Banner of the Maid is a Wonderful Tactical RPG

Banner if the Maid is a turn-based Tactical RPG. It is similar to the Fire Emblem games. The game has an alternate historical setting where the point of divergence is in the French Revolution.

The main character is Pauline Bonapart, Napoleon’s sister. Many of the characters are based on historical figures. This is a fun setting, and I really enjoyed the story the developers told.

This game was released in 2019. I played it on the Xbox, and it is one of the better RPGs I’ve played. I’m really glad games like this are still being made, and I like it as much as Unicorn Overlord, Sea of Stars, and Cosmic Star Heroine.

TLDR: Great Gameplay, Beautiful Graphics, and a Creative Story.

Narrative

Banner of the Maid is an alternate history of the French Revolution. It uses the idea of Maids as a point of divergence from the normal timeline. I like the way they do it. Alternate history stories are a ton of fun.

The characters in your party are mostly new creations to the game, while the main plot revolves around historical figures. Many of the events from history are included in the game but have been changed to include the main character and to tell a different story.

The main story follows Pauline Bonapart, who is the sister of Napoleon in this game. She is one of the Maids and has the power to inspire people. The game’s story inserts her into French history following the French Revolution and before the death of the Royal Family.

In the game, Maids were considered witches. They have a variety of magical powers. A few can see the future, and others can inspire people and talk to animals. These powers are not limited to the women of France; enemy generals have similar powers. Unsurprisingly, all of them are women.

Overall, I like the story. It is a creative idea to take things in this direction, and I think the developers did a good job with it. It isn’t all great, but its problems aren’t too serious.

Gameplay

I like the gameplay quite a bit. This is a genre of game that I enjoy quite a bit, and it is my favorite style of RPG. Banner of the Maid is a Tactical RPG similar to Fire Emblem, Tactics Ogre, and Final Fantasy Tactics.

Because this is the French Revolution, and you’re playing as the French army, many of the names of characters, units, and factions are going to be in the French language. This might cause a language barrier for some players. It did for me at first, but it wasn’t too bad.

Like most Tactical and Strategy RPGs, your characters gain levels and can get promotions. These go hand in hand, as promotions are tied to gaining levels. Most of your units have one promotion, and some have two. Here is a list of them:

• Fusillier (Infantry) – Promotes to Grenadier and then to Grenadier Old Guard
• Tirailleur (Heavy Infantry, I think) – Promotes to Voltigeur
• Chasseur (Scout) – Promotes to Carabinier
• Military Band (Medic) – No Promotion as far as I can tell
• Artillery – Promotes to Artillery Elite
• Dragoon (Heavy Cavalry) – Promotes to Cuirassir and then to Grenadiers a Cheval
• Hussard (Light Cavalry) – Promotes to Hussard Elite

I like how the developers worked in the different units and found workarounds for a more modern setting. Instead of having knights, clerics, and sorcerers, you have modern military units. Beyond this is a faction system that governs the side quests and the shops.

On the city map, which you can get back to before each battle, you’ll see where each faction is. These act like shops, training grounds, and places where you can get more information. It is a cool way of doing things.

There are five factions in the game. You don’t align yourself with one of them; as you gain a reputation with each faction, more items and equipment become available. You’ll also get more missions from them. You can increase your reputation through missions and during the dialogue choices.

This is a really interesting way to do things! I was a little unsure of it at first, but I ended up liking it. Here are the five factions:

• Royalist
• Jacobin
• Malmaison
• Parisian Citizens
• Feuillants

This faction system has some impact on the combat. You’ll get more side quests as the game goes on. You’ll run into a few victory conditions during the side quests and the main story. Here is a list of them:

• Defeat all enemies
• Defeat a specific unit
• Protect a specific unit
• Survive X number of turns
• Defeat all enemies in X number of turns

These are all standard victory options in a game like this. I have one criticism of Banner of the Maid regarding this. It doesn’t always tell you what the victory condition is. This makes it possible for you to lose because you don’t know what the game expects you to do.

There is an option to see the win condition before the mission starts, but I feel like this is inadequate. It should be given to the player as soon as the mission starts. This is really a minor thing, but it bothered me enough to mention it here.

In a game like this, there are a few things that can have an impact on the game’s combat. These are things like:

• Direction of attacks
• Unit/Weapon/Magic triangle
• Terrain
• Unit Level

In Banner of the Maid, three things play a role in how damage is dealt. A triangle or Rock-Paper-Scissors system based on unit class, terrain, and level play a role in dealing damage. I didn’t notice a difference in the direction of combat, but that didn’t stop me from trying it.

The roster of units available to you changes a bit from one act to the next. It is a nice way to introduce new characters and lets you experiment with different tactics. There are also some quests that let you level up your characters.

New characters don’t start at level one when you recruit them. I love this because it limits the amount of grinding for levels you have to do. It is still great to have opportunities to level up your characters, which you can do from the side quest menu.

Overall, the gameplay is very good! I didn’t have any serious problems with the combat; my only issues were more personal preferences. This is a solid Tactical RPG.

Visuals

I have a few things to discuss regarding this game’s visuals. The first is the beautiful pixel art, and the second is the avatars in the dialogue scenes. Banner of the Maid mixes pixel art with some good-looking anime-inspired pictures.

As I’ve gotten older, my tastes have changed a bit. I would’ve loved it if I had seen the female avatars in this game in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Like many women in anime, they are showing off their breasts, or most of them are doing this. There are a few women who are dressed appropriately for the battlefield.

The art is fine; it looks good. I’ve just started questioning why women would wear low-cut shirts while going into battle. This is one of those moments when I feel like a grumpy old man.

The battle scenes look great! If I had to pick something to critique, it would have to be the size of the unit sprites. They are a little small, but this isn’t all that bad. You can still see which units are yours, where they can move, and what they can attack.

The terrain you fight on looks great! It reminds me of Vandal Hearts and other Tactical RPGs on the PS1. In those games, the battles take place on a seemingly random square of earth that is surrounded by nothingness. It can look a little odd, but it makes sense from a gameplay standpoint. I also like it a bit more than Brigandine, where the battle map is very big.

Maids of the Banner is a beautiful-looking game. I love the pixel art. The character sprites and terrain look wonderful. While I pointed out how my opinion of the anime women look, I think the art for the character portraits is excellent.

Translation

The game’s translation is rough at times. It wasn’t too bad at the beginning, but the further I got into the game, the more problems I saw. The game isn’t funny bad; it was more like someone who didn’t know what they were doing.

The biggest thing I noticed was missing words. Whoever did the translation left out several linking words, which made a few sentences nonsensical. I ran into this a lot when I was doing translations in college and when I was learning a new language.

I think the problem is with the transliteration process. Different languages don’t always have the same linking words, or those words are considered to be implied. This can cause some issues when translating from one language to English.

When I was learning Swahili, I ran into issues with gender. For the most part, that language has gender-neutral or contextual gender in sentences. It was causing me issues when trying to figure out who was being talked about.  

I’m by no means an expert on translations, but I know a little about them based on the few times I’ve done them. With Banner of the Maid, I think the developers did their best. It is similar to what happened in the 1990s.

8/10. I didn’t have any issues with the gameplay. It is a solid Tactical RPG with a good story. Some of the attempts at humor didn’t work for me, and there are several issues with the translation.

Pros

• Beautiful Graphics
• Great Gameplay
• Good Story

Cons

• Bad Translation
• User Interface Issues
• I didn’t find the jokes to be funny

Conclusion

Banner of the Maid is a fun alternative to games like Fire Emblem. It is a solid game with a creative story and beautiful artwork. I think this game compares favorably to Arcadian Atlas.

I haven’t played too many Tactical and Strategy RPGs from indie developers. Arcadian Atlas is the game that Banner of the Maid is closest to. I like the combat and graphics in Arcadian Atlas more, but the story is easier to follow in Banner of the Maid.

If you’re looking for a game to tide you over for the next Fire Emblem game, then Banner of the Maid is perfect for you. It is a fun game that has a creative story and good graphics. The gameplay is solid but not anything special.

If you liked this post, please check out my other reviews, such as Unicorn Overlord and Arcadian Atlas.