I'm going to talk about a game that I loved and that took me by the guts from start to finish. It was one of the games that struck me the most. Its story, its play mode, the different tasks to be completed, the characters and the graphics all played an important role for me. In this game, everything and I mean everything, I liked. I have no frustration or frustration that could discourage me from playing.

This game was so memorable to me, when I said I was taking the "Retro" theme for the podcast, that it was the first one I thought of. I hadn't said that I would do a presentation of this game, but in my head I only had this game in mind. Even as I forced myself to think of other games, there was still.

A huge fan of RPG and Nintendo, the list of games that meet these criteria is enormous. Still, this is the game I took for granted. I’m very happy about it and I’m sure I will honor it. Dark Chronicle, for those who are new to this game, then do whatever it takes to play it. For gamers who don't know the name, maybe the name Dark Cloud 2 will make them understand what I'm talking about.

Indeed, Dark Cloud 2 is the same game, but it is the American name. Dark Cloud had never been released in Europe, so having a game called Dark Cloud 2 wouldn't have made sense. So the game was renamed Dark Chronicle for regions that did not have a first Dark Cloud.

This is a small detail, but I want to show that yes, I know what I'm talking about. I like this game okay? Hope this is understood now.

The story

We start at the beginning of the story. We are a young teenager, named Max, working in a workshop with his teacher Cédric. He has a camera that is very useful to him, but we'll get to that later. He lives in a large house in a small walled village and no one leaves the village. He has an amulet that his (missing) mother gave him before she went missing.

One night at the circus, Max takes the opportunity to go to the show. A child steals his ticket and after doing everything to find it, he has a strange argument with the child who then disappears. The circus boss turns out to be a villain and tries to catch / kill you. He wants your amulet for his boss. While spying on the mayor and the boss of the circus you learn that your amulet could be important and that there is a train in town that would allow you to see the world.

Max manages to escape and goes through the sewers. There really begins the pattern that the game adopts in terms of game play. How we fight, how we evolve and how we will advance in the different levels. We will come back to this later, for now it's time for history. In the sewers Cédric comes with the robot to help you. After a brief stop in town again, you improve the robot with your camera (I'll explain later). You return to the sewers and use the robot to move forward.

Coming out of the sewers, you take the train. This had been kept secret, no one in the village was to know that it was still in working order. You take the opportunity to travel the world. On your first trip, the circus leader comes back to bother you. Once you think you've got rid of it, Monica arrives to save you.

With the help of her sword she eliminates hi,, she has a stone similar to Max's. Max's is red, hers is blue. Monica is from the future and has come to Max's present in order to change the course of history. The game's antagonist did everything to destroy the world in Monica's past so she could be invincible in their time.

The game will revolve around that a lot. Traveling in the future (Monica's present) and the present (Max's present). Max being an inventor, he is not only able to create beautiful things for his robot, to develop his weapons but he is also able to create a world. Using the information you have in Max's present, by having the necessary materials, you can recreate the world as it should so that in Monica's present everything is reconstructed again.

This allows you to be able to see the world as it should be and to be able to beat the villain of the story. The game is then quite simply done, with the train you get to one place, you kick the butt of the monsters, you take whatever you can take, you recreate the world and you go to the next place.

By recreating a location, you go into the future where you will learn new things about the antagonist and how you can destroy it. You then see what the world must have looked like without his intervention, and you can go back and forth even if the rebuilding in Max's era is not over. So you can go and see the evolution according to the modifications you have made. This is handy because sometimes you can see what best can be done to make sure Monica's present is properly restored.

The story is poetic and above all very well told. It's quite simply written and put together, its charm lies in the way the story is told and how it is brought to life by the characters. We are quickly taken to the guts and we feel part of the fine team that must save the world. So through the journey you really learn what it is about. An evil being from Max's past destroys everything that is important so that in his future he can be more powerful and he can win for sure. This future is Monica's present. Max is therefore in between. He's in the (more or less near) future of the villain, that's why his world is so empty, but he's in Monica's past. In her present everything is chaos because of the misdeeds of this evil being. Since Monica has the blue amulet to go to the past, she finds Max who has the one for her to go to the future. So they can travel together and counter the monster who wants to destroy everything.

What the villain destroys in the past, Max recreate in his present, so he can counter the antagonist in Monica's present. You see ? It’s simple and yet one would get lost easily.

The combat mode

This is free fights, not turn-based or anything. We are right, in the hard. So you have two weapons. Max has a wrench and a pistol. If you kill with either weapon, experience points go to the weapon that was lethal. You can then choose to be more melee or more to shoot from a distance. The same goes with Monica who with her weapons gives these two options. The fights are quite dynamic and it must be said that it is instinctive and easy to know how to handle this mode without too much hassle.

Evolution

Max is not evolving. These are the weapons that evolve. The evolution diagram is quite simple, you initially have a choice of evolution, depending on the choice made, part of the evolution tree is no longer accessible and the tree then continues in another direction. If after evolution you don't like it, you need a new weapon to evolve it the way you want it to.

You get orbs in combat, depending on the orb it also gives you access to all possibilities in your weapon evolution tree. It is therefore important to have orbs in stock. Otherwise, we can get stuck because we don't have the necessary orbs.

It's the same for Monica, but she has more conventional or classic weapons. She has a sword and a bracelet that allows her to cast magic spells. The evolution is the same.

Since characters don't evolve, they don't have stat boosts, but health still needs to evolve. And this is also where Monica's travels in the present become important. By going to her present you can find wooden boxes, well hidden, they have apples. These can increase your HP. Here too you have to be careful that you are consistent enough because if Max has HP that goes through the ceiling, Monica will not survive long. I guarantee you that in boss fights you will regret it if you are not balanced.

Secondary characters

Depending on the characters chosen, you will have certain bonuses. There is Cédric that you can have in your team passively to help you. There are many other characters that can be obtained throughout the story. It will take small tasks to be able to recruit them. Everyone can help you in one way or another. It allows adaptation to the situation you find yourself in and it allows you to play in one way or another.

Graphics

For the time (2003) it can be said that this was a huge success. This is a cell shading graphic, so a cartoon style. It’s very successful and colorful. It fits superbly with the story and the way the story is told. The graphics add a real touch to the story and make the whole thing even more magical. There is nothing wrong with that, plus it ages pretty well so it's a win for everyone.

The camera

So what is this device for? It is used to have the ingredients for your recipes. So yes, if you don't know the game you might think I'm mixing words that shouldn't be in the same sentence. I swear to you, however, that it makes sense.

So you can find recipes for crafting items. For that you have to photograph certain things. For example you might need a belt and a barrel to be able to make a tank or the like. These inventions are mainly dedicated to improving your robot to make it totally bad-ass and super killer.

I remember having a robot with katanas and propellers to move around. Yes, just that. And frankly it was great fun. You can also have it with machine guns and mechanical spider legs. There is a lot of fun to have a design that you love.

There are also specific moments to photograph so that you can have other bonuses. For example taking a boss at a certain angle, this will bring you gems giving superb stats to your weapons.

Critical welcome

Speaking of specialist press reviews, the game has received a superb reception. Everyone agrees to describe it as a great game that deserves to be played by all. I naturally agree with that. However, I do not think he was seen too much by the majority. I don’t know what that could be, but he didn’t have the global success that I would have wished for him.

The other truth is that the overwhelming majority who have played the game have an over-positive opinion of the game, proving that the game was worth it and that everyone should enjoy it.

Small useful info, the game is available on the PS Store for the PS4. I bought it, of course, I'll be playing it soon, that's for sure.

End

As you can see, there is a lot to do. Lots of photos to take, lots of weapon and robot evolutions, recreating the world, beating monsters. So much, plus you can go back as much as you want in the levels already done to be sure not to forget anything along the way.

This game, just talking about it makes you want to play it again. For those who haven't played it and have a PS4, the game is available. So don’t hesitate!