Chances are that if you’ve been a fan of JRPGs since the PlayStation 2 era of consoles, you’re probably familiar with a classic series known as Dark Cloud. Developed by Level-5, the studio that’s brought us both Ni No Kuni games and the Professor Layton franchise, Dark Cloud was made possible through funding from Sony Computer Entertainment. The publisher remains the co-owner of the brand today and is the sole gatekeeper the series needs approval from in order to get another sequel.
With both Dark Cloud and Dark Cloud 2 returning to this generation of PlayStation hardware through PlayStation 2 emulation (and were two of the first to do so), it’s not hard to see why these classics keep popping up in conversation as of late. With many PlayStation 2 emulation games making the jump to PlayStation 4 purely from fan demand, people clearly want more Dark Cloud in their lives.
If you didn’t jump on the bandwagon back when the games initially released or simply have no idea what all the hype is about, we’ve got you covered. The following is a list of five features that Dark Cloud fans frequently say they love about the series. Though some aspects of the games don’t hold up today, its music, presentation, design, story, and gameplay are all things newcomers to the series shouldn’t miss out on.
Music
Before you any read further, go ahead and check out the original Dark Cloud’s main theme on YouTube. This one song alone encapsulates a lot of the tonality the series strives for. Players are treated to a melody reminiscent of a nomadic journey of sorts. If you go on and listen to more of the first title’s soundtrack, you won’t find any shortage of tunes that strike a adventurous chord.
Believe it or not, Dark Cloud 2’s soundtrack is even better. Check out Rush’s theme, Gundor Volcano Grotto’s theme and the Rainbow Butterfly boss theme to get yourself started. As exemplified in the tracks I just listed, the game’s sense of epic scale is musically expanded, which is absolutely fitting for a sequel that improved upon nearly everything the original did.
Tomohito Nishiura’s compositions for Dark Cloud and Dark Cloud 2 are both available in digital soundtrack form on the PlayStation Store and through YouTube. Rest assured that you’re in for a musical treat, as both sound collections are exquisite.
Presentation
Released in 2001 and 2003 in North America respectively, both the first Dark Cloud and its sequel have astonishing graphics that hold up even to this day. Dare I say, it won’t be too much of a stretch to say that both games look better than some current generation titles.
Though Dark Cloud 2 is better in presentation than its predecessor, both titles successfully manage to blend colors, lighting, and texture together to memorable affect. Players can find tricks like real-time shadows, depth blur, and particle effects in the games too, with smooth transitions between gameplay and CG events evoking more emotional investment.
Design
The biggest difference between the first and second Dark Cloud probably lies in each game’s design, as Dark Cloud 2 chooses to use cel-shading while the original game forgoes it. In any case, both RPGs have unique and imaginative worlds to be explored – just look up any of each’s concept art on Google to see what I mean.
Each title’s character and level design makes the player feel like they’re in an anime of sorts, which is never a bad thing if you’re a fan of the medium. Indeed, it’s not hard to see where Level-5 got the idea for Ni No Kuni’s art style from, as the developer had an inclination for anime aesthetics from the get-go, it seems.
Story
Admittedly both the original Dark Cloud and its sequel include narratives that weren’t universally positively received from the gaming press at that time. This being said, each game’s separate storyline resonated better with fans who were inundated with lesser quality scenarios in a generation saturated with JRPGs.
The first game tells the story of a group of adventurers who band together to fight against the evil Dark Genie who’s responsible for attacking and destroying many homes and villages. Protagonist Toan is given a magical stone called Atlamillia by the Fairy King and is tasked to rebuild the destroyed lands. Dark Cloud 2 follows two protagonists, Max and Monica, who must work together to stop the game’s main antagonist, Emperor Griffon, before he destroys the present from deep in the past. The latter title here is more dramatic in scope, yet each does a good job in tying the overarching narrative with gameplay elements.
Gameplay
Though sometimes cited as repetitive, both Dark Cloud games successfully meld action role-playing gameplay with elements of city-building games, with each title housing procedurally generated dungeons and allowing players a choice between melee and ranged combat.
One of the best gameplay elements that set the series apart from other JRPGs at the time is that only weapons – not characters – can be leveled up. Each can be, as the series terms it, “built up” to become stronger, eventually evolving into more powerful weapons entirely. Characters themselves can only improve upon their health points and defense with special items. Though this may seem as an annoying restriction, it changes the dynamic of the game significantly from what JRPG fans would typically find in more mainstream genre titles.
Published: Aug 24, 2017 10:36 am