Shadow Hearts and Koudelka

[Kellicros]

Okay, I know these are some very old games but I have some questions.

I am now going through the first Shadow Hearts, got this game for ages but never really touched it. And I read about the villain, Roger Bacon being in Sacnoth's previous RPG on the PSX, Koudelka, I am curious. What is that guy like in that game? Are they the same person? I have never played Koudelka and I don't plan to play it. It would be great if anyone has a screenshot of that guy in that game. Also, is Koudelka really a prequel of Shadow Hearts?

BTW, I am hooked with Shadow Hearts at the moment, it reminds me a lot about FF7. Story is great and the judgement ring system is wicked, it has been a while since I encountered a RPG with dated graphics that does not bore me in the first few hours. I am gonna get the whole series once I finished this. ^_^

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[Exodus]

Originally Posted by Kellicros

Are they the same person? I have never played Koudelka and I don't plan to play it. It would be great if anyone has a screenshot of that guy in that game.

well, i'm not sure how far you've gotten into Shadow hearts, but everything will become clear in the plot. let's just say that roger bacon in SH is the same roger bacon as in koudelka.

Originally Posted by Kellicros

Also, is Koudelka really a prequel of Shadow Hearts?

indeed it is.

Originally Posted by Kellicros

I am gonna get the whole series once I finished this. ^_^

quite frankly, its one of my 4 favourite series.

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[Kraelis]

...and soon, you'll be trying to scrounge for a copy of SH2.

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[Kellicros]

Originally Posted by Exodus

well, i'm not sure how far you've gotten into Shadow hearts, but everything will become clear in the plot. let's just say that roger bacon in SH is the same roger bacon as in koudelka.


indeed it is.

Erm, just reached the Europe, maybe I will try to figure it out myself.

Oh well, do you think I should play Koudelka to get the full story of SH or something? Would I like Koudelka if I happened to like SH? I know judgement ring doesn't exist in Koudelka.

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[Exodus]

Originally Posted by Kellicros

Erm, just reached the Europe, maybe I will try to figure it out myself.

you'll know right away when it happens. it's not hidden in any way, nor does it require any brain power.
in fact, now that i think about it, you might not be told the truth until nearly the end of the game.

Originally Posted by Kellicros

Oh well, do you think I should play Koudelka to get the full story of SH or something?

no, koudelka doesn't have that much importance to the story line. in fact, the only thing it really offers is a little background on one of the characters in SH. nothing you can't live without.

Originally Posted by Kellicros

Would I like Koudelka if I happened to like SH?

it plays totally different than SH, so you wouldn't necessarily like it. in fact, even though i love the SH series, koudelka was kind of lame to me. the biggest thing going for it was the totally voiced-over and well acted dialog and FMVs. 4 cds for 12 hours of gameplay.

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[Kellicros]

I reached that point you talked about, haha, great one. I am gaining interests to play Koudelka now, let's see see if I can get my hands on it someday.

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[cloudvii]

What :S ? I never knew Koudelka is the prequel for Shadow hearts. I laos know that Koudelka was made by SNK. Then who made the other game ? and how? did they take the license ala Xenosaga Namco/square thingy?

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[Exodus]

Originally Posted by cloudvii

What :S ? I never knew Koudelka is the prequel for Shadow hearts. I laos know that Koudelka was made by SNK. Then who made the other game ? and how? did they take the license ala Xenosaga Namco/square thingy?

SNK only published it, but the story is (from wikipedia):

Koudelka
Hiroki Kikuta, most known for composing the music to Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu III (also known as Secret of Mana II) while working at Squaresoft, created Sacnoth in 1997 with funding from the video game company SNK. Unhappy with the disjointed, juvenile, and stagnant nature of most RPGs, Kikuta had intended to take the genre in a whole new direction. Koudelka was to be his magnum opus, the game that would show the world just how far RPGs could go.

Koudelka received poor critical reviews and little word of mouth. Additionally, it was soon revealed that internal quarrels within Sacnoth had led to a compromised product. Kikuta had wanted to develop an action-based battle system, citing Resident Evil as a source of inspiration. However, his employees were adamant about releasing something closer to the kind of games that Square had been making.

Most people agreed that the game showed some promise, but had serious flaws, particularly in the combat system. Disheartened by the political friction within Sacnoth, as well as the financial condition of SNK, Kikuta resigned. Aruze Entertainment eventually took control of Sacnoth after SNK folded.

The initial plot of the game centered around 3 investigators coming to Nemeton Monastery in Wales in the year 1899: Koudelka Iasant, a young girl with supernatural powers; Edward Plunkett, adventurer; and Father James O'Flaherty, sent by the Vatican to recover a special tome of knowledge. It is likely that Edward Plunkett in the game is modeled after the historical Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany. The monastery was used as a prison in the 1700s, and more recently as the site of a dark ritual from the stolen document, the Emigré Manuscript, that Father O'Flaherty seeks.

The style of the game was a composition of survivial horror games such as Resident Evil, and tactical RPGs with a grid-based system for combat. The game was fully voice-acted, and starred Vivianna Bateman as Koudelka, Michael Bradbury as Edward, and Scott Larson as Father O'Flaherty. The game also featured several FMV cutscenes which were critically lauded as being high in quality, and were part of the reason for the game's four-disc length, despite its rather short playing length.

Originally Posted by Kellicros

I am gaining interests to play Koudelka now, let's see see if I can get my hands on it someday.

if i had a decent upload speed, i'd upload to you all the plot scenes i recorded from it.

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[Kellicros]

Originally Posted by cloudvii

What :S ? I never knew Koudelka is the prequel for Shadow hearts. I laos know that Koudelka was made by SNK. Then who made the other game ? and how? did they take the license ala Xenosaga Namco/square thingy?

Did you play/finished SH? Things get very obvious until a point proving Koudelka is the prequel, and I just reached that. :P Anyway, both games are developed by Sacnoth(Nautilus) as far as I know.

Originally Posted by Exodus

if i had a decent upload speed, i'd upload to you all the plot scenes i recorded from it.

So so you hve a decent upload speed?

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[Exodus]

Originally Posted by Kellicros

Anyway, both games are developed by Sacnoth(Nautilus) as far as I know.

yeah, same people, different name.

Originally Posted by Kellicros

So so you hve a decent upload speed?

if 15kb/s upload is good enough for you... it ends up being around 600mb total. if you're really interested, i can upload them to one of those file hosting servers and you can get them from there. i imagine they'd have better upload than me. otherwise, i can send it directly to you somehow.

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[Kellicros]

Originally Posted by Exodus

yeah, same people, different name.


if 15kb/s upload is good enough for you... it ends up being around 600mb total. if you're really interested, i can upload them to one of those file hosting servers and you can get them from there. i imagine they'd have better upload than me. otherwise, i can send it directly to you somehow.

Very interested, better yet, if you can upload it on those file hosting servers you talked about.

BTW, I bought SH2 and rushed to to end SH, got the bad ending though and it is too late to change anything when I realized. But then again, the sequal continues the bad ending so it does not mattar.

Oh btw, SH2 is so wicked, finally a game that comes close to FFX imo. Yuri looks a lot more badass.

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[Exodus]

SH2 is even better than SH1

i'll work on getting koudelka uploaded for ya

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No, I don't like anime, Street Fighter, Japanese music or download video game music. Yes, I know, I'm weird.

[Kellicros]

Originally Posted by Exodus

SH2 is even better than SH1

i'll work on getting koudelka uploaded for ya

Indeed.

Thanks a lot!

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