By Zhaan 
Hello, good reader(s). It’s been too long since we did one of these Sunday Tunes features, so let’s delve into it. Today we’re covering a niche PlayStation 2 franchise called Shadow Hearts, developed by Sacnoth and published by Midway (RIP).
I remember spotting the first game in a physical store in my early teens, probably around 2003 or so. One glance at the cover and I thought to myself: “damn, that looks COOL“. This was during my edgy phase in life, to be fair, but Shadow Hearts was basically made for weirdos like me.
The game won me over quickly. It’s got an interesting mix of horror elements, unique gameplay and a quirky sense of humor. It sort of felt like playing a gothic JRPG with eccentric characters. It also features what I consider to be the best mechanic in a turn-based RPG ever – the Judgement Ring. I’d love to talk more about that particular system later, but well, this post is about music.
To start things off, the music for the Shadow Hearts series was composed by Yoshitaka Hirota, Masaharu Iwata, Ryo Fukuda and Yasunori Mitsuda. There is also a prequel to these games called Koudelka, which I sadly haven’t played much yet. Someday I’ll correct that mistake.
Shadow Hearts I
“Main Theme – ICARO – Song of the Spirits”
I believe this is the first music you hear when you boot up the game, before the ambient menu theme sets in. It has kind of a tribal sound to it, for lack of a better word. Some might find it a bit unappealing, but I love how unique and intense it sounds. It sets the mood perfectly and can be heard as a recurring theme (possibly leitmotif; I am no expert) throughout the whole series.
“Wind Which Blows from the Dark I”
This track plays during the somewhat dated looking CG intro to the game, which I thought was incredibly awesome at the time. It starts off with a fairly dark, ominous sound, but my favourite part is when the drums and guitar kick in. Baddass. I highly recommend you watch the whole cutscene. And yeah, the villain is called Roger Bacon.
“ICARO – Ending Theme”
I’m a sucker for a good ending theme. Specifically, this plays during the credits roll after finishing the game. It deserves to be on this list because it’s so different from the rest of the soundtrack, with a slow and mellow sound. Performed in Japanese by singer Hiroko Kasahara. Also, it namedrops Shadow Hearts, which I think is neat.
Shadow Hearts II: Covenant
“Old Smudged Map ~ Map of Europe”
Ah, this is probably a top 20 “relaxing VGM” song for me. It’s from the second game, which many consider to be the best installment in the series. I tend to gravitate more towards the first one, but Shadow Hearts Covenant *might* have the best soundtrack of the bunch.
As the name suggests, it plays when you’re navigating the map of Europe. Very old-timey vibes for sure.
“Astaroth ~ Battle with The Fallen Angel”
It’s not often you hear a battle theme that is both soothing and epic at the same time. I wasn’t quite sure which language they used for the vocals, but according to the Shadow Hearts Wiki it’s an arranged version of a Javanese/Malayan folk song called “Seroja”. I’m learning things here, y’all.
“Town of Twilight”
I hereby nominate this as one of the best town themes of all time. It’s like a warm embrace in audio form, or a sigh of relief after a long journey. Sit back, take a sip of your favourite brand of julebrus, and relax.
Shadow Hearts III: From the New World
And now we’ve arrived at the black sheep of the Shadow Hearts franchise. That’s not to say it’s a bad game, but fans seem to not like this one as much as the previous two. I simply haven’t played enough of it to form an opinion, but the OST seems pretty good.
“ICARO -Acoustic Arrangement”
As mentioned earlier, ICARO is a motif you’ll hear many times in these games. It’s essentially the main theme of the series. Here we have a really nice acoustic version with guitars and violins.
“Dead Fingers Talk”
Another interesting fighting tune. Apparently this is the standard battle theme when you’re in North America. I would describe this track as weird and gnarly. In a good way, though.
“Garland Office”
We’ll wrap it up with a fun, bass-heavy pick. I actually remember hearing this song in the beginning of the game and thinking it was kind of jazzy. This particular game is set in an alternate late-1920s version of the United States, so it has a sound inspired by that era.
And that concludes another edition of Sunday Tunes. I hope you enjoyed some of these songs. Shadow Hearts remains one of my favourite video game series, and once I’ve set up a little retro gaming corner in my bedroom I’ll re-visit that third game. Unfortunately, CRT TVs give me headaches these days so probably I’ll just buy a nice Retrotink upscaler or something similar. More on that later.
Until next time, escape reality and stay tuned.