|
| genre = Action role-playing game | modes = Single-player }} (released as ''Dark Cloud 2'' in North America) is a action role-playing game developed by Level-5 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was released in Japan in November 2002, in North America in February 2003, and in Europe in September 2003. The game is a spiritual sequel to the 2000 game ''Dark Cloud'', with the same basic game mechanics (action role-playing combined with elements of city-building games), but features mainly different characters and an unrelated plot. Players control two main protagonists, Max and Monica, who come from the present and future, respectively. They must work together to stop the game's main antagonist, Emperor Griffon, who wishes to destroy the present from deep in the past. The game was met with positive reviews from critics, who praised the improvements over the first game, particularly the graphics and variety of gameplay types available. Some reviewers, however, were critical of the storyline. The game went on to win several gaming awards, and sold almost a quarter of a million copies in Japan in its first four weeks of release. ==Gameplay== ''Dark Chronicle'' is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective, in which the player moves through procedurally-generated dungeons, battling monsters and collecting items. The player controls two characters for the majority of the game; Max and Monica. Max fights with a wrench as his melee weapon and a gun as his ranged weapon. Monica uses a sword and a magical bracelet. Combat is composed entirely of real time hack and slash. Unlike most action role-playing games, instead of the characters leveling up, their weapons do. Weapons attain "ABS" (absorption points) with each kill, and once a certain number of points have been reached, the weapon is automatically leveled up. As a weapon levels up, its number of "Synthesis Points" increase, which determine how many "spectrumized" items can be attached to it. Most items in the game can be broken down, or "spectrumized", which turns the item into a "SynthSphere". These SynthSpheres can then be attached to a weapon to raise specific stats, depending on the properties of the item that was spectrumized. Each attachment costs a certain amount of synthesis points, and when the weapon's points are depleted, no more attachments can be made until the weapon is leveled up and more synthesis points are attained. Weapons themselves can also be spectrumized, but unless the weapon is level five or higher, the resulting SynthSphere will be unstable, and when attached, will result in minimal stat growth. A spectrumized level five weapon, however, will result in considerable stat growth. Weapons also have the capacity to be "built-up." For a weapon to be built-up into a more powerful weapon, it must meet certain criteria. In most cases, a weapon needs to have a certain number of specified stats, while some weapons also require the player to have defeated particular types of enemies. When a weapon is built-up, it gains strength and reverts to level one. Built-up weapons are stronger than weapons that have not been built-up. Building up is the only way to acquire each character's most powerful weaponry. As in ''Dark Cloud'', weapons wear out over time, and it is necessary to repair them in order to avoid them breaking and becoming unusable. However, unlike in ''Dark Cloud'', when a weapon is broken it does not disappear from the players' inventory. Instead it becomes unusable until repaired, and some of the ABS it has accrued are lost.〔 Also carried over from ''Dark Cloud'' is that characters themselves can only grow stronger with the consumption of particular items, which can increase their health points and defense. A major component of ''Dark Chronicle''s gameplay involves special items called "Geostones" which are used to rebuild the world outside the dungeons.〔 When Geostones are removed from the dungeon, they can be placed into the database of a machine called the "Carpenterion", which turns them into plans for building objects such as houses, trees, lights, rivers etc. Once the plans are available, the player must possess the necessary materials to build the object.〔 At this point, the player can enter "Georama mode," a gameplay mode similar to city-building games, in which the player can arrange the pieces onto the landscape. The buildings can then be populated with villagers recruited from other levels throughout the game. For each village, there are certain conditions which must be met, and when each condition is completed, something significant changes in the future. The player's progress in terms of completing these conditions is recorded as a percentage. The goal of each Georama map is to complete as many of the conditions for that map as possible. Achieving 100% is not necessary to advance the plot in any map, but doing so earns the player bonus items. The player can also recruit NPCs onto their team at various points in the game by performing specific tasks. These characters are never controllable and do not appear in battle, but through the "Characters" portion of the menu, the player can access a party member's special ability. Each character has a different ability, and only one can be active at any given time. For example, some characters have an influence in battle, such as increasing item drops or adjusting enemy behavior, others can produce certain items inside or outside dungeons.〔 Another feature of the game is fishing. Players can catch fish and then breed and train them in their fish-tank. Later in the game, the players' fish can be entered into weigh-in competitions and races. The game also features an invention system, whereby the player takes photographs of various items and then combines the photos to generate ideas for inventions. If the player has the required materials, the invention can then be created.〔 The player can also build a customizable robot (the "Ridepod") that can be used in battle, transform into various monsters by collecting badges, and play "spheda" (a sport similar to golf) in completed dungeons. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dark Chronicle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|