Level 5 Recreates a PS2 Classic In Stride...!
You play as two main characters this time around: Max, a mechanic in Palm Brinks that is closed off from the world outside its walls and also the son to a noble...and Monica, the daughter of royalty as well who gets drawn into unfortunate circumstances involving evil characters. What makes their story so intriguing is the fact that they are separated by time. Monica travels to Max's time in order to enlist his aid in recreating the future that she hails from by use of the Atlamillia, a jewel that has mystical properties.
The game transitioned from a sharp 3D graphic feel that the original game had to a cel-shaded transition. As a result, the game doubled its game time. The game looks very pretty and plays rather well. The presence of voice acting this time around also adds to the experience.
Combat is very similar to the first game. Both characters have melee and long range attacks (Max utilizes a wrench and a gun while Monica favors magic and a sword). This way, you won't need to change out characters as frequently for specific types of attacks like the first game. Customization is also simpler this time. When you level up your character's equipment, you can apply various gems to bolster attributes. When leveled up in specific ways, different weapons can be formed. Weapons do break with extensive use, but they will not disappear (which makes the die hard weapon levellers rest easy in their hard work). Every enemy does have their strengths and weaknesses, and also their different forms of attacks require different ways to fight back at them.
The game has its quirks. As always, it is hard and requires extensive patience. The presence of minigames, such as fishing, offer opportunities to obtain special prizes and also earn money pending with the right bait. There is also the 'camera' mechanic. By taking pictures of your environment and obtaining visuals of various items, Ideas can be formed that allow for special items to be invented. So this is not just a simple RPG. And that is what might discourage classic RPG players from undertaking it.
Dark Cloud 2 is an enjoyable RPG experience for those looking to depart from the tons of cliche rpgs and the few gems that encompass them.