=============================================================================== Shadow Hearts: Covenant =============================================================================== Platform: Playstation 2 Author: Georgi Samaras Developer: Midway, Aruze, Nautilus (2004) E-mail: SophiaLee04@yahoo.com Genre: Turn-based RPG, Historical Fantasy Version: 1.22 Rating: T (Language, Partial Nudity, Last Updated: July 10, 2010 Suggestive Themes, Violence) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction .................................................... [int] 2. Controls ........................................................ [con] 3. Battle Basics - Character Stats ............................................... [chs] - The Action Menu ............................................... [act] - The Judgment Ring ............................................. [jud] - Crest Magic ................................................... [cre] - The Class System .............................................. [cla] - Combos and Affinity ........................................... [com] - Ailments ...................................................... [ail] - Forming a Party ............................................... [for] 4. Walkthrough - Disc One - Apoina Tower ................................................ [ea1] - Domremy ..................................................... [edo] - Ardennes Forest ............................................. [eaf] - Paris ....................................................... [epa] - Le Havre .................................................... [elh] - Wine Cellar ................................................. [ewc] - Port of Southampton ......................................... [eps] - Rhondda Mine ................................................ [erm] - Wales ....................................................... [ewa] - Florence .................................................... [efl] - Manmariana Island ........................................... [emi] - SG Italian Branch HQ ........................................ [esg] - Neam Ruins .................................................. [enr] - Cannes ...................................................... [eca] - St. Marguerite Island ....................................... [esm] - Petrograd ................................................... [ep1] - Goreme Valley ............................................... [egv] - Mirror Castle ............................................... [emc] - Petrograd ................................................... [ep2] - Idar Flamme ................................................. [eif] - Finishing Europe ............................................ [efe] - Apoina Tower ................................................ [ea2] - Disc Two - Brick Warehouse ............................................. [jbw] - Yokohama Streets ............................................ [jys] - Battleship Mikasa ........................................... [jbm] - Hojo Research Lab ........................................... [jh1] - Foreigner's Cemetery ........................................ [jfc] - Nihonbashi .................................................. [jni] - Hojo Research Lab ........................................... [jh2] - Forest of Wind .............................................. [jfw] - Inugami Village ............................................. [jiv] - Immortal Mountain ........................................... [jim] - Azabu Kamiyashiki ........................................... [jak] - Finishing Japan, Back to Europe ............................. [jfj] - Queen's Garden .............................................. [eqg] - Asuka Stone Platform ........................................ [jap] 5. Sidequests - Deeper into the Neam Ruins .................................... [snr] - Tiffauges Castle .............................................. [stc] - Chasing Lenny ................................................. [scl] - The Dark Seraphim ............................................. [sds] - The Doll House ................................................ [sdh] - The Wolf Bout ................................................. [swb] - The Fort of Regrets ........................................... [sfr] - The Man Festival .............................................. [smf] - Item Trading .................................................. [sit] - The Black Forest .............................................. [sbf] - The Dog Shrine ................................................ [sdf] - King Solomon's Key/Trials ..................................... [sks] - Quizzes ....................................................... [sqz] 6. Recaps - Ring Soul Locations ........................................... [rrs] - Ultimate Weapons/Armor/Unique Accessories ..................... [rwa] - Lottery Members ............................................... [rlm] - Important Items ............................................... [rii] - Maps .......................................................... [rmp] 7. Miscellaneous - Credit/Thanks ................................................. [mct] - Author's Notes/Version History/Hosts/Legal Info ............... [mal] I've done my best to implement an in-document search system. For best results, copy and paste the letters and numbers (complete with brackets) into the browser's Find feature under Edit. Be warned that this walkthrough is spoilery because I just can't shut up when it comes to commentary. Boss battles are indented and item and enemy lists are provided at the beginning of each section, so if you want the bare essentials in terms of aid, then pay no attention to all the text in between the beginning of a section and boss strategy scattered throughout. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction [int] After the end of the first Shadow Hearts, Yuri Hyuga and Alice Elliot were on a train bound for Zurich. Unfortunately, due to Malice poisoning after saving Yuri's soul, Alice would never leave the train alive. With tears in his eyes, Yuri pledges not to squander the life for which she died. Months later, World War I breaks out. A troop of German soldiers looking to take the city of Domremy in France are decimated by a demon residing in the local church, a demon that seems to be able to take human form, a demon that seems to emanate sadness... ---- For those of you who've played the original Shadow Hearts, get ready for a wonderful surprise. For those of you who haven't, you're still in for a treat. Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a monster of an RPG and one of my absolute favorites, so I decided to try my hand at writing a guide for it. Playing the first game is partly recommended since Covenant references it, but you shouldn't be left out plot-wise and you definitely don't need to play the first one to appreciate this game's humor and awesome battle system. Please note that this walkthrough is for the NTSC version of Shadow Hearts: Covenant. I do not have access to the PAL version or the Director's Cut, sadly, so I am missing out on some cool extras. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Controls [con] left analog stick/directional buttons: move character/navigate menus triangle: open Command Menu, display specific information on items, skip cutscenes (when paused) circle: run (when using directional buttons to move), cancel X: confirm, talk, examine square: sort items in menus, change camera angle in battle L1/R1: cycle through different menus/pages L2/R2: scroll through pages in menus R3: close current menu start: pause, list all entries in library select: toggle subtitles during cutscenes/navigation map out of battle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Battle Basics (mostly for those without an instruction manual or who would rather not look at the game's help file) Character Stats [chs] First off, you need to know what each of your character stats are and what they mean. Basic stuff, yes, but important to know since you can boost a character's base stats with Seal items, and you need to know your mages from your fighters when you're forming a party and equipping stat boosting accessories and whatnot. Hit Points (HP): how much damage a character can sustain Mana Points (MP): capacity for using special attacks Sanity Points (SP): how long they can stay in battle without going crazy Dominance Capacity Points (DCP): crests they can hold according to level Strength (Str): physical attack power Intelligence (Int): special attack power Vitality (Vit): physical defense power Power (Pow): special defense power Agility (Agl): affects evasion rate and how many turns they get in battle Luck (Lck): affects how often critical blows are dealt Below are the stats that are affected when you equip accessories, as opposed to the base stats above that only change when a character levels up. P-Atk: physical attack strength S-Atk: special attack strength P-Def: physical defense S-Def: special defense It goes without saying that the higher the numbers, the better, but be wary when equipping items. Sometimes it's better to sacrifice an increase in stats for, say, an accessory with a healing effect. This will become more apparent as you gain more in the way of equipment. ---- The Action Menu [act] Whenever you find yourself in a fight (which will be often) you will have to navigate the Action Menu. Most selections will require a spin on the Judgment Ring, a disc representing motive, action, and outcome that appears on the screen when an action is chosen and has a rotating needle. The object here is to hit certain areas of the ring when the needle sweeps over them. Below are the different actions you can take and a description of each. Attack: This is the standard way to show your enemies who's boss. This prompts a ring with orange hit areas and red strike areas. Pressing X over the orange will let you execute an attack. If you hit the red areas, your attack will cause more damage. Missing the first orange area means your attack fails completely. Hitting the first but missing any others means you'll execute a number of attacks equal to the number of areas you hit. There are different ways to attack (Standard, Hard Hit, High Angle, and Knock Down) but these are used for combos more than anything. Normally, the indicator only sweeps around the ring once, but items called Keys allow 3, 5, 7, and even an unlimited amount of sweeps of the needle when used. Special Abilities: Every character has a special ability that sets them apart from the rest. For example, Yuri's is the ancient art of fusion. All abilities differ in strength, property, and element so get friendly with the notes on the bottom of the battle screen to know which does what. It's way too much to summarize here. Crest Magic: Crest magic is new to Shadow Hearts and is basically magic that everyone can use (see the Crest Magic section for more details). Special abilities and crest magic share the same kind of Judgment Ring. Magic hit areas are blue but still have a red strike area to make the move more potent. The hit areas of some magic attacks have what are called modulate areas, ranging from white to blue in color. Hitting in the white will execute a weak attack while aiming for the blue will make the attack stronger. Most magic has green areas called step areas that must be hit in order to perform the spell at all. Items: This option allows you to use an item from your inventory in battle. This also requires a Judgment Ring with hit and strike areas. The strike area will make the item more effective (for example, if it were a healing item, it would restore more HP than normal). Missing the hit area means the item will not be used, and it will still be in your inventory, so you haven't wasted it. Defend: One of the few actions that does not require the Judgment Ring, defending makes a character sacrifice a turn to reduce damage from an attack. There are two types: Block simply reduces damage and Resist sacrifices SP to let you stand your ground (used mostly for combos). Combo: Another new addition to Shadow Hearts is the awesome and sometimes frustrating combo system. There's a lot to discuss here, so refer to the Combo and Affinity section below to learn how it works. Run Away: Simple. Run away like the coward you are (no Judgment Ring required)! Note that you cannot escape from every fight, and you get nothing after battle no matter what. If you do well at fighting, the game actually rewards you. Say, if you hit the strike area for every party member's Judgment Ring or finish off all your opponents without taking any damage, you'll get bonus EXP, soul energy, cash, or items. ---- The Judgment Ring [jud] Here we go into the Judgment Ring, the thing that governs the characters' fates and makes the game interesting. Actually, the basics of usage were pretty much outlined in the above section. It's a game of timing and reflexes. What this section is really about is how you can customize it. Yes, your fate is in your hands for a change! This feature lets you make battles easier or harder for you and is uber important to understand. There's an in-game tutorial on this, but the nitty gritty is outlined below. All these options appear under Ring Customization in the Command Menu. Hit Area Width: Having trouble with a certain hit or strike area? If you have Hit/Strike Area Expand items, you can widen certain areas on the Judgment Ring so you can hit them easier. Add-On Effects: Enemies do this, now you can too! Certain items allow you to add a status/parameter ailment to a character's normal attack. Now you can coat Karin's sword with poison or lower an enemy's defenses with a punch from Yuri. They range in strength from 1-4 (ex: Poison 4 has a higher probability than Poison 1). Hit Area Number: Each character starts off with a certain number of hit areas on their Attack Judgment Ring. With Attack Boost items, you can increase this number (the max is two). For example, Yuri's normal combo starts with three and can include up to five attacks. Ring Types: This allows you to shake up your ring. Normal is the standard model. Practice is good for beginners: if you miss a hit area, you still get the chance to hit the others so this allows for mistakes. However, there are no strike areas. Technical rings are for pros: you have to hit all the areas or you execute no attack whatsoever. This ring allows for really powerful attacks. Gamble rings are similar, with only one hit area. Hit it, and it's as if you hit every area on a normal ring. Auto Ring: This automates your ring, making you almost obsolete. Not advised if you want to get the full experience, you lazy bum. There may be places where letting the game figure out the ring is advantageous, but this walkthrough will never go there because it's best not to let a game have control over your fate. ---- Crest Magic [cre] A new addition to Shadow Hearts is magic that everyone except Harmonixers can use. Magic spells are stored in demon crests that can be equipped to characters with enough DCP. This allows you to customize your magic users to the fullest. Anyone can wield any type or element of magic, as long as you have the crest and they have the DCP. There is an in-game tutorial on how to use crests, but there's really not much to it. Most characters join your party with crests already equipped. Early on in the game, you'll get something called Solomon's Key, which is a puzzle concerning all the crests you have, so be sure to pick them all up. Completing the puzzle makes the crests stronger and will ultimately lead to a tough battle and one hell of a powerful magic spell, but more on that later. Magic comes in five types: Single, Circular, Linear, Piercing, and All. Single targets (surprise) one enemy only. Circular spells can hit multiple enemies; a circular hit radius engulfs your target and everyone unfortunate enough to stand next to it. Linear is the same except that it starts from the caster's position and hits enemies standing in front of and behind the target. Piercing shots are a combination of the former two: they start in a linear motion, hitting and knocking back all enemies in their path, and then finish off in a circular blast. All-type spells are rare but powerful. As you could probably tell, they target all enemies on the field, no matter where they are. Be careful when using magic during combos. Spells can be High Angled, Hard Hitting, or ones that Knock Down opponents. There are also some magic spells that are Anti-air or Anti-ground. Anti-air will completely miss any opponent that is knocked down low to the ground, and Anti-ground misses any enemy in the air during combos. (Seems backwards to me, but that's how it goes.) ---- The Class System [cla] Nearly every character and enemy has a class or an element. This is important to know in battle. Certain classes are opposed: Water and Fire, Earth and Wind, Dark and Light. This means that Water attacks do more damage to Fire types, and Wind attacks will not harm Wind class monsters as much as Earth attacks. It also means that opposing types that are fighting each other are equally susceptible to the other's attacks. As I like to put it, it's a twist on the classic rock-paper-scissors set-up: rock and paper duking it out while scissors is off fighting a pencil or something. It's a good idea to give your characters a variety of classes when equipping crests so they can handle any class pitted against them. There are some enemies that have no class (ha ha), in which case the rules here do not apply. ---- Combos and Affinity [com] The combo system is a neat feature that allows you to rack up tons of damage and perform special magic if done properly. It also looks cool. To start a combo, use the Combo command from the Action Menu. Then, choose a character you'd like to combo with and how you'd like them to wait (doing nothing or preparing to weather an attack). Keep an eye on the turn priority meter at the top of the screen to know when your opponents are going to attack so you know how to wait/defend. The active party member will then run over and stand next to their combo partner until one of them gets a turn. You can do this with two, three, or all four party members. Sometimes fighters will even be knocked into combo position by enemy attacks. Once it's one of the combo members' turns, you'll get the option of how you want to attack (normally, with magic, with a skill, etc.). If you were successful at the Judgment Ring, it will start to spin and you'll see one of the four face buttons on the Playstation controller. Hit that button before the ring stops and you'll have successfully passed the combo baton. The first character will attack, immobilizing the enemy and giving the next person in line the chance to add insult to injury. Failing the ring or the button-pushing sequence or missing the enemy will end the combo. Combos can get interesting. Using all the different attack options (Standard, Hard Hit, High Angle, and Knock Down), one character can flip an enemy in the air and the next can bash it into the ground. This is also where combos get annoying. Depending on an enemy's weight, your timing can get screwed up, destroying a combo. For example, High Angling a lighter enemy will mean the person next in line may miss with some of their attacks since it will fly higher and so stay airborne longer, and knocking down a small enemy is the same as them ducking, evading damage. You also have to pay attention to how your fighters actually attack. For example, Yuri's second move in his normal attack is a low punch, so he's be able to hit an enemy low to the ground, no matter their height. Combos take some practice in this sense. If you successfully pull off a four-person combo, the last person in line will have a new option in the Action Menu: Combo Magic. This is super powerful magic that adds a nice finishing blow. There's one for each element but only certain characters can perform certain spells due to their class. It's also worth noting that Harmonixers can perform combo magic. The first time you use it, it will only be labeled ????. Afterwards, it will have a name and an element listed. Affinity is important in building combos and is just what it sounds like: how attracted certain party members are to each other. Certain events in the story affect affinity, but it's mostly built up by having characters perform combos together. When two characters with high affinity perform attacks right after each other, extra bonus damage is dealt. Affinity may also lead characters to protect one another in battle, but I can't prove this. In certain instances, I've seen Yuri yell out and jump to protect Karin, but this is rare. Bottom line: make sure your party members are friendly with each other if you're going to be using combos a lot. Enemies can combo as well. Use a Hard Hit to knock them away from each other to keep this from happening. Some opponents can even use combo magic, and they will guard against your attacks to stay in place. Act fast before they unleash a combo and possibly end up killing one of your party members. There is an in-game tutorial that explains combos really well and even tells you how to semi-automate the process if you like. ---- Ailments [ail] Ailments can make or break a fight, and there are a hefty amount of them you need to watch out for. There are three kinds: status, ring, and parameter. Status ailments affect your characters' health and how well they can fight. The Heal/Arc Heal spells and Soul Benediction item will cure any and all ailments. You can wait for ailments to heal themselves, and they can also be prevented by wearing a Crucifix or a certain accessory, outlined below. Unconscious: When a character runs out of HP, they are rendered unconscious and cannot perform any action. This is especially bad for Harmonixers, as they will return to normal if fused. Bring them back with life- restoring magic or a Talisman item. Poison/Deadly Poison: Poison steadily drains HP. If a poisoned character is poisoned again, their condition escalates to Deadly Poison and drains even more HP. Wear Shell or Cosmic Bracelets to prevent this. Paralysis: Paralyzed characters are useless on the field. They're immobilized and simply skip their turn when it comes. Wear Bhodi/Zodiac Bracelets as protection. Paralysis is one of the three "game over" ailments; since paralyzed characters can't act, it's game over for you if they're the last ones standing on the battlefield. Seal: Magic users beware, Seal is the inability to use magic or special skills. Bell and Cosmic Bracelets prevent this. Petrify: One of the more horrible ailments, petrifaction is Paralysis and Instant Death combined. Petrified characters cannot perform any action and will shatter if the enemy touches them, making them unconscious instantly. Mirror and Zodiac Bracelets will save you here. Petrify is another "game over" ailment. Instant Death: Does what it says, instantly knocks a party member out. Cure it the same way you would unconsciousness or bring a Leonardo's Bear into battle. Instant Death is the third "game over" ailment. Mental Break: Poisoning of the mind! Mental Break drains the afflicted character's MP every turn. Wear Silver/Cosmic Bracelets to protect yourself. Panic: An important thing to remember in Shadow Hearts is that battles test your party's sanity. Normal characters lose one SP every turn no matter what; Harmonixers (when fused) will lose more per turn depending on the type on monster into which they have fused. Panic causes the sanity to drain a lot quicker. Feather and Cosmic Bracelets protect from Panic. Berserk: When the sanity runs out, a character goes Berserk. The music in the background becomes disoriented to let you know, and you lose control of the afflicted fighter. The character's picture in the turn priority meter at the top of the screen turns red as well. Restore sanity with Pure items right away because it will go into the negative range. Berserked fighters attack and use items indiscriminately. However, they may also just space out in battle with humorous results. If a character is wearing a Blood Jewel, you can restore SP with a successful Spin Ring when they go Berserk. Certain enemies have an SP Lowering attack that halves SP in battle, but Will Power accessories prevent this. Berserked characters get no EXP at the end of a fight. Judgment Ring abnormalities are a major pain but are easily avoided. Phoenix Tail items and Heal/Arc Heal magic cures them, but Pocket Watches and Crucifixes nullify them. Fast: The indicator speed is doubled. Tight: The size of the hit and strike areas are halved. Small: The entire ring shrinks. Random: Each time a new Judgment Ring is prompted, the speed of the indicator is different. Fickle: The indicator speed changes different times on the same ring. Blind: All the hit and strike areas are invisible. Up: The speed of the indicator steadily increases as it spins. Fake: Fake hit areas will appear on the ring to throw you for a loop. Reverse: The indicator sweeps backwards. Parameter ailments affect a character's stats and how well they can attack, defend, evade, etc. They can't be prevented or healed. The only thing to do is to counter them with a magic spell that does the opposite of the ailment. They're all pretty self-explanatory. Physical Attack Down, counter with Rage Physical Defense Down, counter with Shield Special Attack Down, counter with Surge Special Defense Down, counter with Barrier Evasion Down, counter with Mirage Action Speed Down (reduces number of turns), counter with Gale Delay (completely puts off character's next turn) There is also a special condition that is not an ailment per se but is important to know about. Bind is when a character is immobilized until his/her next turn. When bound, any damage done to that character is treated as combo or bonus damage. Few enemies use this and few of your fighters can use it in turn, but it can be devastating either way. Bind is indicated by a blue icon with a circle in it next to the damage display. Note that, as explained in the Judgment Ring section, most of the status and parameter ailments can be attributed to your normal attack and used against your enemies with great results. ---- Forming a Party [for] One of the BEST improvements over the original Shadow Hearts is how you can organize and manage your party. Accessing the Command Menu will let you see all your current party members; you can change their equipment, crests, view their personal info and so forth at any time. Your battle party can consist of four characters, the top four on the list. Whenever you have more than four people to choose from, you can pre-form up to three parties and cycle between them, making it easy to form teams good for certain tasks (ex: it is a really good idea to form a party specifically tailored for boss battles). This is all explained in an in-game tutorial. After winning a battle, your active party will claim the EXP spoils as usual, but your other party members will also get in on the action: they'll each get half of what the fighters got, meaning no one is really left out. As for fighting, choosing characters you like and are comfortable with is a bit of a no-brainer, but it wouldn't hurt to try to keep everyone level since you'll be forced to use everyone if you want to do all the extra stuff. Yuri does not have to be in your party all the time anymore, but he is really good to have since his fusions make him a really well-rounded fighter. Some party members are more suited for magic, while others are pure strength, and all have really unique special skills that make them a good asset in a fight. Keep a nice balanced party with a good supply of defensive and offensive crest magic, and you can't go wrong. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Walkthrough There's a lot left to be explained in this game but it's much easier to go over it when we get to it while playing. The one thing left to tell you now is that the little map in the upper left-hand corner of your screen is your best friend. Most of the directions given in this guide are according to that navi-map. I also need to mention that this walkthrough was written while playing a reloaded save file with all the crests/fusions/etc. so I could note the differences and consult the library. I tried my best to avoid referencing something first-time players might not have yet. NOTE: If you're still confused about anything, the game actually has a built-in Help file accessible through the Command Menu. If this is your first time through, new topics will be highlighted in orange. =============================================================================== Disc One =============================================================================== Ah, Europe. Where the last game left us and where our new adventure begins. The entire first disk will take us all over the European continent. We've got a lot to look forward to after the amazing opening cutscene! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apoina Tower [ea1] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Items: ___ Thera Leaf Enemies: Revenant ___ Talisman of Luck Statue ___ Mana Leaf Gargoyle ___ Hit Area Expand ___ Attack Boost ___ Pure Leaf ___ Evasion Down 1 ___ Tent After the lovely history lesson, head forward to get into your first fight. There's a tutorial available on battle basics; I'd recommend watching it if this is your first time playing. After the scene, note the blue glowing spot on the floor; it's your save point. From there, head left up the nearby staircase to find a chest with a THERA LEAF. Then head right and go up the little spiral staircase here to grab a TALISMAN OF LUCK. Now go up the large stairs to the southeast. Whenever you get into your second fight, you'll get the option to see a tutorial on combos. This is important stuff; view it if you need it. Follow the path until you get a scene. Head left to find a chest with a MANA LEAF. Go to the right to find a chest with a HIT AREA EXPAND. Continue to the right to run into the Ring Soul. He'll give you an ATTACK BOOST. You can now customize your Judgment Ring and have the option to see yet another tutorial. You get an EVASION DOWN 1 whether you view the tutorial or not. (Don't listen to Nicolai; using that Attack Boost on him is not wise since he won't be with us for very long.) Continue up the stairs. Before you activate the portal on the floor in this area, look to the right of it to find a PURE LEAF. Now step on the portal and hit X to get transported. You might want to use the save point to your right to heal up and save. You'll find a conveniently-placed TENT in the right-hand corner here. Head north. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Gargoyle Class: Dark HP: 140 MP: 90 EXP: 50 Cash: 200 Souls: 0 Drop: Pure Seed Nicolai could do this fight all by himself without any problems. Since it's Dark class, his Blessed Light attack will be more than enough to bring it down. Karin can attack and support with items in case he runs out of MP or needs some curing. If you're not quick, Karin will go Berserk since she has little SP. Watch the turn priority meter and use a Pure Leaf on her before she goes nuts. (Her picture appears red on the turn it happens.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Nicolai will get the item he needs, so now we can set out for Domremy. We won't be able to go back to Apoina Tower for quite some time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Domremy [edo] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Items: ___ Mana Leaf Enemies: Ducky Toy ___ Thera Lead Wooden Lion ___ Hit Area Expand ___ Talisman of Luck ___ Strike Expand ___ Tent ___ Thera Seed ___ Pure Leaf Take the northwest fork up to a chest with a MANA LEAF. Go northeast/north to the next screen. To the northeast is a THERA LEAF on the ground. Take the northwest branch all the way past the soldier to find a HIT AREA EXPAND. Go back and head northeast to the little town of Domremy. The soldier here will fully heal you if you speak to him. There is a TALISMAN OF LUCK directly to the left of him in the shed. (Thanks to Dan for pointing this out.) There are trip wires scattered throughout the area but going through them is no big deal. One is above and to the right of the soldier. A STRIKE EXPAND lies in the chest in that little yard. Head north in the main area and you'll see another trip wire guarding an area to the right (it's much easier to see on your navi- map). There's a TENT back there. Going north, there's another trip wire to your immediate left on the next screen. The chest beside the soldier here contains a THERA SEED. When the main path goes northeast, look for a faint area on your map to the southeast. Back here, there's a PURE LEAF in a chest. Continue on, past the save point, to the church. What follows is a lengthy scene. Seems Nicolai is pissed about what happened during the first Shadow Hearts, and he aims to finish what he never started. After the flashback and crazy dream sequence, you'll be ready to set out with a new party. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ardennes Forest [eaf] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Items: ___ Focalor ___ Tent Enemies: Death Snail ___ Andras ___ Barbatos Skeeter ___ Furfur ___ Thera Leaf Zoism ___ Mana Leaf ___ Hit Area Expand Arachne ___ Battery ___ Soul Benediction ___ Pure Leaf ___ Hit Area Expand ___ Soul Benediction ___ Poison 1 ___ Leather Cap ___ Vassago Talk to Gepetto to get three crests: FOCALOR, ANDRAS, and FURFUR. Yuri can't use crests, but Gepetto and Blanca can so equip them ASAP. Talk to Karin to get going. You'll get into a fight soon afterwards. Now, there are two ways to get to your final destination in this forest. For the sake of item hunting, we'll go through both. If you'd rather forge your own path with a map of this area, here's a link: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/sophialee/SHC/ardennesforest.jpg Head left to the next screen. Take the northwest branch here for a MANA LEAF. Now go northeast and head left. Follow the path along the cliff. Grab the BATTERY in the chest on the way. There's a PURE LEAF in the chest on the next screen. Keep going, going, going until you see a wooden fixture. Examine the poster here for a SOUL BENEDICTION. Use your battery on the lift. It'll take you down, but that's your final destination and we're not done yet. (If you'd rather just go, head out into the open area for a scene and skip to the fight.) On the lift again, hit the "Power Operation" button and take it to the top level. There's a LEATHER CAP in the alcove and a TENT by the wooden fence. Go down one level. Backtrack about three or four screens until you're in the woods again. There is a hidden path leading to the right just barely visible on your map. Angle Yuri to your right as you run to find it. Go right over the bridge to find the BARBATOS crest in a chest. From here, keep going south until you're over the log bridge and back where you started. Go north and north again. At the next fork, go northwest, then left for a THERA LEAF. Head right and then right at the next fork to find yourself near a lake. When the path curves to the north, you can find a hidden path leading to the right. A HIT AREA EXPAND is hidden back here. Continue north. At the next fork, head left for a SOUL BENEDICTION in a chest. On the next screen, you'll see a drawbridge. Examine the panel and pull the right, middle, then left levers. Halfway across the bridge, you'll find a HIT AREA EXPAND. Heal up and save before continuing on. Yuri will collapse and find himself in the Graveyard of his soul. After a scene, you'll get to pick a fusion, any fusion. You'll find the Fire, Wind, and Light classes to the left and the Water, Earth, and Dark classes to the right. There's nothing to do to the north. Pick whichever one suits your fancy by having Yuri hold his hand up to its altar. Attempt to leave and the cinematics will take over. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Arachne Class: Earth HP: 300 MP: 77 EXP: 70 Cash: 1000 Souls: 40 Drop: Poison 1 Vassago There are plenty of different ways to go about this fight depending on which fusion you chose for Yuri. (Be sure to fuse now that you have that option!) If you chose one with higher magic stats, then pile on the magic. If not, have Gepetto or Blanca cast Air Edge on Yuri since all his fusions have higher physical strength compared to his normal P-Atk. If you're not sure either way, experiment. Combo if you like and break out all your Wind magic. You shouldn't have any problems since you've got three characters to watch out for each other. This monster can and will try to poison you; if it succeeds, use a Soul Benediction to cure it. The only other threat is its Crag attack. Nothing a Thera Leaf can't cure. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Karin freaks out afterwards, then gets Harmonixer 101 from Gepetto. All that Soul Energy that you've been collecting is the key to unlocking the rest of Yuri's fusions. When you have enough, go to the Graveyard from a save point or the world map and power up a fusion by charging its altar with your Soul Energy. You can continue to increase a fusion monster's power by feeding it Soul Energy through Yuri's personal info in the Command Menu. If you keep powering up the altar in the Graveyard, you'll eventually upgrade your fusions to level 2, making them stronger and giving them new spells. There are plenty of souls to go around so use them however you want. You'll want to unlock all the classes first and then focus on powering up the fusions of your choice. When ready, head to Paris. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paris [epa] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Items: ___ Nibelung Prelude ___ Shell Bracelet Enemies: Clawed Soldier ___ Mr. Sommelier ___ Phoenix Tail Tetsu ___ Mr. Matador ___ Talisman of Luck Sting ___ Crocell ___ Pocket Watch Ekimmu ___ Thera Leaf ___ Attack Boost Castor ___ Hit Area Expand ___ Sp-Defend Down 1 Pollux ___ Stamp Card ___ Pure Leaf ___ Point Card ___ Amy ___ P-Defend Down 1 ___ Soul Benediction ___ Thera Leaf ___ Fuse ___ Haures ___ Sitri ___ Tent ___ Zepar ___ Strike Expand You'll get a couple of scenes when you enter Paris. (Gepetto sure is a wily old man.) Clawed Soldiers will burst through the skylight after a bit; send 'em packing. After seeing how good Karin is with a sword, Gepetto will give her the NIBELUNG PRELUDE, and she'll learn a sword technique. This is her special ability, and it's powered up and added onto by finding all of Wagner's scores. Afterwards, Yuri will automatically pick up MR. SOMMELIER and MR. MATADOR, two Stud Cards. (Note: You will only get two cards if you have a save file from the first Shadow Hearts on your memory card. Otherwise, you will only get Mr. Sommelier right now.) The CROCELL crest is by the save point. Enter the nearby door and open the chest for a THERA LEAF. Go outside and head south, admiring the view. If you go too far south, you'll get attacked. Instead, go down the stairs to the right and down the hatch. Follow the linear path up and out of the subway. You're now in Montmartre. Go all the way up the stairs north of you, as far as you can. There's a HIT AREA EXPAND up by the lamppost. Go back down the stairs a ways and enter the bar for a scene. Go back the way you came, and you'll be stopped by a man named Ernest. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tetsu Class: Wind HP: c. 90 MP: --- EXP: 20 Cash: 100 Souls: 0 Drop: Coral Lariat This is just meant to get Blanca's paws wet. Physical attacks will get you through just fine. Try and finish him off before Blanca goes Berserk, but it's no matter if you sacrifice a turn to heal. He'll try to lower your P-Def, but he's no threat. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ernest will give you the STAMP CARD. This marks the start of Blanca's major sidequest, the Wolf Bout, and gives him his special skill. See the sidequest section for more info. Go back to the subway station and take the train to the Champs-Élysées. Oh goody! Walk forward and Pierre and Gerard Magimel will catch you. Gerard gives you the POINT CARD. He's your item shop. That card allows you to try for discounts and mark-ups; the more times you shop, the more points you get, and the higher the discount/mark-up you can go for. Discounts and mark-ups are governed by a Spin Ring, a ring game. Choose which one you want, nail all the wedges, and you get it. Miss, and you must pay the original price. Upgrade everyone's weapons while you're here. Pierre is a tailor and makes dresses for Cornelia, Gepetto's puppet. Each dress has a class and powers Gepetto's special ability: magic spells he and Cornelia can do, one for each class. When you have more than one dress, you can change it in Gepetto's personal info in the Command Menu. Pierre will only make dresses for you if you have Stud Cards; you have at least one so go ahead and pick out some nice clothes. After all is said and done, go behind the stairs you came in on and look for a P-DEFEND DOWN 1. Go right down the street. Examine the light post by the kid with his mum by the car to find a THERA LEAF. Continue right. North of the little girl by the light post is a hotel. Inside, the HAURES crest can be found in a chest behind the check-in desk. Upstairs, enter the last door on the right to find Dr. Gautier and a TENT. Now backtrack to the station and talk to the foreman guarding the stairs leading down. If you'd like a map for the up-coming journey through the tunnels, here's a link: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/sophialee/SHC/subway.jpg. It's drawn in relation to how the area looks while walking on the screen, not the navi-map. Follow the linear path to see that we're being followed once again. Our escape route is blocked ahead so follow the open path to see a three-way split. On the far right side of this area is a STRIKE EXPAND in a chest, and a SHELL BRACELET is to the far left, next to the hay in the wood corral. Take the middle path first. Head north, and you'll meet the Ring Soul for an ATTACK BOOST by the car that says Amu-328. Head left. South is a partially hidden chest with a SP-DEFEND DOWN 1 inside. Go north to the save point. Flip the switch you find here. Backtrack to where you found the Ring Soul and head all the way south until you're at a two-way junction. There's a PURE LEAF in the upper left-hand corner here. Head left (south on your map), and you're back at the three-way junction. Now head up the rightmost path. You'll come to a two-way split; take the upper path and snag the POCKET WATCH. Go back and take the other one now. There are two paths leading left farther down, take the first one you see. Go north, then left, then north to a chest with a PHOENIX TAIL. Head back and left yet again. Go north for a TALISMAN OF LUCK. From here, go south, right, south, right to the engine. Remember that switch we pulled? It moved this engine so we can continue north, but we have to go around. Go right, north, left, and then as far north as you can to find the AMY crest. Head down and go right. North is a ladder. Climb it and you'll be in the cathedral district. Among the boxes around the shop is a SOUL BENEDICTION. Enter the shop and talk to the junk dealer to get a FUSE. You can also stock up on items here. Go back down to the tunnels and backtrack all the way to the beginning of this tunnel madness, past the three-way junction and back to our blocked escape route. You'll be attacked on the way. Use the fuse on the engine to your right. Be sure to use your new save point and make sure you've equipped someone with your Pocket Watch. After giving Lenny the slip, Yuri and co. will run into Veronica. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Castor Class: Fire Pollux Class: Water HP: 275 MP: 100 HP: 275 MP: 100 EXP: 75 Cash: 550 EXP: 75 Cash: 550 Souls: 25 Drop: Tent Souls: 25 Drop: Lottery Ticket Sitri Zepar These guys are going to combo attack you, so it is vitally important to focus all your energy on killing one of them first. Hopefully you've unlocked more of Yuri's fusions, so you can pick one of the opposing classes and wail on your target. Your most