Marrow had similar comments to Dunham, saying the game was "extremely fulfilling and very nice on the eyes." Gann generally lauded the game's graphics as a significant improvement over "Shadow Hearts", and praise the character designs. The soundtrack met with general praise, although some felt it was inferior to the first game. Reactions to the English voice work were mixed; some praised it, while others felt it lacked polish. "Famitsu" lauded the game's "unique and detailed" battle system, and expanded breadth compared to the first "Shadow Hearts". While Parish found the battle system enjoyable, he noted an archaic structure that was at odds with many other RPGs of the time and a sense of the developers including a little of anything to catch attention, which could potentially hold the game back from mainstream appeal. Fahay found the turn-based mechanics refreshing after recent action-oriented titles like "", and praised the Judgement Ring mechanics despite it feeling old-fashioned compared to the similar turn-based system of "Final Fantasy X". Mason again praised the Judgement Ring and combo system, saying they made up for the slow character progression system. "GamePro" was generally enthusiastic about the gameplay, and Massimilla lauded the various mechanics for the need for player engagement compared to other similar battle systems. Steinberg called "Covenant" "a nifty twist on the traditional RPG" due to its unconventional battle mechanics. Dunham again called the system superior to the first game, giving praise to the battles and wider customization options available to players. Marrow once more shared these sentiments, saying that players would be pleasantly lost in the breadth of content available beyond the main story. Gann praised the battle mechanics, and enjoyed the game's level scaling system. In "RPGamer"s 2004 staff awards, "Covenant" won in both the "Best PlayStation 2" and "Best Overall" categories. It was also "IGN"s RPG Vault PS2 Game of the Year. "RPGFan" staff, in an episode of their retrospective series "Retro Encounter", fondly remembered "Covenant" as one of the best RPGs they had played in 2004, despite some aspects not aging well over the years. In the years following its release, websites including "IGN", "GamesRadar", "PlayStation Lifestyle" "Game Informer", and "Polygon" ranked it as either one of the best RPGs or one of the best games of all time. "GameTrailers" called "Covenant" "the greatest JRPG that no-one talks about" due to its unconventional tone and battle system.