What’s your favorite in the series so far? LINKS Discord: discord.gg/CrkQ86CVXg Support the channel: ko-fi.com/earlybird twitter.com/earlybird_tv twitch.tv/earlyybird
@@aliasv6964 You gotta accept the From The New World exists. The PS2 era has four infamous 7.5/10 JRPGs with terrible writing that drops them to a 6/10 or lower, and From The New World is probably the least offensive one
@@TheDiscoGenre Of course! It really isn't the worst I did finish it and gameplay is there since it more of the same. It's only crime is similar to Dark souls 2 or sekiro. They are only look bad when you put them next to their more accomplished kin. It just hurt me being so mid as my expectations as a youngster were not yet tempered by reality.
Covenant I think. The writing is bonkers yet solid and the sheer disrespect Yuri and co. Dish out is something to be admired. Its actually the same thing my D&D party does whenever we end up out of our depth. Its one part copium and one part 5D chess with us lol. But Yuri killed a god, why shouldn't he dunk on these fools like Dante? Great presentation btw I'm a big fan of the honesty in your work Early!
Curse of 2+ disc games, you know there is a lot more to come when you are still on the first one. And honestly, impressive that they made such a big rpg and used 2 discs on ps2, cant remember many other game that did something like that besides some double layer dvds like rock band or god of war.
If there was ever a game series that deserves both a high-def uncut/uncensored/un-"optimized for non-existent modern audiences" remastering and a continuance, it's Koudelka/Shadow Hearts.
hilariously I named my MC Izzy Baldur, not realizing what the plot was. For context, it's the name I use for all Megaten MCs, because an apocalypse was usually happening in some form or another. Roll the dice enough and you win, I guess.
Feel free to play as many full length cut scenes as you need. The majority of us will never go back to play these games, we're here for that sick sick recap.
Duuude .... Roger Bacon Is the bestest best!! He decided on the spot to pretend to be Yuri's father when he realised he was no longer his old self.... also, as someone who experienced a kind of loss as well.... this hits incredibly deep at that gaping scar that just won't heal..... It's a dangerous thought train that one needs to stay away from. Some people think that these kinds of feelings/thoughts for a loved one are overly dramatized in media.... but it really can be that strong. You really wish to just be able to say "I love you" to the one you truly love. Even if you can't be together. Thank you so much for this cover
22:57 fun fact about Blanka! This wolf is not only a big fighting game reference, but also a GUNDAM reference, as he shares a voice actor with the infamous Char, and all of his dialog in japanese actually consists of slightly modified Char quotes.
I remember watching through the entirety of 0079 Gundam back when fans could post episodes here without fear, and Blanka's existence in this game became one of my favorite sidequests and characters because of the walking reference the Best Pupper is. To the White Wolf of Domremy! 🫡
watching the scene where alice body somewhat comes back and then starts to decay and yuri being able to speak to alice and both saying they love each other still brings tears to my eyes. I can never not watch the scene and not cry like a baby.
I've never played a single one of these games, but you took me on an emotional roller coaster that is going to sit with me for a LONG TIME. Thank you for making these videos!
I littery subscribed last night after watching your amazing videos on shadow hearts and koudelka. Legit am now going to go hunt these games now they’re amazing can’t believe I’m only just finding out about them now.
If I had a nickel for every time there was an evil scientist named Hojo in an rpg, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.
Oh boy. I've actually watched the other video of the prequal game just an hour ago, checked the channel and was like "man, she lied. no covenant anywhere..." - and now - whoop; "uploaded 21 minutes ago" - i guess you heard my complaint. thanks for uploading it - thats gonna be fun :D
i think people underestimate folks' desire for long videos like this. i adore videos longer than an hour. but obviously like, if you're not happy creating these longer videos then no worries, i like your content regardless c:
I love making longer videos on games I really care about, but they take an unrealistic amount of time to make to put out regularly unfortunately haha. I enjoy watching long videos though as well 😎
Omg you are my people. The second you said "I saw this game reviewed on X-Play" I knew I had to immediately subscribe (I too saw that same episode of X-Play and was like "Omg I NEED this game"). LOL Thank you so much for reviewing not only this game but the Shadow Hearts/Koudelka series thus far. These games helped me go through the grief of losing my own grandmother a couple years prior as a kiddo. I just don't know what was going on in the media landscape in the early to mid-2000s, but there was a lot of "dealing with loss" or "coping with loss" etc type games and media coming out and this just is so important to me. I always found it fun and flirty that the creator of the game said in an interview that both of Shadow Hearts 1's endings are canon, with the implication that the Good Ending of Shadow Hearts: Covenant is how Yuri fought/strived harder for the good ending in Shadow Hearts 1. Ngl, the prevention of Alice not dying in the original game starts so early to get everything down, it's lowkey bonkers but also so rewarding to see her wake up at the end. ; w ;
Yeeees I remember that episode so clearly and I immediately fell in love with the games art style haha 💖 This game is so special glad to see it means a lot to others as well 🥺
Shadow Hearts 1/2 and FF10 had the only endings that made me cry on command. You put alot of effort, heart and soul into this video so really thank you so much for treating one of my favorite rpgs ever with this much love and care.
I loved this game when I played it. While I hadn't played the original, it did a good job of conveying the holdover elements and story beats to keep me in the know. When I tell people about this game, the frozen fish is always one of th things I bring up so the fact it made the video tickled me greatly. Thanks for the good long watch. Very nostalgic.
Shadow Hearts is kind of fascinating I kinda with I'd gotten to play it back then but experiencing it through your videos has been really nice. Your passion for the series certainly adds a lot to the commentary.
Begging for a Shadow Hearts From the New World video! I’ve re-watched Koudelka and Shadow Hearts several times over, and you can see the time and effort put into these videos. Can’t wait to see more from you!
covenant is my favorite JRPG on the ps2, even above ff10 and 12 etc. its one of the few game sequels i know of that conitnues the bad ending of the previous game, and actually explains (spoilers) how the good ending of the first game could still be canon... holy shit the once scene where they fail to revive alice and yuri cries, while karin breaks down over his pain... it made me feel things.
Yeah, the way Covenant recontexualizes both endings of the original game is a really smart and awesome moment. It makes the ending of the first game even stronger, all while being an incredible game in its own right.
It's not just "could", both endings of Shadow Heart 1 are canonical after the ending of Shadow Heart 2. Ending where Alice died led to Shadow Heart 2, which then led to the canonical ending where Yuri redo and changes history so that the ending where Alice is alive becomes the canonical continuance. In a simpler way of saying it, the timeline goes: Koudelka | Shadow Heart 1 (Alice died) I Shadow Heart 2 I Shadow Heart (Alice survived) I Shadow Heart 3
...huh! More seriously, I went ahead and experienced the fullness of your video, and enjoyed every moment of it. The Shadow Hearts series has always been one of my all time favorites, even all these years later. Your coverage of it does the game justice, and I hope it inspires others to find a way to enjoy this saga.
Earlybird: I'm old, someone saying 'perfect balls' shouldn't be funny. Me: Lady, I'm about to stumble ass first into the big four zero, a man of the vatican screaming 'Perfect Balls' with such enthusiasm WILL NEVER NOT BE FUNNY! (Seriously, I had to pause the video to have a nice hysterical breakdown. Trust me it makes life so much easier and fun if you embrace the wierd.)
Something I’ll also bring up in regards to the actual Rasputin is that he was good friend to the Romanov Family. In particular he was noted as a calming presence for Alexei and Alexandra, which seemingly helped the boy’s health. However the Romanov’s couldn’t say why they kept Rasputin around as admitting your heir to throne has hemophilia is… not something that sells people on the whole Monarchy thing. Especially given Tzar Nicholas had been doing a less than stellar job. But Rasputin became the boogeyman for monarchists at the time to deflect blame away from the Royal Family. There was also an active effort to remove him from the Capital throughout his stay by multiple levels of government and church, and a press that was all too happy to fan the flames as it actually got people reading and buying their papers.
I must say I have never heard of this series but I’m so glad this popped in my feed. Thank you for sharing the experience of its existence and I look forward to watching more of your videos.
Discovered your channel just the other day through your Koudelka video, so this was a delight to see! I'd had experience with Koudelka but not the Shadow Hearts games and these videos have convinced me I am missing out *terribly* and I have to get on playing them Immediately. Cried my actual eyes out when Yuri's "happiest time of his life" was the day he met Alice, goddamn. I really enjoyed the longer, full breakdown of this game and I'm looking forward to whatever you cover next!
This game is an absolute masterpiece!! There's little sub stories on the crest boards too, which the art for is phenomenal. Thank you for going through all of this game in exhaustive detail, personally I'll be rewatching this a few times. It captures a playthroughs without waiting for episodes.
Shadow Hearts, one of my favorite jrpg everrrrr!! Like you, I also pretty much 100% the game back then, even went as far as going for the no 1 rank on the stats menu lol. Such a great game, the game have everything I want in a jrpg - dark yet humorous, plenty of character quests, customization, entertaining casts. The only thing lacking is a vast, in depth postgame. The closest somewhat modern games that I could relate to this game in term of content is Tales of Vesperia and Star Ocean 4. So glad you put so much time and effort into this video, showing how much recognition this game deserves.
Dang girl. You went all the way just to make a three hour long video for this long and forgotten RPG game. Gotta respect the determination you went for this one. You caught me off guard with the "One Giant Kitty" line. I replayed it, just to make sure that I didn't imagined this.
Finishing up the video now and oh man. WHAT AN AMAZING GAME. Shout out to the ost too, thst things fire. Thank you so much for making this video and sharing it with us.
I got randomly recommended this video and never expected to sit through all 3 hours, but god dam. You speak well, edit well, and are passionate about the topic, amazing video.
Never thought I'd sit and watch a 3 hr video about an obscure ps2 rpg but here I am! I really loved this game when I played it so many damn years ago, I remember very little about it sadly but this video was a great reminder of some of the charm the game held and probably the reason why I played to begin with!!! This is one game that really deserves a replay. Thank you for reminding me of a special little part of my childhood ❤️
"There she is, waving that knife like she is lead knife in the knife parade" Birdy, your videos sure take their sweet time to come out, but they couldn't be any more delightful and are more than worth the wait. Thank you ^_^ Huh...
Your videos are just positively delightful, and I have giggled all the way through every one of them so far. You clearly put a ton of work into these so I hope you know they're a damn good watch. Thank you for creating~ Can't wait to see many more essays, short or long, on games and shenanigans you want to share.
Thank you for your dedication in creating these Koudelka/Shadow Hearts videos, they're one of my favourites and I have a lot of memories as a student playing them on my ps2! Instant sub for me
I watched your Koudelka, Shadow Hearts, and Shadow Hearts: Covenant videos all just today. They were all so amazing! I love this series. You've got yourself a new subscriber.
This one was my favorite game in my adolescence. I din't played it in like 17 years, but some scenes are on my mind like I just played it yesterday - the first time I cryed watching something was on Alice's ressurrection and the scene was marked on my memory since the firt time I watched It. Your take on the story was amazing, I felt like when I played it, and I remembered why this game was so important to me back them. As an adult who lost his wife, I can relate to Yuri. Such well made character, the best representation of grief I've seen in any media. I'm in love with your channel. Greetings from Brazil.
listening to you talk about this series has made me fall so deeply in love with it that i would give anything to play these games myself. i especially want to play this game, its so goofy but the serious parts are so moving and the music is so good 😭 thank you for helping me learn about these games, i was too young to have been able to play anything from this era, so i don't think i would have known about it if i hadn't seen your video about overblood.
They’re definitely worth a playthrough if you can! There’s so much that can’t be covered in a video. Though I will say Covenant is notoriously difficult to emulate, it gave me a lot of problems. The games are kind of hard to access these days which is why I made such a beefy video… almost feels like preserving it in a sense 🥲
This was delightful. I don't often sit thru 3 hours of anything willingly, but I sat for this without thought. This isy favorite game of all time. Thank you for posting this! I beg you to do it for the third game too. I beg.
It was honestly funny how invested I was in Covenant and its characters by the end despite how silly the game can be. After going through tough moments of loss recently, I really resonated with Yuri meeting Alice again. Your call to important moments really shine for these reviews and I truly enjoyed your breakdown of this series.
Great video for a great game. I also bawled my eyes out over the resurrection scene. Yuri's face is so real with emotion, even with PS2 graphics, that it is gut-wrenching. I am a little surprised that, given how you covered the themes of the good ending, you didn't cover the side quest to get Yuri's ultimate fusion. Yuri has to face Fox Mask from the first game, who is, of course, his father, and before the fight, his father asks him about his life. Yuri talks about the experiences he's had and the love he found, and ends by saying he led a good life. This is fully in theme with the good ending of how Yuri lived the way he wanted and only wants to relive that best time in his life when he met Alice.
This is genuinely one of the games that has held the biggest influence over me after completing; I just felt broken for days, especially after obsessing over the first game a couple years prior 😢💔 This was a wonderful video to draw to today!! I love these long bois so much, you have THE best taste in games 🤩
I have fond memories of this game. At first I was intrigued by the combat system and the goofy dialogue, but I also remember listening to the ED song on my iPod for hours on end. And climbing that tower in Joachim's quest was just too hilarious. It was nice to reminisce about this game, so thank you for that! Three hours went by in no time. You earned my subscription. Huh.
What a great video. You covered very much every important aspect and did the game justice. Thank you so much for covering it! I always thought that the way the humor and tragedy clashes just makes some of the emotional scenes hit so much more. And side note: Not me tearing up hearing the ALICE theme nono 😭
These videos feel like hanging out with your friends back in high school (the mention of X-Play especially brings me back). The sense of humor is even the same.
Man, thank you so much for a deeper dive into this one! I’d only heard surface level critique of this one mostly over the shift in tone and the rough story beats. I think with this video, this is now the top of my list to dive into in this series, which is quite a feat after you educating me on Kodelka! But likewise, do take it easy on the next ones! You’ve more than earned it with this behemoth of a review!
This has long been one of my all time favourite games, and I have so many nostalgic memories of it that came flooding back during this review. I always refused to watch reviews of it, because I didn't think a reviewer would approach it the right way, or do it justice. But after seeing other reviews of yours, I decided to check it out and could not be happier with how you handled this and the previous game. It was an absolute treat to relive this game with a fun, witty but critical reviewer, and to see all those old cutscene again, especially when you gave them the screen time they deserve. I am so glad I found your channel and will be subscribing. This one took me back to my childhood, before I lost my father (and most recently my brother) so this game kind of hit extra hard for me, but your delivery and writing was always perfectly balanced to keep things moving along. Thank you, very very much, for sharing your thoughts on this series
Jesuscrist, i have just finished Covenant today and I freaking loved it. Then your +3 hours video review comes up, and if you think im going to sit here and watch the whole thing again you are absolutely right
Really loved and enjoyed this entire video. Thank you for all your efforts, super appreciated. Yuri’s voice actor did such a great job in the emotional moments. Also loved some of the music in this game, so glad I bought it on a whim back in the day.
I really enjoy your narration style, your content, and that you cover topics I previously had no knowledge of, making your videos a joy to experience, no matter how long they are. Thanks for doing what you do, and I look forward to your next one!
It always warms my heart when people are talking passionately about their favourite games. And as to how I managed to fully watch this video in one go? I often watch VODs twice the length of this video, you cannot fathom the power >:)
Your videos just keep getting better. Gotta admit I can relate extremely hard to Yuri in this game. There can be no bigger loss than the death of those we love, and is one that is ultimately impossible to truly move on from. Never saw the twist at the end coming. Machida played his hand well. The infamous Chaos Wars dub videos were my first glimpse into this bizarre and magnificent series lol
Yaay more Earlybird!! :3 I haven't played many of the games you make videos on, so I really enjoy this double feature of entertaining content and exposing me to games I might want to give a shot afterwards. So, yeah, big thank you for all the work and effort you're putting into these videos 👍
Thanks so much for this. I grew up playing shadowshearts from the new world and I always thought it was a great game. I learnt alot of major American cities thanks to that game lol. But sadly I never got to experience the previous games which are by far more superior to from the new world. Sadly, South Africa wasn't big into games back then so I never got to experience it. But thanks to people like you, I get to enjoy the love that people have for these games. I regularly put these game movies on to watch or sleep to in the background. People like you are a Godsend, I really hope you get all the support and appreciate you deserve.
From the New World is still an incredible game! I actually think it has the best battle system of them all. The humor is hit and miss but there actually is a decent and surprisingly emotional story
Crazy I'm from SA and shadow hearts from the new world was my first game as well in this series, it's one of my favorite ps2 games ever, so much so I replayed on an emulator... Definitely going to play covenant on an emulator as well
@chris_of_earth1750 dude that's awesome what are the odds that we both have the same experience and in the same country where jrpgs were not a thing at all back then hey? that's awesome. I honestly want to get a pc that can run it soon. I'm heading overseas for work do hopefully I will be able to afford one once I'm sorted
"We're three hours in to a JRPG video, we've been in that boat before" Oof tell it like it is why don't you. Thanks for covering this game and all before it in such detail for us. You're beautiful too 🐧
Another amazing video on the shadow heart series. I never expected all the emotions that would be had clicking on the Koudelka video, and now here I am running through all these videogame recaps. Honestly I don't mind the long format of videos because having a full and comprehensible context of a jrpg is pretty important especially for major story beats. Keep up the good work, and I'm looking forward to the next entry. Maybe we could see one on Chaos Wars as well?
Shadow Hearts is my favorite RPG. So much so my now-ex bought me an unopened copy a few years back for $100. I appreciate that you cared enough to bring it to light with such in depth effort. Seriously. It was nice to revisit both games. I still have the first game. This game still continues to influence me. So, thank you for putting in the effort to go through all this.
Damn, I just wanted to listen to something while working but the amount of times I needed to stop working because I would just get so in to the story.... even cry at some point.... it's amazing, I LOVED EVERYTHING about it, from star to finish, it's a shame I didn't experienced this game before but oh well, you did an amazing job displaying the full beauty of the game, thank you so much for all the work you put in the video!!!!!!!! Lots of love from Costa Rica
(Writing this before I start the video) Really enjoyed your last two videos on Kodelka and Shadowhearts and its how I found your channel about 2-3 weeks ago, can't wait to watch this 3 hours madness! And btw I really love your bird “avatar” (?) :D
Shadow Hearts (I cound 1&2 as a 2 part game) is one of my all time favorite games. Very few games have ever lived up to the array of emotions this game made me feel. From the artistic style, to the sound track, to story, everything was top notch.
I rather enjoy you letting the best cut scenes speak for themselves-you often cover games I'm not likely to play, so it's a great way for me to see how the game really is without picking it up. Great video, keep it up!
An Andrew Jackson Jihad reference in a 3 hour Shadow Hearts summary and review?… I need more of this in my life. Thank you so much for all your hard work and time. Love the channel and immensely look forward to what’s next 🙌🏻 Much love from Arizona.
Just found and binged all three videos today, man I forgot all about shadow hearts and never knew about Koudelka, just remembered some of the monster designs and blanca so this just hit me with nostalgia, I would watch my uncle play these as a kid so its great seeing the full story. Awesome video I don't know how but you kept me listening the time please keep up the great work
Wow this video is amazing! I never got to play these games as a kid but i enjoy watching folks who love them and share their experience / recaps about them!! Really enjoyed it, thank you for making an amazing video !!
I found ur channel not long ago with ur Kouldelka video then immediately watched the Shadow Hearts vid. Super excited to see you made a vid for this and that it’s over 3 hrs long…hell yeah!! Love ur channel!
What’s your favorite in the series so far?
LINKS
Discord: discord.gg/CrkQ86CVXg
Support the channel: ko-fi.com/earlybird
twitter.com/earlybird_tv
twitch.tv/earlyybird
Probably EarlyBird's shadowheart review series! :P Which there is only 2. Yes... just two. three with Koudelka. No more.
@@aliasv6964 You gotta accept the From The New World exists. The PS2 era has four infamous 7.5/10 JRPGs with terrible writing that drops them to a 6/10 or lower, and From The New World is probably the least offensive one
@@TheDiscoGenre Of course! It really isn't the worst I did finish it and gameplay is there since it more of the same. It's only crime is similar to Dark souls 2 or sekiro. They are only look bad when you put them next to their more accomplished kin. It just hurt me being so mid as my expectations as a youngster were not yet tempered by reality.
I sadly never played 2 but I've played 1 and 3
Covenant I think. The writing is bonkers yet solid and the sheer disrespect Yuri and co. Dish out is something to be admired. Its actually the same thing my D&D party does whenever we end up out of our depth. Its one part copium and one part 5D chess with us lol.
But Yuri killed a god, why shouldn't he dunk on these fools like Dante?
Great presentation btw I'm a big fan of the honesty in your work Early!
>the party kills rasputin with the power of the previous game’s big bad
>the video is only HALFWAY
Holy hell
Curse of 2+ disc games, you know there is a lot more to come when you are still on the first one.
And honestly, impressive that they made such a big rpg and used 2 discs on ps2, cant remember many other game that did something like that besides some double layer dvds like rock band or god of war.
"Its not safe out there"
"Why? I only heard 50 gunshots"
Sounds like she grew up in my neighborhood.
If there was ever a game series that deserves both a high-def uncut/uncensored/un-"optimized for non-existent modern audiences" remastering and a continuance, it's Koudelka/Shadow Hearts.
WELL SAID BROTHER
For real wish we could get it but sadly with the IP being owned by a stupid casino panchincko machine company sadly it wont be happeneing :/
The critical Drinkers voice popped into my mind halfway through this comment
GIVE IT TO ME PLEASE
HELL YES!
"I know what I like about Earlybird's videos!"
"What?"
"I'm not sure."
“I’ve never seen mistletoe used for violence before!”
Somewhere out there:
Loki: “Look up what I did to Baldr.”
Yeah, its obviously a reference to that. A weapon to kill the otherwise immortal.
SMT Devil Survivor makes use of that myth and its cool cause you get to punch Baldr yourself with it
Baldr: "Do people not know how I died!?!?"
Yeah that is the *exact* same mistake Frigg made.
hilariously I named my MC Izzy Baldur, not realizing what the plot was. For context, it's the name I use for all Megaten MCs, because an apocalypse was usually happening in some form or another. Roll the dice enough and you win, I guess.
Feel free to play as many full length cut scenes as you need. The majority of us will never go back to play these games, we're here for that sick sick recap.
for real since its just difficult to play the game unless you own it and have a working ps2 or a have it on an emulator
@@nightwolf235plus they're expensive like couple hundred bucks without the case
@@nightwolf235I'm quite lucky and still own my copies from childhood, as well as my ps2. I just need koudelka to finish the collection
This is gonna be remade for a modern audience
@@dream6562 i wish but doubt it honestly.
Where has that bird been this whole-
Oh. That makes sense.
This was the most wonderful 3 hours of a game I've never seen in my life. You're such a wonderful narrator and you tackle these games masterfully.
Very kind of you to say, thank you!
Duuude .... Roger Bacon Is the bestest best!! He decided on the spot to pretend to be Yuri's father when he realised he was no longer his old self....
also, as someone who experienced a kind of loss as well.... this hits incredibly deep at that gaping scar that just won't heal..... It's a dangerous thought train that one needs to stay away from. Some people think that these kinds of feelings/thoughts for a loved one are overly dramatized in media.... but it really can be that strong. You really wish to just be able to say "I love you" to the one you truly love. Even if you can't be together.
Thank you so much for this cover
"What's the danger? I only count 50 gun shots."
In the span of you grinding this video out I have done many things, none of them useful to humanity, but im glad to see this up
That was a RIDE. I laughed, I cried, I made several meals.
22:57 fun fact about Blanka!
This wolf is not only a big fighting game reference, but also a GUNDAM reference, as he shares a voice actor with the infamous Char, and all of his dialog in japanese actually consists of slightly modified Char quotes.
I remember watching through the entirety of 0079 Gundam back when fans could post episodes here without fear, and Blanka's existence in this game became one of my favorite sidequests and characters because of the walking reference the Best Pupper is.
To the White Wolf of Domremy! 🫡
Blanca was not a fighting game reference. Blanca is based on a wolf irl, along with Lobo: one of the wolves you fight.
@@FireFire-b4l if I recall correctly there is a terry bogard style wolf too; There is no reason why it cant be a double reference.
maybe the real Shadow Hearts: Covenant was the friends we made along the way
3 hours later and I'm sad it's over. I'd never heard of this series before you covered it and I'm thrilled to know about it now.
I’ll be doing the next game in the near future!
@@early-tv Ooooh I'll be looking forward to it then!
watching the scene where alice body somewhat comes back and then starts to decay and yuri being able to speak to alice and both saying they love each other still brings tears to my eyes. I can never not watch the scene and not cry like a baby.
idk why youtube has decided to recommend me very niche small channels but it better keep coming. This is my new crack.
I keep forgetting this game about a caked up demon and magical people is set in WWI
Historically accurate demon booty
I've never played a single one of these games, but you took me on an emotional roller coaster that is going to sit with me for a LONG TIME. Thank you for making these videos!
Early: "ive never seen mistletoe used for violence before"
Balder: "am I a joke to you?"
Loki: 👀
I littery subscribed last night after watching your amazing videos on shadow hearts and koudelka.
Legit am now going to go hunt these games now they’re amazing can’t believe I’m only just finding out about them now.
Me watching this video, thinking the game's getting close to the end, but then noticing there's still an hour and a half of this video left 0.0
Haha yeah this one got a little long! The game itself is pretty long in comparison to the other games in the series as well.
3+ hours of content means you spent significantly longer recording and editing it. Respect.
If I had a nickel for every time there was an evil scientist named Hojo in an rpg, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.
The Tidus laugh jump scare got me.
Oh boy.
I've actually watched the other video of the prequal game just an hour ago, checked the channel and was like "man, she lied. no covenant anywhere..." - and now - whoop; "uploaded 21 minutes ago" - i guess you heard my complaint. thanks for uploading it - thats gonna be fun :D
i think people underestimate folks' desire for long videos like this. i adore videos longer than an hour. but obviously like, if you're not happy creating these longer videos then no worries, i like your content regardless c:
I love making longer videos on games I really care about, but they take an unrealistic amount of time to make to put out regularly unfortunately haha.
I enjoy watching long videos though as well 😎
this was possibly the most insane rollercoaster of a review i've ever seen for a game i've never played but now feel like i need
Omg you are my people. The second you said "I saw this game reviewed on X-Play" I knew I had to immediately subscribe (I too saw that same episode of X-Play and was like "Omg I NEED this game"). LOL Thank you so much for reviewing not only this game but the Shadow Hearts/Koudelka series thus far. These games helped me go through the grief of losing my own grandmother a couple years prior as a kiddo. I just don't know what was going on in the media landscape in the early to mid-2000s, but there was a lot of "dealing with loss" or "coping with loss" etc type games and media coming out and this just is so important to me. I always found it fun and flirty that the creator of the game said in an interview that both of Shadow Hearts 1's endings are canon, with the implication that the Good Ending of Shadow Hearts: Covenant is how Yuri fought/strived harder for the good ending in Shadow Hearts 1. Ngl, the prevention of Alice not dying in the original game starts so early to get everything down, it's lowkey bonkers but also so rewarding to see her wake up at the end. ; w ;
Yeeees I remember that episode so clearly and I immediately fell in love with the games art style haha 💖
This game is so special glad to see it means a lot to others as well 🥺
Shadow Hearts 1/2 and FF10 had the only endings that made me cry on command.
You put alot of effort, heart and soul into this video so really thank you so much for treating one of my favorite rpgs ever with this much love and care.
Thank you, I appreciate it!! 💖
I loved this game when I played it. While I hadn't played the original, it did a good job of conveying the holdover elements and story beats to keep me in the know. When I tell people about this game, the frozen fish is always one of th things I bring up so the fact it made the video tickled me greatly. Thanks for the good long watch. Very nostalgic.
Shadow Hearts is kind of fascinating I kinda with I'd gotten to play it back then but experiencing it through your videos has been really nice. Your passion for the series certainly adds a lot to the commentary.
Begging for a Shadow Hearts From the New World video! I’ve re-watched Koudelka and Shadow Hearts several times over, and you can see the time and effort put into these videos. Can’t wait to see more from you!
I will definitely be doing From the New World in the future!
covenant is my favorite JRPG on the ps2, even above ff10 and 12 etc. its one of the few game sequels i know of that conitnues the bad ending of the previous game, and actually explains (spoilers) how the good ending of the first game could still be canon... holy shit the once scene where they fail to revive alice and yuri cries, while karin breaks down over his pain... it made me feel things.
Yeah, the way Covenant recontexualizes both endings of the original game is a really smart and awesome moment. It makes the ending of the first game even stronger, all while being an incredible game in its own right.
It's not just "could", both endings of Shadow Heart 1 are canonical after the ending of Shadow Heart 2. Ending where Alice died led to Shadow Heart 2, which then led to the canonical ending where Yuri redo and changes history so that the ending where Alice is alive becomes the canonical continuance.
In a simpler way of saying it, the timeline goes:
Koudelka
|
Shadow Heart 1 (Alice died)
I
Shadow Heart 2
I
Shadow Heart (Alice survived)
I
Shadow Heart 3
Certainly, you're settling into your style. I love it. It's the perfect sustenance.
...huh! More seriously, I went ahead and experienced the fullness of your video, and enjoyed every moment of it. The Shadow Hearts series has always been one of my all time favorites, even all these years later. Your coverage of it does the game justice, and I hope it inspires others to find a way to enjoy this saga.
Earlybird: I'm old, someone saying 'perfect balls' shouldn't be funny.
Me: Lady, I'm about to stumble ass first into the big four zero, a man of the vatican screaming 'Perfect Balls' with such enthusiasm WILL NEVER NOT BE FUNNY!
(Seriously, I had to pause the video to have a nice hysterical breakdown. Trust me it makes life so much easier and fun if you embrace the wierd.)
Something I’ll also bring up in regards to the actual Rasputin is that he was good friend to the Romanov Family. In particular he was noted as a calming presence for Alexei and Alexandra, which seemingly helped the boy’s health.
However the Romanov’s couldn’t say why they kept Rasputin around as admitting your heir to throne has hemophilia is… not something that sells people on the whole Monarchy thing.
Especially given Tzar Nicholas had been doing a less than stellar job.
But Rasputin became the boogeyman for monarchists at the time to deflect blame away from the Royal Family.
There was also an active effort to remove him from the Capital throughout his stay by multiple levels of government and church, and a press that was all too happy to fan the flames as it actually got people reading and buying their papers.
I must say I have never heard of this series but I’m so glad this popped in my feed. Thank you for sharing the experience of its existence and I look forward to watching more of your videos.
Discovered your channel just the other day through your Koudelka video, so this was a delight to see! I'd had experience with Koudelka but not the Shadow Hearts games and these videos have convinced me I am missing out *terribly* and I have to get on playing them Immediately. Cried my actual eyes out when Yuri's "happiest time of his life" was the day he met Alice, goddamn. I really enjoyed the longer, full breakdown of this game and I'm looking forward to whatever you cover next!
The Shadow Hearts games are definitely worth a playthrough!! I mean I’m kinda biased there haha but they definitely are!!
This game is an absolute masterpiece!! There's little sub stories on the crest boards too, which the art for is phenomenal.
Thank you for going through all of this game in exhaustive detail, personally I'll be rewatching this a few times. It captures a playthroughs without waiting for episodes.
Shadow Hearts, one of my favorite jrpg everrrrr!! Like you, I also pretty much 100% the game back then, even went as far as going for the no 1 rank on the stats menu lol. Such a great game, the game have everything I want in a jrpg - dark yet humorous, plenty of character quests, customization, entertaining casts. The only thing lacking is a vast, in depth postgame. The closest somewhat modern games that I could relate to this game in term of content is Tales of Vesperia and Star Ocean 4.
So glad you put so much time and effort into this video, showing how much recognition this game deserves.
Seeing that this video was posted saved my day. Chores seem so much more manageable with a good deep dive video to watch.
I appreciate the work you put into this video.
Thanks a ton, I appreciate it!! 💖
Dang girl. You went all the way just to make a three hour long video for this long and forgotten RPG game. Gotta respect the determination you went for this one.
You caught me off guard with the "One Giant Kitty" line. I replayed it, just to make sure that I didn't imagined this.
This has been an amazing trip down memory lane for me. Thank you for the wonderful video!!
Damn, can we take a moment to appreciate how hood a job Yuris eng VA does on the touching scenes? That scene with Alice still destroys me 😅😅
Finishing up the video now and oh man. WHAT AN AMAZING GAME. Shout out to the ost too, thst things fire. Thank you so much for making this video and sharing it with us.
I was waiting so long for this one! This entire series is truly a lost treasure.
I got randomly recommended this video and never expected to sit through all 3 hours, but god dam. You speak well, edit well, and are passionate about the topic, amazing video.
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words 🙏
Never thought I'd sit and watch a 3 hr video about an obscure ps2 rpg but here I am! I really loved this game when I played it so many damn years ago, I remember very little about it sadly but this video was a great reminder of some of the charm the game held and probably the reason why I played to begin with!!! This is one game that really deserves a replay. Thank you for reminding me of a special little part of my childhood ❤️
"There she is, waving that knife like she is lead knife in the knife parade"
Birdy, your videos sure take their sweet time to come out, but they couldn't be any more delightful and are more than worth the wait.
Thank you ^_^
Huh...
I enjoyed every minute of this video, and retrospective as a whole. Really thank you for all the hard work you put into it.
Litterally, yesterday I was like "hmmm, Earlybird hasn't uploaded in a while, her next video is probably gonna be a big one"
Oooooh boy!
Your videos are just positively delightful, and I have giggled all the way through every one of them so far. You clearly put a ton of work into these so I hope you know they're a damn good watch. Thank you for creating~ Can't wait to see many more essays, short or long, on games and shenanigans you want to share.
Thank you for your dedication in creating these Koudelka/Shadow Hearts videos, they're one of my favourites and I have a lot of memories as a student playing them on my ps2! Instant sub for me
Thanks for all the work you put in to educate us about the game and entertain us for over 3 hours. You're really good at it! 👍
Thank you I appreciate it!!
I watched your Koudelka, Shadow Hearts, and Shadow Hearts: Covenant videos all just today. They were all so amazing! I love this series.
You've got yourself a new subscriber.
Thanks, I appreciate ya!! 💖
This one was my favorite game in my adolescence. I din't played it in like 17 years, but some scenes are on my mind like I just played it yesterday - the first time I cryed watching something was on Alice's ressurrection and the scene was marked on my memory since the firt time I watched It. Your take on the story was amazing, I felt like when I played it, and I remembered why this game was so important to me back them. As an adult who lost his wife, I can relate to Yuri. Such well made character, the best representation of grief I've seen in any media. I'm in love with your channel. Greetings from Brazil.
listening to you talk about this series has made me fall so deeply in love with it that i would give anything to play these games myself. i especially want to play this game, its so goofy but the serious parts are so moving and the music is so good 😭 thank you for helping me learn about these games, i was too young to have been able to play anything from this era, so i don't think i would have known about it if i hadn't seen your video about overblood.
They’re definitely worth a playthrough if you can! There’s so much that can’t be covered in a video.
Though I will say Covenant is notoriously difficult to emulate, it gave me a lot of problems. The games are kind of hard to access these days which is why I made such a beefy video… almost feels like preserving it in a sense 🥲
This was delightful. I don't often sit thru 3 hours of anything willingly, but I sat for this without thought. This isy favorite game of all time. Thank you for posting this!
I beg you to do it for the third game too. I beg.
I’ll definitely be doing the third game and plan on Covering Penny Blood soon as well 😄
It was honestly funny how invested I was in Covenant and its characters by the end despite how silly the game can be. After going through tough moments of loss recently, I really resonated with Yuri meeting Alice again. Your call to important moments really shine for these reviews and I truly enjoyed your breakdown of this series.
Great video for a great game. I also bawled my eyes out over the resurrection scene. Yuri's face is so real with emotion, even with PS2 graphics, that it is gut-wrenching.
I am a little surprised that, given how you covered the themes of the good ending, you didn't cover the side quest to get Yuri's ultimate fusion. Yuri has to face Fox Mask from the first game, who is, of course, his father, and before the fight, his father asks him about his life. Yuri talks about the experiences he's had and the love he found, and ends by saying he led a good life. This is fully in theme with the good ending of how Yuri lived the way he wanted and only wants to relive that best time in his life when he met Alice.
This is genuinely one of the games that has held the biggest influence over me after completing; I just felt broken for days, especially after obsessing over the first game a couple years prior 😢💔
This was a wonderful video to draw to today!! I love these long bois so much, you have THE best taste in games 🤩
That feeling of finding an excellent gaming YTer before they got big!
Love your style. Subbed.
This was amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed your other Koudelka/Shadow Hearts videos and this is another level. Please keep making these videos!
I have fond memories of this game. At first I was intrigued by the combat system and the goofy dialogue, but I also remember listening to the ED song on my iPod for hours on end. And climbing that tower in Joachim's quest was just too hilarious. It was nice to reminisce about this game, so thank you for that! Three hours went by in no time. You earned my subscription.
Huh.
What a great video. You covered very much every important aspect and did the game justice. Thank you so much for covering it!
I always thought that the way the humor and tragedy clashes just makes some of the emotional scenes hit so much more.
And side note: Not me tearing up hearing the ALICE theme nono 😭
Holy moly three hours long?!?! You been cooking Earlybird! Looks like I'm in for a treat!
These videos feel like hanging out with your friends back in high school (the mention of X-Play especially brings me back). The sense of humor is even the same.
Man, thank you so much for a deeper dive into this one! I’d only heard surface level critique of this one mostly over the shift in tone and the rough story beats. I think with this video, this is now the top of my list to dive into in this series, which is quite a feat after you educating me on Kodelka! But likewise, do take it easy on the next ones! You’ve more than earned it with this behemoth of a review!
There are few channels that I can listen to talk about a game for hours on end, but here we are. What a wild ride that was.
This has long been one of my all time favourite games, and I have so many nostalgic memories of it that came flooding back during this review. I always refused to watch reviews of it, because I didn't think a reviewer would approach it the right way, or do it justice. But after seeing other reviews of yours, I decided to check it out and could not be happier with how you handled this and the previous game. It was an absolute treat to relive this game with a fun, witty but critical reviewer, and to see all those old cutscene again, especially when you gave them the screen time they deserve. I am so glad I found your channel and will be subscribing. This one took me back to my childhood, before I lost my father (and most recently my brother) so this game kind of hit extra hard for me, but your delivery and writing was always perfectly balanced to keep things moving along. Thank you, very very much, for sharing your thoughts on this series
Jesuscrist, i have just finished Covenant today and I freaking loved it. Then your +3 hours video review comes up, and if you think im going to sit here and watch the whole thing again you are absolutely right
It's so good I gotta go put in the disc
Really loved and enjoyed this entire video. Thank you for all your efforts, super appreciated.
Yuri’s voice actor did such a great job in the emotional moments. Also loved some of the music in this game, so glad I bought it on a whim back in the day.
He really did! Some of his lines in the sadder scenes were too good lol 😭
I really enjoy your narration style, your content, and that you cover topics I previously had no knowledge of, making your videos a joy to experience, no matter how long they are. Thanks for doing what you do, and I look forward to your next one!
Thank you I appreciate it!!
It always warms my heart when people are talking passionately about their favourite games. And as to how I managed to fully watch this video in one go? I often watch VODs twice the length of this video, you cannot fathom the power >:)
Your videos just keep getting better. Gotta admit I can relate extremely hard to Yuri in this game. There can be no bigger loss than the death of those we love, and is one that is ultimately impossible to truly move on from. Never saw the twist at the end coming. Machida played his hand well.
The infamous Chaos Wars dub videos were my first glimpse into this bizarre and magnificent series lol
Yaay more Earlybird!! :3 I haven't played many of the games you make videos on, so I really enjoy this double feature of entertaining content and exposing me to games I might want to give a shot afterwards. So, yeah, big thank you for all the work and effort you're putting into these videos 👍
Yesterday I found your channel and binged every single video. What to my surprise I get a 3hour video! I'm so happy. Love your content.
Thank you so much I appreciate it!!
You have earned a subscription and my applause for this video, for all the shadow heart videos, truely wonderful.
Thanks so much for this. I grew up playing shadowshearts from the new world and I always thought it was a great game. I learnt alot of major American cities thanks to that game lol. But sadly I never got to experience the previous games which are by far more superior to from the new world. Sadly, South Africa wasn't big into games back then so I never got to experience it. But thanks to people like you, I get to enjoy the love that people have for these games. I regularly put these game movies on to watch or sleep to in the background. People like you are a Godsend, I really hope you get all the support and appreciate you deserve.
From the New World is still an incredible game! I actually think it has the best battle system of them all. The humor is hit and miss but there actually is a decent and surprisingly emotional story
@@looney1023 very true bud. Honestly wish this series was ported to ps5
Crazy I'm from SA and shadow hearts from the new world was my first game as well in this series, it's one of my favorite ps2 games ever, so much so I replayed on an emulator... Definitely going to play covenant on an emulator as well
@chris_of_earth1750 dude that's awesome what are the odds that we both have the same experience and in the same country where jrpgs were not a thing at all back then hey? that's awesome. I honestly want to get a pc that can run it soon. I'm heading overseas for work do hopefully I will be able to afford one once I'm sorted
@@suchwow.2786that's great man, recently got a job and I'm saving up for a good high end PC myself😂... Hope you get that PC, stay gaming🙏💪
"We're three hours in to a JRPG video, we've been in that boat before"
Oof tell it like it is why don't you. Thanks for covering this game and all before it in such detail for us. You're beautiful too 🐧
Another amazing video on the shadow heart series. I never expected all the emotions that would be had clicking on the Koudelka video, and now here I am running through all these videogame recaps.
Honestly I don't mind the long format of videos because having a full and comprehensible context of a jrpg is pretty important especially for major story beats. Keep up the good work, and I'm looking forward to the next entry. Maybe we could see one on Chaos Wars as well?
I still have the vocal theme song in my playlist.
Been listening to that beautiful piece since the release of this game.
Thanks for 3hrs of nostalgia
Shadow Hearts is my favorite RPG. So much so my now-ex bought me an unopened copy a few years back for $100.
I appreciate that you cared enough to bring it to light with such in depth effort. Seriously. It was nice to revisit both games.
I still have the first game. This game still continues to influence me. So, thank you for putting in the effort to go through all this.
Damn, I just wanted to listen to something while working but the amount of times I needed to stop working because I would just get so in to the story.... even cry at some point.... it's amazing, I LOVED EVERYTHING about it, from star to finish, it's a shame I didn't experienced this game before but oh well, you did an amazing job displaying the full beauty of the game, thank you so much for all the work you put in the video!!!!!!!! Lots of love from Costa Rica
(Writing this before I start the video)
Really enjoyed your last two videos on Kodelka and Shadowhearts and its how I found your channel about 2-3 weeks ago, can't wait to watch this 3 hours madness!
And btw I really love your bird “avatar” (?) :D
Shadow Hearts (I cound 1&2 as a 2 part game) is one of my all time favorite games. Very few games have ever lived up to the array of emotions this game made me feel. From the artistic style, to the sound track, to story, everything was top notch.
I rather enjoy you letting the best cut scenes speak for themselves-you often cover games I'm not likely to play, so it's a great way for me to see how the game really is without picking it up.
Great video, keep it up!
An Andrew Jackson Jihad reference in a 3 hour Shadow Hearts summary and review?… I need more of this in my life. Thank you so much for all your hard work and time. Love the channel and immensely look forward to what’s next 🙌🏻 Much love from Arizona.
Never thought I'd be tearing up for a three hour video essay of a video game series I've never played before. But here we are.
Just found and binged all three videos today, man I forgot all about shadow hearts and never knew about Koudelka, just remembered some of the monster designs and blanca so this just hit me with nostalgia, I would watch my uncle play these as a kid so its great seeing the full story. Awesome video I don't know how but you kept me listening the time please keep up the great work
Wow this video is amazing! I never got to play these games as a kid but i enjoy watching folks who love them and share their experience / recaps about them!!
Really enjoyed it, thank you for making an amazing video !!
Love the video. Love the discord. Love the community on the discord. Love everything about this channel. Good job
I found this channel today and spent the whole day watching Koudelka/Shadowhearts recaps and Harvester. You are amazing thank you for these!
Good stuff, enjoyed starting the watch with dinner and finishing at work. Can't wait for the next vid
You're DAMN good! Love your videos! I can't believe you don't have more subscribers! Please keep going, it can't take that much longer to blow up!
I found ur channel not long ago with ur Kouldelka video then immediately watched the Shadow Hearts vid. Super excited to see you made a vid for this and that it’s over 3 hrs long…hell yeah!! Love ur channel!
Thank you!! I appreciate ya!