For the series, see. Shadow Hearts US Cover Shadow Hearts is a console role-playing game developed by and published by Corp in Japan and in the United States and Europe by in 2001. It is the first official game in the Shadow Hearts series and is its prequel.
Shadow Hearts follows the adventures of Yuri Hyuga, a guided by a mysterious voice in his head. He finds himself thrown into the conflicts prior to World War I where he must save the woman he loves and the world from destruction.
Released in North America only one week before Square Enix's Final Fantasy X, and was not helped by Midway's nominal marketing campaign, Shadow Hearts initially struggled to gain the attention of gamers. The use of 2D pre-rendered backgrounds rather than a full 3D environment drew criticism as well. The game was praised for its original battle system.
Shadow Hearts gained a cult following for its quirky use and misuse of historical facts and situations in a form of secret history. : Plot and/or ending details follow. () Shadow Hearts takes place after Koudelka and in late 1913, on a branch of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in Manchuria, where the Japanese army is transporting a girl named Alice Elliot, whose priest father was recently murdered in a most brutal fashion in, France. After an English gentleman by the name of attempts to abduct Alice from the Japanese army himself, Yuri makes an appearance and saves her under the instruction of a mysterious voice inside his head.