The second game from Level-5 is one of the best. Buy it even though it 5 years old.
- Simple battle system, but a lot of fun
- The georama system is back, better than ever
- Great characters and superb weapons
- Outstanding graphics for its age
- Sound is awesome too and the gameplay isn't less and great voice acting
- Environments look really good
- Fantastic and engaging story, great monster design and a totally new world
Negative
- The game's dungeons are way, way too repetitive ( they almost look the same )
- Also the game has a slow start
- Could have had more playable characters
- Building places might become frustating, especially the building of chapter 7 must be perfect, and i mean PERFECT
- Difficulty might be over-whealming
Who would have though that Dark Cloud 2 was this great. i spend 200 hours on it. Though Dark Cloud 's dungeons are very,very repetitive. But the story is good and amazing and for its time, it's the best game, i think. I only played this and Rogue galaxy from Level-5. Never played Dark Cloud 1 and neither Dragon Quest VIII (personally i don't like turn-based games, they are boring). I have 6 RPG games but these are the only 2 i've beaten. The others are Final Fantasy X, Final Fanatsy X-2, Final Fantasy XII and Drakengard 2. These games are way too hard. But they look amazing.
Talking about Dark Cloud 2 again, unlike other RPG games the ABS goes in the weapon Max or Monica using. The weapons are amazing, even the boss fights. Even the building system is good, not good superb. The only thing that i hated are the looooong dungeon repetition. If there is a person that hates repetitive level, don't buy this game. It will make you say really bad words. Trust me. I really don't like repetitions also but i enjoyed the game. Other thing the boss of chapter 7 is a pain to beat. And after that there's another boss, which if you don't kill him in 5.00 minutes, you will lose and fight the previous boss. I had to repeat it 3 times. Also chapter 8, the final chapter is waaay too hard. There are over 70 dungeons and the monsters are too tough. Most enemies have to be killed by the ridepod. Even a small one takes time and if they hit you one time, you're good as dead. Even the vest weapons.
I recommand this game to hardcore RPG player. But if i found it easy, most people will beat the game, trust me. But it will surely take you 100 hours to arrive to the final boss of chapter 8. And if you beat him you can't save. That idea suck. Even in chapter 8, if i remember correctly there are 4 or 5 dead ends and there a small bosses, which are tough. Well better not scare you anyone. Good luck if you're buying the game