Level-5’s first game is reborn
Before Level-5 was creating its Yo-Kai Watch Empire and dazzling Nintendo fans with Professor Layton, it was creating amazing RPGs in the early 2000s. Among classics like Dragon Quest VIII, Jeanne d’Arc, and Rogue Galaxy, its very first game, Dark Cloud, stands out to me the most.
I don’t know what spurred me to pick it up nearly 15 years ago — maybe it was a magazine preview — but I fell in love that very evening. It hasn’t aged well in a few ways, but it still holds up.
Dark Cloud (PS2, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Level-5
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
MSRP: $14.99
Released: December 14, 2000 (PS2) / December 5, 2015 (PS4)
Dark Cloud is the classic tale of good vs. evil, very much in the same vein as the Legend of Zelda series. The comparisons start with the story of a young boy with a green cap on an epic quest to save the world from a giant evil being, and permeate throughout with comparisons to Ocarina of Time‘s lock-on based battle system.
In essence, a nazi awakens a genie, and it’s up to Toan, our hero, to save the world. It’s not exactly inventive, but the personal angle of all of the subplots really sell it. It may have all of the makings of a standard fantasy narrative, but true to Level-5’s name, nearly everyone you meet along the way is charming enough to bring a smile to your face. This goes for the great supporting cast of playable heroes and any old random NPC you’ll meet along the way. The fact that you can skip cutscenes is an excellent feature in hindsight, especially for veterans who play it regularly.
The gameplay loop mainly involves dungeon crawling and world building. If you don’t have the mental fortitude for hack and slash games like Diablo, the former may be a bit too repetitive for your liking. Dungeons have a randomly generated feel to them, with basic tunnel-based layouts and enemies peppered about. Every level is the same — you’ll need to locate a key to descend to the next stage, which is guarded by a random enemy on the floor. Your job is to basically explore everything, and just happen upon a key.
Thankfully, dungeons are littered with engaging hazards and unique gimmicks to help nudge you along. I especially like that when coming upon a chest, players can “guess” the trap instead of using a key, potentially triggering an explosion or something to that effect. It’s a neat mechanic, as you can basically guess the least desirable option in an effort to possibly force something else if your choice is wrong. Subsequent concepts like this really make you think, because sometimes, crawling can get particularly hectic.
For instance, on one run, I had just been poisoned, and my water supply (which reduces HP steadily at zero) was nearly gone, so I had to hastily find my way back to a pond that restores your H2O stock and health. To do this, I had to expend an item that allows players to run faster, as well as some emergency food. Dark Cloud isn’t the toughest action-RPG around, but it can get taxing depending on the circumstances.
Combat does feel a bit rough by modern standards. While the lock-on feature does work well enough, the complete lack of a dodge button makes fights feel less engaging. Sure you can block and manually dodge if you want, but it’s inherently slower and less flashy. Also, I never liked the finite weapon durability system, which can completely break your weapon if you aren’t careful with your repair powder. The fact that weapons can evolve and accept socketed elemental gems is a nice touch however. The weapons themselves also have a ton of personality, especially Steve, the talking slingshot.
The other big part of Dark Cloud is the creation element, using special items from dungeons to craft towns of your own. Since the big bad has destroyed most of the villages across the world, it’s up to Toan to use his newfound magical powers to put them back together. It’s sort of like a Sim-light, in that you can zoom out to view individual plots of land, and “place” objects like houses, trees, rivers, roads, and even people at will. After plotting out towns, you can go back into third or first-person mode to view your creations, which provides an immense sense of satisfaction even to this day.
It’s very limited in the sense that plots aren’t too large, there’s usually a small item limit, and since you need to meet “requests” (certain villagers like to live near specific landmarks for instance), you don’t have a full sense of freedom when placing. But even then, the switch from creation to free roaming is insanely fast (quicker than I remembered), and the fact that not many games even have this element to date is important to note. Dark Cloud is a massive RPG overall, and the 100-floor endgame dungeon (Demon Shaft) is among my favorite locations in any video game to date, with an insanely satisfying optional superboss fight.
As far as the PS4 port goes, I haven’t run into any major issues. There are some hiccups (specifically this scan line appearing on-screen every 15 minutes or so), but nothing major. While the art style is inherently dated due to the PS2’s engine, the character designs hold up, and the framerate is perfectly fine. In fact, the entire affair runs much smoother than I’d expect for a game from 2000. Keep in mind that this is merely an upscaled port though, and not a full HD remake. Having played the PS2 version side-by-side this week, I’m not convinced that there’s a significant draw to getting it on PS4 outside of convenience.
If you haven’t played Dark Cloud yet, now is a perfect time to jump in. Sure, you’ll encounter some relics of old school design, but if you’re willing to overlook a few antiquated concepts and really dive in, you’ll find a rich RPG that will last you as long as you’re willing to put into it.
