As recommended(by some-one else) I played Shadow Hearts 2 first. Shadow hearts would have been a lot tougher without knowledge obtained from the second game. Using the rings for battle was a little tough at first, but i caught on and had a lot of fun with the game. I liked the story line and the characters are bekievanle. Some of the puzzels are tough. Over-all, idin't want to put the game down. Its like a good book, that you just couldn't put down.( at the young age of 69, I find most good RPG'S are like that). I would reccomend The Shadow Hearts series to anyone who plays RPG's. RPG GRAMPS. I'm just starting Shadow Hearts 3.