Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Jeanne D'Arc is based on the life of the historical figure, but does take exceptional liberties with recorded events. Numerous references are made to God and Heaven, and Jeanne believes God is the "Heavenly Voice" that guides her to take up arms against the English and to use a special armlet that grants her extra powers in battle.
Families can talk about the historical figure of Jeanne D'Arc and why she's considered to be such an important symbol to the citizens of France. Why was she not taken seriously at the beginning of her career, and how did she overcome people's prejudices? What was life in France like during the fifteenth century?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Erin Bell
There's something about turn-based strategy games that works particularly well on portable systems, and JEANNE D'ARC is no exception. With more than 40 well-designed and beautiful environments to play, 14 playable characters, and fully-voiced animated cut scenes, Jeanne D'Arc deserves a place among handheld strategy classics like Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Advance Wars.
The game puts a fantasy twist on the story of Jeanne D'Arc (known in English as Joan of Arc), the fifteenth-century French peasant girl who, guided by "divine voices" in her head, participated in several key battles that helped to drive English invaders out of France during the Hundred Years War.
However, although Jeanne D'Arc does reference historical people and places, it quickly evolves into a fantasy epic more akin to J. Tolkien than Encyclopedia Britannica, complete with elves, dwarves, and talking beasts. After a group of demons controlled by an English commander burn down Jeanne's village, she decides to raise an army to confront them.
The game progresses as a series of military encounters that players travel to on an overworld map. In between battles, the story unfolds through dialogue and cut scenes. When a battle commences, each side takes turns guiding their soldiers' movements on a grid that represents the battlefield. During a typical turn, soldiers can move, attack, cast spells, or use items. Victory is achieved if winning conditions are met, such as defeating all enemies, or defeating the enemy commander. Players can lose it all if their soldiers are defeated, if Jeanne falls in battle, or if they run out of turns.
Jeanne D'Arc strikes the right balance between being challenging enough for strategy buffs but not overwhelming players with too many unit types, menus, and skills. New character abilities are introduced gradually by way of tutorials, and players must constantly come up with novel and increasingly sophisticated strategies for different terrains and scenarios.
The only time Jeanne D'Arc gets tedious is when you have to "level up" characters in between battles by fighting in a series of random encounters so that they won't get annihilated during the next important battle. Unfortunately, if you've saved just before a major confrontation but find that your army isn't strong enough, there's no way of exiting back to the map screen -- so essentially you're stuck.
If you're patient and willing to spend the extra time, however, Jeanne D'Arc is a strategy title with rich rewards – even if the plot will give your history teacher a fit.
For other fantasy-themed strategy games, check out Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth 2, or WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne.
Rate It!
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ViolenceArmies fight with medieval-era weapons (swords, bows, etc.) and magic. Battles emphasize strategy over one-on-one fighting, and are not graphic. When characters are defeated, they simply disappear. |
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LanguageOccasional use of "bastard," "damn," "hell," "bollocks" and similar mild curses. The English refer to the French as "frogs." |
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Social BehaviorCharacters switch allegiances, with friends turning evil and former enemies turning into allies. Some mature themes including a townsperson committing suicide by jumping off a cliff after demons kill his daughter. There are frequent religious references to God and Heaven. Jeanne believes God is speaking to her and giving her special powers. Because of her youth and gender, Jeanne is not taken seriously at the beginning but slowly proves herself. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoPeople are seen holding wine goblets. |
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Educational ValueThis storyline blends fact and fiction about the life of Joan of Arc. |
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