The Let's Play Archive

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

by The Dark Id

Part 145: Episode CXXXIX: Dark Seraphim

Episode CXXXIX: Dark Seraphim



We are finally almost concluded with the deluge of Shadow Hearts: Covenant's endgame content. There are only two items on the agenda remaining. One is sorting out that King Solomon jerk having completed both the Trials and Keys of Solomon. The other is much less obvious. As in the game yields zero indicators that this is a thing whatsoever. Do you remember how Yuri gained an ultimate Fusion in the endgame of Shadow Hearts 1 returning to the graveyard after he dealt with all of the Alice curse business? And sorting out the whole Seraphic Radiance dark god that was still chilling in the shadowy recesses of his soul...? Remember how that ending wasn't canon ergo he... just never dealt with that shit or got his ultimate fusion hence why Amon is the biggest deal (ignore the part that was also an easily missable optional Fusion as well.)

Well, perhaps we can sort that business out in the sequel here now that we're reaching the very end of the game.


Music: Holy Mistletoe ~ Graveyard



There are prerequisites for this quest, though they're not nearly as obtuse and arcane as the previous game having to do the whole lifting Alice's curse sidequest and the really shitty grind of filling all of Yuri's Fusions to max level via specific elemental Soul Energy back in that game. And they kind of just... forgot to put some elemental affinity enemies worth a damn in the second half of the first game. Yeah, I'm still salty about having to grind Earth Elemental Soul Energy for two hours because it was one shitty enemy left by the end of the game that dumped it and it was two-three units a pop and I needed fifty.



This time around we still need to get all the Elemental Fusions and get them to Level 3 but that only required finding hidden items and not grinding for hours. Neo Amon's and Kurando's Jutendouji transformation quests are also required. They don't have upgrade levels.



Doing this silently makes this Key Item drop in front of the cursed tree doppelganger of Yuri. Again, unless I missed some key thing the game makes absolutely zero effort to tell you to go investigate the static thing at the start of an area you've likely had no reason to visit directly for at least half or two-thirds of Disc 2 at this point. But we need this.







For you see, this unlocks an area past the Mirror Maze and that room in the Graveyard where Jeanne showed Yuri a bunch of memories and told him he better get his shit together since his soul is dying. And then we fucked off and did a cascade of shitpost sidequests and time wasters for at least a couple of months.



Yuri slows down and starts stumbling forward toward another astral memory projector.



Oh, geez. I forgot they used to be able to show tons of blood in the previous adventure. ...One day I'll remember how I managed to reattach my severed arm. That seems handy... Ugh. I'm glad nobody is around to hear me make an accidental pun.



Oh, wow. I don't know how many days I had been awake because that psychic Koudelka lady kept yelling at me to do things. I looked like SHIT that night. Yikes! I hope Alice was out of it enough for me to get it together by the ghost dog village.



Oh yeah, when we met Margarete after she did a terrorist bombing. And then we had to do a sewer dungeon. Not the best first impression...



Hey, Lt. Colonel Kawashima... I... wasn't here for that scene... I don't know why I am seeing this.



That ghost crap! I barely remember that. I just remember... what's her face...? Sea Mother? And her ghost story that lasted forever. Shloooop. Shloooop.



Is that dad? And old man Zhuzhen? And uhh... the stretchy guy? I can't remember that mid-boss's name and I'm not even going to try to remember. Also... another thing I wasn't there for... I would have been like eight and half way across the country.



<cough> ...Super sorry for that week-long sidequest road trip to Hong Kong, Alice...





Shanghai... yeah... that... that didn't go so hot...
......
...Wait, did I ever get rid of that demon god out of my soul? I feel like I ought to have done that.

Shit...



Yeah, I need a reminder of spending six months digging my own grave while my evil ghost dad shit talked me. Thanks... whatever this is... good times.



The five times Albert Simon just warped into a room and blasted everyone with lightning. Good memories too.





And teleporting to space to take on Albert. Shouldn't these memories have the time I fought him as Amon and stole that power? That was sort of a big deal, eh?





Oh we're skipping the part where I punched out a god and guilt-tripping me for that time I dropped Karin on her ass because I still had to fight the entire attacking German army? Jeanne, if this is you... this is getting to be not cool.





I did end up getting cursed at the end but I am fond of the time I kicked Nicolai in the head like twenty feet. That nerd.









Now what is this crap?! Karin, Gepetto, Joachim sure. But Lucia over Blanca? Or even Anastasia, I'd take. She is OK. Kurando if I had to too. He's at least my cousin. But... Her? No, I need to talk to whoever is making this memory slideshow. This is crap.









Sapientes Gladio is an entire adventure back. Other than that thing with Lenny, those memories are in the "haha yeah that happened" vault of ancient history now. Bring up Arcane Olga at this point while you're at it.





...Oh shit! We... we should probably check in on whatever Kato was up to. How long has it been? There was something about bells tolling? Ugh. Thank hell all these villain's end of the world estimates go way past initial dates or I'd be screwed several times over.



<frown> Alice...





M-my memories...!! Th-they're being sucked away...!



<groans>



<groans> I can't stand it... <gasps heavily>



...Huh?! That sunset...
Do you remember now?
<looks around confuses> Huh?! Eh?!
......
<stares at the low-bitrate video of Shadow Hearts 1 that ironically ran like total shit in an emulator too> ...It's the same one... I saw that sunset with my dad!!


Music: Past ~ Personal History



Inside your heart, that sunset will always be shining...
?!



You fear losing your memory, your very soul.
<shakes head> But even that could never change you.
D-Dad... is it you?!
...Yes, it's me.



He he he. It's pretty funny. You do sort of look like me. Heh.
I do remember you looking way... older last I saw you.
Heh. Well, spectral forms manifest at different ages depending on the circumstances.
...OK?
What I'm saying is get you licks in with the ladies before you hit 40, son. Age is going to hit you harder than a Chinese sorcerer performing Valorization.
...Good to know. I'll try my best. But it's not looking great making it there
Ha ha ha... You've done well, son. You took the best parts of your mother and me... and became your own man...



Dad, I... I lived the best I could!! I made some good friends!! I had a woman who loved me!!
<nods> Yes.



I wasn't perfect and I made mistakes, but... I did the best I could!
I punched out a space god. I punched out that sorcerer that killed you.
That guy was such a dick.
I know, right? I beat a giant European cult and took out a Russian wizard. I got cursed in the middle there, but, you know...
It happens to the best of us, son.
That's why... I don't have any regrets...



Listen to me. The important thing is you followed the path you chose. Your mother and I know that.
......
Yuri. You have to transcend me.
What?
Show me your strength. I want to see the power of your soul.



Come on. Just like when you were a child. Try to beat me.



Hehe... Here goes! But this time... there's no holding back!



Of course, son. I would really like to get this dark god off of my chest.
...Wait, what?!
Do you have the same strange sense of déjà vu as I do?
...Yeah... Really strongly... What's up with that?
It must be destiny...
HRRRRRRRR!!!




Music: Hardcore to the Brain ~ Mid Boss in Japan



Seraphic Radiance is now going by the name Dark Seraphim this go around but we are... just actually fighting Yuri's ultimate from the first Shadow Hearts instead of how Seraphic Radiance operated. This version has 3000 HP and is, of course, a Non-Elemental enemy.



Attack wise it will mostly zap Yuri for mid-range 300-350 HP with lasers.







It has For Tomorrow which will HP steal 275-300 HP of health from Yuri.





And when it gets to around one-third total HP it will cast For Everyone which boosts all of its stats by 30% and it's time to hurry the fuck up and beat this enemy.







To be perfectly honest, all there is to this fight is to Fuse into Neo Amon, attack two rounds with Physical damage attacks because Dark Seraphim has unreasonably high magical defenses. And on the third round, you use the now massive stock of top-tier consumable curative Thera Extracts. Repeat until you beat your weird angelic female form dark god dad. It's actually significantly easier than the Shadow Hearts 1 version of this climactic duel.


Music: Result ~ Victory





And so Jinpachiro/Ben finally pays out some child support and a bounty of EXP in his defeat.


Music: Past ~ Personal History



<pants>
I'm impressed.
<continues to pant and looks up>



I have always loved you and Anne more than anything. I still do. I always will... son.



Dad...
Hahaha. A gift from your dad...





Jinpachiro Hyuga vanishes.



Dad!!
<looks down> ......



And thus Yuri reflects on the parting with his ghost dad for the final time on this 180i blown-up image of a JPEG from Shadow Hearts 1. Such is his lot...





But unlike The Man Festival, which was two and a half hours for a shit upgrade. This twenty-five-minute affair yields the best upgrade in the game for the best character in the game.



Yuri is just now Devilman again. It's canonical this time. He retains the three abilities from the first game as Seraphic Radiance. Which are:

For Everyone... - 72 MP - Increases all status for all allies by 30%.
For Tomorrow... - 88 MP - Dark Seraphim summons a destructive beam from the heavens to draw life from an enemy and heals all allies.
For The Child... Dark Seraphim flies into the heavens to throw spheres of destructive energy at his targets below him. Does sick ass damage.

And at base stats, Dark Seraphim has:




But we've been fucking storing Soul Energy for now and let's get to beast mode with Level 10:

Yep... Yep, that's some pretty good shit right there. Some pretty good shit is on display. Let's go curb stomp a super boss and finally end this game after that, eh?






Video: Episode 139 Highlight Reel (You should watch this!)









Dark Seraphim Concept Art - Look his dick is gone but his abs and ass are amazing!