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Dark Cloud was one of the PS2’s best selling RPGs, but most gamers found themselves disappointed. The success of the first game has led to a recent sequel, and the developers have learned a lot from the first game and in Dark Cloud 2 we see some major improvements. Those of you who were scared away by the first Dark Cloud…come on back! Dark Cloud 2 is better in pretty much every way.
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You start your adventure as Max, a young inventor who lives in the town of Palmbrinks. Little does Max know, he is in possession of a powerful artifact that allows him to travel through time. The evil Emperor Griffon, who seeks to destroy the past in order to rule the future, sends his minions to capture Max and steal the artifact. In the distant future, Monica, who also possesses one of these artifacts, is attacked by Griffon’s men and flees to the past in hopes of stopping Griffon. The two time travelers meet up, and embark on a quest to restore the timeline that Emperor Griffon is attempting to destroy.
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The story in Dark Cloud 2 is pretty interesting, and there’s a lot that happens throughout the course of the game. Unlike the first Dark Cloud, the story is actually an important part of the game and will likely keep you interested. The story is a lot deeper than you might expect it to be, and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat. There’s a lot more to Dark Cloud 2 than simply running through dungeons and building some towns… the story brings a purpose to your whole adventure. And believe it or not, it’s fun!
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Throughout your journey Max and Monica will meet many friends and foes. The characters are pretty interesting, and the interactions are all done very well. You can actually feel the sadness that Max and the others experience as they see the world around them being destroyed, just as you can feel the anger Monica experiences as she confronts her father's murderer (don’t worry, I didn’t spoil anything. It happens within a few minutes of the game’s beginning). Although you only have two playable characters, you can recruit many more characters to move into the towns that you will build, and who will act as support characters.
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The game plays a lot like the first Dark Cloud. In essence, you run through dozens of levels in dungeons, collecting georama parts and slaying monsters, and then use those georama parts to rebuild your world. You can even travel back and forth through time to see how certain changes you make to the world effect the future!
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I remember being bored to death while playing the first Dark Cloud. The dungeons were long and boring, and the combat was extraordinarily dull. That’s been fixed in Dark Cloud 2. Each character has projectile weapons that they can use (Max has a gun, and Monica has magical armbands), and you can pick up objects (rocks, monsters) and throw them as weapons too. This really adds a lot to combat, and it isn’t nearly as repetitive. On top of that, Max can ride in his ride-pod (essentially, a giant robot) and Monica can transform into monsters and use their abilities. There are still some long dungeons, and going through dozens of levels might get a little boring here and there, but with a lot more diversity in the combat, the game is much more fast paced and fun!
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One of the most interesting aspects to the first Dark Cloud was the weapons system, and it’s very similar in the sequel. As you use a weapon it will level up and allow you to synthesize items onto it. Synthesizing certain items to a weapon will increase its stats, for example synthesizing a wind crystal to your sword will increase its power against wind. Once your weapons have reached high enough stats you can upgrade them into new, more powerful weapons. This works both for your melee weapons (swords and wrenches) and your range weapons (guns and armbands). There are hordes of different items throughout the game that you can collect to synthesize, and as a result you can do a lot of customization to create some awesome weapons.
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Not only were the weapons one of the coolest parts in the first Dark Cloud, but they were also among the most annoying. Each weapons has WHP (weapon hit points) which go down as you use it. When the WHP hits 0, the weapon would break and disappear FOREVER! All of the upgrades you’d done to the weapon would be lost, and then players would proceed to throw their controllers against the wall and scream obscenities. Someone at Level 5 probably heard players yelling these obscenities, and fortunately that problem has been fixed. Yes, your weapons still break in Dark Cloud 2, but when they do, they don’t disappear. Whew! Also, the weapons break a lot less often, and repair powders are very easy to find, so although weapons do break if you get careless, it doesn’t really make that big of a difference. Another positive is the fact that you no longer have that stupid thirst meter.
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When you don’t feel like running through dungeons and killing monsters, there’s a lot more to keep you busy in Dark Cloud 2. The fishing mini-game from the first Dark Cloud sees a return, and you can spend plenty of time catching fish and getting items with your fishing points. There’s also an all new golfing mini-game which can be played at the end of many levels. Right there is hours of mini-gaming to keep you busy, but that’s just the beginning of Dark Cloud 2’s extras. There are lots of characters you can find and recruit, and plenty of items spread throughout the game you can spend hours to find. What I found most interesting was the ability for Max to invent new items by taking pictures of random objects and then using items to build objects. Each town is full of all sorts of things just sitting around that you can use to build inventions, and there are a lot of different things you can build using different combinations of objects. There are also hours worth of entertainment in creating the perfect weapon and unlocking monsters for Monica to transform into. If that wasn’t enough, each dungeon has its own goals that you can try to complete, such as beating the level using only the ride-pod, or defeating all enemies in a certain amount of time. Needless to say, Dark Cloud 2 has more than enough gameplay to get your money's worth.
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Graphically, Dark Cloud 2 is very pleasing. The towns and characters are bright and colorful, and the dungeons, although still a little repetitive, are much more detailed and interesting. The character animations are all smooth, and the game has some really unique character designs. The effects, such as running water or the crackling of fire, are very well done, and it’s obvious that a lot of time was spent on details.
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Dark Cloud 2 has a lot of voice acting and it’s of a very good quality. The dialogue is well done, and all of the voices fit the characters. The soundtrack isn’t quite as impressive as the voice acting, but it’s still of good quality, but features little that will stand out.
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It’s not very often that a sequel surpasses the original, but to say that Dark Cloud 2 is an improvement over Dark Cloud is a pretty big understatement. Nearly all of the flaws with the original are eliminated, and all of the strengths make a return with improvements. With charming characters and story, plenty of mini-games and sidequests, detailed weapons upgrading, and interesting town building, Dark Cloud 2 can easily be recommended as a purchase for any RPG fan. Even if you didn’t care for the first game, I still suggest you give this a rental to check out the improvements that make Dark Cloud 2 an excellent RPG.
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