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Jeanne D'Arc is a strategy RPG inspired by the events surrounding Joan of Arc's rise to fame. And by inspired, we mean loosely inspired -- with a capital "L." Oh sure, England is still at war with France, but young prince Henry VI is possessed by a demon and has heart-to-hearts with his kitty-witty. The English army has also enlisted the support of bloodthirsty orcs, lizard men, and other monsters to terrorize French villages. It's a little known chapter in history, akin to George Washington's battle with mutant rabbits at Valley Forge.

Rewriting History

As goofy as the premise sounds, Jeanne D'Arc's artful mix of fantasy and history is quite entertaining, relying on an impressive amount of animated cut-scenes (29 in total) to help set the stage before each chapter. The game opens with Jeanne and her friend looking to find someone in a small village. After stumbling upon some orcs, a voice inside her head tells her to grab a sword and take action, thus beginning her Britney Spears-like transformation, in which she eventually cuts off her blond locks, whacks at things with an umbrella, er, sword, and inspires others to join her crusade.

Strategy RPGs typically suffer from an overabundance of technical info at the onset, forcing players to pore over manuals or work their way through lengthy tutorials. Jeanne D'Arc suffers from none of these trappings. It starts off simple, with only two to three party members to control, and introduces new features and design elements gradually instead of all at once. Helpful pop-up screens appear as each new feature is introduced, clearly explaining the technique through a combination of text and diagrams.

The Spoils of Battle

The game also does away with a lot of the fluff associated with the genre, focusing its attention on the actual battles, which are simply gorgeous. The cel-shaded characters are all well animated, but the activity around them is what immediately impresses. You never feel you are moving troops on basic LEGO blocks -- these are full-fledged environments, with villages, forests, cathedrals, and castles offering such details as raging fires, flickering embers, surging water, atmospheric mist, and more.

The interface is wonderfully designed, with intuitive menu screens and a camera that can be freely rotated around and above the area. The basic action will be familiar to strategy RPG vets, with both sides alternating turns and moving up to seven characters across grid-based terrain. Attack bonuses are awarded for attacking the enemy from the side or from behind, and certain conditions must be met to achieve victory. In a welcome twist, many battles are turn limited, forcing players to press onward instead of sitting back and defending certain spots.

Arc de Triumph

While Jeanne D'Arc lacks an in-depth job system found in titles like Final Fantasy Tactics, the pre-defined characters can be outfitted with four types of skill stones; granting your warriors with new spells, attacks, and more. Jeanne and a select few can also transform into powerful warriors for a limited amount of turns by saving up "soul power." Other wrinkles include defensive bonuses for characters linked together, and "burning auras" that increase the attack power of those fortunate enough to control a highlighted square. The familiarity of the action and lack of multiplayer support are the biggest knocks on the title. With a storyline spanning 30-40 hours in length, it would be blasphemy to suggest Jeanne D'Arc wasn't anything but a heaven-sent gift for PSP owners.

Article by: Scott Alan Marriott
Video Produced by: Mark Fahey