In my youth, I played this game on and off again. Years later, I tried to playthrough but never got to the end. Yet now, I have finally played through it after so many years. This... magical and magnificent fairy tale may have set a foundation in the early days of the PlayStation 2. However, age may have worn this game since it shows its time.
Set in a fantasy world, Dark Cloud centers around a young boy named Toan (Although, the Player are able to rename him and his companions) who is sent on a world saving quest to stop the evil Dark Genie from destroying everything. As Toan adventured foward with new companions to help him, the truth behind the Dark Genie's origins are revealed. A mix of a dungeon-crawl RPG, with a touch of rogue-lite, and town building simulation where request can be fulfilled for additional rewards. There is indeed a repetitive nature when it comes to dungeon crawl games where the Player will have to go in out of the dungeon to fix the town and resupply, but with the playstyle of the different characters can keep things more interesting. However, there is no voice acting in the game outside of character grunts and some of the companions that follow Toan don't really show up in cutscenes. Most of them join and that's it. Yet, they do leave an impression enough to use them in the dungeons.
Combat is a major aspect of the game where players have to defeat monsters to progress through. As well as collecting Atla, what holds the pieces of the region's town. Basically, the formula for Dark Cloud is: "Fight monsters, find the key, collect Atla, and find the door to the next floor". Rinse and Repeat for dozens of times. Mainly, for combat, players will press Cross to attack the monster enough times until they fall, as that is basically it. Each character have their own different attack styles from melee to range attacks. From Toan's combos strikes to Goro's slams and from Ruby's charge spells to Osmond's burst range attacks. Each character has their own unique method of fighting that the Player can master and see which monster type said character can excel in fighting against.
Throughout the game, Players will have to explore dungeons to collect the town pieces to rebuild it and rid the region's influence of the Dark Genie. Some of the characters have their own way of unlocking doors that may be required to get through. However, this can be an issue at times. A prime example I can think of is when Ruby has to open doors with a crystal of a chosen element such as fire or ice. If she doesn't have the proper element, then the Player may be forced to leave the dungeon and go back to it in hopes that the crystal as the right element for them. This type of issue is also added when a character has fallen. If there is a door that needs to be unlocked via that character and they're not available then the Player is SOL and JWF. At then end of each dungeon is a boss. Some of them are pretty easy to fight as others are just outright unfair. One being the third area's boss, The Ice Queen, and the final boss itself. The former has the ability to send a homing freeze attack the character in place before sending down an icicle for additional damage, which may two-shot that character; worst of all that is her main attack. The final boss may be worse because they have an attack that is completely unavoidable unless you use Goro's charge ability. Overall, the combat can feel fun at times but the game does shows it age with certain bosses.
The other half of the game is town building. Here, Players can rebuild the towns they are in to restore what was destroyed. As stated before, players can fulfill certain requests from towns people to additional rewards to help them on their journey. You can also fish in these towns to collect points for items to use to help as well. What makes this fun is that, if the Player can wish, they can build the town the way they want to with their own ideas. The story's progression will require players to rebuild certain buildings to in order to continue on. If the player hasn't collect the necessary parts, they may have to revisit the dungeon until they get what they need. Yet, if sticking with the formula as stated above, this may not be too much of an issue.
The one unique thing about Dark Cloud is the weapon evolution. If the Player has collected a new weapon, they can place attachments to it to fulfil the requirements to upgrade it to it's fullest form. However, this may be troublesome since all of the character's weapons are able to evolve, thus leaving certain supplies short. On top of that, if the weapon's HP is depleted, it will be destroyed, thus losing the progress built on it. Another issue is having the best weapons, especially near the end of the game. Because if certain characters, either through RNG, not having enough upgrades, or don't have the best weapons, then fighting enemies and bosses will take a long time than it needs to be.
The music in Dark Cloud helps with its atmosphere of being a whimsical adventure story. From the music to Toan's home village to the each dungeon's OST, there can be a sense of relaxation while playing the game. However, this can be interrupted with the same battle music every time the player fights an enemy. Yet still, it does keep the game still is able to keep its charm.
Overall, Dark Cloud has charm with its premise and gameplay; unpolished and outdated, but enjoyable. As with it being one of the PS2's launch titles, it has its place among the games worth being noticed. The Toan's story has been told and this review is at its end. Something that should've been done a long time ago is finally done. Now it is time to move on.
Set in a fantasy world, Dark Cloud centers around a young boy named Toan (Although, the Player are able to rename him and his companions) who is sent on a world saving quest to stop the evil Dark Genie from destroying everything. As Toan adventured foward with new companions to help him, the truth behind the Dark Genie's origins are revealed. A mix of a dungeon-crawl RPG, with a touch of rogue-lite, and town building simulation where request can be fulfilled for additional rewards. There is indeed a repetitive nature when it comes to dungeon crawl games where the Player will have to go in out of the dungeon to fix the town and resupply, but with the playstyle of the different characters can keep things more interesting. However, there is no voice acting in the game outside of character grunts and some of the companions that follow Toan don't really show up in cutscenes. Most of them join and that's it. Yet, they do leave an impression enough to use them in the dungeons.
Combat is a major aspect of the game where players have to defeat monsters to progress through. As well as collecting Atla, what holds the pieces of the region's town. Basically, the formula for Dark Cloud is: "Fight monsters, find the key, collect Atla, and find the door to the next floor". Rinse and Repeat for dozens of times. Mainly, for combat, players will press Cross to attack the monster enough times until they fall, as that is basically it. Each character have their own different attack styles from melee to range attacks. From Toan's combos strikes to Goro's slams and from Ruby's charge spells to Osmond's burst range attacks. Each character has their own unique method of fighting that the Player can master and see which monster type said character can excel in fighting against.
Throughout the game, Players will have to explore dungeons to collect the town pieces to rebuild it and rid the region's influence of the Dark Genie. Some of the characters have their own way of unlocking doors that may be required to get through. However, this can be an issue at times. A prime example I can think of is when Ruby has to open doors with a crystal of a chosen element such as fire or ice. If she doesn't have the proper element, then the Player may be forced to leave the dungeon and go back to it in hopes that the crystal as the right element for them. This type of issue is also added when a character has fallen. If there is a door that needs to be unlocked via that character and they're not available then the Player is SOL and JWF. At then end of each dungeon is a boss. Some of them are pretty easy to fight as others are just outright unfair. One being the third area's boss, The Ice Queen, and the final boss itself. The former has the ability to send a homing freeze attack the character in place before sending down an icicle for additional damage, which may two-shot that character; worst of all that is her main attack. The final boss may be worse because they have an attack that is completely unavoidable unless you use Goro's charge ability. Overall, the combat can feel fun at times but the game does shows it age with certain bosses.
The other half of the game is town building. Here, Players can rebuild the towns they are in to restore what was destroyed. As stated before, players can fulfill certain requests from towns people to additional rewards to help them on their journey. You can also fish in these towns to collect points for items to use to help as well. What makes this fun is that, if the Player can wish, they can build the town the way they want to with their own ideas. The story's progression will require players to rebuild certain buildings to in order to continue on. If the player hasn't collect the necessary parts, they may have to revisit the dungeon until they get what they need. Yet, if sticking with the formula as stated above, this may not be too much of an issue.
The one unique thing about Dark Cloud is the weapon evolution. If the Player has collected a new weapon, they can place attachments to it to fulfil the requirements to upgrade it to it's fullest form. However, this may be troublesome since all of the character's weapons are able to evolve, thus leaving certain supplies short. On top of that, if the weapon's HP is depleted, it will be destroyed, thus losing the progress built on it. Another issue is having the best weapons, especially near the end of the game. Because if certain characters, either through RNG, not having enough upgrades, or don't have the best weapons, then fighting enemies and bosses will take a long time than it needs to be.
The music in Dark Cloud helps with its atmosphere of being a whimsical adventure story. From the music to Toan's home village to the each dungeon's OST, there can be a sense of relaxation while playing the game. However, this can be interrupted with the same battle music every time the player fights an enemy. Yet still, it does keep the game still is able to keep its charm.
Overall, Dark Cloud has charm with its premise and gameplay; unpolished and outdated, but enjoyable. As with it being one of the PS2's launch titles, it has its place among the games worth being noticed. The Toan's story has been told and this review is at its end. Something that should've been done a long time ago is finally done. Now it is time to move on.