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Jeanne d'Arc (video game)
Encyclopedia
is a tactical role-playing game
(RPG) developed by Level-5
and published by Sony Computer Entertainment
for the PlayStation Portable
(PSP). The game was first released in Japan on November 22, 2006 and was then localized in North America on August 21, 2007. It was never released in PAL region
s. Jeanne d'Arc is Level-5's first RPG of this kind, as well as the studio's first production for the PSP. The title's narrative makes use of various fantasy elements, and is loosely based on the story of Joan of Arc
and her struggles against the English
occupation of France
during the Hundred Years' War
in the early 15th century.
The game has an amount of historical
accuracy when it comes to the cast of characters, and contains many who were contemporaries and allies of Joan of Arc. This contrasts starkly with the many fantasy
elements of the game. These include Jeanne and other main characters possessing magic
al armlets that give the wearer special abilities
, and the suggestion that King Henry VI of England was possessed by demons and used them to aid his armies in destroying France during the Hundred Years' War.
. Most new locations will lead to cutscenes and battles. Select points on the map are cities, allowing the player to shop for improved weapons, armor, and skills; other locations offer skirmish matches not part of the main story but allowing the player to improve their characters through battle.
Each character and enemy has an affinity to one of three phases; Sol, Luna and Stella, each which have strengths and weaknesses against the other phases, in a manner similar to rock, paper, scissors
. For example, Sol is stronger against Stella, but weaker against Luna. Each character also has a number of skill slots; skill gems that can be purchased, won in battle, or produced by combining other gems together. These skills can improve a character's stats or bestow offensive, defensive, or recovery skills.
The battle system is turn-based
. Prior to battle, the player can manage character equipment and abilities, and then select which characters to bring into battle. On each turn, for each character, the player can move and then perform an action such as attacking, using items or skills; each action awards a number of experience points to the character. Attacks can be met with counterattacks, and the facing of the attack will also influence how much damage is done. Unique to the game is the creation of a "Burning Aura" which forms on the space immediately behind the target of the attack; a second character can move into that space and strike for extra damage, or if a character is already in that space, the Aura will move with that character and increase the power of the attack on that turn only. Burning Auras disappear after one turn.
Once the player has moved all their characters, the enemy turn proceeds in the same manner. When an ally is targeted, all nearby allies one space away from the targeted ally or anyone already supporting him, participate in a "Unified Guard" that can reduce the chance of a hit or reduce the damage taken. This guard also applies to any counterattacks made during the offensive part of the player's turn.
Unique to Jeanne and selected other party members is the use of a magical armband that can be infused with gems. Each gem on the armband can be used once per battle, and only after acquiring an amount of power gems from battle, allows the character to become much more powerful. For example, Jeanne's first transformation gives her a higher attack value, and while in this form, she gains another turn immediately after killing any foe. Transformations are limited to a few turns and the character reverts to their normal form once the effect is over.
Most battles have a required victory condition, such as defeating all foes or to move the party to specific spaces on the map. There are also specialized defeats, such as letting Jeanne fall in battle, or by failing to meet the victory conditions within a fixed number of turns. Upon winning the battle, all characters in the party gain some experience, and additional spoils of war can be obtained.
In the past, there was a great war between humans and demons. Five hero
es created five magical armlets and used their combined power to seal the demons away. Much time has passed, and now France
and England
are in the midst of the Hundred Years' War
. Domrémy
, a small village in the Lorraine region
of France, was celebrating a festival when suddenly English
soldiers attacked. A village girl, Jeanne
, was led by a voice from the heavens
to save France. Thus begins the journey of Jeanne, and her friends Roger and Liane, in the war to free their country from the tyranny of the demon-controlled English army.
Liane
Roger
Gilles De Rais
La Hire
Robert de Baudricourt
Henry VI
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
Talbot
William Glasdale
, a company that had previously developed a number of traditional RPGs
with the Dark Cloud
series, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, and Rogue Galaxy
. Jeanne d'Arc is the company's first project on the PSP handheld. The team chose to make the game a tactical RPG "[...] so that players new to the genre will still be able to play the game, while veteran strategy game players will find this game both nostalgic and entertaining." The development team also wanted to create an enjoyable game for all players despite some of them having no knowledge of the historical events on which it is based. The most important aspect of the North American localization of Jeanne d'Arc was its voice-over
s. A number of French
actors and actresses, as well as American
actors speaking with French accents, auditioned for the game's audio. Ultimately, American actors using mild French accents were chosen for the main roles while individuals with authentic French accents were used some of the game's supporting characters. A French vocal coach
was on hand to assure proper pronunciation and accents. Voice actress Kari Wahlgren
was approached specifically for the lead role in the English version of the game.
. IGN gave Jeanne d'Arc 9/10, saying "Extremely deep gameplay. Balanced tactical strategy and fast paced action with rich game mechanics. An intriguing twist on a well known tale. These three statements only scratch the surface of the game."
Jeanne d'Arc sold approximately 45,387 copies during its first week of sale in Japan. The game was listed as the 190th best-selling game in the country in 2006 by Famitsu
magazine with a total of 68,013 copies sold by the end of the year. Jeanne d'Arc was re-released as part of Sony's "The Best" range of budget titles in Japan on July 5, 2007. The game has since become available as a downloadable title from the PlayStation Network in both Japan and North America.
Jeanne d'Arc was listed by IGN as "Game of the Month" for August 2007. The website also listed it as the 23rd best PSP game of all time. GameTrailers
made it a nominee for "Best PSP Game" despite not releasing a video review for it. They even said of it, "Passing this one up would be a true act of heresy."
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
(RPG) developed by Level-5
Level-5
is an independent video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka, Japan. The company, which currently employs about 200 individuals, was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from the now defunct Japanese developer Riverhillsoft...
and published by Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
(PSP). The game was first released in Japan on November 22, 2006 and was then localized in North America on August 21, 2007. It was never released in PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
s. Jeanne d'Arc is Level-5's first RPG of this kind, as well as the studio's first production for the PSP. The title's narrative makes use of various fantasy elements, and is loosely based on the story of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
and her struggles against the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
occupation of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
in the early 15th century.
The game has an amount of historical
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
accuracy when it comes to the cast of characters, and contains many who were contemporaries and allies of Joan of Arc. This contrasts starkly with the many fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
elements of the game. These include Jeanne and other main characters possessing magic
Magic (gaming)
Some role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the paranormal sense. These rules simulate the effects that magic would have within the game context, according to how the game designer intended the magic to be portrayed...
al armlets that give the wearer special abilities
Superpower (ability)
Superpower is a popular culture term for a fictional superhuman ability. When a character possesses multiple such abilities, the terms super powers or simply powers are used...
, and the suggestion that King Henry VI of England was possessed by demons and used them to aid his armies in destroying France during the Hundred Years' War.
Gameplay
The player controls Jeanne and her party, moving them between major cities and features on a semi-historical map of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Most new locations will lead to cutscenes and battles. Select points on the map are cities, allowing the player to shop for improved weapons, armor, and skills; other locations offer skirmish matches not part of the main story but allowing the player to improve their characters through battle.
Each character and enemy has an affinity to one of three phases; Sol, Luna and Stella, each which have strengths and weaknesses against the other phases, in a manner similar to rock, paper, scissors
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people. The game is also known as roshambo, or another ordering of the three items ....
. For example, Sol is stronger against Stella, but weaker against Luna. Each character also has a number of skill slots; skill gems that can be purchased, won in battle, or produced by combining other gems together. These skills can improve a character's stats or bestow offensive, defensive, or recovery skills.
The battle system is turn-based
Turn-based tactics
Turn-based tactics , or tactical turn-based , is a computer and video game genre of strategy video games that through stop-action simulates the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic...
. Prior to battle, the player can manage character equipment and abilities, and then select which characters to bring into battle. On each turn, for each character, the player can move and then perform an action such as attacking, using items or skills; each action awards a number of experience points to the character. Attacks can be met with counterattacks, and the facing of the attack will also influence how much damage is done. Unique to the game is the creation of a "Burning Aura" which forms on the space immediately behind the target of the attack; a second character can move into that space and strike for extra damage, or if a character is already in that space, the Aura will move with that character and increase the power of the attack on that turn only. Burning Auras disappear after one turn.
Once the player has moved all their characters, the enemy turn proceeds in the same manner. When an ally is targeted, all nearby allies one space away from the targeted ally or anyone already supporting him, participate in a "Unified Guard" that can reduce the chance of a hit or reduce the damage taken. This guard also applies to any counterattacks made during the offensive part of the player's turn.
Unique to Jeanne and selected other party members is the use of a magical armband that can be infused with gems. Each gem on the armband can be used once per battle, and only after acquiring an amount of power gems from battle, allows the character to become much more powerful. For example, Jeanne's first transformation gives her a higher attack value, and while in this form, she gains another turn immediately after killing any foe. Transformations are limited to a few turns and the character reverts to their normal form once the effect is over.
Most battles have a required victory condition, such as defeating all foes or to move the party to specific spaces on the map. There are also specialized defeats, such as letting Jeanne fall in battle, or by failing to meet the victory conditions within a fixed number of turns. Upon winning the battle, all characters in the party gain some experience, and additional spoils of war can be obtained.
Plot
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
es created five magical armlets and used their combined power to seal the demons away. Much time has passed, and now France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
are in the midst of the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
. Domrémy
Domremy
Domremy or Domrémy is part of the name of several communes in France:* Domremy-la-Canne, in the Meuse department* Domrémy-la-Pucelle, in the Vosges department, formerly Domrémy, which was the birthplace of Joan of Arc...
, a small village in the Lorraine region
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
of France, was celebrating a festival when suddenly English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
soldiers attacked. A village girl, Jeanne
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
, was led by a voice from the heavens
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
to save France. Thus begins the journey of Jeanne, and her friends Roger and Liane, in the war to free their country from the tyranny of the demon-controlled English army.
Main characters
Jeanne d'Arc- Age 17. The protagonist. A determined and passionate young girl from Domrémy. Daughter of the goat herder Jacques, she obtains the armlet from a knight and thus becomes involved in the war. She is often rash and hasty, leading to various accidents throughout the story. Although initially she only possesses hatred for the English, when she learns of the true conflict Jeanne resolves to save all of France and is thus very reluctant to hurt a fellow Frenchman, even if they are treacherous. But she remains compassionate and loyal to her friends, and would not hesitate to attack anyone who tries to hurt them.
Liane
- Age 16. A kind and quiet girl from Domrémy, Liane's hobby is making sweets. She can sometimes be prone to silly mistakes. Jeanne and Liane have a close, sibling-like relationship since young. She is the calmer of the two and is also a bit more perceptive of others' feelings, as shown when she sadly tells Roger that he is obviously in love with Jeanne despite Liane herself being in love with Roger. When Jeanne appears to have died in battle (really she was trapped in another world and rescued by the English knight from the beginning of the game, who then proceeded to teach her), Liane took up her mantle on the battlefield. Unfortunately, she is captured by the English (who mistake her for the real Jeanne) and have her burnt at the stake as a witch. Her death greatly haunts both Jeanne and Roger.
Roger
- Age 23. An ex-mercenary who began living in Domrémy two years ago. He started living in the village since Jeanne's father took him in when he was wandering. He has no recollection of anything before his life of wandering. It is revealed that he was a test subject for putting the souls of reapers into humans and although this usually results in the loss of the human soul to the reaper, Roger's soul is unusually strong and is able to fend off the reaper. He is greatly in love with Jeanne, always protecting her and saving her in times of need.
Gilles De Rais
Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Montmorency-Laval , Baron de Rais, was a Breton knight, a leader in the French army and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known as a prolific serial killer of children...
- Age 27. A mysterious nobleman saved by Jeanne when the English troops attacked. Calm and collected, Gilles is a talented knight but he can be hard to understand at times. Another bearer of the magic armlet. Notably, Gilles is referred to in the North American edition of the game as Gilles de Rais.
La Hire
La Hire
Étienne de Vignolles, called La Hire, was a French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His nickname of La Hire would be that the English had nicknamed "the Hire-God" . He fought alongside Joan of Arc in the campaigns of 1429...
- Age 40. A beastman (also known as therion) warrior of the French army, La Hire is a mercenary known for his overwhelming strength. He holds high respect for Jeanne, who treats everyone equally and for that, he fights loyally for her.
Robert de Baudricourt
Robert de Baudricourt
Robert de Baudricourt , Seigneur de Baudricourt, Blaise, Buxy and Sorcy was a minor figure of 15th century French nobility. The son of the Chamberlain of the Duke of Bar, his principal claim to fame is to have been the first stepping stone in the career of Joan of Arc.-External links:*...
- The French host of the Colosseum.
Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
- Age 6. The young king of England. He is possessed by a demonic spirit and becomes driven to conquer all of France.
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, KG , also known as John Plantagenet, was the third surviving son of King Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, and acted as Regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI....
- Henry's regent. Helps Henry with the war against France. Releasing the sealed demons of the past, he leads the demon army known as Reapers to aid in the French invasion. He is the main antagonist of the game.
Talbot
- An English commander who is tasked with capturing Jeanne to retrieve the armlet. He commands more Reapers than humans.
William Glasdale
- The Commander of OrleansOrléans-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
and an opponent of Jeanne's. He is based on the historical commander whom Joan d'Arc faced but was not significant in the war.
Development
Jeanne d'Arc was developed by Level-5Level-5
is an independent video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka, Japan. The company, which currently employs about 200 individuals, was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from the now defunct Japanese developer Riverhillsoft...
, a company that had previously developed a number of traditional RPGs
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
with the Dark Cloud
Dark Cloud
is a role-playing video game for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was developed by Level-5 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2000 and 2001 in Japan and American/PAL regions respectively. The gameplay of Dark Cloud combines action role-playing with elements of city-building...
series, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, and Rogue Galaxy
Rogue Galaxy
is a science fiction role-playing video game developed by Level-5 and SCE Japan Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game was first released in Japan on December 8, 2005, and later in North America on January 30, 2007...
. Jeanne d'Arc is the company's first project on the PSP handheld. The team chose to make the game a tactical RPG "
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
s. A number of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
actors and actresses, as well as American
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
actors speaking with French accents, auditioned for the game's audio. Ultimately, American actors using mild French accents were chosen for the main roles while individuals with authentic French accents were used some of the game's supporting characters. A French vocal coach
Vocal coach
A vocal coach is a music teacher who instructs singers on how to improve their singing technique, take care of and develop their voice, and prepare for the performance of a song or other work. Vocal coaches may give private music lessons to singers, or they may coach singers who are rehearsing on...
was on hand to assure proper pronunciation and accents. Voice actress Kari Wahlgren
Kari Wahlgren
Kari K. Wahlgren is an American voice actress who has provided English language voices for dozens of anime titles and video games. Her debut role was as one of the main characters of FLCL, Haruko Haruhara. She had a live-action role as Tinker Bell in the 2003 Damion Dietz film Neverland...
was approached specifically for the lead role in the English version of the game.
Reception
Jeanne d'Arc received generally positive reviews, gaining an average score of 87 out of 100 on review aggregator site MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. IGN gave Jeanne d'Arc 9/10, saying "Extremely deep gameplay. Balanced tactical strategy and fast paced action with rich game mechanics. An intriguing twist on a well known tale. These three statements only scratch the surface of the game."
Jeanne d'Arc sold approximately 45,387 copies during its first week of sale in Japan. The game was listed as the 190th best-selling game in the country in 2006 by Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
magazine with a total of 68,013 copies sold by the end of the year. Jeanne d'Arc was re-released as part of Sony's "The Best" range of budget titles in Japan on July 5, 2007. The game has since become available as a downloadable title from the PlayStation Network in both Japan and North America.
Jeanne d'Arc was listed by IGN as "Game of the Month" for August 2007. The website also listed it as the 23rd best PSP game of all time. GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
made it a nominee for "Best PSP Game" despite not releasing a video review for it. They even said of it, "Passing this one up would be a true act of heresy."