History VideoGame / JeanneDArc

''Jeanne d'Arc'' is a 2007 TurnBasedStrategy RolePlayingGame for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable, from the very talented folks at Creator/Level5. It's [[TheThemeParkVersion based]] on the [[SadlyMythtaken reimagining]] of [[InsistentTerminology Saint]] [[JeanneDArchetype Joan of Arc]]'s involvement in the Hundred Years' War as part of a greater war between mankind and the "Reapers," [[TheLegionsOfHell demonic creatures from the Netherworld]]. Cue the HenshinHero transformations, the half-human warriors, magic spells and, of course, the mystical armlets that make all of this possible.

%%* CreepyChild: Henry VI, [[spoiler: after the possession by Gilvaroth]].

* DiscardAndDraw: [[spoiler:Jeanne loses her first armlet when she falls off a cliff and it's bequeathed to Liane, and when she dies it goes to Cuisses. Luckily, Jeanne gets the armlet of Luther and gets all-new Gems to play around with.]]

* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: [[spoiler:The first Gem of Jeanne's second armlet is called the Gem of Light, and it outfits her in armor of gold and white like a palldin. To emphasize it, the special attack of this form is called "Visiting Goddess".]]

%%* TheLancer: Gilles. [[BladeOnAStick Literally as well]].

* WhipItGood: Rose attacks with whips, and has the most flexible attack range in the game.

* BareYourMidriff: Rose. Surprising, since every other female character (barring the dark elves) in the game is dressed rather modestly. Mawry also wears skimpy clothing, including baring her midriff.

%%* BalefulPolymorph: [[spoiler:Cuisses was supposedly turned into a frog at some point. The truth is a little more complicated.]]

* YouShouldKnowThisAlready: [[spoiler: Subverted. Given that the real Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, you could expect this version of her to follow the same fate. But she, um, she didn't. That was Liane. Funny that Roger said that ''Jeanne's'' the one who should have been burned.]]

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: The therions, the Reapers, the elves, and the dwarves... and this is a game set in France with French heroes. TranslationConvention at work for the English-speaking North American market.

%%* CatsAreMean: Subverted with La Hire as he is loyal and helpful (if inconsiderate), but definetly played straight with Mawry.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Despite that [[spoiler:Henry VI is shown as reclaiming his own body when Gilvaroth was forced out, Cuisses is still usable in the final battle]] In the part(s) where Jeanne and Gilles is separated from the rest of the group, they can use the shared inventory, and the rest of the group ''still'' gets LeakedExperience. These both tend to veer on AcceptableBreaksFromReality, at least from a gameplay mode. Making characters who aren't available not gain experience wouldn't be fair, wouldn't it? And [[spoiler:Cuisses is the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to Liane - any bit of healers is useful]].

* ObviouslyEvil: Bedford, who even looks like [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame he could be related to a certain whacko of a Catholic judge]] or [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty the brother of a certain sorceress]]. [[spoiler: Subverted, though. The guy ''was'' one of the heroes who defeated the BigBad in the past. He's actually more of a WellIntentionedExtremist who wanted to protect Henry from the dangers of noble politics -- in the worst way possible]].

* EscortMission: The Dauphin is an idiot who walks into arrows all by himself, [[FridgeBrilliance which actually makes sense when you consider that he wasn't that much of a strong person in real life]].

* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Averted, but then switched around a lot. Mages other than Richard aren't really that useful except in case of emergencies to cast Heal and against enemies with high Evade making physical attacks less likely to land, and the only thing keeping Richard from being benched is the armlet. Having only two possible defined mage characters in the game, one optional, doesn't help either, since Liane and Beatrix are hybrids. And while everyone's stats are technically linear, it's actually the ''archers'' who wind up becoming some of the most powerful characters, since Sky Dart can make them attack from ''anywhere'' on the battlefield and they can attack without fear of being countered, although they don't create burning auras, which can be an utter GameBreaker. Rose and Rufus, too.

* MagikarpPower: Rufus is a minor character with godawful starting stats. If you level him up he'll trump characters who possess the GameBreaker armlets, who normally anyone else with the same kind of weapon useless.

* %% PlotlineDeath: [[spoiler: ...probably not the one you're expecting, however]].

* ActionGirl: Jeanne, natch. And does a damn good job of it, too.
** Liane also, to a lesser extent. Beatrix, Rose, and Claire count too.
* AfterCombatRecovery

* AmnesiacDissonance: [[spoiler:Roger]].
* AnimeHair: Gilles.

* AristocratsAreEvil: ...or useless.
* ArmorIsUseless: {{Averted}}. [[spoiler:It's heavily implied only Jeanne's armor prevented her from immediately dying from a cross bolt to the gut, though she's still left heavily wounded from it and the subsequent fall off a cliff. Still, the fact remains she's still alive for Luther to heal her.]]

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: ...as a ghost, anyhow]].
* BalefulPolymorph: [[spoiler:Cuisses was supposedly turned into a frog at some point. The truth is a little more complicated.]]
* BareYourMidriff: Rose. Surprising, since every other female character (barring the dark elves) in the game is dressed rather modestly.
** Mawry also wears skimpy clothing, including baring her midriff.
* TheBattleDidntCount: Especially against Talbot.

* BossRush: The Colosseum and the final gauntlet of plot battles.
* BraggingRightsReward: Beating the Colosseum's third level of difficulty gives you some gold and an item you probably earned elsewhere.
* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:Not Jeanne, though she does get dangerously close. Liane.]] And ''how''! So badly it becomes [[spoiler: KillTheCutie]]!
* BurnTheWitch: But of course, given the name of the game. [[spoiler: [[NotHisSled But not the one you were likely expecting]]]].
* CatsAreMean: Subverted with La Hire as he is loyal and helpful (if inconsiderate), but definetly played straight with Mawry.
* CelShading: The art-style.
* ChekhovsGunman: Cuisses. [[spoiler: Revealed to be the real Henry VI]].

* CreepyChild: Henry VI, [[spoiler: after the possession by Gilvaroth]].

* DealWithTheDevil: The game opens with this scene as Bedford allows the Devil to possess his nephew, King Henry.
* DemonicPossession: The Reapers.

* DoomedHometown: The hamlet of Domremy is destroyed while Jeanne and Liane find the armlet in the woods.
** [[spoiler:Averted in the ending when Jeanne and Roger come back to discover most of the villagers managed to flee into the woods during the attack and are now rebuilding the hamlet.]]

* ElCidPloy: Gone horribly wrong. There's a reason [[spoiler: the game continues after the English manage to "{{burn the witch}}"]].

* EvilOverlord: Bedford and Gilvaroth.

** Perhaps unintentionally, Jeanne bears a certain resemblance to [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Arturia Pendragon]], ranging from outer appearance (complete with IdiotHair) to facial expressions to general attitude. Ironically, [[HilariousInHindsight the Nasuverse Jeanne would eventually turn out to be very similar to Arturia herself, being considered one of the "Saberfaces"]]. Jeanne's [[Creator/KariWahlgren English voice actress]] would later go on to voice Arturia [[LightNovel/FateZero herself]]. Not only that, [[Creator/MaayaSakamoto Jeanne's Japanese voice actress]] voiced the Nasuverse Jeanne!
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Roger. He gets better, though]]
* FallenHero: [[spoiler: Bedford was one of the five heroes who originally sealed Gilvaroth away.]]

* FightingYourFriend: [[spoiler: Roger ''and'' Liane]].
* FireIceLightning: The Sol, Luna, and Stella elements respectively.
* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler: Actually subverted.]] There is even some foreshadowing here... [[spoiler: look at historical portraits. Then look at Jeanne and Liane's hair colours.]]

* FunnyAnimal: The therions are basically anthropomorphic animals, like lions, gazelles, panthers, dogs, bulls, rhinos, tigers...
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Despite that [[spoiler:Henry VI is shown as reclaiming his own body when Gilvaroth was forced out, Cuisses is still usable in the final battle]]
** Also, in the part(s) where Jeanne and Gilles is separated from the rest of the group, they can use the shared inventory, and the rest of the group ''still'' gets LeakedExperience.
** These both tend to veer on AcceptableBreaksFromReality, at least from a gameplay mode. Making characters who aren't available not gain experience wouldn't be fair, wouldn't it? And [[spoiler:Cuisses is the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to Liane - any bit of healers is useful]].

* GoryDiscretionShot: [[spoiler: A character being burned at the stake, although you see her outline as Jeanne comes up]].

* HenshinHero: TransformationTrinket? Check. [[ByThePowerOfGreyskull "Command phrase"?]] Check. TransformationSequence? Check. InstantArmor? A new suit for each gem bonded to an armlet.

* JeanneDArchetype: Obviously.

* JustAStupidAccent: Everyone in the videos, plus [[FunetikAksent Colet who is the only one for whom it is reflected in written dialogue]].

* MadScientist: The Soldats Laboratory.
* MagicKnight: Liane's stats make her a decent caster and average fighter, letting her pull double duty if you're unsure whether to bring one or the other.
** Bellatrix as well, though it's far more likely that you'll just use her for healing.

* MightyGlacier: La Hire, Rufus, and Bartolomeo, with their low movement and evasion scores.
* MissionFromGod: [[spoiler:Subverted, as the voice from the armlet was actually another armlet user, reaching out to a new hero to guide them]].

* MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers: Optional members Rose (a whip-using thief) and Claire (a mage). The choice is obvious who most players go for...

* NonHumanSidekick: Cuisses. The therions Rufus, La Hire and Bartolomeo probably count.

* NotEvenHuman: [[BigBad Gilvaroth]].

* OptionalPartyMember: You have a set of two characters who can be recruited: either another mage, or a completely unique character who attacks with a whip and actually acts as a thief.
* OurMonstersAreDifferent
** OurDemonsAreDifferent: The Reapers. They need to possess people to manifest on Earth (at least most of the time), and when they take their true form their host's face is visible (asleep, mercifully) over their stomach area. When separate from a body, they appear as wispy shadows, sometimes with GlowingEyesOfDoom.
** OurDragonsAreDifferent: Big and reptilian, though apparently unintelligent. Not all breathe fire, if only because that's a skill and not all of them come with the skill stone. Some can breathe poison gas.
** OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: With a habit of keeping dragons as caged pets, for some reason...
** OurElvesAreDIfferent: While it turns out the elves (along with the dwarves) were responsible for the actual creation of the armlets, they're now extremely xenophobic and isolationist, with racist laws [[spoiler:that exiled Beatrix for agreeing to marry Bartolomeo, a therion]]. In gameplay terms, Beatrix is often outclassed by Marcel, though she's a better caster... which isn't terribly useful as archers already have free ranged attacks and have skills to stay effective outside of casting range.
** OurOrcsAreDifferent: Blue and red-skinned [[PigMan Pig Men]].
** AllTrollsAreDifferent: Big, one-eyed [[MightyGlacier Mighty Glaciers]] who all come with the HP Recovery skill.

* PlotlineDeath: [[spoiler: ...probably not the one you're expecting, however]].
* PoirotSpeak: Colet again. Mon dieu!

* RandomlyDrops: Good luck harvesting those Heaven's Gate and Mobility skill stones.
* RecurringBoss: Talbot, most annoyingly. Also Mawra, Blaze, and Slinker. [[spoiler:Despite appearing to be killed off for real much earlier on, Talbot makes a HeelFaceTurn]].
* RedBaron: Red-handed Rose.
* ReviveKillsZombie: Averted.
* SadlyMythtaken: So Joan of Arc was a ''[[MagicalGirl what]]''? And La Hire was a ''lion''?! And the war between France and England was actually orchestrated by TheLegionsOfHell?
* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler: Liane, and it [[KillTheCutie doesn't get better]]]].
* SealedEvilInACan: The Reapers are sealed inside human hosts.
* SealedGoodInACan: The armlets and their gems.
* SevenDeadlySins: A few are represented by the major Reapers: Superbia (Pride), Ira (Wrath), Luxuria (Lust), and Avaritia (Avarice).

* SquishyWizard: Richard and Claire.
* StatusBuff: There are spells and skills to raise the various stats.
* StatusEffects: Poison, Stun, etc.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: [[spoiler:Cuisses to Liane, with the same stat growths]].

* TalkingAnimal: [[spoiler: Cuisses, after Liane's death.]]
* TeamPet: Cuisses, during the first half of the game.
* ThirdPersonPerson: La Hire often speaks like this, perhaps a reference to ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII''.
* TheLancer: Gilles. [[BladeOnAStick Literally as well]].
* TheLegionsOfHell: The Reapers and their assorted Skeletons, Fiends and Orcs.

* {{Transflormation}}: Laurent and the other inhabitants of the Rein-Courenne Wilds.

* WellIntentionedExtremist. [[spoiler: Arguably Bedford. After his defeat, Bedford states that his making a deal with the devil was to protect Henry VI from assassination. However, said deal resulted in countless English and French deaths. Moreover, Gilvaroth actually booted the real Henry VI from his body]].

* StandardStatusEffects: Poison, Stun, etc.

The plot, although not as complex as in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics other]] [[Franchise/{{Disgaea}} games]] in the genre, diverges enough from the historical Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years War to provide a multitude of plot twists and shocking surprises. It starts off with Jeanne, who, with her childhood friend Liane and their companion, Roger, becomes embroiled in the horror of war when an English detachment of soldiers and inhuman monster razes her village --acquiring in the process a mysterious golden armlet, from which she hears the voice of God commanding her to save France from the invaders. Thus begins Jeanne's fight to release her country from the grasp of both Englishmen and the army of foul creatures they have somehow recruited. Along the way, she will meet with various historical figures such as Étienne de Vignolles, aka La Hire; Arthur de Richemont, and even King Charles VII, many of which appear as enemies, allies or even party members, though all have been equally reimagined to fit the fantastic setting of the game.

* FinalDeath: Averted. None of your units can die permanently on the field short of conditions that end the game.

* FiveRaces: Humans, Reapers, Therions, Dwarves and Elves.

** OurElvesAreBetter: Subverted, as while it turns out the elves (along with the dwarves) were responsible for the actual creation of the armlets, they're now extremely xenophobic and isolationist, with racist laws [[spoiler:that exiled Beatrix for agreeing to marry Bartolomeo, a therion]]. In gameplay terms, Beatrix is often outclassed by Marcel, though she's a better caster... which isn't terribly useful as archers already have free ranged attacks and have skills to stay effective outside of casting range.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Jeanne, of course. Also, despite how he acted in real life, [[spoiler:Gilles]].

* BadDreams: Roger suffers through them constantly. [[spoiler:Specifically about how Bedford experimented on and implanted a Reaper inside him.]]

* ObviouslyEvil: Bedford, who even looks like [[Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame he could be related to a certain whacko of a Catholic judge]] or [[Disney/SleepingBeauty the brother of a certain sorceress]]. [[spoiler: Subverted, though. The guy ''was'' one of the heroes who defeated the BigBad in the past. He's actually more of a WellIntentionedExtremist who wanted to protect Henry from the dangers of noble politics -- in the worst way possible]].

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jeannedarc_8304.jpg]]

** Perhaps unintentionally, Jeanne bears a certain resemblance to [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Arturia Pendragon]], ranging from outer appearance (complete with IdiotHair) to facial expressions to general attitude. Ironically, [[HilariousInHindsight the Nasuverse Jeanne would eventually turn out to be very similar to Arturia herself, being considered one of the "Saberfaces"]]. Jeanne's [[Creator/KariWahlgren English voice actress]] would later go on to voice Arturia [[LightNovel/FateZero herself]]. Not only that, [[MaayaSakamoto Jeanne's Japanese voice actress]] voiced the Nasuverze Jeanne!