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| genre = Action role-playing | modes = Single-player }} is a action role-playing game developed by Level-5 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. Originally intended as a March 2000 launch title for the PlayStation 2, the game was ultimately released in Japan in December 2000. It was released in North America in May 2001, and in Europe in September. A sequel with an unrelated plot, ''Dark Chronicle'' (released as ''Dark Cloud 2'' in North America), was released in 2002. Combining action role-playing with elements of city-building games, the game tells the story of a group of adventurers who band together to fight against an evil being called the Dark Genie, who has attacked and destroyed their home villages. The protagonist is Toan, a boy who is given a magical stone called the "Atlamillia" by Simba, the Fairy King, which has the power to rebuild the destroyed lands. ''Dark Cloud'' was met with mainly positive reviews by critics, who praised its blend of gameplay types, although some did criticize its combat as repetitive. The game was also a commercial success. Although it initially sold poorly in Japan, it eventually went on to sell over 800,000 units worldwide. ==Gameplay== ''Dark Cloud'' 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. On random dungeon levels, the player may have the option of entering a separate "back door" area which contains stronger monsters and rarer treasure. Although the majority of combat involves real time hack and slash, the player will occasionally "Duel" an enemy. In this type of battle, the player must correctly press a sequence of buttons, similar to a quick time event. Whilst in dungeons, the player has both a health meter and a thirst meter. The thirst meter gradually decreases over time, and when fully depleted, it causes the health meter to begin to decrease. To prevent the thirst meter depleting, the player must drink water or step into one of the pools found on many dungeon levels. A major component of ''Dark Cloud''s gameplay involves special items called "Atla" which are used to rebuild the world outside the dungeons. Atla, which are present in most dungeon levels, are large spherical objects which can be retrieved by Toan only. When Atla are removed from the dungeon, they transform into pieces of the world (trees, houses, villagers, etc.). These pieces must then be reassembled in "Georama mode"; a gameplay mode similar to city-building games, in which the player can arrange the pieces onto the landscape. After villagers have been placed, the player can speak to them to discover their wishes for rebuilding the village, regarding both what they need for their own house to be rebuilt completely, and where they wish their house to be placed. The player's progress in terms of collecting Atla, rebuilding the village and fulfilling the villagers' wishes are recorded as percentages. When all three reach 100%, the village is complete, although it is not necessary for the player to reach 100% in all three to be able to move on to the next set of dungeons and the next village; the player must only acquire 100% in collection and rebuilding to unlock the next village. Completing 100% of the villagers' wishes is not a requirement, although if the player does reach 100%, they are awarded a bonus item/ability. Unlike most action role-playing games, instead of the characters leveling up, their weapons do. Weapons attain "absorption points" with each kill. Once a certain number of points has been reached, the weapon can be leveled up. However, weapons wear out over time, and it is necessary to repair them in order to avoid them breaking. With the exception of each characters' starting weapon, a broken weapon is immediately removed from the player's inventory and cannot be retrieved or repaired. To upgrade a weapon, the player can attach stat-increasing items (attack power, speed, ability to kill different types of monsters, elemental attributes, etc.), but a single weapon can only carry a limited number of attachments. These attachments are absorbed into the weapon when it is leveled up, freeing up space for more attachments. When a weapon reaches level five, it can be transformed into a "SynthSphere," which carries 60% of the weapon's power and attributes. This sphere can then be attached to another weapon, and absorbed into it when it levels up, just like a regular attachment. The characters themselves can only grow stronger with the consumption of particular items, which can increase their health points, water meter and defense. ''Dark Cloud'' features six main characters; three melee fighters (Toan, Goro and Ungaga) and three ranged fighters (Xiao, Ruby and Osmond), each using a different weapon. Toan uses swords, Goro uses hammers, Ungaga uses staves, Xiao uses slingshots, Ruby uses magic rings, and Osmond uses guns. Each character also has a unique ability that helps them to move through the dungeons (for example, Xiao can jump across chasms, Goro can open certain types of door etc.), as well as defeat certain foes. 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 Cloud」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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