Dark Cloud (Sony PlayStation 2, 2001)

i ADORE this game. im ADDICTED to it.

the story is you play as 'toan', but you can change his name to whatever you want, as with all the characters you can play as.

one day, during a celebration, your village is nearly destroyed. you wake up and meet the fairy king, who gives you a wristband thing that gives you the power of atla. he informs you that the dark genie is free, and looking to destroy the world (why do they always wanna DESTROY the world? id rather take it over). he puts YOU in charge of rebuilding the towns and taking down the genie.

you prowl dungeons and forests and all sorts of locales to find the pieces of the villages and its inhabitants. along the way youll mix it up with many minions of the malevolent madman. youll aquire tons of weapons and items, all with their own unique abilities and powers. one of my favorite aspects of this game is the VARIETY! EVERY.SINGLE.TIME you enter dungeons it's randomly generated, meaning no two dungeon floors are EVER alike. you can go back again and again to gain TONS of power ups and weapons and build up your arsenal and self. there are limitless ways to upgrade your weapons. the status break makes for some wicked weapons. so far ive only broken one weapon. i got careless =\. i miss it.

anywho, once you rebuild the shop of the town, you can buy and sell things there, making yourself a pretty penny. the character interaction is great too. they always have something interesting/funny to say. they also offer clues as to how to rebuild the town, what they want in their homes, etc.

the control is easy to use, making slashing and shooting and pounding your way through hordes of monsters a breeze. the quick item select at the top allows you quick access to three items in your inventory.

the most annoying thing about this game are the limited zones. they vex me so :|
you either cant switch characters/weapons or it drains the build up stuff you built up in your weapons. it doesnt detract from the already built up power, but the meter which tells you when you can build up again. its annoying, but theyre few and far between.

the enemy characters are funny, cute, and sometimes scary (king mimic O_O he scares the CRAP outta me). some inspire awe due to their immense size, some are just downright creepy (witches, those weird black things, etc).

designing towns is fun. LOADS of fun. you can put things wherever you want, eventually youll need to adjust them to the specifications of the townsfolk (eg i want my house to be in front of drans windmill (though you can place the windmill wherever you want), i want to be able to hear the roar of water, etc). its like a mix between zelda & sim city. its got the best of both worlds.

to sum it up, if youre a fan of fun, involving rpgs which let you customize nearly everything, this is for you. pick this up, you won't be disappointed.

TWO BONGS WAYYYYYY UP!!!!!

Dark Cloud is an excellent RPG for the Sony PS2. The graphics are an animation similar to cell shading. It's "Georama" system, combines world building with Action RPG, and was a pioneer game for that reason. It has a great plotline, and moves along well. The only downside, is that the enemies and fighting become somewhat repetitive, but because the plot rolls along, this annoyance is minimal. There is also a fishing mini-game, and a huge dungeon for hours of extra gameplay after the main game is completed. There is currently only one sequel, also for the PS2, Dark Cloud 2. What I think is really it's strong point, is that it appeals to all ages and is a really fun play. It has a deep rich plot, the gameplay is very well developed and interesting, but it isn't overly complex in a way that some RPGs get, which can sometimes interfere with playability. Dark Cloud is one of those all time classics and can be played over and over again.

If you are into RPGs, then this is one of the best games out there. The dungeons, like in the Blizzard game "Diablo", are randomly generated, so you'll never visit the same dungeon twice. The georama, which is a unique feature, allows you to build the world as you see it. However, the weapons are what makes this game that much more spectacular. Unlike most RPGs, the weapons gain exp, or abs, not the characters. Repairing your weapon is essential to becoming stronger. After extended use the weapon's hit points, Whp, wear down and once they reach zero they break. Along with the challenge of not breaking your weapons, you can customize their stats to how you like them. Some weapons, after certain stats are reached, can be built-up to make stronger, sleeker looking weapons. Be warned. This game is very addicting. Once you turn it on you won't want to turn it off. This review doesn't glorify the game enough. To truely understand how great it is, you will just have to buy it and try it for yourself. Weeks of gameplay. Enjoy.

I have heard people pounding mercilessly on this wonderful game and saying that it's a no good, V. bad game. Now let me correct them a bit, with pointing out what could have been improved and what was just great!
Graphics: 7/10 - I don't think that this game was meant to have detailed graphics. What it did have was a cartoony aspect to a fantasy world, and beautifully portrayed. Each dungeon has it's own appeal, each character has their own "look".
Storyline: 6/10 - Now this is debatable, it's sort of like: Villain-mouse-dude destroys world, now must restore. However, after you complete each town, each city, you are able to talk with each character and it's well thought up.
Weapons: 10/10 - I love the weapon system of Dark Cloud. Sure, repairing weapons again, and again, at the risk of losing this beloved weapon is a bit annoying. Then again, each weapon must be treated with care, so I guess it makes sense. Then, each weapon has it's own "look", a look that unlike Kingdom Hearts of Final Fantasy X, you can view in its own mode. The weakest weapon, can become a weapon of great power, or assist to power up another. Yes, the weapon is a major part of this game.
Characters: 5/10 – Ok, I disliked Ungaga, he couldn't do anything. Good, original characters with the exception of Toan, but even he is a bit original.
The specific details - The georama system was great. I doubt that any game has this wonderful approach. Design each town the way you please with some step-in’s from residents. The soundtrack's good, even though the electric guitar is way overused. Great game.

This game isn't over all amazing however it is a decent game to play

The story is an ok story but but the game play is pretty nice. it is an action adventure style game where you run up to the enemy and use your weapon to kill them. it is good to be able to upgrade your weapons to make them stronger and give them better attributes. You get to rebuild villages however you want (if you don't listen to the villagers, if you do, then your more buildings it their way). The battles are not too hard but they can have a challenge to them depending on the enemy.There is also some floors in the dungeon that can add a twist to give the game a good challenge The graphics are pretty good for the time when the game was made as well


As for the things I don't like, your weapons can break easily and can sometimes get a bit frustrating as well as your thirst meter can get annoying. The other thing is the camera, it does not follow behind you so you have to keep moving it to see where your going and sometimes will get stuck making it a bit more annoying in that way

but over all, it was a pretty decent game. not amazing but it is worth playing