This was one of the first games I had on the PS2 that I really enjoyed... and what a game it was!
It's a rare dungeon crawler that I actually really liked. That genre is usually one I find myself disliking, or even despising, due to a lack of variation in its gameplay and there not being a story or purpose.
However, Dark Cloud is much different in that regard... this game has all of these wonderful ideas the game displays throughout. I loved the multiple gameplay elements that helped break up the monotony of dungeon crawling they had in this game - the multiple characters, weapon upgrades, city building with the Georama pieces, fishing, etc.
This was also the first 3D game I played with a day/night cycle, which invested me even more in its world.
With this game coming out in 2000, it has shown its age, but I will always have fond memories of playing it. It also contributes to one of the greatest sequels I've ever played. Its sequel, Dark Cloud 2, takes the ideas of this game as its foundation, and "runs with it." It builds upon it in such a spectacular way, and in my opinion, becomes Level 5's magnum opus (forget Ni No Kuni - that doesn't even come close)...but I'll save that for my Dark Cloud 2 review.
It's a rare dungeon crawler that I actually really liked. That genre is usually one I find myself disliking, or even despising, due to a lack of variation in its gameplay and there not being a story or purpose.
However, Dark Cloud is much different in that regard... this game has all of these wonderful ideas the game displays throughout. I loved the multiple gameplay elements that helped break up the monotony of dungeon crawling they had in this game - the multiple characters, weapon upgrades, city building with the Georama pieces, fishing, etc.
This was also the first 3D game I played with a day/night cycle, which invested me even more in its world.
With this game coming out in 2000, it has shown its age, but I will always have fond memories of playing it. It also contributes to one of the greatest sequels I've ever played. Its sequel, Dark Cloud 2, takes the ideas of this game as its foundation, and "runs with it." It builds upon it in such a spectacular way, and in my opinion, becomes Level 5's magnum opus (forget Ni No Kuni - that doesn't even come close)...but I'll save that for my Dark Cloud 2 review.