Viva La France!
Level-5 lives out the French resurgence in its Joan of Arc-inspired portable tale, Jeanne d'Arc.
Published: March 21, 2007
What happens when one of the world's most respected role-playing game developers decides to bring its next ambitious project to the handheld market? If we had to guess, it might be a little something like Jeanne d'Arc, the telling new tactical RPG from the team at Level-5, best known for the Dark Cloud series, Dragon Quest VIII, and the recent Rogue Galaxy. The game, a nod to the life and times of Joan of Arc, has gotten the green light for stateside release, with Sony Computer Entertainment America confirming today its August 2007 availability.
"With the introduction of Jeanne d'Arc for PSP, Level-5 now brings their high standard of game development excellence to the portable world," booms Jeff Reese, Director, Software Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "The team has managed to create an action filled, mythical adventure that RPG fans and gamers alike will take anywhere they feel like playing, further adding depth to the ever expanding lineup of PSP software."
Try this on for size as a copy 'n' pasted backdrop to the story:
"The Jeanne d'Arc story begins far in the past, when a great war was waged by mankind against demonic armies attempting to invade the human world. During that time, five brave heroes created armlets to restrain the demon gods. In a quest to turn back the rueful army, a young crusader named Jeanne is commanded by mysterious voices to use the power of the magical armlet to seal away the demon king and recover her homeland once and for all."
Mystical, ain't it? Somehow it links its way into the game's present state-of-affairs, with players seeing through the French resurgence whilst fighting back the ever-growing dominance of England. The 40+ hour quest, set in a vibrant world where history meets fantasy, will take players through another 40 sprawling environments, from fields to villages to the notoriously intricate dungeons. Control up to 14 characters (both humans and beasts), all of whom can be customized with more than 150 separate skills and abilities while bringing some truly devastating battle tactics to the table (eight weapon types to choose from, with a series of attack/defensive schemes and combination moves at your disposal.
Late summer feels a ways away, we know, we know. But uh, a few new Jeanne d'Arc screens never hurt anyone, did they?
"With the introduction of Jeanne d'Arc for PSP, Level-5 now brings their high standard of game development excellence to the portable world," booms Jeff Reese, Director, Software Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "The team has managed to create an action filled, mythical adventure that RPG fans and gamers alike will take anywhere they feel like playing, further adding depth to the ever expanding lineup of PSP software."
Try this on for size as a copy 'n' pasted backdrop to the story:
"The Jeanne d'Arc story begins far in the past, when a great war was waged by mankind against demonic armies attempting to invade the human world. During that time, five brave heroes created armlets to restrain the demon gods. In a quest to turn back the rueful army, a young crusader named Jeanne is commanded by mysterious voices to use the power of the magical armlet to seal away the demon king and recover her homeland once and for all."
Mystical, ain't it? Somehow it links its way into the game's present state-of-affairs, with players seeing through the French resurgence whilst fighting back the ever-growing dominance of England. The 40+ hour quest, set in a vibrant world where history meets fantasy, will take players through another 40 sprawling environments, from fields to villages to the notoriously intricate dungeons. Control up to 14 characters (both humans and beasts), all of whom can be customized with more than 150 separate skills and abilities while bringing some truly devastating battle tactics to the table (eight weapon types to choose from, with a series of attack/defensive schemes and combination moves at your disposal.
Late summer feels a ways away, we know, we know. But uh, a few new Jeanne d'Arc screens never hurt anyone, did they?
