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Dark Cloud for PlayStation 2
Dark Cloud for PlayStation 2 combines an action RPG with rebuilding villages. You play as Toan, a boy who survives the Dark Genie's attack. Villagers, houses and pieces of the landscape have been protected inside magical spheres called Atla and scattered throughout dungeons. Using the Atlamillia on his arm, Toan can recover these pieces. Every journey underground therefore brings back something that needs to find its place above ground again.
In the dungeons you fight directly with swords, ranged weapons and magic. You switch between six characters with their own weapons and abilities, but always control one hero at a time. Weapons grow stronger through use and attachments, while wear means they need repairs. Drinking water is also part of your preparations. The changing layout of dungeon floors makes searching for keys, treasure chests and Atla part of every expedition. A stronger weapon helps, but supplies and timing remain important.
Back in a village, you place houses, trees, water and residents using Georama. Conversations reveal how people want their homes arranged; these wishes connect construction with the wider adventure. Afterwards you can walk around your own layout and discover new events. Dark Cloud is a single-player game played with a controller, such as a DUALSHOCK 2. You save progress manually to a PlayStation 2 memory card using Save in the command menu when outside the dungeons in Walking Mode.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Dark Cloud for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Dark Cloud
Dark Cloud was the first game released by Level-5, the Japanese studio founded in 1998. Sony Computer Entertainment released it in Japan in December 2000; Western editions followed in 2001. It arrived early in the PlayStation 2's life, when developers were exploring ways to give three-dimensional worlds more meaning. Level-5 linked the familiar exploration and combat of role-playing games to restoring the places you visited.
Georama became the distinctive centre of this approach. Houses and residents were not a fixed backdrop: you recovered them from dungeons and then decided where to put them. Residents' wishes also turned arranging the settlement into a puzzle. At launch, Sony emphasised the immediate transition from building to walking around the restored environment. Weather, daily routines and conversations helped make these settlements feel inhabited, alongside the battles underground.
Level-5 later developed the interplay between building and action further in Dark Chronicle, known as Dark Cloud 2 in North America. That sequel introduced different protagonists and an invention system. Dragon Quest VIII and Rogue Galaxy were among the studio's subsequent PlayStation 2 games. The first Dark Cloud shows the foundations of that development: evolving weapons, distinctive travelling companions and a world changed by what you collect. The version offered is the original PS2 game, featuring Toan and his own story.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Dark Chronicle for PlayStation 2 builds on Dark Cloud's combination of dungeons, weapon development and Georama. You restore settlements again, but now follow Maximilian and Monica through a story involving different times. Photos provide ideas for inventions, while the Ridepod adds a machine you can control. Dark Cloud focuses on Toan's group of six and recovering specific village components; Dark Chronicle particularly expands the ways you can process materials yourself.
Rogue Galaxy for PlayStation 2 is another Level-5 action RPG, featuring weapons you develop and travelling companions with different attacks. Spaceships and planets give the adventure a different scale. Three party members take the field together during battles, whereas Dark Cloud uses one controllable hero at a time. Rogue Galaxy centres more on the crew's journey and fighting together; Toan's expeditions are directly connected to arranging villages anew.
Like Dark Cloud, Kingdom Hearts for PlayStation 2 lets you attack in real time, manage equipment and explore new areas. Sora travels with Donald and Goofy through worlds from Disney stories, giving encounters with familiar characters plenty of attention. Dark Cloud uses its own fantasy world and links the items you find to Georama. Kingdom Hearts' environments are largely fixed; in Dark Cloud you decide where recovered houses, residents and pieces of landscape are placed.
Final Fantasy X for PlayStation 2 shares Dark Cloud's lengthy fantasy adventure, distinctive group of heroes and development of their abilities. The battle rhythm is clearly different: in Final Fantasy X you choose actions turn by turn and switch party members to respond to enemies. Dark Cloud calls for direct movement, aiming and striking in dungeons. The journey through Spira also follows a more predetermined route, while Toan's repeated dungeon visits keep supplying materials for his own village layouts.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for PlayStation 2 shows how Level-5 later shaped a large role-playing game with a continuous landscape. As in Dark Cloud, you travel past villages, monsters and new allies. Battles here are turn-based and the villages are not built by the player. Dark Cloud divides attention between action in changing dungeons and Georama; Dragon Quest VIII focuses on the journey, conversations and the composition of your party.
