Dark Cloud | Full Game Walkthrough | No Commentary
72Today I archive a game that is very special and dear to me. Back when I first got the PlayStation 2 I remember renting the game Dark Cloud at a local video rental store. This was during the first year of the PlayStation 2 release and so there were not that many games available. I did not know exactly what this game was, but I liked the art style and it seemed like a colorful adventure.
I was not ready for the journey I was about to embark on. Dark Cloud is a unique mix between a dungeon crawler and city builder and combines them beautifully. In the story the world is destroyed and all the cities and villages are gone. It is up to you to head into various dungeons and retrieve the assets to build the villages again. You collect the buildings, the citizens, the trees, roads, rivers etc.
Then when you leave the dungeon you can place all those items wherever you want and even go explore them in third person.
I have to admit that I have a huge weak spot for games that let you rebuild villages and communities and then let you visit them yourself. Games like Digimon World, Theme Park World or more recently Disney Dreamlight Valley come to mind.
It is so cool to make the cities and villages and then get to interact with the inhabitants. The combat is fluid and the characters are varied and colorful. I love the art style here. Its that early Japanese art style that I also have a soft spot for that most Japanese first year titles had for the PlayStation 2. Games like Dragonball Z Budokai 1, Dot Hack and more.
Now the game does have somewhat of a learning curve and back when I was young I did not understand English well enough to where I could finish the game since I did not understand the weapons upgrade mechanic. There is also a third meter and weapon repairing and all in all there is a lot of micro managing that you have to do. It can also get a bit repetitive since you have to go through six major dungeons doing the same things over and over again.
Back in the day I only ever got to the third dungeon and so it was both very nostalgic, but also fullfilling to properly finish this game and witness its ending so many years later.
The game was not a huge success, but did spawn a sequel that is apparently beloved by many and from what I heard even better than this game. I also know that this sequel was a financial flop, but luckily the studio went on to do amazing work on the Dragon Quest series and on Professor Layton and even Ni No Kuni. This game was the first they created so in a way Dark Cloud is part of gaming history. A humble game that was the beginning of many more passionate projects to come.
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