REVIEW
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DARK CLOUD 2 REVIEW
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Posted on August 2, 2004
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I bought the original Dark Cloud when it had become a greatest hits title for the PlayStation 2. It was apparently the first full fledged RPG for the PS2, and so I decided to give it a shot. Many friends of mine (who owned Nintendo systems) complained as to how Dark Cloud was nothing but a copy of 'The Legend of Zelda' series. Having never played a zelda game, I though Dark Cloud would be perfect for me.
The game had three main gameplay systems. The first system was the dungeon battles, which at first were fun, but then got too repetitive and too boring. The goal was to find a key that would allow you to go to the next level in the dungeon, and was only obtainable by killing monsters. The battle system would have been more enjoyable had their been more attacks and more spells like in Kingdom Hearts. However Level 5 (makers of Dark Cloud) decided to spend more time on the Georama system. This was the second gameplay system. It allowed you to actually design your own world. In the dungeons you could find these Georama stones which would allow you to rebuild homes that had dissappeared because of an evil force (part of the plot that I don't plan to reveal). Though this system was fun, it did have its limitations. For example, It didn't give you the option to decide how many homes you wanted to build, rather it gave you a set of homes and all you had to do was place them. The last gameplay system is the quest mode where you can run around (in the world that you built) and converse with other non playable characters.
There were quite a few cinematics in Dark Cloud, but they were extremely dull seeing that you had to read the conversations, and that characters had no facial expressions whatsoever. In addition, the music/score of the game didn't kick in to help us understand the mood of the scene. Eventually, I grew weary of the game right about at the time when you reach an area called Queens.
A year and a half later, I was interested in buying an RPG seeing that there was time till Final Fantasy Tactics Advance came out. With the motivation of my online buddy, Ikuzo, I purchased Dark Cloud 2. I'm sure many of you must be wondering why the hell I purchased DC2 even though I wasn't too fond of the first. Today, I am glad I made that decision.
Level 5 has made huge improvements in almost every department and aspect of the original game. Unlike Dark Cloud, Dark Cloud 2 has only 2 main characters. These characters have been given a large number of unique attacks which even include guns and magic. Max (male protagonist) has both a wrench and a gun in his hands while Monice (female protagonist) has a sword and a magic armlet in her hands. In addition, Max has a robot (riepod) which you can customize to your own likind, and Monica has the ability to transform into monsters. The Georama system has also been improved upon. For example, you can now choose how many houses you want to build, and decide who you want to live in them. Finally, the cinematics have also become better with the inclusion of voice acting and small facial expressions.
Overall, Dark Cloud 2 fixes almost all the problems that existed in the original game. There were only two issues that I had with the game. First, the music/score could've been worked on a lot more. For some reason, it felt like the music was being held back from releasing its full potential. Second, the game's cinematics didn't seem to match up with today's standards. The facial expressions weren't realistic at all in comparison to games like Ratchet and Clank. But those two things can be overlooked seeing that there are many more plus points to the game than minus.
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(Rating: B)
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