PSPHyper: Jeanne D'Arc

Jeanne D'Arc

Jeanne D'Arc PSP The Best

Title(s)

Jeanne D'Arc

Genre

Strategy RPG

Developer(s)

Level-5

Publisher(s)

SCEA

Release Date(s)

Aug 21, 2007

Nov 22, 2006 (Japan)

Jul 5, 2007 (Japan, PSP The Best)

Description

Based on the history of Joan of Arc, the latest game from acclaim developers Level-5 tells the story of a girl who saw her village under attacks by demons. Jeanne D'Arc received calls from the god to kill the demons and find herself wearing a ring in the process, is this one of the five rings that were created to defeat these demons centuries ago? Under influences by this ring and repeated calls from the god, Jeanne d'Arc, with the helps of Gilles de Rais, a reliable knight, good friends Roger and Lien decided to start the journey to save her country.
The game is a strategy based role-playing game, where players can enjoy the tactical aspect of the battle system and how the party members grow up and learned skills. Winning battles will let your characters earn new skills and special moves. These battles take place on a grid, players will have to make good use of their position and landscape in order to beat the enemies.
During battles, players can attack or cast magic spells. These skills can be learned by collecting and mixing "Skill Stones" which players can get when an enemy is defeated. Players can only carry six of these stones at any one time, thus increasing the tactical aspect of the game as more than 100 stones are availabe throughout the game. Some of which increase damages or heal. The ring that Jeanne D'Arc is wearing also allows her to transform into a powerful knight during battles.
One of the new effects that Level-5 added to the gameplay is "Hotspot", while attacking an enemy, a hotspot will appear behind it and any party member who happen to stand in that particular box will get an attacking boost. Another move is "Joint Defence", which form a shield around your party and reduce damage caused by enemies significantly, thus encouraging players to keep their party members closer to each other during boss fights.

Official Fact Sheet

In ages past, there once was a Death Wars where human beings fought against the demon king. Five brave warriors used the powers of the holy bracelets to successfully seal the demon king and the death gods in the holy jewel. Time flew to France of the early 15th century, in what would be known as the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. Jeanne, who was born in a border village, suddenly heard instructions from God and defeated monsters that were attacking the village. At that moment, a bracelet similar to one of the holy bracelets worn by the five brave warriors in the Death Wars was suddenly worn around her wrist. Under the guidance of God, in order to save France, Jeanne set forth to the city where the crown prince resided with her companions. What would Jeanne’s destiny be?

Features

Melding of history and fantasy: A new adventure story is formed by the melding of Jeanne D’Arc’s story and fantasy elements.

Fine and detailed stage art settings: Fine, detailed and beautiful stage settings bring the PSP to its performance limits.

Totally new strategic elements and transformation system: Besides the addition of all new settings, attack support system and group defense system, the main characters can also transform to increase his/her power.

PSPHyper Review

After all the wows and high expectations, Jeanne D'Arc is ultimately a standard SRPG featuring beautifully crafted graphics and great characters. As of all SRPGs, it is still slow-paced compared to the other genres and you won’t get much joy if you just want a game to play during a short break from work or school. But whether you are an avid SRPG fan or a first-timer, you will definitely appreciate the amount of efforts put in by Level 5 for the innovative battle features as well as for making the game attractive to the eyes and ears. If anything else, the effort alone in making an exclusive PSP SRPG is worth a full thumb's up.
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