is a series of role playing games for the PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

. The original Shadow Hearts was developed by Sacnoth

Sacnoth

Sacnoth was a small Japanese based video games developer.Sacnoth’s high profile games include Koudelka for the PlayStation, the three Shadow Hearts games for the PlayStation 2, and Faselei! for the Neo Geo Pocket Color...

 and released by Midway

Midway Games

Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 on December 11, 2001. The sequel

Sequel

A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

, Shadow Hearts: Covenant (or Shadow Hearts II), was also made by the same group, although Sacnoth reformed itself into a company called Nautilus for the project. It was released in October 2004 in the United States. A further sequel, Shadow Hearts: From the New World, was released in Japan on July 28, 2005, and in the United States on March 7, 2006.