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The kid warriors
After so many years of playing games I still didn’t find out why in Japanese RPG games the heroes are always kids and the bad guys are always grown ups (well there are a few exceptions of course – sometimes you play teenagers alright). Little kids sporting swords and guns always make me feel uncomfortable, and thinking about the fact that they beat up wicked monsters that – believing the story line – have devastated whole lands, should make others curious too. But eventually I got used to it, and a great game can be a great game without identifying oneself with the main characters.
Dark Chronicle - the sequel to the highly acclaimed 2001 RPG Mix Dark Cloud - does something that is in contradiction to most sequel games I played lately: it is better than the original. The developers really DID listen to what gamers had to say about the pros and cons of Dark Cloud and improved the game by all means.
Dark Clouds above the world
Set 100 years after the events of Dark Cloud, Dark Chronicle follows the adventures of techno whiz-kid Max and sword-swinging princess Monica. Who would have guessed – they have to stop a wicked and corrupted being intent on global domination. Finding out why and especially WHEN the evil guy is up to this is your job, dear reader.
While the basic story line is not really innovative, the turns and twists in the story line advance the basic plot as you progress, and together with the many aspects of gameplay you ought to enjoy the storyline.
Graphics & Music
Using the quite popular lately technique of cell-shading, Dark Chronicle is like a beautiful cartoon. Rich environments and various dungeons together with detailed characters offer everything a player can ask for in the graphical department. A lovely city, underground channels, deep mysterious woods and swamps, mountains and canyons, castles and levels situated at the ocean are only a few of the many places that you will explore during your journey. Still a few little things have to be criticized anyway – this is a review not a advertisement after all. For example on rare occasions the graphics look a little washed out and not sharp, although this doesn’t diminish the overall graphical experience.
Every environment features its own soundtracks and depending on the situation – like entering a battle – it can change very quickly. The voice acting – I have to admit I expected nothing less from a first party title – is flawless like always, although some NPC speakers have been used too often to not be recognized over and over again.
Playing the game
People that read my reviews from time to time know I don’t care much about graphics and music. My coverage of these game elements is normally short and very basic, because I believe that gameplay alone is the most important aspect in every game. Graphics are nice to look at, but if the game isn’t fun to play, buying it was a waste of time and money. So I think it is nice too see that Dark Chronicle has to offer more than nice graphics and good sound.
My biggest problem is where to start – the game offers so much. Would be best to start with the basics I believe. Dark Chronicle is a RPG. Starting wasn’t that hard after all. The control scheme is simple, and especially fighting is easy to learn. Auto-targeting and a fighting system comparable to the one used in a title from competitor – a guy in green rings a bell maybe? – combined with easy weapon and magic controls provide a very good way of controlling your characters.
Max on the one hand is a brilliant young inventor. His skills not only include inventing stuff by means of combining everyday items into something new, but he is also a good photographer. While you progress you will also find out that he is also a skilled fisherman and Tiger Woods should be on the lookout because his golf skills – called Spheda in the world of Dark Chronicle - are developing quiet well too. These abilities are not only mini games and means to improve the quality of gameplay but sometimes are even vital to the game.
Fishing for example is not only relaxing but also a good way to gather some free food (although you of course need bait), which you will need during your adventure. Spheda on the other hand is introduced a little later in the game. Being a fantasy variation of golf you have to close rifts in time by means of shooting a near time sphere into the rift. But not only the sphere has to have the right colour (it changes when hitting solid obstacles), but you also have only 3 hits to accomplish your goal! It sounds hard and it is too, but valuable goodies await those that master this mini game.
In a fight Max’s preferred weapon is his trusty wrench, which he modifies and builds up several times throughout the game. His sidearm is one of several types of guns, useful to pick off enemies from a distant. And last but not least, he has a home built robot, the so called Ridepod, that he can board anytime during battle. This robot too can be modified with weapons of different kinds, additional armour and engines.
Monica, your second main character, is a true warrior princess. She swings her sword with ease and is trained in the ways of magic. Using different bracelets – yes personally modifiable! – she can roast or freeze her enemies from afar. Unlike Max she doesn’t have a ride to support her during battle, but instead she can use various monster badges to turn into a monster herself, and use the enemies' powers against them. Sadly the latest feature is not very useful since the monster transformations are very weak and need too much XP to level up, which is much better spend on the characters themselves or the Ridepod.
Besides your two main characters you can always take a support character along. You can take virtually any NPC in the game with you, but their abilities range from quiet useful to totally useless. The support characters are normally passive a.k.a. they won’t support you in battle directly, but they have their own menu with abilities that you can depend on. Using their abilities normally uses up their energy over time and once it is depleted you have to send him back for a rest, but can always choose a different support character.
A nice story line, good controls and various mini games is enough for you? Well tough luck – we are STILL not done. The latest and in my humble opinion most interesting feature of the game is the Georama part. Without giving away too much of the story, I can tell you that you have to travel forth and back in time several times throughout the game. I believe most of you have heard at least once of the grandfather paradox. It basically is about one question: What would happen if one could travel back through time and kill his own grandfather – would he cease to exist? Dark Chronicle is not into grandfather killing of course. What it does do is offer the possibility to change something in the present, in order to make something happen in the future. But we are not talking about just talking with some people or solving some quests. Think big. Using a gigantic machine you will have to build whole CITIES. Exploring the dungeons of the game you will find so called Geostones, artefacts containing the plans to various items and objects of various kinds, including various houses, plants and special buildings, but also many decorative items. If you have enough resources you can then build these items and place them anywhere on the map. While basic use of the Georama environment is necessary to advance, most people will spend a good part of their playing time on building lovely little cities.
Speaking of time I believe I should come to an end for good. Because you will need it if you decide to play Dark Chronicle – I estimate hardly anybody will need below 60 hours of game time when playing for the first time.
Conclusion:
Good graphics and good music, while gameplay and story motivate you to push on. To sum it up: a great game. Why can’t all sequels be like that?
