Jeanne d'Arc (video game)

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Jeanne d'Arc

Developer(s) Level-5
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s) PlayStation Portable
Release date JP November 22, 2006
NA August 21, 2007
Genre(s) Strategy RPG
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s) CERO: A
ESRB: Teen
Media 1 x UMD

Jeanne d'Arc is a tactical role-playing game developed by Level-5 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable. It is Level-5's first RPG of this kind, as well as the studio's first production on the PlayStation Portable. The title's narrative makes use of various fantasy elements, and is loosely based on the story of Joan of Arc and her struggles against the English occupation of France during the Hundred Years' War in the early 15th century.

The game has an amount of historical accuracy when it comes to the cast of characters, and contains many who were real world contemporaries and allies of Joan of Arc. This contrasts starkly with the many fantasy elements of the game. These include Jeanne and four other main characters possessing magical armlets that give the wearer special abilities, and suggesting that King Henry VI of England was possessed by demons and using them to aid his armies in destroying France during the Hundred Years' War.

Contents

[edit] Plot

In the past, there was a great war between humans and demons. Five heroes created five magical armlets and used their combined power to seal the demons away. Much time has passed, and now France and England are in the midst of the Hundred Years' War. Domrémy, a small village in the Lorraine region of France, was celebrating a festival when suddenly English soldiers stormed in and attacked. A village girl, Jeanne, was led by a voice from the heavens to save France. Thus begins the journey of Jeanne, and her friends Roger and Liane, in the war to free their country from the tyranny of the demon controlled English army.

A screenshot from early on in the English translation of the game, with the grid clearly detailed.
A screenshot from early on in the English translation of the game, with the grid clearly detailed.

[edit] Gameplay

Jeanne d'Arc is structured similar to many strategy RPG titles. The player controls Jeanne and her party, moving them between major cities and features on a semi-historical map of France. Most new locations will lead to cutscenes and battles. Select points on the map are cities, allowing the player to shop for improved weapons, armor, and skills; other locations offer skirmish matches not part of the main story but allowing the player to improve their characters through hardened battle.

Each character and enemy has an affinity to one of three phases (Sol, Luna, Stella), each which have strengths and weaknesses against the other phases, in a manner similar to rock, paper, scissors. For example, Sol is stronger against Stella, but weaker against Luna. Each character also has a number of skill slots; skill gems that can be purchased, won in battle, or produced by combining other gems together. These skills can passively improve a character's stats or have offensive, defensive, or recovery skills used during battle.

The battle system is comparable to turn-based strategy games. Prior to battle, the player can manage character equipment and abilities, and then select which characters to bring into battle. On each turn, for each character, the player can move and then perform an action such as attacking a foe, using recovery items, or using skills; each action awards a number of experience points to the character. Attacks can be met with counterattacks, and the facing of the attack will also influence how much damage is done. Unique to the game is the creation of a "Burning Aura" ("Burning Site" in the Japanese version) which forms on the space immediately behind the target of the attack; a second character can move into that space and strike for extra damage, or if a character is already in that space, the Aura will move with that character and increase the power of the attack on that turn only. Burning Auras disappear after one turn.

Once the player has moved all the characters, the enemy turn proceeds in the same manner. When an ally is targeted, all nearby allies (based on being one space away from the targeted ally or anyone already supporting him) participate in a "Unified Guard" ("Connection Guard" in the Japanese version) that can reduce the chance of a hit or reduce the damage taken. This Guard also applies to any counterattacks made during the offensive part of the player's turn.

Unique to Jeanne and selected other party members is the use of a magical armband that can be infused with gems. Each gem on the armband can be used once per battle, and only after acquiring an amount of power gems from battle, and allows the character to transform into a much more powerful version of that character. For example, Jeanne's first transformation gives her a higher attack value, and while in this form, she gains another turn immediately after finishing off any foe. Transformations are limited to a few turns and the character reverts to their normal form once the effect is over.

Most battles have a required victory condition, such as defeating all foes or to move the party to specific spaces on the map. There are also specialized defeats, such as by letting Jeanne fall in battle, or by failing to meet the victory conditions within a fixed number of turns. Upon winning the battle, all characters in the party gain some experience, and additional spoils of war can be obtained.

[edit] Main Characters

Jeanne d'Arc (ジャンヌ・ダルク)

17 [1]. The protagonist. A determined and passionate young girl from Domrémy. Daughter of the goat herder Jacques, she obtains the armlet from a knight and thus becomes involved in the war to rescue France. She is often rash and hasty, leading to various accidents throughout the story. Although initially, she only possessed hatred for the English, when she learns of the true conflict Jeanne resolves to save all of France and is thus very reluctant to hurt a fellow Frenchman, even if they are treacherous.

Liane (リアン)

16 [1]. A kind and quiet girl from Domrémy, Liane's hobby is making sweets. She can sometimes be prone to silly mistakes. Probably because of their age, Jeanne and Liane have a close, sibling-like relationship since young. She is the calmer of the two and is also a bit more perceptive of others' feelings, as shown when she sadly tells Roger that he is obviously in love with Jeanne despite Liane herself being in love with Roger.

Roger (ロジェ)

23 [1]. An ex-mercenary who began living in Domrémy two years ago. He started living in the village since Jeanne's father took him in when he was wandering. He has no recollection of anything before his life of wandering. It is revealed that he was a test subject for putting the souls of reapers into humans and although this usually results in the loss of the human soul to the reaper, Roger's soul is unusually strong and is able to fend off the reaper. He is greatly in love with Jeanne, always protecting her and saving her in times of need.

Gilles De Rais (ジル・ド・レ)

27 [1]. A mysterious nobleman saved by Jeanne when the English troops attacked. Calm and collected, Gilles is a talented knight but he can be hard to understand at times. Another bearer of the magic armlet. Notably, Gilles is referred to in the North American edition of the game as Gilles de Rais, as seen on the US Jeanne D'Arc website and in the game's product manual.

La Hire (ラ・イール)

40 [1]. A beastman (also known as therion) warrior of the France army, La Hire is a mercenary known for his overwhelming strength. He holds high respect for Jeanne, who treats everyone equally and for that, he fights loyally for her.

Henry VI (ヘンリー6世)

6 [1]. The young king of England. He is possessed by a demonic spirit and becomes driven to conquer all of France.

Duke of Bedford (ベッドフォード卿)

Henry's regent. Helps Henry with the war against France. Releasing the sealed demons of the past, he leads the demon army into the French invasion. He is the main antagonist of the game.

[edit] Reception

Jeanne d'Arc received generally positive reviews, gaining an 87 out of 100 on Metacritic.com.[2] IGN gave Jeanne d'Arc their "outstanding" grade score of 9/10, saying that "Extremely deep gameplay. Balanced tactical strategy and fast paced action with rich game mechanics. An intriguing twist on a well known tale. These three statements only scratch the surface" of the game.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f JP official site: Characters Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  2. ^ Jeanne d'Arc at MetaCritic. MetaCritic (2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
  3. ^ IGN UK's Jeanne d'Arc Review.

[edit] External links

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