Part 85: Episode LXXXV: Shadow Hearts

Episode LXXXV: Shadow Hearts


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It seems Meta-God and the Palace of the Deranged Gods had a rather Castlevania-esque relationship as the Neameto Float immediately explodes upon its master's death.







I sure hope a bunch of charred bio-technology scattered across the waters of the Irish Sea doesn't have an adverse ecological effect. The barren wasteland of Wales will likely be fine. I'm more concerned about the greater British Isles. But perhaps there are greater concerns for the environment than just Neameto Float exploding.







Like, I don't know... a massive cloud of magical dust three times the size of the planet blanketing the northern hemisphere. That feels like it could be like an extinction level problem. But... it's probably fine.

...

Probably...




Music: Black Cat Floating in Blue Sky



And so, our battle came to an end. The god awakened by human hands was returned to sleep once again by human hands.
Yes, that is a flowery euphemism for Yuri having punched it to death. His version of events came off as...
JUST CALL ME GODHAND CUZ THIS FIST KNOCKED GOD THE FUCK OUT!!
...A bit unfittingly brash.
On the morning after, a refreshing breeze blew across Wales and the horrible events leading up to yesterday seemed like nothing more than a bad dream. Soon, it was time to say farewell to everyone.



Keith, our handsome vampire, grew weary of the hustle and bustle of the outside world and so he returned, once again, to his peaceful castle in Transylvania. I wonder how long he’ll sleep this time. Goodnight and sweet dreams, dear friend...
"Dear friend"? I never saw you exchange more than like five words with him. Heck, I never saw ANY of us say more than a sentence or two to that guy. Ever.
He was very kind and sweet! Just not... very talkative...
He was boring, is what he was.
Oh hush!



Master Zhuzhen, our brave Adept, has gone back to Shanghai to mend the disruptions in the energy fields of China. You taught us so much, Master Zhuzhen. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. And please, try not to over-exert yourself!
Is that a nice way of telling him not to drink himself into a coma now that nobody is watching?
Of course not! Master Zhuzhen was very responsible with his drinking habits around me.
Yeah... Around you.
...OK. Maybe that was a little bit of what I was getting at...
Heh. Maybe I'll miss that old fart... A little...



Our beloved spy for hire said she planned to go home to Paris, but she joked that her next assignment was probably already waiting for her. So there’s no telling where she might be right now.
I bet it is either blowing something up, shooting a gun or crashing a plane.
You really did never let that one go, did you?
I feel like you were WAY too cool with the part where she crashed a plane we were in!
Forgive me, my reservations with the plane crash were overridden by being cursed by a ghost later that day...
I ergh... Huh... That did happen the same day, huh...
Yes. It did...
Hmm... guess that would be kinda a bigger issue than a plane crash.
Indeed.
...But just barely.
......



Halley, that cute little street boy we met in London, set sail from Southampton with his mother, Koudelka, to find his long-lost father in America. Finally, they’ll be able to live together as a family. I pray you’ll all find happiness.
Geez, I forgot all about Koudelka even being a part of this.
She did rather abruptly taper off on involvement as soon as we rescued her.
Though, heck. I half forgot Halley was a part of this too.
In retrospect, he probably should have just stayed with his mother. But, he did prove to be a valuable ally.
Dude, he fought in a cage match against monsters one of his orphan friends summoned. That's it. That's all he ever did after we got his mom to stop yelling stuff into my head. Speaking of which... did those other brats go to America too? Or are there just a bunch of unattended demon summoning and soul stealing orphan kids running around London now?
Halley didn't say.
......
<concerned grunt>
I'm gonna make an executive decision and file this under "not our problem."
It's probably fine.
Probably...



As for me... I’m headed for Zurich, where my mother’s waiting. With Yuri, of course!
Still not sure about the name "Zurich" business.
For the last time, it's the name of a real town -- not a wizard!
I'm just saying, after I punched out a god, beating up a wizard kinda seems beneath me.
Oh, hush up and get on the train!


Music: Shadow Hearts (It's the ending credits theme. You should listen to it!)



In the stardust desert, an abandoned fish tank and us
With our arms around our knees,
By the moonlight that fell on the water's surface
And the shades of flowing clouds I measured the time.

What I see with open eyes is the heat haze - a lie
What I only see with eyes closed might be the future
Now, with closed eyes, I’m watching you.
Shadow hearts colour’d all in blue. Shadow.

The endless caravan drags its heavy feet,
Continuing to the other side of the horizon

Surely this wounded world is filled with wounded people among us also.
If that fish tank were to overflow with the tears of the fish and the blood this planet sheds
Would everyone realize their mistakes?

Now, with my eyes closed,
I’ll listen to your dream.
Shadow.

What I see with open eyes is the heat haze - a lie
What I only see with eyes closed might be the future
Now, with closed eyes, I’m watching you.

Shadow hearts color'd all in blue. Shadow.
Shadow hearts color'd all in blue. Shadow.









As the warlock said in the end...



...even if winter comes bringing the harshest hardships...



I intend to live on... with my new family.



Music: ENDS



And that is the end of Shadow Hearts! Or it is, at least, an ending of Shadow Hearts. We are not quite done yet.



At this point, we could save the game which unlocks New Game Plus. New Game Plus restarts from the prologue but Yuri has access to all of his Fusions, up to and including Amon and Seraphic Radiance, from the very start of the game. The trouble is he starts at Level 1 again and literally nothing else, including Cash and items, carries over. So... you still won't be able to use most of the high-end Fusions until Yuri has gained enough SP to fuse into them which... makes it a rather dubious NG+. The Library also carries over and includes all entries from Neameto Float including Messiah and Meta-God. I mentioned the only thing the completed Library unlocks is the Black Silk Underpants for Alice which... uh... I think we're good. It also saves the previous Score value so you can try to get a better one on the replay if... you care about that sort of thing.



As I mentioned earlier, there are two endings to Shadow Hearts. This is considered the Good Ending. The thing is... there is a Shadow Hearts sequel which is a direct continuation of Yuri's story. And this ending here? The one that takes an obtuse route and a degree of effort to achieve? Much like in Koudelka ...I'm afraid that ain't the canon ending. So we need to roll back our save quite some time to get this right.

Stay tuned. Shadow Hearts continues down a much less happy path...