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Dark Cloud for PlayStation 2
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Dark Cloud for PlayStation 2
109 reviews   4.15 of 5

Product Description

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Sound

The sound is this games biggest flaw. I'm nota real sound critic because I really dont pay much attention to it. The problam here is that the same tunes play over and over agin and there very simple kinda like theres only one insturment playing the whole thing.

Gameplay

The gameplay in this title is for the most partis solid. There are so many things taht oyu can do in this game its unbelievable. The building of the worlds is a very nice touch and in my mind thats what puts this over Final Fantasy when it comes to game play. The thing I really like though is the battles, I like that you can actually run around and fight unlike the final Fantasy titles it gives it a more real touch. As for the control of htis game it couldnt get any simpiler my 5 year old cousin could have picked this game up and understodd the controls with ease.
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Summary

I dont really know how long ive been playing this, but I think it is really really good I loved Zelda which i play once every day, but my brother got a PS2, I decided to play one of his demo discs. At first I thought it was another boring Zelda look a like, but after playing it a while I got hooked, I eventually got my mum to buy it, and the only reason Im not playing it now is cause my brother is on it. I really liked the idea of fishing, which on zelda is really unrealistic, but dark clouds idea of being able to choose your own bait was really good, the other good idea was having different species, The dungeons I found were not as good as Zeldas as they really didnt have much different with them, like each room had looked exactly the same, but even so I really enjoyed them. I really enjoyed building up my weapons. The other thing I really liked was building the towns. Each character had different ideas on how or where they wanted thier houses/shops placed in the town what they wanted to be near. Over all I really think you should buy this game just to see what I mean.


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Summary

All right here it is. In comparing Nintedo's Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Sony's Dark Cloud, there really isn't much debate in my mind. I'll just come right out and say it...Zelda 64 has a better story, better sound track, and better gameplay. Now before you go click the back button, read on and let me tell you why Zelda was better, and the reason that you should still buy Dark Cloud.

First of all the gameplay of Zelda64 was, in my eyes, the best gameplay of any game ever created. The game was just so invigorating and absorbing. It made you feel as if you were actually in Hyrule sharpening up your sword for battle. Dark Cloud really doesn't do that. It can become monotanous after a while. Going from one dungeon to another dungeon to another gets boring, but there's just enough spice in the game to keep you wanting more.

The story and soundtrack just went along perfect in Zelda and made the game that much better. Zelda was a whole world of which you could explore, interact, and change. Dark Cloud doesn't have this feeling. Instead of exploring hyrule field to find destinations you have a magical map that teleports you wherever you please. Fun idea, but doesn't provide as fun of gameplay. Sound also becomes monotanous after a while and will have you pulling out your favorite cd's instead of listening to Dark Clud's music.

Now I know what your thinking. "According to this guy Dark Cloud is a terrible game." Simply not true. The fact that we are even comparing it to a game of Zelda's status proves it is a great game right there. Zelda is a better game, but Dark Cloud is a great game. Graphics in Dark Cloud are heads and shoulders above Zelda, and building the towns adds a new dimension to the game. Also, if your into having a whole party of players to choose from, Zelda will not quench your thirst. Dark Cloud will.

All in all Dark Cloud is a great game that had a shot of being a legendary game. With 50+ hours of gameplay you know the story can't be too bad and if you are looking for something to feed your need for a Zelda-type game with a few twists, get in the car and go buy Dark Cloud.
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Summary

Ok, Actually I dont know how long i've played this game but it gets interesting the more Atla you collected to rebuild the nearly destroyed cities. There's Novune Village, Divine Beast Cave, Wataki Village, Wise Owl Forest, Brownboo Village, Queens, Shipwreck, and some others I haven't visited yet. I have gotten a 100% in everything, namely Completion, Request, and Collection of Alta in Novune Village, Wataki Village, and Queens. Overall I thought Dark Cloud was pretty good.

The main topic of this game is to collect the Alta, floating orbs that only the hero of the story, Toan, can touched to release the contained pieces to each village or city. And fight the bosses at the end of each dungeon.

At first glance me and my little sister thought that the character, Toan, on the front of the game was Link from Zelda. We were wrong.
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Summary

I hear both positive and negative comments about Dark Cloud, so I decided to experiment with such a controversial game for myself. I never really enjoyed playing games derived from Sony like Crash Bandicoot titles but this particular game is an exception along with Parappa the Rapper. At first glance, the whole concept about building your own town seemed uninteresting but didn’t look that way after a few hours of playing. This game was rewardingly refreshing and an escape from most games I play like RPG’s and pure gun action. Dark Cloud reminded me of Sim City where constructing your own world is the main aspect of the game. The more I explored numerous dungeons the more I got siphoned in the game. It presented numerous ways to freely build houses, rivers, trees, and several other objects that I couldn’t help but glue myself mercilessly in front of my television. The story is nothing more than a sufficient piece of work. I understood the plot very well and unfortunately too well that it insulted my intelligence. Anyway, your town vanishes from thin air and it is up to you to rebuild it with the assistance of a wise man. It’s fortunate that this navigator lingered around long enough for me to get the hang of the game since he is basically a walking instruction manual. Sony could have accomplished a better job in the story department but I was left with this satisfactory achievement. The graphics and music also accommodated towards my liking of this game. Overall, if you enjoy constructing your own towns with the will of your own mind then you will definitely enjoy playing this game. Good job Sony.

Sound

The music reminded me of songs heard from Crono Cross. This is definitely a delightful outcome since I enjoyed all the songs from Crono Cross. The music heard from Dark Cloud depicts that of a world full of adventure with the aid of many guitar solos. The village tunes were very soothing while skirmish music easily portrays that of a bloody battle. If a sound track was made then I would be the first to get my hands on it for my listening pleasures. As for sound effects, there is nothing more relaxing than hearing the sounds of crickets at night. Dark Cloud is just like exploring the open woods full of uncanny creatures lurking about making noise just because. Sound effects provided a sense of liveliness within the game with its realistic adaptation of the real world. Overall, the music and sound department accommodated real well towards my enjoyment of the game.

Since Dark Cloud is one of Playstion 2’s earlier children, you can expect to see that improvement was needed. Anyway, this game delivered much entertainment and a refreshing outlook on gaming compared to most games. Dark Cloud did not quite grasp masterpiece material but enough for me to recommend you to at least rent it.

Gameplay

Game play does not focus solely on construction but also emphasize on battle. You venture around with a sword and a few items along and explore this particular cavern to uncover “Orbs” that hold the remains of your lost town. Fighting enemies in the very beginning is quite intriguing but soon that will to continue fades away very rapidly. Fighting becomes very redundant and foes don’t offer much of a good fight. They basically stand there stupefied from your presence for you to easily pierce your weapon through their helpless bodies until they perish. The only exception is “Duel” battle, a type of battle where great timing takes a hold of your victory. “Duel” is an escape from typical battles since you need to press certain buttons at a particular time to win, just like Bust a Groove or PaRappa the Rapper. “Duel” battles are not only fun but mandatory to continue unlike most monsters where they can easily be avoided by running around them. It’s always exciting to find “Orbs” since you never know what you will receive whether a cottage to add to your growing world or roads to place on empty grounds. The “Orbs” eventually accumulate and this is when the excitement of initiating construction begins. The problem is that going back and forth from cave to the outside realm becomes a tedious task. Dark Cloud is more of a time consumer than hard in difficulty aspects. I expected more from the game’s difficulty outlook but was somewhat slightly quenched in the long run. Sure there were numerous allies to join and a variety of items to tinker with but just not enough to fully satisfy me. Although, customizing my own weapon of destruction was quite intriguing just like customizing soldiers in Final Fantasy Tactics. The problem is that the weapon would disintegrate after using it relentlessly on unsuspecting foes. What is the purpose of crafting a weapon if you know it would spontaneously shatter if you don’t take care of it properly. Anyway, character maneuvering is easy to master in a short period of time. The only hassle is finding which button applies to specific items, trust me, I wasted numerous of them by experimenting with their use and such. Overall, the game offered much variety of gaming aspects from battle to strategy. I don’t quite consider it pure RPG even though it contained similar elements but more of a blending of various backgrounds.
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Summary

Reviewed by Jimmy Payne of MasterGamer.com, home to hundreds of brutally honest video game reviews.

Dark Cloud is a decent attempt at giving the PlayStation 2 a much-needed
RPG, but it falls short of being memorable in every conceivable way. The
inevitable comparisons to games like Zelda make this game look even worse.
A gripping story line is the most important quality that RPGs need to
have, but the creators of Dark Cloud decided to "pull a Zelda" and give us a
watered-down story line. To make matters worse, the story line is never even
acknowledged for large parts of the game. The gameplay mainly consists of
completing dungeons, finding pieces of your town so that you can re-build it,\
and every once in a while referring back to the hastily-thrown-together plot.
Dark Cloud's graphics are respectable thanks largely to the water and
fire effects. The towns are also well done in terms of detail and overall
art design. Sadly, the dungeons have so little detail to them that
witnessing an impressive flame effect only serves to remind you how bland
and color-less the environments are.
The most disturbing trend in recent RPGs is the fact that developers
don't seem to think there's anything wrong with making the dungeons as
stereotypical and generic as possible. Dark Cloud takes this epidemic to a
whole new level with dungeons that have a much higher chance of making you
drowsy than making you sit on the edge of your seat. If you derive pleasure
from going through room after repetitive room until you finally find the one
room with the big treasure chest that holds the key, then Dark Cloud is the
game for you.
The baffling design logic continues with weapons that can actually break
during battles from over-use. The quiet beeping noise which serves to warn
you that your weapon is about to shatter is sometimes hard to hear over all
of the other audio, which leads to lots of wonderful occasions where a big
battle comes to a screeching halt because your freakin' sword breaks.
Sony has clearly been afflicted with Shenmue Syndrome, a terrifying
illness that makes video game developers forget that realism doesn't
necessarily equal fun in video games. This condition further manifests
itself in the fact that you have to drink water every so often or you'll die.
Shenmue Syndrome clearly gave Sony the following logic: "Making gamers save
the world in RPGs is soooooo 1999... if we really want to innovate, we have
to make gamers save the world AND periodically quench their thirst!"
Dark Cloud has a couple of redeeming qualities, but they don't come close
to out-weighing its flaws. The combat system is moderately entertaining,
but it's a blatant rip-off of Zelda if there ever was one. The town-building
elements of the game could have been fun if there weren't so many
restrictions placed on you. It would be nice to be able to build your very
own town rather than rather than a replica of the way the town used to be.
For die-hard Zelda fans, this game is worth renting because it's the
closest thing to Zelda that Sony has to offer. On the other hand, if you
don't like dungeon crawling, Dark Cloud isn't going to change your mind.

Send your thoughts on this review to feedback@mastergamer.com
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Summary

Dark Cloud is pretty much about a young boy named Toan who has to save the world from the Dark Genie. As the game starts out, you are placed in what I think is the setting for the last dungeon, Dark Heaven Castle. Ominous music plays as dancers with absolutly NO flesh showing (Except for the lead girl, who's almost NAKED) dance just as ominously in front of a giant urn, supposedly containing a dark genie with unimaginable power. A greedy man, named General Flag, wishes to free the genie to use for his own pleasure and greed. Eventually, the genie rises from the urn, and Flag quickly names himself the master of the genie. The genie willingly agrees, and swiftly devours an unfortunate preist.
After this, a lighter, more joyous setting unfurls, as you join the citizens of Norune Village for their Star Festival. You begin in Toan's house. He is eating dinner with his mother (The only time he's seen without that turban he calls a hat, so take a good look at that case of the Bad Hair Day). Suddenly,Toan's close friend, Paige, enters the house, telling Toan to hurry up or he'llmiss the entire Star Festival. Toan quickly slurps up his dinner, and fits his "hat" on his head (Thank goodness). You come upon the villagers outside, dancing merrily, as the Old Gaffer and another villager, named Kamacho (Supposedly) play their instruments, merrily. Now, watch carefully, because this is the only time you are going to see the villager Alnet (Who looks almost naked, but she's just wearing a very small, lightly colored dress) looking attractive. Then, Mr. High & Mighty Dark Genie comes along, and shoots beam from ALMOST every part of his body. You spot Paige below a collapsing SMALL WINDMILL. You make a desperate attemp to save her, but right as the mill's about to kill you, you black out, and awake in front of the Fairy King, Simba. He gives you a shiny blue stone, called Atlamillia on your much-over-sized-at-the-wrist glove, and explains its power of collecting pieces of villages and town inside floating orbs called Atla. You are then transported to Norune Village, the morning after half the world had to be sealed into Atla because of the Dark Genie's attacks. You visit the only escaping resident: the mayor. He gives you a free pouch booster consisting of Tasty Water, HP reviving Bread, Escape Powder, & Repair Powder. On the first visit, he also gives you the key to get into the first dungeon, the Divine Beast Cave. You face the brain-washed Dran for a final boss, and before this, you recieve your first ally, a cat girl defaultly named Xiao. After putting Dran back in his right mind, and collecting a few nice weapons along the way, he teaches you the lethal windmill slash, and gives you a half-the-world-map (It's called a world map, but it shows only what the genie destroyed, and the genie attacked only half the world). From there on, you go to Matataki Village, begin on the Wise Owl Forest, collect even better weapons, get a semi-unwilling & extremely fat & slow hunter ally, Goro (My mom named him Gordo) & faced the also-brainwashed Forest Guard, MasterUtan. Then you go on to Queens, the town with a, uh, tragic history, and so on.
Near the end, you find that King Seda of the East accidentally created the genie, because he borrowed power from devils to defeat the Western Wizard Army. When an assassin from his own kingdom comes to his castle, disguised as his love Sophia, the real Sophia comes, and is killed by the assassin. Seda kills the assassin, and because of his bitterness from losing Sophia, the Dark Genie is born from him. At the end, you face the incredibly hard boss, the Dark Genie (In a different form than he was in during the rest of the game) (And the boss of the shipwreck was equally as tough). Once you win, you use your Atlamillia to catch Sophia's wandering soul, and you bring Sophia backto life. Although your Atlamillia has supposedly broken, I always see it on my glove anyway. After the genie has been "defeated" (You'll figure that out later), you can enter a non-required dungeon, called the Demon Shaft, with 100 floors, and Toan's ultimate weapon awaiting you at the end, after Mr. Stupid Never-Faced-By-Me Black Pendragon IS actually defeated; but then you'll have nothing to do :(
Overall, I thought the plot was perfect, and though almost all reviews said it was a Zelda copy (Which I loved anyway, so it wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway) I thought that it wasn't very much like Zelda, especially the second Zelda. I loved this game, and I couldn't give it anything short of a perfect five.
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Summary

Although my time with Dark Cloud has come and gone, I still feel compelled to write a review. Maybe it’s because I’ve been away from the site for a while, or maybe it’s something else. At any rate, here is my review for Dark Cloud:

Dark Cloud was one of the first PS2 titles I heard about. I don’t consider myself to be a fan of RPG’s-save for Secret of Mana and Earthbound on SNES-so I didn’t give it much of a look. Time passed, and I couldn’t help but notice that Dark Cloud was shaping up to be something special. Some publications touted it as a “Zelda killer”. Others said that it was a step in a new direction.

Now that Dark Cloud is available, those same publications changed their tune. Many of them called it a “bland, repetitive attempt to put Zelda on the PS2.” It was given average ratings and passed of as an addition to the already huge list of mediocre PS2 titles.

This poses four questions to those who are interested in giving Dark Cloud a try:

1. Is it bland? Yes. The environments are dull and don’t have a tremendous amount of detail. The lighting effects are nice, though.

2. Is it repetitive? Yes. More than you could ever imagine. More than you could ever imagine. More than you could ever imagine. More than you could ever imagine. More than you could ever imagine. (note sarcasm)

3. How does it compare to Zelda? It borrows a few gameplay elements, but there’s no way it could even touch Zelda. Never.

4. Despite all of this, is it fun? If you can sit through the repetitive combat, the city building aspect is great. Dark Cloud is fun if you don’t go in expecting “the RPG to end all RPG’s”. It’s not really an RPG per se. Think of it as more of an action/adventure title with a hint of simulation.

For the most part, I enjoyed the time I spent with Dark Cloud. While it’s not for everyone, it’s an OK title that’s great to spend a weekend with. It may end up taking up longer than that, so be prepared.