So, not sure if anyone knows this, but I am a Dark Cloud fan. It's one of my favorite games of all time and when I heard a sequel was coming out(6 years ago lololol), I was excited. Really excited. The only problem was that I didn't have enough money to buy it and with time, I forgot about it. Until this summer, when I got to borrow it from a friend.
Now in my last blog, I said that I finished it, but for you who doesn't know what magnificent piece this is; youtube it. Do it. Both Dark Cloud and Dark Chronicle. I'll wait...
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Done? Alright, let's get this show on the roadddddddddddddddddddd.
Dark Cloud, released as one of the first RPGs for Playstation 2, is a mix between classic Final Fantasy and Zelda. You move around just like in Zelda, but have various stats you can boost. Of course, the boosting only goes for your weapons, as you can only increase your HP and Defense in your character.
Anyway, the system is kinda flawed. Your weapon has WHP (Weapon Hit Points) that will decrease at every hit. If it comes to 0, your weapon is destroyed and LOST FOREVER. That sucks especially when you've been building your weapon for the whole game.
There are six different characters and six different types of weapons you can use; Swords, Slingshots, Axe, Magic, Spear and LAZER GUN PEW PEW PEW. They are all assigned to a certain character, so your main character can't have Slingshot. Damn.
Anyway, the story is pretty simple. The Dark Genie is released from his 400 year old prison and is set to destroy the world once more. He starts with the Hero's village (The Hero shalt henceforth be known as Toan) and totally decimates it. Of course Toan and the Mayor survives with a small little house, where your adventure begins.
The Fairy King arrives and gives you a magical gem called Atlamilla, which is said to be able to store anything and use it to change the world. It's rad. You get your first tutorial once you found some Atla, a piece from a certain village, which you are then assigned to place out. It's fun and it's rewarding.
So, the story is pretty straightforward here; fix this village, move onto the next one, plot device, boss, next village, plot device and so forth. But it never gets dull with the story. That's what pushes you to finish the game, even when the dungeons get extremely dull- you want to finish it.
Eventually, you go back 400 years into the past to attempt and stop the Dark Genie from resurfacing. Of course, this changes the future! And from having two moons in the sky, there is suddenly only one? Time sure did change.
Which brings us to Dark Chronicle, the prequel/sequel. I'm not sure which one it is. Sometimes it feels like a prequel but sometimes like a sequel. But right now, I'm going to go at it as a prequel. The story begin with a girl, known as Monica, rushes into battle and tries to save her father but to no avail. Her father is murdered and before her stands Gaspard with a grim, sinister look.
After that, we meet a boy, Maximillian who will be narrating the whole story for you. Oh goody!. Anyway, moving on, the boy gets into serious business... with clows. So he fights a clown army in the sewers.
I am not joking. Even if I wish I was. But you know what, I'll forgive it. It was a funny arc to begin, even if it was you against the clown world.
IT'S MAX AGAINST THE WORLD.
Ehum.
Anyway, after Chapter 1 you are finally teamed up with Monica. Yaaaaaay! And your adventure begins once more, with Atlamilla once more playing a big role. (oh and Monica is from the future: a hundred years into the future to be precise)
Anyway, the gameplay is basically what it was in Dark Cloud. However, it has refined to perfection. No longer will you lose your weapon for all eternity if it breaks down. It will still be there. Hurray! And they've reduced some elements as well. It's all gooooooood.
Anyway(for the third time), I won't go in more with Dark Chronicle. You should play it by yourself. Oh, for you Americans it is actually Dark Cloud 2. Silly I know.
But if you have played both of these games and loved them, I want you to do me a favor. Send an e-mail or something to Level-5 and ask for a DARK CLOUD 3. So it can happen. CHEERING WILL ENSUE THEN.
AND I WILL BE HAPPY.
AND BLOG MORE.
THANK YOU AND PEACE OUT.
