04-21-2013, 01:30 AM
Reviewing a game I haven't finished, this should be interesting, never reviewed a game I've not beat before, but here we go.
Jeanne D'Arc. A game developed by level 5.
Story:
Starting with the story, you are playing a French woman named Jeanne who's town was recently burned down in the 100 years war by the English. The reason, the English were looking for a powerful armlet, which Jeanne happened to get from a dying old man while heading to the nearby Church with a friend in search of another member of the town.
Without spoiling anything, the set up for this story is a bit typical, but I think it plays out well, or at least it has so far. I'm really quite enjoying it and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is pretty much what you'd expect out of a tactical RPG not unlike Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem. However, having said that, there is something about this PSP game that I like better than both the aforementioned titles. the battles are fun, the transformations are not only fun and give you great attacks, but spells and weapon specific skills are also fun, and can be used against you as well as for you, making the battles rather difficult. I do think however that leveling up is a bit too easy and doesn't take enough EXP, but even that is leveled out somewhat by making foes give you less EXP each time you level up.
Music:
The music in the game thus far has been great, setting the moods for the areas you visit quite well and with a really cool victory music as well making you feel like you really earned that victory. I really can't go too far into detail about it because of a lack of time spent in game but from what I have heard, I really expect a good OST from this game overall and each new area is proving my hopes to be well founded.
Voice acting:
The voice acting in this game is actually fairly well done. The French accents aren't perfect for everyone but they are believable and likeable. What little I've heard of the English voice acting lacks the proper accent, but hey, it can't be perfect and it still isn't bad, it's just not accurate and considering this is a fantasy game, I can forgive it somewhat.
Graphics:
This isn't something I normally talk about with reviews, but I really do enjoy the graphics in this game. They areas are colorful and beautiful, the animations for attacks look very good and overall they really help layout the scene that the game is trying to create. I have to say though, that I think the character models should have been altered as they all look as though they are Chibi's. Short with large heads. I've gotten pretty used to the idea now but it is still kind of odd and worth noting. The animated sequences are very good though and really look like an anime, which I hope is what they were going for.
Rating:
My rating scale is out of 5 and I think so far I'm going to give Jeanne D'arc, I 4.5/5. While that is subject to change, I really enjoy what I've played so far and would recommend this game to anyone who likes tactical RPG's because this is quickly becoming my favorite.
Jeanne D'Arc. A game developed by level 5.
Story:
Starting with the story, you are playing a French woman named Jeanne who's town was recently burned down in the 100 years war by the English. The reason, the English were looking for a powerful armlet, which Jeanne happened to get from a dying old man while heading to the nearby Church with a friend in search of another member of the town.
Without spoiling anything, the set up for this story is a bit typical, but I think it plays out well, or at least it has so far. I'm really quite enjoying it and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is pretty much what you'd expect out of a tactical RPG not unlike Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem. However, having said that, there is something about this PSP game that I like better than both the aforementioned titles. the battles are fun, the transformations are not only fun and give you great attacks, but spells and weapon specific skills are also fun, and can be used against you as well as for you, making the battles rather difficult. I do think however that leveling up is a bit too easy and doesn't take enough EXP, but even that is leveled out somewhat by making foes give you less EXP each time you level up.
Music:
The music in the game thus far has been great, setting the moods for the areas you visit quite well and with a really cool victory music as well making you feel like you really earned that victory. I really can't go too far into detail about it because of a lack of time spent in game but from what I have heard, I really expect a good OST from this game overall and each new area is proving my hopes to be well founded.
Voice acting:
The voice acting in this game is actually fairly well done. The French accents aren't perfect for everyone but they are believable and likeable. What little I've heard of the English voice acting lacks the proper accent, but hey, it can't be perfect and it still isn't bad, it's just not accurate and considering this is a fantasy game, I can forgive it somewhat.
Graphics:
This isn't something I normally talk about with reviews, but I really do enjoy the graphics in this game. They areas are colorful and beautiful, the animations for attacks look very good and overall they really help layout the scene that the game is trying to create. I have to say though, that I think the character models should have been altered as they all look as though they are Chibi's. Short with large heads. I've gotten pretty used to the idea now but it is still kind of odd and worth noting. The animated sequences are very good though and really look like an anime, which I hope is what they were going for.
Rating:
My rating scale is out of 5 and I think so far I'm going to give Jeanne D'arc, I 4.5/5. While that is subject to change, I really enjoy what I've played so far and would recommend this game to anyone who likes tactical RPG's because this is quickly becoming my favorite.