Dark Cloud

This game was another of my all time favourites as a child. My first memory of this game is my mum renting (YES, renting!!) this for me as a random little surprise – I simply was not able to stop playing it until we had to take it back! Although at that age, I wasn’t very good at it and so didn’t get very far!

The main protagonist is called Toan, and he is a classic mute, sword-wielding character (I wonder if you can guess who he reminded me of as a child ..). During the night of a festival in his village, the world is attacked by the Dark Genie, and this is what kicks off the game.

You are saved by a divine power, who also saved all the other inhabitants of the world, but sealed them away I’m spheres for you to collect and then rebuild.. this isn’t as complex as it sounds!

Each village has it’s own corresponding dungeon where these spheres will be found, and the dungeon mechanic itself is quite simple but enjoyable.

Your weapons have stats which will go up as you level them up with certain stat-boosting attachments, as well as elements which you increase in the same way. Eventually your stats will be high enough to “build up” your weapon into a new one, which is key for surviving in the later dungeons.

You will gain allies as you progress through the world, until you eventually end up with 6 playable characters – all very unique with their own weapon of choice and special abilities which will be used to help progress in the dungeons.

The dungeons themselves actually hold plenty of challenges. First there’s the obvious, the monsters. Then you actually have to be wary of your thirst meter – once it depletes you will start to gradually lose health. Certain monsters can inflict status effects on you which will be detrimental in different ways, you will need to either leave the dungeon or use an item to remedy the status.

The layout of the dungeon will change every time you enter, so although the enemies found on that floor will be the same, you will still be finding your way around the floor. Each dungeon floor will also have an access point to the “Back Room” … these are darker areas of the dungeons where the monsters have buffs, but give extra experience for your weapons, and great treasures can be found in these areas.

The last major challenge is the “Limit Zones“. Certain floors of the dungeons will have special restrictions put on them, such as only a certain character having access to them, not being able to change your weapon and losing experience points on your weapon, and thirst occurring at a rapid pace.

There is also a post-game dungeon which is particularly gruelling, and it takes a lot of high end weapons for all your characters, and a lot of skill to be able to make progress here. It is not something I have completed, but it is certainly on my gaming bucket list.

I really recommend this for anyone who enjoys a dungeon crawler, and it’s very easy to get these days! It was originally a PS2 game, and has since appeared on the PSN store for both PS3 and PS4. I frequently see it half price, so it’s easy to get this great game at a low price!