Dark Cloud 2

"Wow... A game that is BETTER than the original!"

The first time I tried this game is when my uncle showed it to me. I had already played the first Dark Cloud and liked it. When I played it, I got hardly anywhere, but strange as it sounds, the introduction was fun! So, I convinced my parents to get it for me. I loved it so much, I hardly ever stopped playing. I was amazed by the game's sound, graphics and excellent gameplay.

Graphics 10/10:
The graphics are easy on the eyes and very smoothed. Everything from the dungeons to the people to the buildings, everything is great. The monsters are very well done as well. And the interior of every building is unique in Palm Brinks (your main town).

Sound 10/10:
Wow, the sound is incredible! Each bit of music suits the place it's being played at. Nice European music in the main town, different music in each dungeon, great battle music, calm fishing music and great music for each area! As for the sound effects, they are great, simply great. And the character voices are really well done.

Story 10/10:
Great story really, you start off as a young inventor named Max who works at a workshop. He then overhears the mayor talking to some shady character about the outside world. So he then proceeds to leave the town and see the outside world. He then meets Monica, a girl from 100 years in the future. Together they must rebuild the future and track down the man who destroyed it in the first place. They go to many different places for this adventure, ranging from a tropical beach, to a volcanic wasteland.

Gameplay 10/10:
Oh gosh!!! This gameplay should be 11/10. There are many aspects of the game; there is the town constructing, the dungeon battles, the mini-games, the invention process and much, much more.

First of all, there is the town constructing. Much better than in Dark Cloud 1, you have tons more freedom and can do a lot more. You first need to go into dungeons and find orbs called "Geostones". Geostones are little stones that hold wisdom of the ancients, they give you part of the analysis (which I'll get to in a moment) and new objects you can build. You must then find (or buy) material to build objects like houses, trees, water, benches, ect... Then, you must build these objects and place them on the map. Then you must find people in the main town and move them into the houses. There is also the analysis, it is basically what you have to do in order for the future to develop.

Next, there are dungeon battles. You must beat a "floor" in a dungeon to move on to the next "floor". In each "floor" there are treasure chests and monsters. The way to move on to the next "floor" is to get the gate key. To obtain the gate key, you must kill the monster that has it (there is no way to find out who has it). Then you can leave. There is also objective which are optional but reward you with medals (see below). Such as fishing, sheda, time limits to defeat all monsters and more. As for the chests, there are plenty scattered, most of which hold a nice little item on the inside, but some are booby-trapped or mimics. Mimics are strong monsters which are disguised as treasure chests. When you open the treasure chest, they jump at you and attack you, you must defeat all mimics in order to accomplish the "time limit to defeat all monsters" goal.

An awsome feature in this game is leveling up. Each time you beat a monster they leave behind ABS or Absorbation Bonus Sphere which goes to the weapon who delivered the final blow. Once your weapon has enough ABS, it will level up. When it levels up it get something know as synthesis points, which allows you to fuse an item with your weapon. Once the stats of the weapon get high enough, you can build it up. Building up is the process of transforming the weapon into a stronger one. There are 1, 2, or 3 different options of weapons you can transform it into. You will rarely need to buy new weapons because you can upgrade your old one many different times until you have the ultimate weapon. Your weapons also have a durability meter, each time you whack your weapon into an enemy or shoot you gun or amulet, it decreases. Your can repair them by using repair powder.

There is also the "invention process". In the game you receive a camera, not only is it cool to be able to take pictures, but also to invent things with them. First you must take idea photos, they are photos of useful items. Then, you chose 3 and Max might come up with an idea for an object depending on what pictures you used. Then, you must get the materials required to build the object. There are TONS of things you can invent using this feature, such as healing items, weapons, Steve parts (see below) and tons more.

A cool thing about this game is that Max gets to drive a robot (A.K.A. Steve). You can customize it and level it up. There are plenty of things the robot can equip; cannons, missiles, samurai swords, it is really cool. Another cool thing is that Monica can transform into a monster. You can level her up and fight with her as a monster. If she levels up enough, you can evolve into the next level of monster. You can also talk to other monsters of the same species.

Last, but certainly not least, the mini-games. First of all, fishing. Fishing is really cool in this game; you equip the fishing rod and pick a type of bait. You then cast your line into the water and wait for a bite. Then you must real the fish in and make sure the line does not snap. You may bait fish or use lures. With the fish, you can take part in races and competitions, you can cook them and eat them or you can build an aquarium and put them in there. In the aquarium, you can feed then, breed them or get them to battle each other. As for spheda, it is just like mini-golf, you pick a club, and then try to hit a little ball into a hole know as a time distortion in a certain number of shots. There are two colors of balls and two colors of time distortions. Every time a ball hits a wall, it changes color. The time distortion needs to be the opposite color of the ball in order for the ball to go in. If you do so, you get a reward.

Difficulty 9/10:
Yes, this game is pretty challenging, you must go through the 8 chapters of the game, each one harder than th last. The bosses are challenging and the game itself is puzzling. You must take some time to level up your weapons or you will be stuck in the later chapters.

Replay Value 10/10:
With everything in this game, you will spend 400 hours playing. I've already beaten it twice and I'm not sick of it.

Rent or Buy?
Buy, you will hardly do anything by renting it.

+s
+ Hours of gameplay
+ Great replay value
+ Great graphics
+ Amazing sound and music
+ Great town construction
+ Fun mini-games
+ Easy, but fun invention process
+ Well thought story
+ Great dungeons
+ Well done monsters

-s
- No –s

Overall 10/10:
A truly great game!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/06/07