With Final Fantasy Tactics out on the PSP, what other tactics type game could anyone want to play? Well the answer is Jeanne D’arc, which is an interesting twist on the tactics genre. First thing that anyone will notice is the battle system is a little different then usual games of this category. Each person in your army can be personally equipped with their own armor, weapons, accessories, and skills. Before each battle the player is prompted to save, equip, place units, or options. After the player has placed their amount of units allowed, usually five or six, the battle begins. Standard game play begins here with the player’s side attacking first and then an enemy turn. One interesting aspect of Jeanne D’arc which sets its battle system apart from other games is the Burning Aura circles. Whenever a character attacks an enemy a golden circle appears on the opposite side of that enemy. If a friendly character is in that square, all damage is then doubled. This system of combat leads to deeper thinking and strategy in combat. Newcomers to the strategy RPG genre may want to stray from this title. If you are not a good planer, then this game can be quite a challenge, for the computer sets many traps and outnumbers you in every single battle.
The main reason why I believe that Jeanne D’arc is different then other games is the inclusion of full animated cut scenes. Full voice over, perfect quality animations, and beautiful game play to video scene transitions are some of the features that push Jeanne D’arc from an enjoyable game, to an outstanding game. The opening scene alone is about five minutes long and is quite impressive. The story is that of France versus England in a feudal war against slavery and poverty. The game from the beginning is quite captivating and starts off with action pretty fast. Overall Jeanne D’arc is a game worth buying of your looking for a game to play after you have beaten Final Fantasy Tactics, or take a chance on a different take on the strategy RPG genre.