Product Description

Dark Chronicle, the sequel to Dark Cloud, delivers a spectacular tale with new gameplay elements, including an enhanced Georama, which allows players to rebuild worlds by collecting and using items such as spells, weapons, treasures, vehicles and more. The game's new invention system lets you create, repair and upgrade equipment and weaponry that will help in exploration and in battle. The game promises between 50 and 100 hours of gameplay, depending on the player's skill level.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4390 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2003-09-12
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Platform: PlayStation2

Amazon.co.uk Review
What's creepier than a sinister clown? Nothing, as it turns out, which is probably why the makers of Dark Chronicle--the sequel to Dark Cloud--made their evil villain a member of the circus family. After all, a clown who lifts the town's friendly mayor off his feet with a strangle hold is not to be messed with.

Welcome to the world of Dark Chronicle. Stylistically, it resembles a 1980s child's playset. All the characters are of childlike proportions and the village's Tudor buildings seem pried from a Yorkshire hamlet. While Maximillian, the pre-teen hero, wanders around his hometown, Parisian accordion MIDI music serenades him. Though this is not a kids' game, gamers who are put off by kitschy/cute nuances should beware--this game is loaded with them.

At its heart, Dark Chronicle is a wonderfully solid RPG. Its story has three main elements: Max's lost mother, the secret of what's going on outside the village, and why the evil clown wants Max's red stone pendant. Fighting takes place in real time, unlike the turn-based fighting in the similar Final Fantasy series. This was a good decision on behalf of the designers, as was the attention to weapon customising. And if you love to manage inventory (there aren't many RPG fans that don't), this is your game. Not only can Max's weapons be upgraded, but by taking pictures and tinkering, he can create tools from scratch, in seemingly endless variations.

There's so much more to this game than can be described in any review. Along the way, for example, Max meets up with Monica, a princess from the future. He may build a village using the Georama system, or he may just want to do a little fishing--to say more would be to spoil the fun, but you get the idea. You'll just have to discover it all--and there is a tremendously rich world here--on your own. --Jennifer Buckendorff

Official PlayStation 2 Magazine
"Top-tier RPG fare... an essential purchase. 9/10."

GamesMaster Magazine
"Lush, engrossing, huge, and... oh, just buy it. 91%."

Customer Reviews

dark chronicle A WORK OF ART!!
One word i can say about dark chronicle is MASSIVE!. the box claims that this game lasts over 100 hours and i would have to agree. georama, side quests, weapon building and alot more this game will certanily plese the RPG pureists out there.

A key part of the game is the story which all credit to the designers is superbly written, if a little bit unoriginal but you can not pick holes in this masterpiece. Another injoyable bit of the game is the Georama which allows you to create sprawling villages, which changes the future as you build. Although this sounds complicated it is simply done and you feel really feel proud of your achievements.

Although the game is fantastic throughout there is some tiny niggles, the dungeons although huge are slightly tedious as it turns into a regular hack and slash in the Diablo 2 build, this does slightly grate but the story is that good you want to carry on through the dungeons to progress the story. the weopon building system is very deep and intricate, which is good for people who like games with depth, this game certainily gives you value for money!!!.

Its easy to lose hours on the side quests on this game as they are very fun to play. Spheda the golf game is VERY hard but it rewards you well for your efforts and fishing is expertly done and provides you with real satisfication as you land the big one!!

So all in all i recommend every one to buy this game as it is one of the most original games to come out for a long time and after the final fantasy series i would class it as one of the best RPGs ever and the game designers should be proud of this oustanding achievement.

PlayStation 2's first AAA of 2003...
Finally, Sony have come up with the goods - a game to rival Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Dark Chronicle is the sequel to 2001's Dark Cloud, a fairly basic but engaging action-RPG with a unique "Diorama" village-building system. The sequel enhances this aspect to near-perfection, aslo inmproving weapon upgrading. A great new innovation of this game is the invention process - you can take pictures of various objects, combine images to create an idea, then the invention develops from thsi idea. It can get complex, but it is highly engrossing.

Combat is real-time, swords and sorcery affair, similar to The Legend of Zelda but with some magic. Combat is fluid, with a nice range of moves - also it can get repetitive at times, but like Kingdom Hearts, there's enough variety to keep you going.

Graphically, developer Level-5 have excelled themselves...Dark Chronicle is stunning, one of the best looking games of this current generation. It uses the oh-so-popular cel-shaded technique, but it works extremely well.

Dark Chronicle is a wonderful game, one of the best RPGs available for this generation of consoles. Level-5 have done a great job of improving the original concept to near perfection. Roll on Dark Cloud 3!!!

(original+improvements)-all that was bad=MASTERPIECE
This is a visually stunning game, the graphics are charming the game play is great and the building sections offer far more freedom. This game is everything dark cloud should have been.
This provided me with long game play, enjoyable storyline, charming graphics and a good selection of minigames. The ability to affect the future by building towns in the past is a great feature. And the bonus dungeon at the end of the game gives even more gameplay.
IF you don't have this game buy it, it really is that good, it's a great game for everyone aged six to sixty!