Angell Soul Review (Jean d'Arc PSP)

Hello everyone, Angell Soul here again to review another tactical RPG. This time we’re going to take a look at the charming and somewhat bizarre Jeanne D’Arc for the PSP. A title that takes the historical story of Joan of Arc as inspiration for a high-fantasy story of magic, betrayal and the power of love.

Plot: Everyone knows the basics of Saint Joan’s life. She was a peasant girl who came out of nowhere to lead the French army in a short but brilliant string of victories during the 100 year war. Joan was eventually captured, betrayed by the French king she helped crown, and burned at the stake for heresy by Church officials loyal to the English side. This charming rpg takes the basic facts of Joan’s story to spin a tale of magic as the setting of the 100 year war is re-imagined in a fantastic France where demons and beastmen fight alongside and against the French and English armies. The first sections of the game follow the events of Joan’s campaign relatively faithfully but by the halfway mark the story takes a rapid turn and comes to a satisfying but somewhat predictable ending.

The story is told largely through in game cut scenes and a few key animated ones. The voice acting is at times awkward but quite unique due to the use of real French actors (and some Americans doing French accents).

Opinion: The plot takes a familiar story and reinvents it in a fun way. The story is not the most original tale ever told; it is basically a story of fated heroes battling against a seemingly undefeatable evil but eventually overcoming through their perseverance. You will see many of the twists coming but it is inventive enough to keep you interested and wanting to know how it will all turn out.
4/5 Soul



Character(s): The characters in Jeanne D’Arc include some historical characters and some invented ones. There are too many to cover all of the eventual party but I will cover the key memorable ones.

Jeanne: The eponymous heroine of the story is a headstrong character who sometimes lets her dedication to saving France from evil blind her judgment. However, she goes through significant growth as she moves from innocent peasant girl to overzealous avenger and finally ends up as a heroine who you can route for. She’s a strong female lead and I appreciated that she didn’t rely on men to save her, ultimately she’s the one who has to save the male lead.

Roger: Is a mysterious swordsman who showed up in Jeanne’s village a few years before the events of the game. Most players will instantly recognize him as the main love interest as the local friend. His dark past adds another element to the character that makes him stand out a bit as we wonder whether how his story will play out in the end.

Liane: The childhood friend of Jeanne and your go to mage for the early stages of the game. She’s dumb as a post and constantly needs saving. The game attempts to put her through some growth but the cost she pays to learn from her mistakes makes her turn around a bit less satisfying than it could have been.

Gilles: The historically savvy amongst you might recognize Gilles De Rais as the famous former comrade of Joan of Arc who eventually was executed for the mass murder and rape of possibly hundreds of children. Now he’s notorious as a serial killer, but the game oddly casts him as a just and loyal companion to Jeanne with a good head on his shoulders. He’s the reliable companion who helps guide Jeanne to her destiny. The character design actually makes Gilles seem a bit creepy and the conclusion of the game, which I won’t spoil here, goes some way to answer to why such a seemingly great guide might one day have become a horrible murderer.

Henry VI: The main villain for most of the game is the demon possessed boy king of England. His character is rather weak and since he’s pure evil there’s not much growth to speak about. The character design is also rather bland and unoriginal.

Bedford: The other main villain is Henry’s uncle Bedford who is more interesting as a misguided man who turned to demons because he thought it was the only way to save his nephew and England. However, the game doesn’t do enough to make us feel for him until the very end and at that point it feels a bit too forced and late.

In conclusion, the characters of Jeanne D’Arc put a refreshing spin on historical and original characters and they provide enough interest and originality to keep you interested until the conclusion. The villain design could have been somewhat better since pure evil is never really as interesting as a nuanced villain who has a bit of good to them.

4/5 Soul

Gameplay: The gameplay is nothing to write home about. It’s a pretty standard tactical rpg with grid based combat. There’s no class changing or customization in the game like you find in FFT and most strategic choices in the game are pretty obvious. By the later stages once you have the right abilities and equipment the last 20% of the game provides little difficulty and actually becomes just a chore as you try to get the next bit of the story. The lack of customization and the fact that stats are pretty much fixed for the characters means that the viable character selection for each stage is pretty much obvious. A little more challenge and tactical variety would have pushed this game into the top tier of trpgs, as it stands it’s only just competent.

2/5 Soul


Overall: Jeanne D’Arc is a game overflowing with charm. The plot, world design, art style and characters provide enough to keep you playing through what is under the surface a rather subpar tactical rpg. There’s a great deal of replay value provided by postgame stages, but this will appeal mostly to those who enjoy grinding; other games like Disgaea do this better though because of the wider variety of characters and abilities available. If not for its unique story this game would be instantly forgettable, but still I can’t help but say this is one worth checking out for its charm and story alone. 4/5 Soul