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
