We haven’t seen much from Level-5 since 2005, the critically acclaimed Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for the PS 2. They now try their hand in the PSP world with Jeanne ’d Arc.

Inspired by the Joan of Arc legend, the story centers on a young crusader named Jeanne and her quest to turn back an unrelenting English army. While the Hundred Year’s War rages between France and England, an army of demonic creatures attempts to invade the human world. Blessed with a mysterious armlet, Jeanne is commanded by voices from beyond to use its power to seal away the demon king and recover her homeland once and for all. Though the end of the history story and the game story seem to be the same, everything in between is blurred between fantasy and reality. I found this made the storyline boring, and found myself skipping the actual stroy to kick butt, yet seemed to also hurt me because I didn’t know some of the story.

Gameplay:

The gameplay was almost too addictive (ask my friends, family, co-workers) and picked up for where the plot went missing. Though the grid bassed battles were borrowed from one of several RPG’s, Level 5 still seemed to manage to make it fresh and new. Characters are given skills and equipment, then placed in the field to beat the heck out of each other (hopefully you defeat them), moving and fighting on the terrain provided. Though the like I mentioned the battle system is borrowed the four new gameplay elelments, equipping of skill stones, transformation gems, burning auras, and unity guard, directly effects the strategy and party planning. I found myself at times working on my characters for an hour and didnt even notice as this was as fun as playing the game itself.

Graphics:

Though the game has sometime long cinemas, it was interesting how the gameplay and the cinema was intertwined. I have played games in the past that tend to make it a game and a cinema, or a cinema and a game, yet seem to have a problem making them one of the same. Level-5 did a great job of making sure they fit together. The anime itself was almost whimsical and light, which Im not use to, and the game graphics were colorful and added to the ambience, with the era well represented.

Sound:

The soundtrack on this game was very limited and was on very short loops, though someone took alot of time in the sound effects studio as all those were nearly perfect, To the swords clinking, and speels being cast all made it sound like it was really happening.

Replay:

Though there are many things that could be redone here and still have a lot of fun with it, maybe a difficulty feature would have pushed this game into even a higher level. The AI at times seemed to be faulty as the "enemy" held back at times when they could have easily ganged up on you and made the game much more interesting, but there are so many different ways to play the game, I dont forsee any recent future of being bored of this one.

Overall:

If your looking for a turned based, RPG PSP, pick this one up as the money is well spent.