’m an unabashed fan of developer Level 5 (Rogue Galaxy) and Jeanne d’Arc is proof yet again that this studio can succeed at whatever it puts its mind to. Leave it to them to put their own spin on The Hundred Years War that includes monsters (apart from the English) and a fat frog – and that’s not a derogatory comment on the French. There literally is a talking frog in the game.

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? The game presents numerous combat situations with win/lose conditions based around Joan of Arc’s move to restore the Dauphin to the French throne and kick out the English. My favorite part of the title is that it gives you the freedom to envision your best strategies. Characters’ affinities and weapons can be swapped and moves can be tested out before their execution, so you feel like you’re bound less by rules and more your own ideas – and there are some battles where you’re going to need some good ones.

This title does what all of Level 5 games do – it lets you loose in an inviting environment armed with a variety of tools at your disposal. Whether it’s forming bunkered defensive formations with your cast of characters or using Joan’s Armlet powers to lay waste to a board of enemies, this is an alternate history lesson that you should not miss.