Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc

aka: Joanna d'Arc, Juana de Arco, Wars & Warriors: Jeanne D'Arc, Wars and Warriors: Giovanna D'Arco, Wars and Warriors: Jeanne d'Arc, Wars and Warriors: Joana d'Arc, Wars and Warriors: Johanka z Arku
Moby ID: 14297
Included in

Description official descriptions

In 14th century Europe the king of England lays claim to the French throne and thus begins the hundred year war. Take control of Jeanne la Pucelle "Joan of Arc" and her fellow commanders Jean de Nouillonpont, Etienne de Vignolles and Duke of Alencon as they fight the English to recapture France and keep King Edward III from taking the throne.

Joan of Arc can be described as an action role-playing game with some real-time strategy elements. Directly control Joan of Arc or one of the other commanders on missions that relive some of Joan of Arc's more important years in the war. This is the RPG side where you will combat the enemies one on one with some help from a few troops you pick up. Use combos (a series of mouse clicks like AA, AB, AAB etc.) to perform powerful attacks. Gain experience to level up and receive points to increase your stats as well as combo points to enhance your combos or learn new ones. You can switch between the four main characters anytime if they are in your group as they will gain experience and grow stronger also.

As you complete more missions and become more powerful you will be able to control armies to lay siege to castles. Switch to RTS mode (an overhead isometric view) and rally your troops to fight for you then switch back to RPG mode (a third person mode for melee and first person mode for range attacks) and fight in the heart of the battle. Assign troops to each of the four main commanders and switch back and forth between them during the battle. Build siege weapons to conquer castles to once again bring France back under control from England.

Spellings

  • Жанна д'Арк - Russian spelling
  • 战争与勇士:圣女贞德 - Simplified Chinese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Windows version)

68 People · View all

Development Director and Lead Game Designer
Producer and Lead Programmer
Technical Director
Programmers
Game and Interface Designer
Lead Animator
Animators
Lead Concept Artist
Lead 3D Artist
Senior 3D Artists
Artists
Lead Level Designer
Level Designers
Lead QA
Testers
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 58% (based on 19 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.9 out of 5 (based on 6 ratings with 1 reviews)

A poor RTS, but a much better action RPG.

The Good
The action part of the game is quite good. Mowing through hordes of enemies, you gain experience and gold to upgrade your moves and equipment. The controls are simple and responsive, and the core game of destroying the English army is well designed.

The levels are of interest due to the size. While there aren't that many, each one will take a long time to complete. A regular level might feature one or two large castles, along with several smaller towns. The maps are swarming with enemies, to the point that you can easily kill over a hundred English soldiers per map.

The Bad
While the box touts "a Prefect Blend of Action and Strategy", this is false. Instead, the strategy portion of the game is markedly inferior to the action portion. As an example, you do not have unfettered scrolling when in strategic view. Instead, you can only scroll a few screen lengths away from the focused general. This means that to send troops from the barracks to the front lines either requires careful positioning of your generals, switching focus between them as the troops advance, or sending a nearby general with your troops. Either way will take several minutes, and require giving orders repeatedly, just to do an action that would take one or two clicks in a regular RTS.

This is not to say that the action portion of the game is without problems, though. One of the biggest problems is dealing with interior spaces. Quite simply, the camera is not good enough to deal with some of the castles in the game. As much of the game centers around attacking enemy castles, this weakness is encountered repeatedly.

The other problem with storming castles is simple to avoid, but can cause immense frustration if encountered. Basically, if you bring several troops with you, and walk into a narrow corridor, it is possible to get stuck between two troops. While it is possible to get unstuck, doing so will take some time. Thankfully, Joan of Arc is quite capable of taking over major castles with no backup, but this bug can easily create a problem when attempting to bring backup.

Unfortunately, the AI isn't particularly good, either. Large groups of enemies sit out in the open, and wait for you to get close enough to trigger a response. In combat, they are predictable enough to pose no challenge. The bosses are tougher, (at least partially due to their use of heath-restoring food, which completely eliminates the usefulness of their health bar...) but once you understand the patterns, killing them is just a matter of time.

The Bottom Line
I found the best way to enjoy this game is to spend all your time in the action mode, only moving to the strategic mode when you either need to move cannons (to open gates) or generals. If following this path, the game becomes quite similar to the Dynasty Warriors series, and is much more enjoyable. Plow through the innumerable foes, upgrade your stats and equipment, and save France from the English.

Windows · by qwertyuiop (49996) · 2006

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Savage Warriors
Released 1995 on DOS, 2023 on Windows
The Warriors: Street Brawl
Released 2009 on Xbox 360
The Ninja Warriors
Released 1994 on SNES
Snowboard Riot
Released 2009 on Wii
Star Warrior
Released 1982 on ZX Spectrum
Star Wars: Anakin's Speedway
Released 1999 on Windows, Macintosh
Galactic Warriors + Raceway
Released 1984 on ZX Spectrum
Get Medieval
Released 1998 on Windows

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 14297
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Stillman.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, JRK, chirinea, Xoleras, Ghost Pirate, Aubustou.

Game added August 4, 2004. Last modified March 12, 2024.