What does everyone see in Dark Cloud 2?

E

eros

CAGiversary!
Honestly, I just got this game cheap at Ultimate Electronics blowout sale. I've been hearing that it is Zelda on the Playstation. I own all Zelda discs released for the Gamecube and this doesn't hold a candle to any kind of Zelda I've played.

My reasons:

Graphics -- The toon shading here is just weird. I don't know if it is the think black lines or the way the characters are shaped/drawn but it just doesn't look right. I was willing to put it aside since I thought I could get use to it, but after playing the first dungeon, I just can't. Also, is the first dungeon representitive of the rest of the games dungeons? The outdoor environments seemed much more lively. The first dungeon on the other hand was just bland, and every room looked alike.

Enemies -- Once again, I'm only through the first dungeon, but I can count only about 5 very odd and easy enemies -- a gaint rat with a log in its tail, a clown, a bat, some ball with a hat, and maybe one other forgettable one. I doesn't matter they all die with a couple whacks -- no technique or knowledge required.

The Invention System -- What is up with this mess? It is rather complicated and the tasks one has to go through to get the most out of it are mundane and feel like nothing more than game padding. I don't mind building a character up, but there is no eye candy or story so far. Without a story, I don't even care about the characters enough to build them up.

Also, from what I saw in the training videos, the levels afterward are just as dull looking. I'm about 5 seconds from trading this thing in and hoping someone else will appreciate it. I don't even feel compelled to finish the thing.

So if you have played this game and loved it, what the heck did you love about it? Why do you feel this game may have deserved its great reviews?
 
I agree with you 100+%. I just couldnt get into it, for the same reasons. Stupid enemies, lame random dengeon crawling, not like any Zelda I've ever played. For that, ps2 owners should look no furthur than Kingdom Hearts, IMO.

I just don't see the sparkly in DC2 everyone else did.
 
Honestly, I just got this game cheap at Ultimate Electronics blowout sale. I've been hearing that it is Zelda on the Playstation. I own all Zelda discs released for the Gamecube and this doesn't hold a candle to any kind of Zelda I've played.

This game was a light years beyond the first. That alone made it worthy of praise.


The toon shading here is just weird. I don't know if it is the think black lines or the way the characters are shaped/drawn but it just doesn't look right.

That is it's artistic style. It was purposely made that way as a throwback to old style cell animation.

I was willing to put it aside since I thought I could get use to it, but after playing the first dungeon, I just can't. Also, is the first dungeon representitive of the rest of the games dungeons? The outdoor environments seemed much more lively. The first dungeon on the other hand was just bland, and every room looked alike.

That's kind of the way that actual dungeons are. They are supposed to look that way. The fact that they do look that way helps with the random creation of said dungeons, which adds replay to the game.

Enemies -- Once again, I'm only through the first dungeon, but I can count only about 5 very odd and easy enemies -- a gaint rat with a log in its tail, a clown, a bat, some ball with a hat, and maybe one other forgettable one. I doesn't matter they all die with a couple whacks -- no technique or knowledge required.

Zelda has it's piles of standard weak enemies as well. I doubt that most people thought land based octopi and flying seedpods were normal enemies either. You aren't even judging it based on the bosses and boss battles..where most of the strategic battles lie.

The Invention System -- What is up with this mess? It is rather complicated and the tasks one has to go through to get the most out of it are mundane and feel like nothing more than game padding.

Perhaps you think that, but I thought it was rather fun to go hunt down the photos so that you could match a few of them up and get some great new items. This is another part of the game that adds complexity, replay, and generally sets the game apart from other games.


I don't mind building a character up, but there is no eye candy or story so far. Without a story, I don't even care about the characters enough to build them up.
That usually happens when you judge a game before even getting very deep into it. The story picks up, just as soon as you get to travel through time, and the Georama system gets explained to you.


Also, from what I saw in the training videos, the levels afterward are just as dull looking. I'm about 5 seconds from trading this thing in and hoping someone else will appreciate it. I don't even feel compelled to finish the thing.

Again, you sound to be making snap judgements before you've even played through the first two levels and gotten to the real meat of the game.

So if you have played this game and loved it, what the heck did you love about it? Why do you feel this game may have deserved its great reviews?

This game had great art style. I for one really like the cell animation look.
The invention system was clever, and gave you benefits for carefully looking for the items you need pictures of.
The georama system was just as fun as it was in Dark Cloud...
and the game is nowhere near as harsh as Dark Cloud was in terms of weapons loss. This is a very fun game, but you actually have to put work into it and wait for the game to even get off the ground before you even start to judge it.
 
Thanks for the feedback JSweeney. I agreed with you on one point but not the rest. I actually didn't know that the dungeons were randomly generated.

But that really doesn't add replay value, if the dungeon is so bland a person doesn't want to play through it the first time. Afterall, while dungeons may just be that bland in real life, I can't speak from experience, I don't expect my games to be so realistic that I feel tortured.

Also, I understand that that toon shading is the artistic style of the game, and agree it was wonderfully *produced* on the characters themselves. That style though just personally puts me off.

You do have me on the easy enemies in Zelda games. However, every enemy in Wind Waker had character, a pattern of attack, and sometimes a weak point that was only reachable with a certain sword slash. In DC2, the enemies run straight at me and I can whack anything a couple of times, anywhere, and they die -- no real personality to any of them.

Final point, how hard should anyone have to work, and how long should any have to wait to have any fun in a game? There is no point in the Zelda series that I have to suffer through a dungeon to get to a great boss. Every minute is fun, not 10-15 minutes at a time for a boss battle.
 
I wouldn't exactly call this game "Zelda for the PS2" but I did really enjoy it. The whole weapon crafting thing sucked me in and before I knew it I had over 100 hours logged in this game. And yes, it took a LONG time to put that many hours in as I only played it about once or twice a week.

Even though the dungeons were randomly generated their medal challenges made for a nice change of pace: "Beat this one with only your right hand weapon." Or "without healing." I liked that. The Spheda challenges (sort of a mini-golf game you play after defeating dungeons) were pretty fun too. There's also fishing contests and this whole fish racing circuit thing you can get into with breeding different species and the whole nine...I didn't even touch that part of the game for fear of being dragged into another 20 hours of gameplay.

However, I also believe that no matter how good a game is, not everyone will like it. I don't try to convince people whether or not a game is good. Their tastes may vary. My brother for instance, won't even give KOTOR a chance no matter how many people tell him it's a great game. He doesn't care, that's just not his type of game. No need to waste time extolling its virtues to him. And I can see where he's coming from: I really don't care how great the latest Madden is...I'm not going to play it.
 
If anyone has ever played Dark Cloud one and liked it, I have one piece of advice for them... get dark cloud two. This game is sweet.

Oh, and eros... JSweeney stopped you in your tracks like a brick wall... I 'd have to agree with him.
 
I got the first Dark Cloud as my first PS2 games because I heard it was a zelda-killer. Never believe any preview that says "somegame-killer", they are overhyping it. That game was ok but I hate random dungeons. I got boring real fast. I played the demo of the Dark Cloud 2 and saw it was quite similar so I avoided it.
 
How similar are Dark Cloud and Dark Cloud 2? I had the first one and really didn't like it. I just found the dungeons much too repetitive and didn't care much about building the town.
 
This may be too late to help eros, but maybe someone in the future will find it useful. :)

I really loved Dark Cloud 2. I wasted so many hours NOT advancing the plot: just fishing, playing spheda, and doing the dungeon challenges. Not to mention all the time spent setting up the town.

  • Georama ... I really liked the georama, and spent a good amount of time just messing with that: placing the houses *just* right, laying fences, chimneys, decorating them with pots, painting, planting trees and grass. Figuring out what each person wants in order to move in to your house, and how to keep everyone happy. It's also neat to make changes then jump to the future, and see how your changes affect the future ... the georama is easily my favorite part of the game, I wish there was more of it.
  • Graphics ... There's really nothing I can say about the graphics. If you don't like em, you don't like em. I will admit that at first I was also a little put off by it. But after a while I guess I got used to it and I was enjoying the game so much I forgot about it. Now, I can't imagine the game looking any other way. The graphics give the game some charm. Not to mention that I like Dark Cloud 2's style over Wind Waker. I liked WW the game, but I still do not like the graphics.
  • Dungeons ... the first one is in the sewers(? don't remember exactly, but it's an underground channel), later dungeons are in a forest, desert, beach/waters edge, dark lava type place(?), a mine, so there is variation. They do tend to be a little "bland" as you say, but they're not for sight seeing..that's what the town is for!
  • Enemies ... there are MANY enemies in Dark Cloud 2. Off the top of my head I can remember: blue/green/red floating dragon, frog, elephant, skeleton pirate guy, fox w/shotgun, exploding pumpkin, floating demon-thing, massaging priest guy, guys with a shield you can't hit from the front, yo-yo legs, rock monsters, big fish, sunflower, a couple of other plants, various cards, old lady spider, so yeah there's a lot of enemies. And don't forget about monster transformation either. You can become the monster, and work on leveling it up.
  • Misc ... There's also the ridepod to work on building up by hunting for pictures to make inventions for it, and using it to gain experience. I don't want to give away any spoilers so I'll just say that it was fun being able to switch between 3 playable characters at the push of a button. The fishing was incredibly fun too. You can breed fish, train them, feed them properly, then race them. I didn't do too much of the breeding and racing, I just like to fish for fun! Depending on where you are, the time of day, and the type of bait you use, you'll catch different fish. And your fishing rod levels up too.
  • More Misc ... As Spruce said, the medal challenges were nice too. I also really enjoyed the "use only your right hand" and "use items only" challenges. And Spheda is also fun. Of all of the different things you can do, this is the one thing I found that could have been done just a little bit better, as it can be hard to aim correctly at times. But that doesn't change the fact that it's fun! Does your spheda club level up too? I can't remember. The game help is totally awesome. It explains everything very well, with no need for an instruction manual. Personally, I've never seen a game with such an in depth in-game help menu.

Wow, that's alot to say about a game. Keep in mind, I played this like almost a year ago and all of this is off the top of head. Looking over all of this, the fact that I remember so much of it almost a year later says something about this game, IMO.

Needless to say, I can't wait for Dark Cloud 3. :mrgreen:
 
Old topic, I know, but I just wanted to know, when will gamestop ever drop the price on this game? There’s a used, yet Pristine copy that’s been sitting at my gamestop forever at 20.00. I’d like to use my gamestop credit when the game lowers in price, though. (yep, I’m cheap, plus I can play something else in the meantime) . A couple questions.

1.Was there an Ultimate Electronics sale that happened long ago I never heard of where Dark Cloud 2 was cheap?

2.Is this game "rare"?

3.What’s your guys’ opinions on this game? I read one of the reviews describe it as part animal crossing, part dungeon-crawling, part RPG.
 
I bought Dark Cloud because it was cheap at EB. I really wanted to like it; it had a great old school rpg to it (maybe it was the music or something and no voice acting). The only problem was that it was damn frustrating to play. Trying to find the dungeon key which drops after killing a random enemy all the while trying to prevent your swords from breaking is retarded. I'm stuck now at I think the stage 9 of the first dungeon (where there's a limit and I can't switch swords). And to fix your swords you have to buy that repair powder which costs something like 80 coins - the thing is you get money only if the monsters drop it (and that's pretty much random and the amount is usually 5 coins)!

Seriously if any of you guys have any tips for me, tell me. To get money do you guys just sell the dropped items? I'm hacking at enemies and it seems my swords are breaking too fast.

Picked up Dark Cloud 2 along with Klonoa for $15. I like the cel shaded graphics but I agree with the dungeons being dull, but you can't really do much about that since it is a dungeon crawler. At least it isn't as bad as .Hack
 
Personally I liked the original dark cloud better, it was my first game for ps2, but dark cloud 2 was pretty darn good. I just thought that dark cloud 2 kind of dragged on, maybe because i was trying to get all the best weapons, but it took alot more time to do that than in the original, but still i thought 2 was a great game.
 
Yeah I rented this game a long time ago, then picked it up on the cheap, and managed to get my hands on the strategy guide. A very fun and deceptively deep action/rpg. I'll beat it eventually, just need to find the time.

r1s3n
 
combat sucked IMO, but building was just too much fun...

ironically, i gave up on both games at the last dungeons when you couldn't build your own towns...

still, ill end up buying Dark Cloud 3... I'm a sucker like that
 
The 1st game wasn't that good...

The 2nd was tons time better... and was developed by Level 5...

I never finished the 1st game... but I sure did with the 2nd...
 
Rogue Galaxy, the new game from Level 5, might be for those that dont like DC2. It doesnt have random dungens and the weapons does not break.
 
[quote name='Msia']I agree OP this game is way overrated in every way.[/QUOTE]


Couldn't have said it better myself--I was expecting at least a pretty good RPG, but couldn't even stand it enough to play it through.
 
I played Dark Cloud 2 for a month or so. It is a very, very fun game at first, especially when all the gameplay elements are being introduced. There is a LOT to discover. Play until the end of the sewers, if you can. Once you're given a camera (more on that below) and given quests, it gets a lot better. And that's before you time travel! The plot really picks up at that point.

I also happen to like the art style. It's like a story-book, and it's very charming. Sort of Jules Verne meets anime.

I say this with many reservations.

After I saw my friend play his saved game (where the maniac had over 100 hours logged!), I gave up on it. DC2, you see, has a serious pacing problem. The game's repetitive nature does not change as you progress. Not a bit. Sure, you get stronger, build up your vehicle, find better weapons, and the enemies get stronger too. But it's exactly the same, crawling through the relatively empty dungeons fighting six or seven monsters. Over and over.

Despite being "randomized", the dungeons are all pretty much identical. Just layer another texture on the walls. So what if the door is on the left instead of the right, or the exit is in the other direction? Like it or not, dungeon-crawling combat -- emphasis on the "crawling" -- is the foundation of this game. It's how you progress, period. And after fifteen hours, it's a drag.

The dungeons are just too big, considering how many creatures you actually face. You spend most of the time just wandering around. Rather than make a fewer amount of dungeons with more puzzles and variety (and plot points), they just threw in a TON of fairly bland dungeons to pad the time it takes to make it through the game. Why do you think they made the dungeons random? If you were a game developer trying to increase game length, would YOU want to single-handedly design hundreds of bland pathways?

The game's complexity also hurts it a little after the novelty wears off. Some of the invention puzzles are just plain random, and you spend much of the game in your inventory screen, moving around, mixing, deleting, and utilizing hundreds of different items. Often to no effect at all. It can be thrilling when you get one right, but it is also frustrating

And what do the inventions help you do? Crawl through more dungeons! Stronger monsters to defeat! While the complexity can be rewarding at first, in the end you have to be the sort of person who enjoys fiddling with minutiae for hours and hours on end. (Some might argue: "your standard RPG addict, in other words.")

About the camera snapshot inventions: neat idea! But there are several "snapshots" that you are only given ONE chance to take. Once that chance has passed (and it passes quickly), you can never take a photo of it ever again (unless you start the game over from scratch). Thus: there are inventions that you will never be able to create unless you read a strategy guide. That bugged me a little.

Georama? Very fun. Like the guy said above, it's one of the best parts of the game.

So while this game is RPG heaven for some people (fair enough), after about ten hours I'd had enough.
 
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