Here is a character guide to the main cast of Aruze/Nautilus' dark fantasy RPG series, Shadow Hearts. This is a work in progress, so any contributions are appreciated.
open/close all folders
Koudelka
Koudelka
Koudelka Iasant
A gypsy girl who possesses mysterious healing powers, which causes people to fear her as a witch. She grew up alone, developing her abilities, until one day she was beckoned to Nemeton Monastery by the gathered souls of the dead there.
Chekhov's Gun: The pendant she drops early on can be found and used against the Elaine monster.
In one early and memorable scene, she calmly tells Edward that she would have partaken of the food they both were offered earlier if it hadn't been poisoned. Note that she did absolutely nothing to stop Edward from eating it.
An American traveller who visited the monastery for... less than honorable reasons. He is found early on by Koudelka, being attacked by a demon. After she heals him, he accompanies her on her mission.
Abusive Parents: When he explains his backstory we find out his father was a "very strict man"
An Irish vicar who was sent by the Vatican to track down three documents which were stolen from their vaults. He managed to follow the trail of one, the Emigre Manuscript, to Nemeton Monastery. He openly distrusts both Koudelka (for her powers) and Edward (for his atheism), but he strikes a truce with them for the greater good.
A half-Japanese half-Russian (or rather, half-German) young man, he works as a demon-slayer for hire. Yuri is a Harmonixer, with the power to take on the form of demons he has slain and use their powers in battle. Driven by a voice in his head, he boards a train and ends up saving a girl named Alice from a Wicked Cultured British man. Under the voice's orders, he decides to protect Alice, and the plot kicks off...
But Not Too Foreign: In the first game, his heritage is name-dropped purely for Rule Of Cool purposes. It is actually worked into the plot of Covenant.
Heartbroken Badass: In Covenant, due to Alice sacrificing her life to save his.
Brainwashed and Crazy: In the first game at a certain point it is revealed that Yuri has absorbed too much Malice and it consequently consumes him. The rest of the team have to fight him to snap him out of it.
Break the Cutie: Yuri's back story. He was a nice & innocent kid then Dehuai sent minions to kill them, Yuri's mother died protecting Yuri, and Yuri snapped in rage from seeing her die in front of him, causing his first transformation and kills those responsible.
Voluntary Shapeshifting - His demon fusion is the only individual skill he gets, but the number of them is what gives him variety.
Morphic Resonance - In Covenant, his level one fusions all retain his basic shape, build, and even fighting style.
BFS - His higher level fire fusions in Covenant get a pretty big sword to work with. His max-level Fire fusion, when using the Inferno attack, throws his sword away and conjures up an even bigger sword from a ring of flames.
Alice is a practitioner of White Magic. She worked with her father as an exorcist, traveling throughout Europe banishing demons. She was actually born with a rare and hidden power, something highly desirable to the villains. Her father dies protecting her from Bacon during an incident in Rouen. She is saved by Yuri when she is nearly abducted by Bacon a second time at the very beginning of the game, and from there Yuri promises (because of the voice in Yuri's head) to protect her in their travels. When the Four Masks come to claim Yuri's soul, Alice offers her own to them in order to spare him, essentially transferring Yuri's Curse to herself. She succumbs to the Curse during a train ride with Yuri, dying in his arms. In Covenant the last remnants of her spiritual essence took up residence in Yuri's Graveyard, watching over him from afar. The Curse of the Holy Mistletoe is no match for her love for Yuri. It is implied that the Timey Wimey Ball at the end of Covenant makes it possible for Yuri to save her.
Eye Beams: "Advent", one of the two attack spells she learns does this.
Panty Shot: Again, the Advent spell. She's wearing pink panties...and they change if you equip her with the Underpants accessories (black or white, respectively).
A Taoist sage, initially met while investigating a town of monsters that Yuri and Alice have stumbled into. He rejoins them when Alice is attacked by Li Li, and on hearing about their encounters with "Roger Bacon" and Dehuai, attaches himself to the group.Ten years before the game, Zhuzhen assisted Ben Hyuga, Yuri's father, in battling Dehuai. Ben attempted to absorb the demon Dehuai had summoned, and when he failed to properly control it, Zhuzhen had no choice but to kill him.Following the post-Shanghai Time Skip, Zhuzhen and Alice work as exorcists, and are called to the small town of Bistritz...
Bi the Way: Swooned for Ben Hyuga when he was rescued by him.
Cool Old Guy: No arguing with it when he's a Taoist master sage.
Vitrolic Best Buds: With Yuri. Alice and Keith even discuss it near the beginning of Act 2.
Margarete Gertrude Zelle
Yep, it's Mata Hari. First encountered bombing a train station under the code name "Agent Malkovich" (it never becomes clear who she's working for), Margarete tags along with Yuri and company as an apology for getting them caught in the blast radius.While she's never really integral to the plot in either game, she does make a cameo in Covenant if you make the right choices in the Chain of Deals sidequest.
Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: We meet Margarete's father, who is a Lottery member. He wears a fake nose and embarrasses Margarete, but not before wishing her luck and giving her her ultimate weapon.
Anachronism Stew: She has a cell phone and what appears to be a microcomputer pre-WWI.
Badass Normal: The only character to NOT have some supernatural power or ability backing her up. Instead she uses a variety of guns and gadgets.
Becoming the Mask: States in a confession scene that she was actually sent by the "Powers" (presumably, the Triple Entente pre-WWI) to keep an eye on the situation in Asia, and fully intended to use Yuri for her nation's betterment. But as she traveled with him, she became attracted to his way of life and abandoned that goal.
Panty Shot: You can see them whenever she gets all three attacks in her Judgment Ring. They're purple.
Keith Valentine
A vampire, one of the Valentine vampire clan (a running gag in the series). He lives in a castle near the small town of Bistritz, Germany. Despite being a vampire, he's a very cultured man, and has befriended a fatherless girl who lives in the village.Alice and Zhuzhen are called to Bistritz to investigate rumors of supernatural activity, and are directed to the castle, where Keith meets them. As it turns out, the real source of the activity is the vicious occulist mayor of Bistritz, but once it's settled, Keith asks them to investigate a monster in his castle's tower... which turns out to be Yuri, his powers out of control due to the Seraphic Radiance attacking his soul. Once the matter's settled, Keith opts to join the party, concerned for the people of "his" town.With the defeat of Albert Simon and Meta-God, Keith goes back to sleep in his coffin. He's awake in Covenant, and not entirely pleased about Joachim's new choice of business...
A Father to His Subjects: While he may only be an antiquated lord, he will react violently if his subjects are in danger.
Our Vampires Are Different: The most normal of the Valentine family. Relatively speaking of course. The vampires themselves are rather different, he's not bothered by daylight, garlic, or crosses.
Halley Brancket
An adolescent boy running around the streets of London, protector of a group of orphans. When some of them are abducted by Jack, a psychopath running an Orphanage of Fear, he turns to Yuri (who came to him to get his wallet back after one of the orphans swiped it) to assist him in saving them. After Jack's defeat, he discovers where his kidnapped mother was taken and, as that's where Yuri's party is going, joins up.As it happens, his mother and the voice in Yuri's head are the same woman - Koudelka. (His father is never named, but probably Edward.) After taking out Albert Simon and Meta-God, Halley and his mother travel to America to meet up with his father.
"Blind Idiot" Translation: Didn't it occur to anyone on the localization team that his name might be Harry?
The once renowned alchemist during the Middle Ages, Roger Bacon was tasked by the Vatican to translate the Emigre Manuscript, a tome with the power to bring back the dead. After he did what he was told, the Vatican attempted to kill him in order to keep the secrets of the Manuscript safe. Bacon escaped, but not before using the manuscript to grant him immortality. For centuries he has lived near the Nemeton Monastery in Wales, there he has helped those who seek to combat the dark and otherworldly powers that thrive in the world. Roger is the only character to appear in every game in the series, including Koudelka.
Really 700 Years Old: Subverted, he's over 500 years old, but he sure looks like it.
Schizo Tech: One of the main sources of it in the series.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Nicolai Conrad
A representative from the Vatican, he asks for Karin's help in obtaining the Holy Mistletoe to get rid of the "Demon of Domremy", temporarily becoming a playable character at the beginning of the game. After he uses it on Yuri, he reveals his true nature as scheming and relentless.Turns out he's the bastard son of the actual Russian tsar, Nicolas II, and that he plans to take the throne for himself, disposing of Rasputin in the process.
Big Bad Wannabe: He becomes more pitiful the more you learn about him.
Light is Not Good: Light is his element, but don't be fooled. Even his in-game description says that he can't be trusted, said description can be read as soon as the game become playable, while Nicolai is still in your party !
Lightning Bruiser: All his stats go up by one point each time he levels up, which isn't the case of the others characters, which means that he will always have better stats than his allies when he is playable.
Now For Something Completely Different: When Yuri goes to the dungeon in Cannes, the Director's Cut transitions us, without explanation, to Nicolai, Lenny, and Veronica in a dungeon all of their own.
Taking You with Me: Attempts to do it to Yuri and then Kato, but Ouka takes the shot.
Villain Decay: Invoked in story (not so much in gameplay).
Karin Koenig
A lieutenant of the German Imperial Army, Karin was ordered to captured the village of Domremy, which has rumours of a demon in the church, and failed but was intrigued by the demon. Given another chance by General Heimann, she escorted Cardinal Nicolai to retrieve the Holy Mistletoe and returned to Domremy once again.One child held hostage by Lenny and the Holy Mistletoe being used later on the 'demon', Yuri Hyuga the Godslayer, Karin would find herself travelling with Yuri and company in order to find a cure for the curse. During the journey, she find herself developing feelings for him...Karin is actually Yuri's mother, Anne, who was sent back in time due to her wish to be with Yuri and ends up meeting his father, Ben, while carrying papers that identified herself as an Russian envoy.
Get a hold on yourself, Lady !: Yuri needs to slap her in order to get her back to her senses when she began to act irrationaly after hearing her grand-mother's voice while the party is looking for the Emigree Manuscrit in Wales.
Jack-of-All-Stats: She has strong and magic skills, but excels just a bit more in the physical category.
Only Sane Man / Team Normal: At least, compared to the rest of the party. She's the most level-headed member of the team, lacks any oddball quirks, and had no contact with magic/monsters/occult before the events of the game.
Stable Time Loop: She travels with Yuri, talked with him about his mother, gets Anne's Cross and the family photo, then was sent back in time to meet Ben...
Blanca is a wolf who lived in a forest near the village of Domremy, and was the pet of a little girl named Jeanne. When Jeanne is killed during Sapientes Gladio's raid of Domremy, Blanca ends up following along with Yuri and Gepetto merely out of association and having nothing else to do.
All Your Powers Combined - Every time Blanca defeats another wolf, one more "soul" is added to his Soul Comet attack.
Intellectual Animal: He only speaks when fighting other wolves, but he's surprisingly erudite.
Magic Knight - Blanca's got both decent physical and magic damage, but leans a bit more to magic. He's also the fastest character, but not weak enough to be considered a Fragile Speedster.
Though this all means that you've better physical and magical fighters that can specialise. And with enough Judgement Ring customisation, your mages can becomes just as strong.
A puppeter and Alice Elliot's great-uncle, he's taken care of Yuri for the months between the first and second games. He tags along with Yuri and company mostly because he can't think of a reason not to. His weapon is his puppet, Cordelia, which he treats like a real person.
Black Mage: His unique skills are all focused on dealing offensive magical damage.
Companion Cube: "Cordelia, look how strong you are!" The Doll House sidequest indicates that his daughter's soul is in his puppet, subverting the trope.
Dirty Old Man: Alone of the characters, he's excited by the prospect of Veronica torturing him.
He also joins Yuri in 'admiring' Karin's new outfit.
Improbable Weapon User - He attacks with his puppet, and his weapon on the equipment screen is puppet strings.
Raised by the legendary dancer Carla, Lucia herself is a beautiful, talented dancer and fortuneteller, but also is a little dim. Decides to journey with the party after they defeat her giant pet cat and prove that they aren't allied with Sapientes Gladio.
Stripperiffic - Not only is her way of reading fortunes rather unorthodox in a flirtatious kind of way, but both her default and alternate outfits do well to accentuate certain... aspects of her form.
Tarot Motifs - Throughout the game, you find Tarot cards that she can use as attacks in-battle. Unfortunately, you can only draw one per fight.
Anastasia
Yes, that Anastasia - Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov. Alone of the Czar's family, she's distrustful of Rasputin, a distrust proven to be well-founded when he tries to take over with the power of Asmodeus. After Yuri and friends crush his attempt, she joins them in order to keep Russia (and the rest of the world) safe. She fights using Faberge eggs, as befits a Grand Duchess.
Badass Adorable: Who'd have thought that sheltered little Anastasia Romanov could keep up with vampires and Harmonizers in a fight?
Brainwashed and Crazy: Rasputin and Veronica mind control her to attempt and kill Alexei.
Break the Cutie: What Rasputin attempts by kidnapping her brother, then nearly forcing her to kill him, and earning her her mother's hatred.
Pretty in Mink - Justified in that one, she's royalty, and two, it was winter in Russia when she signed on.
Shipper on Deck - In a scene where she and Joachim are spying on Yuri and Karin, Anastasia is actively cheering for Yuri to make his move and kiss her.
Summon Magic / Mega Manning - Aside from taking pictures of enemies to check their stats, she can also utilize some enemy-only spells by summoning them through the photos she's taken.
The Unfavorite - Her mom clearly doesn't think too highly of her.
A quiet swordsman who is Yuri's cousin, and like Yuri, has the ability to use Fusion. However, the number of forms Kurando can embody is limited to two.
Brainwashed and Crazy: The influence of the Otherworld causes him to go mad, and attacks the party as Tsukiyomi. Post-battle he manages to regain his senses and also unlocks his fusion form.
BFS: Case in point, his final Demon Morph, Jutendouji, which leads to...
Voluntary Shapeshifter - Similar to his cousin, Yuri, but gets much less variety out of the deal, since he only has two forms, one being a reward from a side quest. Like Yuri, he cannot use Crest Magic.
Joachim Valentine
One of the Valentine vampire family. He initially appears protecting a small seaside village in the guise of the Grand Papillion, but isn't quite strong enough to stop Veronica on his own. Once Yuri's party assists him, he repays them by joining up. His weapons are whatever he can pick up and hit people with, as per his pro-wrestling training under the Great Gama.
Improbable Weapon User: Joachim is the incarnation of this trope. He starts with a piece of lumber; his Infinity+1 Sword is a tiny submarine, with tiny, miniature people manning the cannons.
His penultimate weapon is the Aruze company building. Also with miniature people inside it.
Involuntary Shapeshifting - His Joachythms can make him change form at specific intervals, but since one usually doesn't keep track of that particular statistic, the transformations seem to come out of nowhere.
Our Vampires Are Different: He is Keith's big brother. And... well... everything about him. When was the last time a vampire was a professional wrestler?
Would Hit a Girl: Has no problem whatsoever to harm Veronica when he duels her.
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Johnny Garland
Johnny is a teenage boy who runs his own detective agency. He lost his father and older sister in an accident three years ago, along with a portion of his memories. He was supposed to take over his father's business, but opted to become a detective to find out what really happened in the accident. When the story begins, he's asked by a strange man named Gilbert to find a missing man named Marlow. When Johnny witnesses Marlow being eaten by an otherworldly monster, he realizes that this case just might be more than he bargained for.
Supporting Protagonist: Played straight for the first two-thirds, then subverted once you reach the Garland Mansion. When your sister is the Big Bad, you aren't "supporting" any more.
Shania
She is a Garvoy tribe priestess and warrior woman. With her bodyguard Natan always at her side, Shania wanders the country slaying the demons that emerge from the "Window"—the very thing that ended Marlow's life. She is blessed with the power of Fusion, the ability to borrow the power of Nature Spirits for use in her hunt. She saves Johnny's life and in turn Johnny asks to accompany her in the hopes that they will find Gilbert.
Shania's quiet and extremely protective bodyguard. He uses Guns Akimbo and often calls Shania "Princess". He doesn't speak much, but is actually a warm-hearted person and in the few times he does speak, he usually explains things to Johnny.
A hyperactive and quite hammy ninja hailing from...Brazil? He was the only survivor of a plane crash and landed in the jungles of Brazil. After wandering for a week he stumbled upon the "Ninja Hideaway", a secret ninja village that has existed there for 300 years. He is a subordinate of Mao, tends to talk in the third person, and often calls Johnny "Boy", much to Johnny's chagrin. He is dedicated to protecting the safety of the States and is on a mission to find out Gilbert's true intentions. He makes his swords out of anything he can find and mount to a hilt.
Improbable Weapon User: He puts a cactus on a hilt. He puts a firework on a hilt. He puts a larger sword on another hilt. His Infinity+1 Sword? A shishkebob with food on it.
A giant female talking cat who also happens to be a drunken master. She's currently serving as bodyguard and second-in-command to the infamous gangster, Al Capone. Frank refers to her as "Master". Mao is an aspiring actress, and is working on a kung-fu flick in her spare time at Purramount Pictures.
Cats are Mean: Mao can be rough and harsh. She has little tolerancy for the people she dislike (She bullies Elliot Ness until he gives up his precious magazine and then she admits liking doing that because she can't take law enforcers) or the ones she perceives as imcompetent or useless (Frank is shown to be really afraid of her). Oddly enough, Mao doesn't seem to (really) mind to be called "Master Meow" by Johnny.
Noodle Incident: Mao is very adamant when it comes to talk about how she met Frank in the brazilian jungle or what happened in the Sushie Bar at Rio de Janeiro. She just makes passing remarks about her being "young and stupid".
Squishy Wizard: Mao is geared towards magical might and her defenses are (somewhat) lacking.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: No one is ever surprised at the giant talking cat walking around...except Johnny. In either ending Johnny even comments on how while Mao is now a popular actress who's won several awards, no one seems to notice she's a cat. But then again, this is Shadow Hearts.
Hildegarde Valentine
She is yet another sibling of the Valentines, a family of vampires. She's the little sister of Joachim and Keith. She and Roger were captured by Roswell scientists when they were mistaken for aliens. Rescued by Johnny's party, she journeys with them at Roger's suggestion. Her bizarre metabolism causes her to fluctuate between Slim Hilda (which is better at magic attacks), Curvy Hilda (which is better at physical attacks), and the Pink Bat (doubled physical attack power at the cost of halving her health and limiting her attack options). She's convinced (or maybe just delusional) that she is some kind of Magical Girl of Truth and Justice.
Shoutout : Her Infinity+1 Sword? A Keyblade in all but the name. The description even points out that it coudl be used "to unlock the keyhole on people's souls".
Verbal Tic: In the Japanese version, she ends her sentences with "~nya" (except in her Curvy form).
Voluntary Shapeshifting: Unlike Joachim, Hilda can controls her tranformations at will by consuming calories stolen from enemies. Positive calories turn her from Slim form to Pink Bat form to Curvy form, while negative calories have the opposite effect.
Mask Power - By consuming a high amount of either positive or negative calories, Hilda can transform into Slim Mask (her special/magical attack power doubles) or Curvy Mask (physical attack power doubles).
A wandering mariachi who charms all and the stages of Chicago with his songs. He is the secret lover of Al Capone's sister, Edna. He has a soft spot (and weakness) for women, and his guitar actually doubles as a potent weapon—he keeps several guns inside it. He is forced to participate in the battle against Edna, once she was consumed by the Malice that brought her back to life. He decides to travel with the party in order to avenge his lover's death. His sidequest late in the game allows him to reunite with Edna one last time before she returns to the afterlife.
