Jeanne d' Arc demo impressions - a great tactical rpg (56K warning)

Coming off of Rogue Galaxy (which I found underwhelming) my hopes for Jeanne d' Arc weren't all that high, but I decided to preorder it in order to lay hands on the demo and have found it to be quite well done. The character designs and story (what little of it was encapsulated in the demo) were somewhat generic, but the gameplay and level designs are quite impressive and the localization is up to Sony's usual high standards (they have come a long, long way since Legend of Dragoon). I'd say the most interesting gameplay feature is the fact that a couple of the warrior characters can morph into more powerful forms for a brief amount of time, though they can extend that time by killing enemies (which grants them another turn right behind the one they just took). Nice details include impressive looking environments, a lot of control over the camera (you can rotate it and zoom and bit) and the fact character's appearance changes depending on what they have equipped. What was most encouraging was that at the end of the demo, the dying enemy general promised that the final game would be tougher than the demo. Jeanne d' Arc demo impressions - a great tactical rpg (56K warning)
I'm almost certainly getting this (since I have a psp now) as I am a fan of Level 5's work (Dark Chronicle, and DQ8). Glad to read favourable gamer's impressions.Sadly I don't think there is a way of getting the demo here in Europe but at least I won't have any trouble playing the full game even if it is never released in Europe (which is what i've been hearing).Rogue Galaxy hasn't been released in EU yet but i was looking forward to it. Do you recommend avoiding it? I could do with saving some money towards other games.Jeanne d' Arc demo impressions - a great tactical rpg (56K warning)
[QUOTE=''bugsonglass''] I'm almost certainly getting this (since I have a psp now) as I am a fan of Level 5's work (Dark Chronicle, and DQ8). Glad to read favourable gamer's impressions.Sadly I don't think there is a way of getting the demo here in Europe but at least I won't have any trouble playing the full game even if it is never released in Europe (which is what i've been hearing).Rogue Galaxy hasn't been released in EU yet but i was looking forward to it. Do you recommend avoiding it? I could do with saving some money towards other games.[/QUOTE]Rogue Galaxy's gameplay (and AI characters of very, very limited utility) is kind of like that of Kingdom Hearts. I suppose that isn't a horrible thing, but I expect a lot more of Level 5, so it was a big let-down for me.
[QUOTE=''CarnageHeart''][QUOTE=''bugsonglass''] I'm almost certainly getting this (since I have a psp now) as I am a fan of Level 5's work (Dark Chronicle, and DQ8). Glad to read favourable gamer's impressions.Sadly I don't think there is a way of getting the demo here in Europe but at least I won't have any trouble playing the full game even if it is never released in Europe (which is what i've been hearing).Rogue Galaxy hasn't been released in EU yet but i was looking forward to it. Do you recommend avoiding it? I could do with saving some money towards other games.[/QUOTE]Rogue Galaxy's gameplay (and AI characters of very, very limited utility) is kind of like that of Kingdom Hearts. I suppose that isn't a horrible thing, but I expect a lot more of Level 5, so it was a big let-down for me.[/QUOTE] I think after Dragon Quest VIII, Level 5 wanted to do something much more combat heavy which is why they swung into the Kingdom Hearts direction. I wasn't much of a fan of it either.
[QUOTE=''CarnageHeart'']Rogue Galaxy's gameplay (and AI characters of very, very limited utility) is kind of like that of Kingdom Hearts. I suppose that isn't a horrible thing, but I expect a lot more of Level 5, so it was a big let-down for me.[/QUOTE]I agree with you that the game was a bit of a let down, especially since it came from Level 5. After playing FF 12, I found myself frustrated with the lack of control I had over my teammates in Rogue Galaxy. Sure I wasn't expecting something like FF 12, but I figured I'd atleast have some control over my team like you had in the the Kingdom Hearts games. Sure it wasn't the best around, but you didn't have to do all the minor things yourself(Such as using moves or potions).But back on topic, I have been looking forward to this game ever since I heard it was coming out. And now that I have a PSP I plan on getting the game. Doesn't this come out within a few days of Bioshock? if thats the case I might have to hold off on getting this game for a week or so.
Looks like an awesome game in the vein of the now immortal FF Tactics and Disgaea. I may buy a PSP today for this, thats how big of a fan I am of SRPGS.