Here's my first review, copied and pasted and edited slightly from when I first posted it on the Internet on the board of a friend of mine. It's of an unsung hero in the RPG genre; Dark Cloud.
Dark Cloud is an RPG for the PlayStation 2 with a different feel. There is a group that has revived the Dark Genie, who then attempts to destroy the world. However, the Faerie King sealed everything (and I mean everything. People, buildings, trees, rivers...) up inside things called Atla, which preserved them, and they scattered throughout dungeons. You play as a boy named Toan, chosen by the Faerie King to collect the Atla and rebuild the world. On the way, you make several friends. A cat woman, a dwarven-built hunter, a good genie, a spearman, and a gunman. Together, you journey across the world and through many dungeons, rebuilding towns slowly as you go. The basic plot may sound familiar to those who play a lot of RPGs, but the feel of the game and unique leveling up system, as well as weapon customization, make this somewhat unoriginal story a very memorable experience.
Graphics:
Since this is an early PS2 game, the graphics aren't all that they could be. They're similar to PSX graphics, but it's not noticeable if you get too absorbed into the game. The monsters are real-looking enough compared to other games released around the same time, and the amount of detail that goes into the dungeons makes it feel as though they were definitely working at trying to give this cartoony RPG a realistic touch. Because of this, and ignoring the Faerie King's Rukia-esque drawings (Bleach, anyone?), I give the graphics a 6/10.
Storyline:
This is definitely an original storyline, even if it does have traditional RPG story elements. Genie destroys world, Faerie King saves it, you must rebuild it. Though it may seem repetitive (go to the next town, go to the dungeon, get the Atla, put together as much as you can, go back), since there are so many other little things to distract you (village requests, fishing, weapon customization), you tend not to notice unless you spend hours upon hours at a time playing. Which you will ultimately end up doing if you enjoy this kind of game. Sometimes the flow of the story and characters' reactions can make you laugh, while some side stories can make you sad; and there certainly are many side stories. The characters aren't as deep as characters in many other RPGs, but the lack of other people to talk to during most of the game accounts for this. Overall, I think the storyline deserves an 8/10.
Gameplay/Controls:
The controls are very simple. One button to attack, another to lock on, another to block, another to bring up the menu. There can be no confusion after you play for about a half hour, as everything is explained in wonderful detail (and again, Rukia-esque drawings) by the Faerie King at regular intervals. The gameplay, again, can get quite repetitive. Once you get to a certain point, it feels like you're just doing the same thing over and over. Frankly, you are doing the same thing over and over, just in a different setting. The weapon upgrading system is a basic replacement for leveling up. Instead of your character getting stronger, the weapons do, and you can customize them by adding gemstones and other things to them, making their magic or attack stronger, as well as other generic RPG stats and elemental attributes. When they get to a certain point you can build them up to different weapons, or make them into stones to attach to other weapons to power your other weapons up. For your HP and how quickly you get thirsty, you control which character has the most or least by giving them Fruit of Edens and Gourds. I give the gameplay and controls another 8/10.
Replay Value:
It's the same every time, unless you choose a different way of upgrading and building up your weapons, or a different way to rebuild the towns. Nothing changes except the dungeon layouts, which change every time you go into them anyway. So if you really enjoy doing the same thing over and over so much, and love how repetitive it gets, replay value would be high for you. But for me, I couldn't stand it by the time I got to the fourth or fifth town. I wanted to get on with it and just beat the game already. The weapon upgrading system definitely makes it different each time unless you choose the same weapon, but there are different branches some weapons can take that others can't. So, I give replay value a 4/10.
Overall:
Dark Cloud is a very original game made by a not-very-well-known game company (Level 5). It's definitely one to look into, since it's rather addicting when you get into it. There are plenty of sidequests to distract you from going into the dungeon over and over, and the weapon upgrading system is rather fun since there are several different weapon possibilities for every character, and you may have to take time away from your quest to find the synth items needed to build your weapon up. This is one of the first games I ever played for the PS2, and I enjoyed it right away. Overall, this game deserves a 8.5/10.
Any fan of RPGs would love this game. It's easy to play and has a unique leveling-up system that I haven't seen anywhere else but its sequel. But if you hate having to do pretty much the same thing over and over for most of the game you might not like it as much, but you'll still enjoy it enough to want to keep playing. Besides, true RPG fans know that sometimes, doing the same thing over and over is what truly makes the game memorable. After all, if a lot of us didn't enjoy doing pretty much the same thing over and over, level after level, why would WoW be so popular (take no offense; I enjoy WoW very much)? I think anyone would enjoy this game, except perhaps for those shooter-addicts who hate RPGs.
