Released after Disgaea in the U.S., this fun Nippon-Ichi JRPG is actually the precursor to Disgaea. The game mechanics, which form the basis of Disgaea and even the recent Phantom Brave to some extent, are at their most primitive here. A simple grid system that's easy and intuitive to use is where the battles take place. Spells are all the standards you expect in RPGs: elemental, healing, power up/down spells. Nothing ground-breaking, but no dissapointing absences. A nice touch is having the ability to increase not just your character's power, but their items' power as well. Another nice twist is the ability to capture enemies and have them join your side. Battlefields usually feature the ability to create chains of colors which can be "purified" to do immense damage to enemies. If this sounds familiar to Disgaea players, it should. Nearly every end result you can achieve in that game, you can accomplish here, but usually in an entirely different way. These features help separate La Pucelle from the rest of the RPG pack. The story is somewhat serious, certainly without most of the overall humor and cheekiness found in Disgaea, but individual scenes may leave you chuckling. The voice acting is competent, but not incredible. The music is standard RPG fare: it doesn't really bother you, but you wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there. Graphically, it's nothing that couldn't be accomplished on the PS1, but being a turn-based RPG it doesn't need a lot of pizazz. Still, the story is where La Pucelle shines. You really find yourself caring about the characters, perhaps the most important element of any RPG, and that's what makes this game such a success. There are some annoying aspects of the game: the cut scenes are a little longer than needed sometimes, and it would be nice if they just played rather than requiring a button press after each character speaks. The very end takes a good 1½-2 hours, with no save points, and no real clue that there won't be any. And in one or two spots you will probably need to go "level up" a character to get through a crucial spot. While similar to Disgaea in the ability to go back to where you've been to gain more strength, "leveling up" is a lot less fun when it's required rather than optional. Still, when all the parts come together as well as they do here, you've got a great game in you hands. Whether you've played Disgaea or not, this is a fantastic game that you ought to try if you're an RPG fan.
From the minds that brought us Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, came La Pucelle: TACTICS. The game itself is a good mix of storytelling through the characters and tactical adventure. That's what it's supposed to be... howe... Read Full Review
La Pucelle was an ok game I guess. It reminds me alot of Eternal Eyes for the Playstation. It has a similar art style, similar monster capturing, and how you venturing from town to dungeon are almost identical. On bot... Read Full Review
