Let history speaks for itself.
Level 5 has a track record to prove with Jeanne D'Arc. Generally praised for its excellent involvement in genres such as Action RPGs and Traditional Turned Based RPGs, a SRPG would seem like a natural and welcomed addition to its youthful resume. The early parts of the game did look like the game developer has pulled it off once again, though not long enough to hide its true identity as an aged old sweepstake contest- full of promise, but one "Try again" too many.
While war stories in video games are hardly uncommon, war stories that consist of witchcraft, myths and a gentle dose of folklore in video games is. Add a grid battle layout, some mythical creatures, a little clichés, and an even lesser amount of novelty to the brimful of content and we wouldn't have to look twice at our alchemy recipe to know the result. Jeanne D'Arc is essentially a SRPG that is created for the sake of being created, and while hinting a certain amount of fun (as are all alchemy lessons), it failed to shrug itself off the blemishes the fantasy-sugar aims to hide.
Granted, standing on an unfamiliar ground, Jeanne D'Arc stood brave, though easily overshadowed by its knee-jerk moments. It has amazing graphics for one, generously coloured and cell-shaded, reminiscent of Level 5's previous war trophies in games such as Dark Cloud 2 and Dragon Quest VIII. Game play is technically sound, clearly having heeded the "Don't fix what is not broken" strategy. Music, while soiled by the impossible-to-pull-off French accented English voice acting, rings enough vigour for the short and forgettable journey. Skills can be combined to create stronger ones, and with up to 5 slots equip-able, hours can be burnt in creating the right skill mix. Finally, its camera system did the welcomed deed of simply being able to work, often bringing up an unlikely image of a new recruit nudging the older and more experienced generals on how to do war- and correctly!
Jeanne D'Arc did hint a touch of novelty, though it might as well have not. Each character can equip one of three elements that will counter one another- essentially rock-scissors-paper. But for a childhood game, Jeanne D'Arc is unnecessarily bullish and ruthless. At some point, fighting an enemy of superior element would be akin to smashing eggs on rocks. The possibility of being ridiculed by a low-level monster this way would render what could otherwise be completely unsatisfying, making this system entirely pointless.
The invincibility of Jeanne D'Arc is an aspect that seems to have been misrepresented by the makers of the game. Some characters, including Jeanne herself, are bearers of special bracelets which would grant them the ability to transform into power beings, conveniently obsolescing the other characters. Defeating an enemy while in the transformed state would bring about a state of "God Speed", which would grant the victor an additional turn to act upon. If done right, a single character can potentially clear off most enemies on the field, reducing his war companions to mere spectators.
Such is the ride with Jeanne D'Arc- mercilessly hard at times, embarrassingly easy at others. Also thrown into the congested fray is a system that caps each battle with a limited number of turns, of which used up, a game over screen will beckon. This artificial attempt at raising the inconsistent difficulty level would soon become an easy source of frustration, which is certainly not helped by the large grid layout, and at times, fickle objectives.
If Jeanne D'Arc's attempt at saving her country is laudable, Level 5's slab at creating a game out of this history lesson is at times, laughable. But despite the direction of this review, this SRPG is not a bad game. A mere victim of its success, Level 5 appears too eager to include too much of their trade mark quirks into the genre- the result an inconsistent game that can be enjoyable to some, but uncannily frustrating to others. Sometimes, one has just got to let history speaks for itself.