Dark Cloud 2

"No foreboding clouds on the horizon for this game."

A lot of games of the adventure genre are often compared to the Zelda series, which can often result in some unfair comparisons. Many people like to believe that every year a new hot title is going to come out which simply changes the way we view a genre, and it isn't at all likely to happen. So when Dark Cloud 2 was previewed by many magazines and websites as that quote un quote “Zelda Killer”, many people were very skeptical that such a feat was possible. They were right to be skeptical; you don't kill a legendary series such as Zelda. With that said however, with amazingly addictive game play, an art direction that is nearly peerless on the PS2, and a classic adventure which does owe much of its charm to its Zelda style, Dark Cloud 2 is perhaps the greatest the genre of action RPG has to offer to date.

When you first step foot into the game, the Zelda element is certainly very much there from the start. You get a melee weapon, a ranged option, as well as a few tricks that you pick up along the way to make the game more interesting. Combat can be repetitive at times, but it never seemed to really drag on long enough to be noticed, if you spent a good while plucking away with your melee weapon, you could always switch it up and fry something with your magic or gun. Another way they varied the game is by having two main characters, Max and Monica, you will always be in control of one or the other, and you can switch between the two in most dungeons, unless there is a certain limitation which only allows you to use one of the main characters in a specific dungeon floor. The game also forces you not to sit mindlessly in front of the TV, as there are many enemies that if you aren't wary can hit you for a massive amount of damage if you get too close, or enemies that simply are not harmed from your ranged efforts. It takes a certain amount of awareness to navigate many of the later dungeons, but nothing too straining. Although the dungeons are randomly generated, they are still fun to play around in and while they don't offer any of the clever puzzles that other titles of the genre typically do, there really wasn't a sense that something was missing from them.

Boss fights are varied in their mechanics, and often times have a gimmick which you must figure out and perform in order to successfully take out the boss. The boss fights are very engaging, and can be challenging at times. This game does not suffer from the syndrome that a boss is just another enemy with more health though, you will always be able to do something unique and unexpected before eventually taking down a boss, something too many games have yet to realize is a good idea.

Unlike most RPGs, your character does not really grow a lot over the course of the game. Unlike most action games, your weapon upgrades are not preset and obtained through the story. One of Dark Cloud 2's more brilliant ideas was to fuse the idea of upgrading weapons as you go along with experience, what was created was the “build up” system. By killing different enemy types you obtain different items which can be broken down and then used to upgrade your weapon. Mostly elemental in nature, these items are pretty easy to obtain and you can have multiple weapons with different attributes. It should be noted that you cannot create one of the best builds until later in the story's plot, so it is impossible to get too overpowered very early, which rewards a bit of skill in the combat throughout.

Graphically the game is nearly unrivaled on the Playstation 2 system, and was certainly unrivaled at the time. The Cel Shading for the game was lovingly done, with much attention to detail being spared at every turn. Although many RPG fans would first get to see Level 5's excellent graphical design in the well received Dragon Quest VIII two years later, the impressive work done on this title shouldn't be ignored. The characters are without question vibrate and full of life, each detailed quite nicely to suit their personality. At a time where cel-shading was still on rocky ground, Dark Cloud 2 really reaffirmed the belief that it could be done beautifully and without flaw. The weapons in the game also look very nice and make it even more worth it to “build up” your weapon towards some of the higher end weapons, as the level of detail and the aesthetic quality of them is truly fantastic, you might just want to stare at them for awhile before you bash an enemy's face it with your latest wrench.

The sound for the game was always well done, featuring very well done voice acting all around. In a game where one had to listen to the two lead characters talk quite a bit, it would have been a major disappointment, as well as a torment, if the voice acting for them wasn't done well. Thankfully that was never a worry, as the voices were both easy on the ears and very much in character. The background music wasn't great, and there were no stand out tracks that you would go back just to hear them over, which is a bit disappointing given how action games as well as RPGs usually have a few of those on every soundtrack, but it doesn't diminish greatly from the game. The biggest peeve about the music,; or in this case the lack thereof, was in the dungeons. Very rarely was there any sort of music to accompany you as you ran in a dungeon, and I felt that was one of the biggest problems of the game. The dungeons really could have used some more music to either lighten or darken the atmosphere in cases, and they really missed their chance to swing for the fences there.

The story is very satisfying, and is an epic tale of both revenge and has an overreaching them of trying to set right a series of wrongs, and there is much to be set right. Without spoiling too much, you are going to meet a very interesting cast of characters that certainly play their parts well. The villain is rather good at making you dislike him, and many of the side characters who help you along the way are very likable and will help to make the story simply that much more enjoyable. Aside for a few twists, Dark Cloud 2 doesn't present any drastic changes to the story formula of many games before them, but it pulls it off in a very charming and likable fashion.

If you have plenty of time on your hands, I certainly would suggest Dark Cloud 2 hole heartedly. It is no short adventure, which given how fun it was along the way it absolutely no problem. Along with the huge main quest, there is also several mini-objective to accomplish as you tread through several dungeons. You have Spheda, a golf-imitation involving dimensional portals which is oddly addicting, as well as fishing contests every week to make use of your fishing rod more often than not. Even when you are not busy with the latest main story line objective, there is certainly still plenty of work, or play, to be done outside of the story.

Dark Cloud 2 is certainly not flawless; however the experience is more than the sum of its parts. If you can overlook some poor sound and music decisions and don't mind hacking away a little too much in places, Dark Cloud 2 is an excellent experience for you. Even if those things aren't very appealing to you, Dark Cloud 2 still delivers an enjoyable, and at the very least, worthwhile experience for any fan of the genre to check out.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/09

Game Release: Dark Cloud 2 (US, 02/17/03)