Gaming Dark Cloud 2

[GinnyLyn]

(Having looking for a thread on this in the realm of the past 75 days and not turning anything up, I figured this would be ok. I know Sem had a thread about this somewhere, but I can't find it. @_@)

I have had Dark Cloud 2 for several weeks now, but put off playing it because I had already run the most of the gauntlet with Dark Cloud. That and I was distracted by FF:Origins. Don't get me wrong--DC itself was fun, but it suffered from repetitiveness ad naseum. Plus the whole "break a weapon and it's gone forever" bit.

Anyways, I just started playing yesterday, and it's a shame I didn't start sooner! There are some really strong differences (re: improvements) that make DC2 more enjoyable than DC was. Strongest among those was the storyline they've managed to tuck in this time around.

The music is soothing and I enjoy whenever it shifts into battle music when you encounter an enemy (a la Zelda). The characters voices, while having some weird inflection at times and sounding downright annoying at other times, are passable. There are still some disconcerting times when there's text only, and I'd wish Level5 would stick to one or the other.

Georama doesn't seem to be nearly emphasized as much in this game (then again, I'm only at Sandain/R.Butterfly Forest, so heh--that's early in the game, mind), while the weapon spectrumize system is. When I first heard that, I guess that was one of the things that put me off of DC2, but I figured it all wrong. The upgrade system is far improved over the old one, not to mention it's actually rather fun. Spectrum points and [i]clear, understandable[/i] Build Up graphs help immensely; plus, there's just something that's really nifty about turning anything you can get your grubby little hands on into a spectrum sphere for your weapon.

Less characters, but twice as many weapons (2 for each one). That is [i]very[/i] nice. In DC one, I spent half my time switching between characters to deal with enemies. In DC2, characters are equipped to handle both close and distant combat. [i]Excellent.[/i] Items are also easier to come by in this version, but not to the point of babyishly easy--some of the monsters can still kill you in two hits if you don't take them seriously. The time travelling part is nifty, as is Build-Your-Own-Robot and the medal and photograph sidequests.

Overall, I'm being thoroughly entertained by this game right now, and recommend it strongly. Any comments or suchlike on DC2 would be nice to hear from those who have played it--but no spoilers, please.

[Semjaza]

Here's my old one - [url]http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21311[/url]

I'm glad you finally got around to getting it. So many people here were talking about the game in other threads, and then when I posted my long impressions I got no responses other than from Charles (and one from Cyko I think)... oh well.

I don't really understand your complaints with the voices. The main characters sound fine I think, other than a few odd pauses. Even so, Folsam himself was excellent. I loved the way he was portrayed early on.

Georama is used quite a bit more, and gets a lot more complex. The first city you build is nowhere near the last... And if you want to get the best stuff you have to build all the cities at 100% and fulfill all their goals it takes a bit (which isn't exactly easy... the weapon shop one in the first town was a pain). My main complaint is that you can't buy items for building without stopping and running all the way to the train and all the way back.

Personally, I think it's one of the top few games on the system.

[GinnyLyn]

I think I shall find a list on the web that tells me what item "spectrumizes" into what category--I'm having the worst time finding attack items, to a lesser extent wind and one other one.

I noticed in your other thread (how come I couldn't find it?), you said you can moved the photos into the invention notebook, so you can make room in the holding area for the photos. If I don't figure out how tonight, please tell me, Sem.

I also need to figure out who to talk to so they will be on the train.

For now, I'm just leveling up at R.Butterfly wood. Good game, getting better. It's been awhile since I've been this thoroughly involved, fixated, and enchanted (last game was FFX, I believe; poor, poor Wind Waker).

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]In the early stages of the game [before you can construct as many inventions/go to the Crystal Shop which comes later ^_~] you should just level it up for basic attack. If you need like 20 attack or some rediculous amount, then you should most likely wait.

And Gamefaqs.com is such a lovely site for spectrumizing info, isnt it. *hint*[/color]

[Ninjaman]

I rented this game about a month or two ago. I thought it was a pretty good game. I found the graphics and music absolutely wonderful. The voice acting was pretty good in my opinion. And I know I heard Max's voice from somewhere else, but I can't quite remember. Dang it, it's going to drive me nuts again.

Anyway, I had only two problems with the game. One was money. I needed a lot in order to buy materials for Georama and the repair powders for my weapons. And my second problem was how long it took me to move past Sandain. I liked the music for the forest, but it got really annoying going through such a long dungeon. Maybe it's because I really suck at the game and that's why it took me so long? ^_^;; I just made it past Sandain and entered that canyon area(I forget what it was called) when I returned the game. Besides my little problems with the game, it was pretty good. I'll rent it again when I'm not piled with so much schoolwork at the moment.

*sigh* Only two more weeks of school until exams.

[Semjaza]

Ginny, if you didn't figure it out... I'll try to describe it from memory. If this is totally off, I apologize. You shouldn't have a hard time figuring it out if you mess around with the invention/camera menu though.

When you're looking through your menus... the bottom area should just show all the photos. Above that should be the invention area I think, and you can tell it to move any photo with a light bulb icon up there. It should be one of the choices when you try to do something.

[GinnyLyn]

As for Max's voice, I know EXACTLY where I heard it--since my little bro was watching the cartoon "Carmen Sandiego" right before I started the game.
Max is Max...confused yet? Heh, tis true, the two detectives that chase Carmen in the cheesy cartoon are Max and Ivy (if memory serves).

As for the photos, I found that they sorta kinda move automatically to the album, but I haven't figured out [i]how[/i], so I just check to make sure they are in there before I delete them. ^^

[Zidargh]

[size=1][color=darkblue] So far, I am very looking orward to see it in action, but I live in England so that puts me down quite a bit. I noticed that I became quite addicted to the first Dark Cloud, but I can understand why it was so annoying however.

But now I have a question. Is there going to be a release of the game over for us PAL gamers? If the first one was released, I cannot see why this game wouldn't allow us to play and own it.[/color][/size]

[James]

[color=#808080]I have no idea when this game releases in PAL territories (it may already be available in Australia; I haven't looked for a while). But nonetheless, this is a game I've had my eye on for quite some time.

I think this will definitely be my next PS2 purchase.

After reading several reviews, I'm very impressed with the apparent improvements that have been made this time around. So it's nice to hear that OB members are endorsing it too. ^_^[/color]

[Zidane]

I saw this game on my monthly game buying binge but didnt buy it, Can anyone tell me about the story cos im really interested in it.

[GinnyLyn]

Roughly, and without spoilers, since I've just started:

Max, a young millionaire's boy, wants to see the world and maybe find his mother. His father forbids it, and for an unknown reason, the mayor has locked the gates to the areas beyond the city.
After a tiny coming-of-age, you-are-the-chosen-one bit, Max meets Monica, a girl from the future, who needs Max's help to fix his world to save hers.

I've managed to restore Jurak (I don't have much time to play), and I am simply delighted by how the future is altered by what you Georama in the past. I giggled insanely, childishly happily when I saw the Glowing Mushrooms restored. :bluesweat

I highly recommend this game. Entertaining enough to make you [i]want[/i] to play when it is frustrating. *big grin*

[Semjaza]

Ginny, did you manage to fully restore Jurak's area? You get a special weapon if you do, so it's worth the time.

I thought the most interesting thing about the story [spoiler] was the fact that no one in the first city had ever even [i]seen[/i] the outside of it.[/spoiler] (Not so bad, but I'll black it out anyway).

[GinnyLyn]

I'll be able to finish Jurak's area as soon as I can figure out how to get past that one area that splits into two (R.Buttefly Forest)--you know, the one with the shiny star thing blocking the way--so I can pick up more Geostones.

I've made it to Starlight Canyon today, but those frelling Masked Tribesmen keep killing me! :mad: Any hints to get rid of them (that don't involve chucking bombs or other items at them) would be appreciated.

I've also gotten my first two [spoiler]tranformation medals--Flora and Undead. I think it's a nifty concept that they will turn into stronger monsters after certain levels (never mind the fact how Digi/Pokémonish that sounds), but it's the leveling up that takes awhile. Even the weapons go faster than that![/spoiler]

I'm still loving this game very much so. *grin*

[Tigervx]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=teal] Oh, I've only had this game for about a week and am already in Chapter 6! I've played 45 hours, which is becauses I'm horribley addicted to this. The weapon building up system is really something. Its not so much that your characters level up like in other RPGs but that your weapons level up and you find power up items for your characters. Lets see, I've gone through [spoiler]Sindian, StarLight temple, Luna Labs, Pazons(Love the cinema for that one :D) And I fought emporer Griffon, who is a FREAKIN RABBIT! How can the ruler of evil be a rabbit! It just counters his evilness. But hes really hard >>. Now I have to find the 4 Crystals of the elements since Griffon stole the Atlimilais and is now destroying all time. The only hope for the world is to bring Paznos into our time and use it to battle Griffon's fly palace. [/spoiler]And you need the four Crystals to do so. Thats all for now. But as for the game itself, I just love it. I mean, you can spend ours upon hours playing Spheda and Fishing. Let alone clearing out dungeons for medals. There are so many different medal builds up and monster transformations. And you can't forget your trust ride pod. This game is so addicting and such a major improvement its just overwhelming for someone who played the first Dark Cloud and didn't seem to like it much. [/SIZE][/COLOR]