In Jeanne D’Arc, players take on the role of the French heroine during the 100 year war between the French and English. The role-playing game by Level-5 brings an interesting and unique look to the historic story when it arrives next month on the PlayStation Portable handheld.

Sony recently sent along a preview copy for us to check out before the anticipated August 21 release date. As stated above, players take on the role of Jeanne D’Arc or more commonly known stateside as Joan of Arc along with two of her partners Liane and Roger.

In the game, Jeanne heads home to Domremy where she finds the town burnt to the ground. In the battle that follows, Jeanne turns into a warrior who has even more power to take down enemies and take on damage.

Following the devastation by English forces, Jeanne’s motive is clear to return freedom to France. During her journey, Jeanne meets plenty of other companions including Colet, Bertrand and La Hire. In the actual game, players will make decisions on which warriors will battle in each stage.

Clearly the game, Jeanne D’Arc is focused on conflicts between the French and English during this time, but equally wants to expand on the story with mythical creatures, magic and more. The combination seems to work well.

In addition, the gameplay is solid taken straight from the likes of Final Fantasy Tactics. The turn-based RPG has you battle it out in a chess style grid. Experience and leveling are gained both during and after battles. In addition, players are able to utilize weapons, spells and other such items in battle as well. The game is broken down into stages and each one has a goal which must be accomplished in a certain number of turns, along with conditions for failure.

Two interesting additions to the battle sequence are the burning aura and unified guard. Aura is on offense and allows characters to unleash a powerful attack if a glowing circle appears on-screen and you attack from that location.

Meanwhile, guard is revealed when two characters are close to each other on the grid. Often times it will result in a miss or at least lessen the attack on you. It’s obvious from these inclusions that the game is focused on teamwork more than individual play.

One other notable inclusion is the armlet that Jeanne utilizes. One time per battle and possibly more, the armlet gives Jeanne the chance to go twice or use special attacks.

Meanwhile, players will gain spirit affinities in one of three areas. This can help and hurt you depending on the affinity of your enemy. Various skill stones build power in specific affinities which in turn can determine the path your character takes. Purple stones are skills, while red are for more powerful abilities. These stones are only accessible for swordsmen. Meanwhile, two more stones are available to anyone in the green and blue. Green gives you magic, while blue boosts your statistics.

Sticking with the stones, players are able to accumulate stones in-game either by buying, finding or acquiring them from defeated opponents. It’s an interesting inclusion that adds some depth to the experience.

As for the graphics, they are stunning with cel-shading in-game and terrific cutscenes between battles.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, Jeanne D’Arc definitely will keep RPG fans on the PlayStation Portable happy. With what is rumored to be a 40-hour adventure, clearly stunning graphics both in-game and cut-scenes and solid gameplay, Jeanne D’Arc is worth a gander when it hits shelves in August. ]]> Sun, 29 Jul 2007 17:20:34 -0500