at battle's end if the battle ends with the character still berserk. SP is refilled all the way at the end of the battle, so the SP restoration items (Pure Leaf, Pure Seed, etc.) can only be used in battle. Also, ([[spoiler: To learn the third skill of the most powerful fusions of the first game, Yuri must go Berserk.]])
** 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.

* BreakableWeapons: A prominent part of ''Koudelka'''s combat system.

** When the characters in Covenant go after the Émigré Manuscript, Yuri mentions some events of Koudelka and the first game.
** Shania also mentions that Malice was released before "From the New World" was set.

** A fat man in the third game mentions how rich he is... in 1929. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929 Ouch.]]

* CoolOldGuy: Zhuzhen from the first game, and Gepetto from the second. Frank could also count. (He's 50)

** And Dehuai in the first game. [[spoiler: He constantly comments on Alice's beauty, practically drools over her during a torture session, and you find a naughty magazine in his tower. Make of it what you will]].
** In addition to the hint of both of Roger and Dehuai's pervertness, Said magazine was needed for an extra sidequest by giving it to Roger. [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar And there was this conversation.]] God knows what actually made that happen...
-->'''Roger:''' (While flipping through the magazine) "This page can't be opened!"
-->'''Yuri:''' "Wasn't me!! It was like that when I got it!"
** Not to mention creepy accupuncturist Meiyuan from the first game, who more than takes advantage of his position when it comes to the male characters. Even underage Halley is not safe from his not-so-carefully concealed perversions.

** And she tells Karin that Yuri is like her brother Ben "inside and out" - part of her thinly-veiled plot to [[spoiler: hook her up with him]], no doubt.
* DiscOneFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:Kuihuai Tower]] in the first game, [[spoiler:Idar Flamme]] and [[spoiler:Apoina Tower]] in the second, and either ([[spoiler: Las Vegas]]) or ([[spoiler: Chichen Itza]]) in the third.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: A particular group of enemies in the first game (Happy Creeper, Mournful Demon, etc.) have an attack sequence where the unfortunate receiving party member is slapped across the face repeatedly by a VERY suspicious-looking appendage.
* TheDollEpisode: Each Shadow Hearts has a Doll House side-quest.
* TheDragon: Wugai (to Dehuai), Arcane Olga (to Bacon), Nicolai (to Rasputin) and Killer (to Lady).
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Bessy commits suicide after killing Ogden to save Koudleka.]]

*** One of the Killer boss fights involve him teaming up with a summoned monster who can halt all Stock regeneration on your party.
*** The FinalBoss, [[spoiler:Lady and Malice Umbral]], are a downplayed example. They attack as a duo, but you only need to kill ''one'' target as the other is invulnerable, and is automatically killed upon the main target's death anyway.
* DuelBoss: Many. Really ramps up the difficulty and frustration when this turns out to be the case with BonusBoss [[spoiler:Col. Hyuga/The Seraphic Radiance]] in the first game.
** Koudelka gets a few of these when she gets separated from Edward And James.

** ''From the New World'' also forces Shania to fight {{Duel Boss}}es to obtain fusions, except that all of them except Tirawa (which isn't a DuelBoss anyway, as [[spoiler:Johnny gets permission from the Chief's spirit to help Shania out]]) are mandatory.

** Yuri and Alice walk right into one...on purpose.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Koudelka and Shadow Hearts. Shadow Hearts makes the GenreShift towards full on RPG but it's far ''far'' darker than Covenant and From the New World. While Shadow Hearts always keeps its rather grotesque artstyle full of fridge horror, it's ''far'' more defined in Shadow Hearts than in Covenant and From the New World, which focus more on the humour.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Both a meta and in-universe example when it comes to the first game. The basic ending without doing an optional sidequest is the bad ending which Shadow Hearts Covenant treats as canon. At the end of Covenant, [[spoiler: Yuri is transported back in time to the beginning of the first game with full knowledge of all that transpired and according to Shadow Hearts 3, succeeded in earning his happy ending, the good ending of 1.]]
* EldritchAbomination: 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.

* ElementalRockPaperScissors: 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.
* EmptyShell: [[spoiler: Get the bad ending in ''Covenant'' and Yuri becomes this.]]

** Johnny and Anastasia does this by [[FirstPersonSnapshooter taking photos of the enemies]]. Anastasia gains attacks from certain enemies, but needs to be in battle to see the enemy's stats. All Johnny gets a tradable card, but doesn't need to be in battle to see the enemy's stats.

* FakeNationality: [[invoked]] An in-universe example: [[spoiler:Yuri's mother Anne, who is supposedly Russian, turns out to be Karin Koenig, a German.]]
* {{Fanservice}}: All the female party members tend to wear either close fitting or revealing clothes, even ''Alice'' who bears very little flesh happens to wear a skirt that's so short it barely covers her backside. Said females also get panty shots during battle, and you can even equip them with items that ''change the colour of them''. Averted with Anastasia, who is clearly underage.
* FeatherMotif: Many characters in the first game have feather (or wing) motifs on their official artwork: Yuri (Ravens), Alice (Butterflies), Zhuzhen (Hawks), Margarete (Peacocks), Keith (Bats), Halley (Sparrows), Albert (Doves), Dehuai (Fireflies), Wugui (Squirrels), Kawashima (Dragonflies), Roger (Owls), Koudelka (Bluebirds).
* FightWoosh: 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.

** Also Meiyuan in ''Shadow Hearts''. Not AS flamboyant, but still loud and proud [[spoiler: to the point of making all the men - save Keith - go berserk during Acupuncture. Not to mention abrupt with the ladies.]]
* FlunkyBoss: ''Covenant'''s FinalBoss, Susano-o, summons three flunkies (the Yasakani Gem, the Kusanagi Sword, and the Yata Mirror) to help him in battle, and can perform combos together. They do not come back when you kill them.

* GenreShift: ''Koudelka'' was described as a Survival Horror-RPG mix. ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' was an RPG with a horror-inspired setting. ''Covenant'' begins like something that wouldn't be out of place in a horror game...but then shifts to a more light-hearted setting. ''From the New world'' still keeps true to its macabre roots; but could probably be officially called a comedy.

** Upon seeing Andre, the enormous pink kitten Lucia unleashes upon the party, Yuri observes, "That's one giant pussy!" (The game is rated T, by the way.) There was also an old woman willing to pose nude for photos, the ''entire'' Man Festival, and [[IncrediblyLamePun Yuri says "shit" in a whole ton of cutscenes]].
** Also in the second game, one cutscene has Veronica waking up, fully naked, in Rasputin's bed. In order to further bring it home, Rasputin mentions that Veronica had "quite the workout", and Anastasia mentions that they were so loud the previous night.

** For the final battle in ''Covenant'', [[spoiler: Kato summons Susano'O and the other four relics to aid in the fight.]]
** In the third game, [[spoiler:Malice Umbral is the actual final boss, and he comes as soon as the battle begins.]]
* GiveMeYourInventoryItem: ''From The New World'' has an extremely demanding {{Sidequest}} where you trade photos of your enemies for other photos or items. Harder than it sounds as some enemies [[PermanentlyMissableContent only appear once]] and some trades require multiple copies of the same photo. However, the trials have monsters from the past, even the ones you couldn't get in the first place! Even the ones that are lost forever can be obtained by trading the cards for other cards... [[GuideDangit though you need to take multiple shots of other one-time enemies.]]

* GlobalCurrencyException: Pierre Magimel's dressmaking business in Covenant. You can only pay him to make Cornelia's dresses by giving him "Stud Cards", basically trading cards depicting hot male models.

* GodAndSatanAreBothJerks: All the Lords of Hell are different aspects of Satan explored by the Key of Solomon, even the nicest of them, Orobas, would destroyed the world just because. As for God, He is so far above humanity He considers us germs at best.

** Getting the Good Ending. Unless you explore every millimeter of each area. And even then, knowing just ''what'' the requirements are for some sidequests is still GuideDangIt.
*** In ''Koudelka'', unless you remember to fish a key item out of a fountain ''three discs'' after it fell in, the only ending you can get (without abusing RandomlyDrops in the last dungeon until your brains dribble out your ears) is the one where [[spoiler:the final boss ambushes your heroes with an acid mist, their faces melt off and [[RocksFallEveryoneDies everybody dies]]]]. If you get that far without grabbing the item, it's not totally gone: you go to a certain place to fight a certain cat that will grant you the key item. But that place is hard to find for people who aren't aware of this.
*** Subverted in Covenant, where the ending you'll get is based on a single question made right before the final boss. It's also important to note that it's actually the ''fans'' who declared the good ending the "Good Ending" and the other the "Bad ending". [[spoiler:Mostly because in the "good" ending, Yuri dies...but is reunited with Alice. And in the bad ending, he doesn't die but loses all his memories.]]
** The Secret Items. There's NO indication of this, but in ''Koudelka'', if you have a certain amount of items in your inventory, and a you save the game at PRECISELY a certain time, you get a special item. For example, 10 items in your inventory and saving ''precisely'' at 22 hours, 22 minutes, and 22 seconds gives you Roger's Staff/Cane, the most powerful weapon in the game. NO indication of all at this.
** There's a part in ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World'' in which one of your characters is either tortured by a dominatrix named Veronica or interrogated by a pint-sized pirate. If you answer their questions "incorrectly", they'll repeatedly shock or stab your character. Picked the options that result in your character getting stabbed until they jump out of the barrel or shocked into unconsciousness? [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential You sick bastard]] Wait, you mean you get a good weapon for them if you do that?!
** Obtaining the Nemesis Fan, Lucia's InfinityPlusOneSword, in ''Covenant'' requires you to finish the item trading sidequest, done by talking to the [=NPCs=] until you find one that wants the item you have, give it to them and get another one). The problem is that, midway around the game, this become a LuckBasedMission, as there will be more than one person wanting the same item; and giving it to the wrong one means that you failed the sidequest.
*** Thankfully if you do fail that sidequest, it's still possible to get the Nemesis Fan, although it will cost you 500,000 cash (or 250,000 with a full discount).
** Joachrythms. Joachim from ''Covenant'' has three forms - himself, the Golden Bat, and the Grand Papillon [[spoiler:[or The Great Question if you finish his sidequest]]]. There's a graph that tells you where on the rhythm he falls, but there's no indication of what each does. Simultaneously, each form has different attributes, and unlike Yuri's fusions they aren't initially clear about which stats change. And then you find out there's a ''fourth'' not even accounted for by the graph until you find it...
* GunsAkimbo: A fighting style employed by Natan, TheStoic badass MagicalNativeAmerican ProudWarriorRaceGuy from ''New World''.
* HelloInsertNameHere: {{Lampshaded}} in all three games by Roger Bacon, [[spoiler:who tricks you into thinking that you can rename him [[NoFourthWall 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.

* HighDiveEscape: The BigBad attempts this during the end of the first game's first act, but his grand exit gets held up by a quite undignified piece of debris to the back of the head.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The series loves this one. Notable characters include Edward Plunkett, Roger Bacon, [[UsefulNotes/MataHari Margarete Zelle]], [[DidAnastasiaSurvive Princess Anastasia]], [[UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk Rasputin]], Naniwa Kawashima (and his adopted daughter Yoshiko), and UsefulNotes/AlCapone. In particular, Edward Plunkett, Mata Hari and Anastasia are all playable characters. That's not even getting into cameo appearances.

* IAmWho: Johnny in the third game [[spoiler: is the first human revived by the Émigré Manuscript who hasn't become a mindless abomination in the process...but there are some side-effects.]]
* IdiotHero: Yuri, though his boundless supply of 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.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: Several characters, notably Geppetto (A Puppet. He equips strings that you don't see.), Joachim (anything he can find) and Frank (anything he can find and mount on a hilt).

*** His InfinityPlusOneSword is a giant kebab, which the two most serious party members are amazed by the practically of it!

** Also Alice in the first game, who whacks enemies with a book. Then again, compared to the others, that's normal. (The game has a bit of a DarkerAndEdgier feel to it; the silly weapon users are a sign that this isn't a DarkerAndEdgier game.)
*** And consider that one of her books is made with ''the flesh of a saint''. EW.
** Halley also attacks with a Slingshot - Not that improbable, especially since it's actually something that a kid his age would have.
** Blanca is justified. He equips items that he can use to sharpen and refine his teeth and claws.
* IncomingHam: ''Covenant'' was actually a fairly serious game for the first good portion. Then you hear [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nQqfBWF-_U this]], hear a brief speech, and there's no turning back.

** Edward and Halley's surnames are rendered as "Plunkett" (after the Lord of Dunsany) in ''Koudelka'' and "Brancket" in ''Shadow Hearts''. [[spoiler:They qualify as this trope because they're supposed to have the same surname, which is rendered in the original Japanese as プランケット (Puranketto) since they're [[LukeYouAreMyFather father and son]].]]
** The BigBad of ''Shadow Hearts: Covenant'' is named 加藤政二. The last two characters represent his given name, which is read [[spoiler:as "Seiji"]] in the first ''Shadow Hearts'' and "Masaji" in ''Covenant''.

** In ''Shadow Hearts 1'', after Alice goes to Ruen by herself, [[spoiler:the main villain updated entry on the NPC List will also spoil that he is the disciple of the real Roger Bacon, whom the party is yet to meet.]]
** Something similar happens on the sequel, where Nicolai's character page (available from the very beginning of the game), reveals that he isn't who he claims to be and is a bad guy.
** Most of the decoy final bosses are spoiled by lacking a unique boss theme. Sorry, Messiah, you're not fooling anyone.
*** The Score system ranks you by the names of enemies and bossess. That means that if you're doing very well, you'll learn of upcoming bosses well in advance, which will spoil future villains before they're introduced. If you're doing ''exceptionally'' well (Wow, how do you keep getting Ring Perfect Victories like that?) you'll learn the name of the ClimaxBoss, the FinalBoss, and the BonusBoss in that order.
*** Actually averted. If you DO get to Rank One, you're already have fought the boss.

* KillEmAll: 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.
* KnightOfCerebus: Patrick Heyworth, and by extension anything that involves the Émigré Manuscript. Yuri, Koudelka and even Roger all stop joking when they hear the name "Heyworth" or find out the book is in-play.

** [[spoiler: Albert Simon]] in the first game has his moments. [[spoiler: "Now is the END OF THE WORLD!"]]

* LaserBlade: Johnny has one in ''From The New World''. It's a blade of malice, which he focuses into a knife.

** To sum things up: in the first game, the silliest thing around was probably Margarete and her gadgets, unless you poke around. By the third game, one of your party members is a Polish immigrant ninja who learned his ninjutsu in the jungles of South America, works for the CIA and is constantly berated by his master, a giant talking cat movie star who serves as Al Capone's second-in-command, and a mexican singer with firearms inside his guitar.

** The first game, however, zig-zags it - Alice will possibly ''never'' leave your party unless you want her to. Depending on the situation, Yuri's fusions will possibly make him into an effective spellcaster. Zhuzhen, the game's only pure "mage" character, will probably be tossed the first chance you get.

* MadeOfEvil: Yuri's accumulated Malice can actually form into monsters, which he must fight. In the first game, this was a way of performing maintenance on himself. In the second game, you don't have to do it regularly, but an early boss fight is against one such Malice Monster, a spider with giant human fingers for legs.

* MsFanService: Margarete in the first game, Lucia in ''Covenant'' and Shania in ''From the New World''. The latter transformation sequences involves her explicitly stripping nearly naked.

** 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 finally open The Gate, although it's implied that The Gate would have opened anyway, [[TakeYourTime although it would have taken a while]]]].

** [[spoiler:You can't go back to China in the first game. Mind you, ''you need to get some items there to do the sidequests in Europe''.]]

* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: [[spoiler:Meta-God]] in the first game.

* VillainHasAPoint: [[spoiler:Cardinal Albert Simon]], the Big Bad of the first game, wants to wipe out humanity and restart civilisation because of the brutal repression of human elites. The party doesn't even disagree with him about the repression, but still fights him because of the loss of innocent lives. [[spoiler:The sequel reveals that his actions in the first game were a misguided attempt to stop Rasputin.]]

* TheVirus: Malice. Portrayed in ''Shadow Hearts'' the lingering (and quite vengeful) hatred of the {{Cosmic Horror}}s that Yuri has defeated and absorbed; in ''Covenant'' as a HatePlague formed from the accumulation of all negative emotions; and in ''From the New World'' as a malevolent, living force that can actively infect people, granting them powers such as resuscitation from death and [[OneWingedAngel transformation into a convenient Boss Form]], with a dose of BrainwashedAndCrazy thrown in for free.

* TheVoice: 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 Halley]].

* TwoGuysAndAGirl: the main trio of ''Koudelka'' is Koudelka, Edward, and James; notably, the girl is TheHero.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: In the ''Shadow Hearts'' universe, monsters are treated as a normal part of the world. However, the average person apparently doesn't handle them too well, as the Sanity Points mechanic seems to reflect with its constant ticking down to berserk status.

* TheVirus: Malice. Portrayed in the first game as the lingering (and quite vengeful) hatred of the {{Cosmic Horror}}s that Yuri has defeated and absorbed; in the second game as a HatePlague formed from the accumulation of all negative emotions; and in the third game as a malevolent, living force that can actively infect people, granting them powers such as resuscitation from death and [[OneWingedAngel transformation into a convenient Boss Form]], with a dose of BrainwashedAndCrazy thrown in for free.

* Yuri nudging Alice awake after the train-ride to Domremy, [[spoiler:and Alice not waking up. Saving the world in no way undid the curse on her, a curse Yuri never knew about]].
** [[spoiler:With full knowledge of the events of both ''Shadow Hearts'' and ''Covenant'', this goes from depressing to awesome: after doing all the extra sidequests, Yuri shows up to kick said curse bringer squarely in the balls to prevent said fate.]]
* [[spoiler:''From The New World's'' bad ending only differs in one detail from the good ending: Shania isn't there when Johnny leaves the agency. Then the camera leads us to her, on top of a skyscraper as a storm brews, and she opens her Malice-red eyes.]]
* WidgetSeries: Far less subdued than other examples, but ''what'' series will have characters wielding whatever they can find against the forces of evil... or where your party includes gun-based martial arts characters, [[HighlyVisibleNinja Ninjas in red]], egg-throwing princesses...

%% Image seleccted per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1324870813030960100

** ''Shadow Hearts'' has two possible endings, [[spoiler:one where Alice lives, and one where Alice dies]]. Unfortunately the sequel ''Covenant'' confirms that the second ending is canon. However it is implied that 'good' ending of ''Covenant'' [[spoiler:(where Yuri dies and is reunited with Alice back at the very start of their adventure) is also canon, and means that Yuri can now ''save'' Alice. Put simply; bad ending [=SH1=] > good ending [=SH2=] > good ending of [=SH1=] is the canonical order. So Yuri and Alice do finally get their happy ending.]]
** Another for Koudelka and Halley. [[spoiler:She appears in ''Shadow Hearts'' after being committed to an insane asylum. After the events of the game she and Halley go to America presumably to find Edward, Halley's Father and one of the Koudelka trio.]]

** ''Koldelka'' takes place in a monastery loaded with abominations.

* BossRush: Some of the Pit Fight missions revolve around this, often with certain restrictions. The first game has you fight them normally...but with only one character. The latter two games will give you a random limit of party members, but with certain conditions.

* CanonDiscontinuity: The ''Koudelka'' manga was written as a direct sequel of the game, and gave a lot of extra detail on the backstory of Roger Bacon and the Émigré Manuscript... but a line from Roger in ''Shadow Hearts: From the New World'' directly contradicts the manga (specifically, he has never seen an Émigré ritual, whereas at the end of the manga [[spoiler:he was witness to the revival of Mary Vermont as an angelic being]]), making its contributions to the ''Shadow Hearts'' continuity questionable.

* DeadAllAlong: When you find [[spoiler: and battle]] Patrick Heywoth's corpse it's obvious he's been dead for many years before the game starts.

* MadScientist: One per game: Patrick Hayworth from ''Koudelka'', Jack from ''Shadow Hearts'', Dr. Hojo from ''Covenant'' and Professor Gillbert in ''From The New World''. The ''Koldelka'' manga also has the doctors from the Royal Medical Association.

** ''From the New World'' ends in [[spoiler:willful fratricide]]. Which the party angsts about for all of 10 minutes. [[spoiler:Which leads to the cutscene where mass murderer Killer says, in a moment full of irony, "You're not a very good brother, are you?" Though by that point Lady/Grace was a soulless monster intent on destroying the world, and it was clear that killing her was their only option. Hell, one could even consider it a MercyKill.]]

** A secret room in Koudelka reveals a monster who is still sane but suicidal. He often laments how sad his situation is as well as advising the heroes. The game doesn't give them the option to MercyKill him.

** Especially in ''Covenant''. We've got Japanese-Russian[[spoiler:actually German]] Yuri, who was raised in China, talking with German Karin, French Geppetto, and Russian Anastasia. Add to this the puzzle in the Russian underground involving Cyrillic letters that, in the English version at least, Yuri mistakes for Roman letters.

** In ''From The New World'', "In the white man's words..."
* TwoGuysAndAGirl: Koudelka, Edward and James; differently enough, the girl is TheHero.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: In the ''Shadow Hearts'' universe, monsters are treated as an normal part of the world. However, the average person apparently doesn't handle them too well, as the Sanity Points mechanic seems to reflect with its constant ticking down to berserk status.

*** Anastasia actually mentions this and [[spoiler:gives Karin a fake identity, Anne]].
*** Karin has a few things that make her justified. Firstly, Nicolai's plan to use the Mistletoe would have ended in her dead if Yuri didn't think quick and Jeanne didn't distract Lenny, so she's on the run. Secondly, after the first hour or so of the game, Karin switches out of her German officer clothes for something else, and basically defects from German lines in favor of going after Sapientes Gladio as a greater evil. [[MaleGaze That doesn't excuse the fact that she wears obscenely revealing clothing for the 1910s and 1920s]].
** Then there's the fact that in most of the games, half of your party members are wearing outfits so skimpy for the times that they probably would have been arrested, never mind being seen as unusual.
** Blanca from ''Covenant'' takes something that would be this and makes it almost normal. Anyone else would be wondering ''why'' a fully-grown wolf would be wandering around someplace like the streets of Paris without leash or collar. Except in this universe, there's the Wolf Bout, a rather organized search for the strongest wolf, and you'll find wolves who honor this just about anywhere with or without owners attached to them.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Inverted, as you don't have to waste MP or turns on them. And you'd be surprised how nice Instant Death is against late-game monsters. And you get to keep them for the NewGamePlus.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: The Interrogation scenes - Have your characters chose all the wrong options... and as they get zapped or stabbed, you'll hear them scream in pain. Unlike other examples? You get ''rewarded'' for this...

-->'''[[spoiler:Albert Simon]]''' Only an illusion of peace exists in the superficial calm of our lives. In fact, the blood and tears of the poor are sacrificed daily by a handful of elite power-mongers. No matter how far science and technology advance, repression will never cease. We’re only human. Whenever the calls for revolution turn into concrete action, instigators are met by the full resistance of the elite, who stop at nothing to keep their power.
* ViolationOfCommonSense:
** In order to get the canon ending of Koudelka, you have to ''lose'' against the final boss instead of winning.

** 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 ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' 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 ViolationOfCommonSense 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.
* TheVirus: Malice. Portrayed in the first game as the lingering (and quite vengeful) hatred of the [[CosmicHorror Cosmic Horrors]] that Yuri has defeated and absorbed, portrayed in the second game as a HatePlague 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 [[OneWingedAngel transformation into a convenient Boss Form]], with a dose of BrainwashedAndCrazy thrown in for free.

* TheVoice: 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 Halley.]]
* WhamShot: It is made clear the reclusive Father Hans Doyle knows something about Alice's father but he is killed by Olga before he can say anything. Upon looking through Doyle's belongings, Alice finds a photo of Father Han Doyle and Albert Simon, who Alice's father went to see before Bacon ambushed and killed him and owned the mansion Jack bought before going insane, - revealing that the elusive witness of the mysteries, Father Albert Simon [[spoiler:is none other than "Roger Bacon" himself.]]
* Yuri nudging Alice awake after the train-ride to Domremy, [[spoiler: and Alice not waking up. Saving the world in no way undid the curse upon her, a curse Yuri never knew about.]]
** [[spoiler: Though this goes from TearJerker to Crowning Moment of Awesome, when in replays after doing all the extra side-quests, Yuri shows up to kick said curse bringer squarely in the balls to prevent said fate.]]
* [[spoiler:''From The New World's'' bad ending only differs in one detail from the good ending - Shania isn't there when Johnny leaves the agency. Then the camera leads us to her, on top of a skyscraper as a storm brews, and she opens her Malice-red eyes.]]

** There are some hints, at least, that the first two games are supposed to canonically add up to a happy ending: [[spoiler:While most believe Yuri died at the end of Covenant's good ending (and assumed canon due to the poor quality of the bad ending) and the scene following was merely Yuri living out his fond memories in his soul as he promised Alice earlier, some argue he used the Asuka Stone Platform to travel time like the rest of the group for a second shot at his life. This interpretation is further supported by a line from Roger Bacon in From The New World claiming he has never seen an Émigré ritual.]] While the bittersweet ending is more commonly believed, neither interpretation should be discounted, as there is ample evidence for both.

* CanonDiscontinuity: The ''Koudelka'' manga was written as a direct sequel of the game, and gave a lot of extra detail on the backstory of Roger Bacon and the Émigré Manuscript... but a line from Roger in ''Shadow Hearts: From the New World'' directly contradicts the manga ([[spoiler:specifically, he has never seen a successful ritual from the Émigré, whereas at the end of the manga he was witness to the revival of Mary Vermont as an angelic being]]), making its contributions to the ''Shadow Hearts'' continuity questionable.

** A secret room in Koudelka reveals a monster who is still sane but suicidal, He often laments ow sad his situation is as well as advising the heroes, trouble is the game wont let you kill him.

* CanonDiscontinuity: The ''Koudelka'' manga was written as a direct sequel of the game, and gave a lot of extra detail on the backstory of Roger Bacon and the Émigré Manuscript... but a line from Roger Bacon in ''Shadow Hearts: From the New World'' directly contradicts the manga ([[spoiler:specifically, he has never seen a successful ritual from the Émigré, whereas at the end of the manga he was witness to the revival of Mary Vermont as an angelic being]]), making its contributions to the ''Shadow Hearts'' continuity questionable.

* BittersweetEnding: Canon ending of ''Shadow Hearts'' ([[spoiler:Yuri saves the world but loses the one he loved. There is an apocryphal GoodEnding where she lives, but Covenant relies on Alice dying.]]), ''Covenant'' ([[spoiler:Yuri commits suicide to save his soul from being wiped clean, and creates a time paradox that takes him back to the start of the first game.]]) and the [[DownerEnding bad ending]] of ''From The New World'' ([[spoiler:Shania is [[BrainwashedAndCrazy overtaken by the power of Malice]].]])
** There are some hints, at least, that the first two games are supposed to canonically add up to a happy ending: [[spoiler:While most believe Yuri died at the end of Covenant's good ending (and assumed canon ending due to the poor quality of the bad ending) and the scene following was merely Yuri living out his fond memories in his soul as he promised Alice earlier, some argue he used the Asuka Stone Platform to travel time like the rest of the group for a second shot at his life. This interpretation is further supported by a line from Roger Bacon in From The New World claiming he has never seen an Émigré ritual.]] While the bittersweet ending is more commonly believed, neither interpretation should be discounted, as there is ample evidence for both.

* CanonDiscontinuity: The ''Koudelka'' manga was written as a direct sequel of the game, and gave a lot of extra detail on the backstory of Roger Bacon and the Émigré Manuscript... but a line from Roger Bacon in ''Shadow Hearts: From the New World'' directly contradicts the manga ([[spoiler:specifically, he has never seen a successful ritual from the Emigre Manuscript, whereas at the end of the manga he was witness to the revival of Mary Vermont as an angelic being]]), meaning any contribution it has to the ''Shadow Hearts'' continuity rather suspect.

* CanonDiscontinuity: The ''Koudelka'' manga was written as a direct sequel of the game, and gave a lot of extra detail on the backstory of Roger Bacon and the Émigré Manuscript... but events in ''Shadow Hearts'' proceeded to make various events in the manga impossible ([[spoiler:specifically, Koudelka would have been ''very'' pregnant with Halley and may even have miscarried from some of the stuff she went through, or should have been carrying him around]]), meaning any contribution it has to canon is rather suspect.