What's creepier than a sinister clown? Nothing, as it turns out, which is probably why the makers of Dark Cloud 2 made their evil villain a member of the circus family. After all, a clown who lifts the town's friendly mayor off his feet--with a strangle hold--is not to be messed with. Welcome to the world of Dark Cloud 2. Stylistically, it resembles a Holly Hobbie Colorforms set. All the characters are of childlike proportions, and the village's Tudor buildings seem pried from a Yorkshire hamlet. While Maximillian, the preteen hero, wanders around his hometown, Parisian accordion MIDI music serenades him. Though this is not a kid's game (it carries a Teen ESRB rating), gamers who are put off by kitschy/cute nuances should beware--this game is loaded with them. But at its heart, Dark Cloud 2 is a wonderfully solid RPG. Its story has three main elements: Max's lost mother, the secret of what's going on outside the village, and why the evil clown wants Max's red stone pendant. Fighting takes place in real time, unlike the turn-based fighting in the similar Final Fantasy series. This was a good decision on behalf of the designers, as was the attention to weapon customizing. And if you love to manage inventory (there aren't many RPG fans that don't), this is your game. Not only can Max's weapons be upgraded, but by taking pictures and tinkering, he can create tools from scratch, in seemingly endless variations. There's so much more to this game than can be described in any review. Along the way, for example, Max meets up with Monica, a princess from the future. He may build a village using the Georama system, or he may just want to do a little fishing--to say more would be to spoil the fun, but you get the idea. You'll just have to discover it all--and there is a tremendously rich world here--on your own.

An epic action/RPG adventure that allows you to build and explore as well as do battle

Rebuild lands with an enhanced Georama feature that allows you to recreate worlds in greater detail with more items and flexibility

Offers more than 100 hrs. of monster-crushing and dungeon-exploring gameplay

New battle system features blocking, dodging, short-range attacks and long-range attacks

Average Customer Review: ( 123 customer reviews )
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While the original Dark Cloud was sort of a Zelda 64 clone, this new one has many new innovations that make it a huge improvement over the first (which was a fun game as well, actually). The two most noticable improvements are the cel-shaded graphics and the fact that the weapons don't break permanently (good news).

The voice-overs are pretty good, although there are probably too many cut scenes. The combat is action-oriented, and fun, for the most part. All in all, this game is more deep and entertaining than you might think. There is not much to complain about, and it is a welcome addition to the Playstation 2 library!

50 of 53 found the following review helpful:

Amazingly fun adventure-RPGMar 01, 2003
By Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast"
Dark Cloud 2 picks up where the original left off - but adds in so many enhancements, mini-games and improvements that it's far more than just a sequel.

First off, the graphics and sound engine have gotten a HUGE revamping. The cel shading used for the characters is stunning, and you can customize the hat, outfit and even shoes your character wears. Playing the game is like watching a movie, complete with a title sequence and music.

There are the dungeons to explore, with multiple levels and various 'medals' to win by doing special feats on each level. You're given incentive to go back and replay them to achieve all of the special requirements.

There are your weapons, which you can customize in various ways, build up into better levels and combine together. There are towns that have vanished that you have to rebuild, adding in an animal crossing/sim feel that lets you wander around the town you have built and admire your achievements.

There are so many built in subgames that the game can literally keep you occupied for months. There is fishing. Sure, you say, you can fish in several other games. But in this fishing world, you can sell your fish. You can eat them. You can put them in your aquarium! Each fish is different. Now you can watch them interact with other fish, or even breed them!

There's picture taking while you explore your world. But the snapshots aren't just used for decoration. There are multiple characters to work together, each with his or her own special strengths. There is time travel.

Highly recommended for any adventure-RPG loving game player!

33 of 35 found the following review helpful:

Dark Cloud 2 is a huge improvement over the originalFeb 24, 2003
By skittlesdfw
I played the original Dark Cloud for several weeks before I grew bored with it. Dark Cloud 1's gaming system was complex, repetitive, and too convoluted to impress most gamers.

Enter the sequel. Dark Cloud 2 takes place in a world separate from the original, and it shows. The game features cel shaded graphics, offering it a very rich "cartoon" look, which managed to impress me. Most cel-shaded games seem like they're engineered for kids, but not this one.

Dark Cloud 2 almost seems like a game from a different series, rather than a sequel to Dark Cloud 1. The storyline is complex, lengthy, and diverse. The gameplay is simplistic, yet satisfying. The in-game music is rich and memorable. There's a plethora of mini-games to keep you entertained between missions.

The best part of this game, however, is the in-game Help system. There's a tutorial for just about everything in the game, and each tutorial provides clear and precise directions for everything. There's even a full voiceover from one of the game's many characters to assist you.

For the [price offered], Dark Cloud 2 is well worth the investment. Fans of the original, plus those that enjoy "Hack and Slash" games like Legend of Zelda and Kingdom Hearts will find their money well spent.

24 of 25 found the following review helpful:

Move over Zelda!!!Mar 02, 2003
By Joseph
Sony has done a great job on creating a sequel to the first Dark Cloud (which to most was quite a dissapointment). The graphics are outstanding! Although the characters are cell-shaded (which I normally don't prefer), the illustrators have done an amazing job at keeping the detail. The plot behind the story isn't the most original, but the way it plays out is more than fun. You control Max(short for Maximillian) who loves to invent things and at the same time beat things with his wrench/hammer! Early in the game you are given a camera with which you take pictures of certain object located within stores/rooms/dnugeons/etc, and then you create your inventions by combining ideas from the pictures! You can then buy raw materials and create your own items ranging from bread to refill part of your HP(health), to robotic arms that you can attach to Steve, a extremely usefull machine you will aquire later in the game (actually, fairly early compared to the lenghth of the game which is nice and long! :D). The sounds in the game are perfectly mixed with the situation, and the sound great! The controls are EASY to master and the overall game is not too complicated to figure out. Another important piece of information is that the game does NOT have "random battles" like the Final Fantasy games. Its combat system is exactly like "Zelda" games in which you can see the enemy from a distance, and then move closer to it to attack. It is also very easy to run away if needed to ;).Also in the story, there a several mini games such as fishing and a golf type game which are fun (although the golf one can get very frusturating). To sum it all up, my opinion on the game through a rating of 1-10 on all the aspects is as follows (I am an avid gammer, and I spend a lot of time playing RPGs, so I like to tell myself I know what I'm talking about ;)

Graphics: 9.5 (always room for improvement ;))
Sound: 9.5
Controls: 9.5
Story-Line: 9.0
Fun Factor: 10.0

anything else I can't thing of at the moment, I would rate it high ;) Hope this help, and again, if you like RPGs then this is a must have!

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:

A definite improvement over the first Dark CloudMar 30, 2003
By R. Dauthi "Raph"
For those of you who have played the first Dark Cloud, the game that started it all, you most likely carry memories of both good and bad. The good being the town-building, weapon-upgrading, fun factor of it all, and the bad being the long, tiresome dungeons and the enemies that seem amazingly easy and uninspired. Let me just say that DC2 is an improvement over the first, but most of the aspects previously mentioned have remained the same, in some form or fashion.

The town building system, or Georama system, is one of the many traits of DC2 that stands out in my mind. Not only has the system been tweaked to near perfection, but there are so many new things added to it, and there is also much more freedom to where you can place your houses, trees, windmills and the like this time.

Also, there's the major change in graphics. For those of you who have seen the game in action, it's obvious to see the cel-shading technique done on the game. Weather you like the cel-shading style or otherwise, it's been done wonderfully and makes the game stand out like no other. There are no complaints here in the graphics department.

There are complaints, however, when it comes to gameplay. Remember the endless dungeon crawling from the first DC? Well, it's back and just as tedious as ever. Sure, the first 3 levels or so of a certain dungeon is a great experience, but after 20 it becomes a bit annoying to the point where you just want to get the dungeon finished with so you can progress with the story. Upgrading weapons, however, can be slightly addicting, and so that may act as an incentive to fight the hordes of enemies within the dungeon.

DC2 has a mixture of the good and the bad. Usually, this would make a game average at best, but in this case the fun factor of Dark Cloud 2 pushes it up to being a game that all RPG fans should at least rent. Although it can test your patience, the rewards of being so will definitely be worth it.

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