La Pucelle: Tactics

"Nippon Ichi delivers more SRPG goodliness"

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness was one the PS2 game that you just had to get. It was definably best sleeper hit of the year. So you can say I was not going to be disappointed with La Pucelle: Tactics. While satisfied with the purchase of the game, it just didn't have the luster or character that Disgaea brought. It could have been the poor translation from Mastiff (which I have never heard from in my life and I do know a lot of obscure game makers out there) or it could have been the fact that this game was developed before Disgaea. La Pucelle: Tactics and Disgaea brought back what made RPGs (or SRPG more to say) great in the first place. It could be the nostalgia from the sprite-like graphics or the novelty of it's characters. Either way, people that missed out of Disgaea due to lack of copies where they live can benefit a lot from this game. As Prier would say if you didn't get this game, "YOU SUCK!"

Graphics: 8/10

When Nippon Ichi wanted to create a light-hearted, cute anime RPG, they would want to use 2-D sprites and backgrounds. Clearly, you could say this game has some of the worst graphics ever. But the way the game feels and was designed, it's perfect. RPGs are not meant for graphic whores, it helps just a tad bit, but is completely necessary. Fans of anime would love the character designs. I, for one find Prier very cute for a 16 year old. (Even though she looks much older) Other character are done just as well, I really love how the kitty pirates look. Backgrounds are decent enough, I found that Paprica (the setting of the game) was good at creating a nice European feel to it. Maps and battle field look pretty much like other SRPG like FFT or Disgaea. Special effects are just about the same as it were in Disgaea. Miracles (explained in the gameplay part) will remind you of those higher level spells in Disgaea. A lot of web sites give a low score to this game b/c of it's graphics. As said before, if you don't like anime you will hate the look of this game.

Story: 9/10

This is where La Pucelle excels better than Disgaea. This game has a serious plot but regains its light humor and jokes that Disgaea was famous for. Any ways, the main character is a 16 year old overconfident Prier. She has just become the leader of a demon hunting squad, La Pucelle (which, in case you want to know, means "the virgin") La Pucelle is a part of the Church of the Holy Maiden, which where Prier was raised. She is joined by her little brother Culotte, who fills in as the little annoying boy who cries a lot, and Alouetee, a woman who lost her memory and is a devoted follower to the teachings of the Church (where as Prier rather go hunt some zombies than pray ^_^). Anyways, this Church of the Holy Mother tells a tale that the Dark Prince will rise and cover the world in darkness. But then a woman known as the Maiden of Light, which Prier trains so hard to become, will come and challenge the Dark Price in the name of Goddess Poitreene. Yeah, sounds a little woozy. There are lots of colorful characters that will join your demon hunting squad: Croix, who smells a lot like a rip-off of Wolfwood (Trigun), Princess Eclair (dessert anyone?), and my favorite Captain Homard, pirate captain who's crew consists of cute little cats. The story moves in chapters, each chapter has a story sequence, chance to buy supplies, another story sequence, a couple of battles you get the picture.

Gameplay: 9/10

It's a SRPG so gameplay is a big part of this game. Woooo, where to begin? Fans of the genre will noticed that the game uses a grid movement system where you must move your battlers chose to the enemy and attack. Turns are simple. You get to move all your characters first then it's your enemies turn. Characters in your game can be developed the way you want them. See, not only do characters gain exp for their levels but for other things such as their individual stats (Attack, Defense, Speed). Equip a lot of weapons and the character will Attack value will be alot higher or you can go half and half with weapons and armor and be a bit more balanced. You also can learn innate skills like criticals, extra movement and power up your purification. You can equip staffs and rods to any of your characters if you want to learn attack magic outside the character's special attacks. Now here is when La Pucelle differs from other SRPG, you have these things called dark portals. Standing on the paths of these dark portals temporarily reduces the attributes of any character that stands on them. It's also used to allow new enemies to enter the map. To get rid of these nuisances, each character has a "purify" command that they can use to close these dark portals. Purifying them also nets exp for your equipment in which you can level them up and power up their stats. The stronger the character's purifying power, the easier it is to close the portals. But wait, that's not all. You can use the dark portal against you foes by using you characters to control the flow of dark energy. If you use a "ring" of dark energy with 15 or more panels then purify them, then you can get special "Miracle" attacks that damage a lot of enemies for huge damage and a huge amount of exp for you equipment. It sounds confusing on paper but easy to understand when you try it out. There is this thing called the Dark World, which is opened on the map if you refuse to close dark portals or do really mean stuff (attack your own allies). The Dark World is really confusing more so than the dark portals so it's best to try it out for yourself. All in all, gameplay lives up to the Nippon Ichi name, but it lacks the customization that Disgaea had which made it awesome. Oh yeah, you can get uber powerful like you can get in Disgaea (max level 9999) although I can see myself taking forever just to do 100k of damage.

Sound: 8/10

The music is not what Nippon Ichi is good at. Let another game called Rhasposy tell you that. *shivers* It's best described as satisfactory at best. The calm theme of going though Pot au Feu City, the excitement of battle? Meh, at best. Oh well, you can't compose them all excellent I suppose. What La Pucelle: Tactics (and Disgaea) really have going for them is the voice acting department. In Disgaea, the voice actors perfectly acted out the character's personality well. As for La Pucelle? I really wish Altus would have done it. Don't get me wrong it. The VA in La Pucelle are good. Mastiff hired a lot of well known actors from just about anything. From the person who did Lulu in FFX to some guy who did a great job in Metal Gear Solid. I don't really feel like fishing out their name right now, but that's easily findable on actual La Pucelle web site. Now for sound effects, I say its much better than the game's music. Croix's gun shot's don't sound to realistic though and a bit generic. I just love the sweet sound of Prier kicking someone where it hurts (yes, one of her special moves involves a swift kick in the <this word was just moderated>)

Replay Value: 9/10

Just like Disgaea, there is so much to do after you beat the game and with different endings to each chapter (which is determined by what actions you taking during the story) you will want to find them all. Plus, the ability to power up your party pass normal RPG standard is always nice and some of those optional bosses will require that. A downside to the game is that it lacks the ability of skipping story sequences and more importantly, NO NEW GAME +. (huge downside to the game). There still enough game to play though the 100 hour mark but nothing like Disgaea had. (I'm done with La Pucelle but I'm still going strong with Disgaea). What ever this game is worth to you, buy it. Hell, buy two or three in case one breaks. It's that good AND rare.

Overall: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/30/04