Jeanne d’Arc is a pseudo-historical retelling of the story of Joan of Arc from developer Stage-5, launched on PSP in 2007. It all the time had a repute as a rock-solid turn-based technique RPG, however as writer Sony by no means launched the title in Europe and different territories, it was one many who gamers exterior the U.S. and Japan (together with yours actually) by no means had an opportunity to strive for themselves.
With the discharge of the sport for PS5 and PS4, which options up-rendered graphics, quality-of-life options like rewind and fast save, and customized video filters, there’s now no excuse to not play what has rightfully turn out to be one thing of a cult traditional. Stage-5’s tackle the historic Hundred Years Conflict that raged between the kingdoms of England and France within the fifteenth century is a inventive one, and we’re glad to report that the wait has been price it.
Made very a lot within the vein of its genre-defining tactical predecessor, Ultimate Fantasy: Techniques, Jeanne d’Arc places a bigger emphasis on story and character, with the models that you simply command representing actual historic figures in some circumstances, with extra time spent in cutscenes attending to know the forged. On this ahistorical retelling of occasions, England, beneath the regency of the Duke of Bedford, makes a pact with demons, permitting a very evil one to own the physique of the younger Henry VI, inheritor to the throne.
When English troopers and their monstrous allies raze her village to the bottom, Jeanne, alongside together with her childhood companions Lianne and Roger, is thrust headlong right into a battle for the survival of France’s soul. Within the melee, Joanne acquires a mysterious, magical armlet that permits her to listen to the voice of God and even briefly rework, granting her superhuman powers primarily based on its at the moment infused gem.
Gameplay takes place on a grid, with the participant commanding Jeanne and a restricted variety of her allies towards a pressure of enemies that can usually accompany a gimmick from stage to stage. This would possibly vary from defeating a particular foe inside a set variety of turns to not letting an ally fall in fight, or reaching part of the map throughout the flip restrict. As there are not any generic allied models in Jeanne d’Arc, every character that joins the celebration has a persona, given their second to shine and stand out, serving a particular position or enjoying a wanted half.
For a tactical RPG that got here out nearly 20 years in the past, fight is surprisingly stable, with quirks and techniques that make it distinctive even all these years later. That is maybe greatest exemplified by the Burning Aura and Unified Guard mechanics, and alignments correlating to Sol, Luna, and Stella (solar, moon, and stars) additional add to the equation with a rock-paper-scissors system that provides one other layer of elemental complexity.
Unified Guard lessens the injury a person unit takes, in accordance with the positioning of allies round them. The draw back of making these little protect partitions is you turn out to be extra of a goal for area-of-effect assaults. Nonetheless, as positioning impacts injury dealt and acquired, aggressive motion is incentivised by the Burning Aura that seems behind a struck enemy, encouraging gamers to make use of characters in tandem to interrupt out and sort out highly effective foes rapidly, because the buff disappears after a flip.
Jeanne and choose different characters can briefly rework right into a divinely blessed armoured kind utilizing the facility of the armlet and at the moment outfitted gem, with every bestowing particular results. The primary provides Jeanne bonus injury and the flexibility to maneuver once more after killing an enemy; the catch is that these transformations can solely be used as soon as per battle, and characters revert to regular after a couple of turns, so timing is crucial.
Equally, magic works a bit in a different way than what we have come to anticipate. MP begins at zero and will increase every flip reasonably than being subtracted from a complete, so models might want to wait between turns to maintain casting. It helps that every one characters can forged spells (though some are extra suited than others), and it is a refreshing change of tempo.
Between battles, gamers information Jeanne and firm between cities, castles, villages, and different geographic landmarks on an overworld map of France. Some places enable for grinding, which is typically crucial, and in others, the shopping for and promoting of recent arms and armaments. Together with tools, the participant should handle every character’s outfitted expertise and spells (in a restricted variety of slots), and on this manner, the affinity of a selected alignment might be additional boosted.
Graphically, the models and the environments look nice, however the impact is considerably undercut by the low-resolution UI, which does not look nice on bigger screens. It isn’t a deal-breaker, however you may want time to regulate. Extra annoying is the sadly archaic fashion of management, which we want had been modernised, however we suppose that is why the asking value is comparatively low. The cursor is managed through the directional buttons, with the sticks mapped to the digital camera by default. It may be remapped manually through the emulation settings, however it takes some getting used to, and even then stays a bit fiddly.
There are a stunning variety of impressively animated cutscenes sprinkled all through the sport’s prolonged marketing campaign, that are fairly compelling. There are not any spoilers right here, however in case you’re conversant in the destiny of the actual Joan of Arc, that should not be too stunning. Stage-5 performs with historical past, nonetheless, and throws some genuinely surprising narrative curve balls alongside the best way.
Conclusion
Even after almost 20 years, Jeanne d’Arc stays a traditional technique RPG, now obtainable to a broader viewers than ever earlier than, because of its launch on PS5 and PS4. In fact, it appears to be like a bit dated and controls a bit stiffly, however progressive tactical mechanics and a compelling narrative make historical past come to life.
