Jeanne d'Arc

"For the freedom of France"

Jeanne D'Arc is a Strategy RPG for the PSP, it is not a port or a remake of an older game. it was made by Level 5 and released by Sony Computer Entertainment

The Storyline: this game has a storyline loosely based on the well known legend of Jeanne D'Arc. and when I say loosely I do mean loosely, (unless the english army really had orcs). the game has an excellent combination of history and fantasy.

The Graphics: Beautiful and cheerful, the in-game graphics are well done, nothing special for an SRPG, they are crisp and clear, you can tell the different characters apart easily. what makes this game really stand out in my opinion are the amazing anime sequences. there aren't that many of them in the game, (usually they appear when a big event occurs). all of these sequences are beautifully animated.

The Sound: only the anime parts have voice-acting, the rest is of the game is text based. The music isn't anything special. it doesn't get boring, but after a while you just stop paying attention to it.

Gameplay: the battle system seems fairly standard at first but Level 5 made some small changes that can turn a battle in your favor. for example you can transform certain characters for a limited amount of turns, they are more powerful, have a full health bar, and get an Uber attack, also if a transformed character kills an enemy, he gets to move and attack again. this way you can sometimes kill half of your foes in 1 turn. also there is the affinity system. there are 3 elements (affinities) Sol, Luna and Stella. it works like a rock-paper-scissor system: Sol beats Stella, stella beats Luna but Luna beats Sol. Giving affinity stones to you characters that beat the enemy affinity can give you a crucial advantage. there is only 1 negative thing I can say about this game. the game forces you to level almost all your characters because sometimes you are forced to play certain stages with a certain character. some people will like this but I rather stick to my trained party.

Graphics: 8/10
sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

A must have game for the PSP, and maybe a good reason to buy the PSP system.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/30/07