Jeanne d'Arc

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Folks who traded in their PSPs for lack of awesome games should be feeling substantial remorse right about now.

GameShark

Jeanne D'Arc manages to deliver on all fronts, from the presentation to the fast paced and streamlined open-ended battles and skill binding mechanics. Everything in this game is polished, pretty, highly functional and fun. At the end of the day it's hard for me to complain about anything in this game.

Digital Entertainment News

Immediately becomes the best reason to own a PSP in ages. MUST… HAVE!

Game Chronicles

Jeanne d’Arc is the best tactical RPG that I have played in a long time. The amount of skill customization and various character types with their own weapon types and skills is amazing as is the sheer level of detail in ever facet of the presentation.

TotalPlayStation

Jeanne d'Arc does nearly everything perfectly, and I know I keep harping on this, but it's just a stellar first effort for Level-5. If your PSP has been collecting dust since, say, Crush, break out the dust mop and grab this game.

AtomicGamer

Jeanne D'Arc is one of the best games to be released on Sony's portable system to date.

Cheat Code Central

I was thoroughly enraptured by Jeanne D'Arc. It's a sweeping epic that has both the mechanics and visuals to make it a must-play title.

GameBrink

By all means for you SRPG fans out there pick this game up! I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed! I myself have still yet to clear this game and it seems that there will be more than enough volume left to satisfy the casual to the hardcore gamers. This is one game that is worth its weight in gold. [JPN Import]

Gaming Age

The game is a must have for fans of the genre; it's very good looking, the music is excellent, and the game is just all around fun. Make sure you pick this one up to save France... again.

RPG Fan

What Jeanne d'Arc lacks in originality it makes up for in its polish. It's an all around solid strategy RPG that anyone into that genre will eat up and enjoy.

AceGamez

The game isn't perfect, as there's a certain simplicity to the combat based on only attacking on the ordinal directions and some of the dialogue doesn't flow very well, but overall it's an engaging and fun game that you won't want to put down until the very end.

GotNext

Jeanne D'Arc skillfully balances an engrossing story with equally impressive combat.

DarkStation

There are really two categories of RPG's, the great ones, and the less than favorable ones. Jeanne d'Arc manages to get in the top category, which just shows that Sony really pushed this game to become great, and they succeed in doing that.

Game Over Online

If Jeanne d'Arc was a PS2 game, it'd be one of the last great games on the system. As a PSP game, it's definitely a reason to own the system, although it has a surprising difficulty curve that may frustrate some players.

Play Magazine

This looks more like a triple-A PS2 game than a PSP game, and it weighs in at 40-plus hours. [Aug 2007, p.70]

PSX Extreme

Jeanne D'Arc is a huge breath of fresh air for those looking for a kick-ass S-RPG game. This isn't just an S-RPG you can play to tide yourself until Final Fantasy Tactics hits, but this is an S-RPG you can put alongside FFT and hold it up as a standard for others to follow.

Hardcore Gamer Magazine

There's just the right mix of story and gameplay, with a couple of cool twists thrown into both for good measure. [Sept 2007, p.69]

PSM Magazine

All in all, Level-5 has made a deep, varied, and challenging battle system with a handful of nuances you can utilize to you advantage. [Sept 2007, p.74]

GameSpy

Jeanne manages to capture perfectly what we want from a tactical RPG: to make us care about the characters through a well-done but not distracting story; to give us enough choices in customization to make preparing for battle and spending our resources meaningful; and in providing us with battles that feel like certain doom from the first turn, even after we've won dozens of them.

IGN

Extremely deep gameplay. Balanced tactical strategy and fast paced action with rich game mechanics. An intriguing twist on a well known tale. These three statements only scratch the surface of Jeanne d'Arc, which manages to deliver on all of these fronts.

Games Radar (in-house)

When all these ingredients – story, gameplay, and character customization – are thrown together and stirred, the result is an irresistibly scrumptious strategy RPG that would be an absolute shame to pass up.

DailyGame

Jeanne d'Arc mixes history with fantasy in one of the finest strategy RPGs to grace the PSP.

GameZone

A handheld tactical RPG that is visually wonderful and does a great job in terms of gameplay. Give Level 5 credit for taking some of the best elements of the genre, combining them with a few new ideas and dropping them into a solid gaming backdrop.

GamingExcellence

Overall Jeanne d’Arc is not ground breaking in an innovative frame of mind. Nothing is really new but everything is still excellent.

Gamer 2.0

Right now, it’s the best strategy RPG on the system, though Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions rears its head in October to challenge for that crown.

Just RPG

Overall, Jeanne d’Arc is possibly the best strategy-RPG found on the PSP.

Gamers' Temple

However, if you're an RPG fan it's hard not to like the game and the breath of fresh air it brings to an often tired genre. So go out there and stop the English … with orcs!

The New York Times

Jeanne d’Arc’s story and gameplay are both first-rate, but they are essentially separate entities; you watch some story, fight a little and keep doing that until the game ends.

GamingTrend

Graphics are good, controls aren't frustrating, and the gameplay challenges me. I can't see how this could be a better title.

Game Informer

Level 5 hardly reinvents the wheel of strategic, turn-based grid combat, but instead offers a well-thought out title stuffed with combat and character options – and what Level 5 game would be complete without the chance to combine items to create new, more powerful objects?

Extreme Gamer

Like the legend of Joan of Arc, Level 5’s Jeanne D’Arc has marked itself along side some of the other great turn based strategy RPG games that we’ve come to adore over the years.

Gaming Nexus

After a two year wait, PSP owners finally have a role-playing game worth bragging about. Jeanne D'Arc is everything it promises to be, even if it is a by-the-books tactical RPG.

GameCritics

It's the best SRPG I've played in years and crushes just about everything else on portables, straight up... if you don't get that PSP back and give it a shot, you're missing out, bro.

Game Revolution

Overall there's nothing incredibly ground breaking about Jeanne d'Arc. However it has an extremely compelling story with some great “Holy Crap!” moments.

G4 TV

While Jeanne D'Arc lacks an in-depth job system found in titles like Final Fantasy Tactics, the pre-defined characters can be outfitted with four types of skill stones; granting your warriors with new spells, attacks, and more.

Pocket Gamer UK

Easily one of the best titles yet for PSP, Jeanne d'Arc triumphs not just in its fictional reenactment of the Hundred Years' War, but in refining the tactical role-playing genre with rock-solid gameplay.

GamerNode

With a strong story, a main character that is actually pretty interesting, a very competent visual package, and gameplay that is enjoyable, Jeanne D'Arc is a solid tactical-RPG overall, and arguably the best RPG available for the PSP at this point.

Modojo

But it has to be mentioned, forever again, that what is here was a game brilliantly executed on many fronts.

1UP

A gaggle of inferior strategy-RPG options sporting higher asking prices already litters the PSP's substandard role-playing pool, so this fully competent, polished game should be an instant no-brainer for fans of the genre.

GameSpot

History is turned on its head with a great story and compelling gameplay that keeps the tempo moving.

GameDaily

Incredibly accessible thanks to an ample introductory section of the game which teaches new players the ins and outs of the genre.

GamePro

However, what it does right it does well, and it doesn't weigh you down with some of the more cumbersome aspects it shares with other titles in the strategy RPG genre. [Sep 2007, p.86]

NTSC-uk

There’s no doubt that coming to this game from something such as Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea will prove to be too easy a ride for those experienced with the genre, but for anyone looking for a more portable Strategy-RPG, with a wonderful story to tell, Jeanne d’Arc will be a perfect fit.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

While it certainly doesn't reinvent the genre, Jeanne's gameplay wisely blends aspects from other successful tactical-RPGs. [Sept 2007, p.97]

Eurogamer

The storyline, while clearly bonkers, makes a refreshing change to the standard RPG fare, if only because it draws at least superficially, on historical characters and events.