Reception
Upon its release, Famitsu magazine scored Dark Chronicle a 35 out of 40, and by the end of 2002, the game had sold 235,917 copies in Japan. It has been widely praised by Western reviewers, and received almost universally positive reviews. It has an aggregate review score of 88 at GameRankings and 87 at Metacritic.
GameSpot awarded the game a 9.0 out of 10, concluding that "Dark Cloud 2 is simply a class act all the way. Every element of the game, from the georama system to the weapon upgrading to the interaction with a large cast of characters, displays a polish and attention to quality that you find only in real classics. Level-5 and Sony should both be commended for turning a fair-to-middling old game into what will now be a series to watch with great interest. Dark Cloud 2 could very well be the PlayStation 2's Zelda, and it will appeal to fans of the action RPG genre for a long time to come." GameSpot would go on to name Dark Chronicle as the Best PlayStation 2 game of 2003.
IGN similarly lauded the game, also awarding it 9 out of 10 and giving it their "Editor's Choice" seal of approval. They particularly praised its graphics; "I can think of few games as visually impressive on the PS2 as this game. But what makes the game look so good is not incredibly high polygon counts or lots of extravagant lighting and particle effects. Instead, Dark Cloud 2 is a visual success due to its polished and graceful presentation, as well as its fantastic art design. While many games take the no-holds-barred approach and bombard the screen with as many effects as possible, Dark Cloud 2 heads down another path, full of subtle lighting effects and a crisp, fresh, and almost playful look. The overall effect is truly delighting to witness in motion. A large part of what makes Dark Cloud 2 stand out visually is its perfectly implemented use of cel shading. Rather than using a flat-shaded effect with heavy black outlines on every edge, Dark Cloud 2 uses a method that the developer refers to as "tonal rendering" where the polygons are given a soft, shaded look. Additionally, the use of black lines is used sparingly, but when it is, it's in all the right places, accenting and highlighting the wonderfully constructed character and environment models." They concluded that "Dark Cloud 2 is arguably the best looking PS2 game out there, period". They also praised the variety to be found in the game; "Even what's been mentioned here only scratches the surface of the joys you'll find in the game: the great, (albeit somewhat easy) boss battles; the well implemented mini-games such as fishing and golf; the intricacies of town building and time traveling; the easy-to-digest story; the depth in upgrading and building your weapons; it's all there and then some." In 2010, IGN placed Dark Chronicle at #31 in their "Top 100 Playstation 2 Games".
Game Revolution awarded the game a B, praising the graphics and variety of gameplay, but finding the game became somewhat repetitive towards the end; "Dark Cloud 2 is very serial in nature. It's a game you can pick up and play for a few hours, stomping though a few dungeon floors, trying to solve a problem or two, but after a while it meanders towards repetition. In truth, the game is filled with innumerable challenges, likable characters and a high production value. But beneath the surface, the lightweight story and characters combined with the almost rigidly episodic game flow still hold it back. It's a marked improvement, but the standards have gone up as well."
GameSpy awarded the game 4 out of 5, praising the game in general, but finding it fell just short of being a classic; "There's no question in my mind that Dark Cloud 2 is one of the most solid RPG adventures for the PS2; but what I am sure of is that it doesn't quite live up to its potential. If Level-5 had worked out all of the kinks, it'd be one of my favorite games for the PS2. Sadly, it's not. While it has my grudging respect, there are many games that I prefer, thanks to DC2's idiosyncrasies. Although I have no doubts about its overall quality, I've lost count of the times I've let loose an expletive and rebooted the machine while playing the game, or even turned it off in frustration or temporary disinterest."
Total PlayStation gave the game 8 out of 10. Gaming Target gave it a 9.5 out of 10.
Read more about this topic: Dark Chronicle
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind of reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“But in the reception of metaphysical formula, all depends, as regards their actual and ulterior result, on the pre-existent qualities of that soil of human nature into which they fall—the company they find already present there, on their admission into the house of thought.”
—Walter Pater (1839–1894)
“To aim to convert a man by miracles is a profanation of the soul. A true conversion, a true Christ, is now, as always, to be made by the reception of beautiful sentiments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)