This mod brings a fresh new experience for Shadow Hearts, if you wanted to play Shadow Hearts but wanted something kinda new then this is it.
You learn quickly that you always have to stay on your toes, a mistake can be costly at any point.
The difficulty mod for the most part feels very fair and you feel responsible for what happens except maybe at the beginning where you could get game overs due to bad luck.
Pros:
To have difficulty mods is perfect for the SH series. It feels pretty professional.
My only real dislike for the series in general was that it can be too easy and this mod certainly fixes that for Shadow Hearts. From where stats etc.... to even what items or tactics used didn't overly matter (unless speed running/rushing through). But now it does on all levels: what fusion, items, formation, equipment and tactics everything matters now.
There was a slight learning curve from having beaten the game multiple times to having to adapt to this mod rather than using what was quick and easy normally.
It is a different style of playing, I was even using items like B. Tortoise Fang, Gold Hourglass and I even equipped the Flash Badge for a boss fight, things that I never done before when playing the game normally. It's nice experimenting with items and equipment.
Elements feel more important, meaning fusions spells etc...
As mentioned everything now matters.
Boss fights are more entertaining in general, found them very enjoyable and it felt more rewarding when I beat them, probably the highlights of the mod.
Cons:
I got a game over in the "Plains" when I was ambushed and I didn't even get to have a turn.
Zhaoyang Village in some ways might've been he most unfair/cheap part as you can have battles prior to Zhuzen joining the party and getting ambushed are like auto game overs.
I might've got very unlucky with getting ambushed and back attacks.
The enemies were getting 2 rounds of attacks before I could even respond sometimes even started a third.
I felt that battles in Zhaoyang was unwinnable without Zhuzen.
Once Zhuzen joined (I have never been so glad to see Zhuzen) and when I reached the recommended level for that area, while it was still challenging but it felt manageable and most importantly fair.
Weird thing is after Zhaoyang I rarely got ambushed and on the few times that I did they were more mangeable with an extra party member.
I felt some of the exp rewards was a bit unbalanced but I do understand what the creator was aiming for but it still felt a bit weird.
Conclusion:
With having played this mod it makes me wish for a mod to be in between normal game and this mod, it would have felt like a definitive edition of Shadow Hearts.
The mod overall I enjoyed it, the start was probably potentially the most frustrating depending on your luck but once you get Zhuzen and reach the recommended level for Zhaoyang you are in control and I really enjoyed it without the initial frustrations.
