History VideoGame / DarkCloud

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Master Utan. Starts out as a boss in the ''Cloud'', but after you beat him and undo his MindControl, he becomes an ally. He returns in ''Chronicle'''s Rainbow Butterfly Wood area.
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Monica is the daughter of [[spoiler:King Raybrandt,]] but she's far from being a spoiled brat.

* EvolvingAttack; EvolvingWeapon: In both games, weapons can level up and turn into better weapons.
** Which culminates in the so-called [[InfinityPlusOneSword Terminal weapons]], at the end of the weapon evolution branches.
* {{Expy}}: [[StockNessMonster The Shiguras]] bear an uncanny resemblance to [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Lapras]].
* FirstPersonSnapshooter: Max takes pictures of almost anything, which can be used to create inventions.

* FlamboyantGay: Possibly the only thing ever in which the flamboyant gay is a ''fish''

* ForWantOfANail: Dark Chronicle.
* FramingDevice: The chapters of ''Chronicle'' are letters Max writes to his mother.

* BodyguardCrush: Responsible for Max's existence in the sequel.

* DualWielding: Max always wields either a [[SwordAndGun wrench or a hammer in one hand, and some manner of gun in the other]]. Monica [[MagicKnight swings her sword with her right hand and uses her magic bracelet with her left hand.]] [[spoiler:Griffon]] also [[OneWingedAngel tears off his own wings]] and magically transforms them into dual swords during a boss battle.

* DummiedOut: Part of a dungeon in ''Cloud'' was made inaccessible in the American release.
* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler:Gaspard. Monica burst in on him killing her father, he was a thorn in the sides of Max and Monica for three whole chapters, and yet when Monica hears his tragic backstory, she forgives him instantly.]]
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Almost every monster has some elemental affinity, and it's possible through careful crafting to attune your weapons to beat them easily. In ''Cloud'' some enemies take no damage from weapons with elemental attributes set to "on". Sorry, Ruby.
* EmergencyWeapon: In ''Cloud'', one of your weapons would not break no matter what.

* BigBadWannabe: Subverted ''so hard'' in the second game with [[spoiler:[[BadassAdorable Griffon's true form]]]]. Despite his appearance, he really '''is''' [[{{KillerRabbit}} that]] [[NotSoHarmlessVillain dangerous]].

* CampGay: King Mardan in the second game.
* [[{{CantCatchUp}} Can't Catch Up]]: Very easy to invoke. Fortunately, you can subvert the trope in both games by beating a monster to an inch of its life with a strong character, then having a weaker character finish it off. Unfortunately, it's very easy to kill a monster by accident if you're in the middle of a combo. This matters less in ''Chronicle'', where you have to physically pick up XP. Switching off splits it between both of the character's current weapons. If you want to level up only one of the weapons, you must use the above method, landing the killing blow with the weapon you want to grow.
* CatGirl: Xiao in the ''Cloud'', optional clothing for Monica in ''Chronicle''.
* CelShading: In ''Chronicle''.
* ChargedAttack: In ''Cloud'', most of the characters have one.
** In ''Chronicle'', many of the Ridepod's weapons, as well as Monica's [[BuffySpeak magic-armband thing]].
* ChestMonster: The Mimic and King Mimic.

* CityInABottle: Palm Brinks in ''Chronicle''.
* CloseEnoughTimeline: Creating one is the whole point of ''Dark Chronicle''. But instead of [[TimeTravelTenseTrouble putting things "close enough" to how they were supposed to be in the future]], Max and Monica end up bringing about even ''better'' futures.
* ColonyDrop: [[spoiler:The Moon Flower Palace that [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome nearly crashes into]] Palm Brinks, and then the [[WeirdMoon Star of Destruction]] meant to [[AbusivePrecursors destroy civilization]] if the {{Cosmic Keystone}}s were ever [[GottaCatchEmAll collected in one place.]]]]
* CoolClearWater: The mysterious Healing Springs that can randomly appear in stages.
* CoolOldGuy: Galen Agaris in ''Dark Chronicle''. Just listen to that kick-ass voice!
* CoolTrain: ''Chronicle'' gives us the Blackstone One early on.
** In the last quarter of the game, it is replaced by the Ixion. Once she sees the interior, with its seizure-inducing neon lighting and gaudy yellows and purples, Monica quickly disputes its cool factor, much to Max's disappointment.
* ContinuityNod [[spoiler: Dark Genie]] is the boss of the BonusDungeon in ''Chronicle'' [[spoiler: in addition the music from the 1st game's intro plays in the battle]]
* CosmicKeystone: The Atlamillia Stones in the sequel.
* CrutchCharacter: The Ridepod in the sequel is capable of dealing far more damage than either Max or Monica at the start, and gets some hefty upgrades over the course of the game. It starts to fall behind quite a bit in the later levels, however, due to its best weapons having far lower DPS than Max and Monica's [[InfinityPlusOneSword fully maxed out weaponry]].
** And then suddenly averted in the late postgame when you get the [[AwesomeYetPractical lovely]] [[WaveMotionGun Nova Cannon IV]] and the [[KatanasAreJustBetter Samurai Arm IV]].
* DamageOverTime: In ''Cloud'', if a character's "Thirst" meter runs dry during a crawl, their HP begins to drain. In ''Chronicle'', Thirst was merely a StandardStatusEffect that blocked healing.

* DiscOneNuke: It's possible, in ''Cloud'', to get ultra-powerful weapons ''very early in the game'', sometimes even the final weapons. Partly due to a GoodBadBug, you can do this for Toan. ''Chronicle'' averts this. While it's fully possible to build up a DiscOneNuke weapon with a bit of grinding, the later stages of the weapon evolution require the player to have killed certain monsters. These monsters appear only around the dungeon you should be in at the time you have that weapon. Unless you harvest enough medals for a Name Change Ticket, which will give you any InfinityPlusOneSword of your choice. Or saved the right idea and scoop photos into the album (which can be accessed between saves) and invent weapons ''way'' before you would normally.
* DiscoTech: Aeroharmonics Technology, which uses sound and music to make things fly. Originally developed (and weaponized) by Dr. Jaming, [[spoiler:later used to develop flying vehicles, including the time-travelling locomotive Ixion]].

''Dark Cloud'' is an {{RPG}} developed by {{Level 5}}. It was released on 2001.

* BigDamnHeroes: The Fairy King arrives just in time in ''Cloud'' to spirit away the people of Toan's village, saving them from being killed by the Dark Genie. In ''Chronicle'', the Firbits pull this off by [[spoiler:flying the Carpenterion into Griffon's palace]] to whisk Max and Monica to safety.
* BlindIdiotTranslation: The grammar--[[YouMakeMeSic if you can call it that]]--in the explanation of Polyn in ''Chronicle''. There's also the word salad you get when Osmond joins you as an ally in ''Cloud''.

* BonusDungeon: Demon Shaft in ''Cloud'', Zelmite Mine in ''Chronicle''.
* BossOnlyLevel: Most boss fights in the first game.
* BossSubtitles: In both games.
* BraggingRightsReward: The first had an InfinityPlusOneSword only available after you beat the game.
* BreakableWeapons: In ''Cloud'', broken weapons are LostForever, but in ''Chronicle'' broken weapons are just disabled until repaired.

''Dark Cloud'' is an {{RPG}} developed by Level5 and released on 2001. The game stars Toan, a young boy living in Norune Village. During a celebration, [[DoomedHometown the village is devastated by an evil force known as the "Dark Genie"]]. Luckily, the Fairy King manages to save the inhabitants and their belongings by hiding them in a nearby cave as "Atla". He then gives Toan a mystical orb, as well as the task of venturing into the cave and recovering the pieces of Atla to rebuild the village. However, after the village is restored, Toan must now journey the world, restoring what was lost during the Genie's attacks. He eventually meets with other playable characters: Xiao, Goro, Ruby, Ungaga, and Osmond.

* BeachEpisode: Chapter 4 of ''Chronicle''. Short on bikini contests, though. And unless you've been grinding for medals it's pretty unlikely you've bought the FurBikini for Monica.

->''"There was a time when our world was blanketed in darkness. The people of that time fought back and reclaimed their future. But their story could never be passed down to future generations. Did this amazing adventure really happen or not? No one knows for sure, but if you can walk out into the night sky and speak to the moon, I'm sure it would tell you all about our strange adventure."''
-->--'''Maximillian''', ''Dark Chronicle''

A pair of action/[=RPGs=] produced by Sony and [[{{Level5}} Level-5]] for the Playstation 2 (''Dark Chronicle'' is known as ''Dark Cloud 2'' in North America).

'''Dark Cloud''' (2001) - The original game stars Toan, a young boy living in Norune Village. During a celebration, [[DoomedHometown the village is devastated by an evil force known as the "Dark Genie"]]. Luckily, the Fairy King manages to save the inhabitants and their belongings by hiding them in a nearby cave as "Atla". He then gives Toan a mystical orb, as well as the task of venturing into the cave and recovering the pieces of Atla to rebuild the village. However, after the village is restored, Toan must now journey the world, restoring what was lost during the Genie's attacks. He eventually meets with other playable characters: Xiao, Goro, Ruby, Ungaga, and Osmond.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dark_cloud2_front.JPG]]

'''Dark Chronicle (or Dark Cloud 2)''' (2003) - Maximillian (or just Max) is a boy who resides in Palm Brinks, which is [[CityInABottle mysteriously cut off from the rest of the world]]. Max loves to create a myriad of inventions while working in the local repair shop, run by an old man named Cedric. While attending a circus in the town square, Max is attacked by the ringmaster Flotsam and his goons, who are after the red jewel that Max wears around his neck. Upon escaping, he discovers an abandoned railroad, which connects to "the outside world". With Cedric's help, Max restores the trains and leaves the town, and quickly runs into Monica, a female knight from 100 years into the future. She carries the same jewel as Max, except hers is blue and worn as a bracelet. She tells him that the forces of evil (Emperor Griffon and his servants) are erasing things from her time period as well as Max's, but with the power of the Atlamillia (the jewels), they can fix the time periods by recovering their "origin points".

Unlike in the original game, there are only two primary playable characters, although Max and Monica have secondary abilities of attack; Max is given "Steve the Ridepod", a machine built by Cedric, and Monica can collect monster badges, which allows her to morph into monsters. They are also given 2 weapons each to compensate. Max uses blunt items--mainly wrenches and hammers--and a gun, while Monica uses swords and armlets. Many of the weapons are repeated from the previous game: Monica uses a lot of the same swords and armlets as Toan and Ruby.

Despite any rumors which may still be floating around, a third game is not in development.
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!!This series provides examples of:
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The Underground Channel in ''Chronicle''. You can even play golf in it!
* ActionGirl: Monica Raybrandt in ''Chronicle''.
* AncestralWeapon: The Holy Daedalus Blade, King Raybrandt's sword.
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: You can go to Mayor Need to trade your very hard-earned Medals for outfits not sold in stores, such as a clown suit, Monica's princess gown, or a CatGirl FurBikini. Try [[FridgeLogic not to think too hard]] about why [[DirtyOldMan Need would have these]].

* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Dark Genie and Dark Element. Unfortunately, they're both personifications of the same thing.
* AntiVillain: In ''Cloud'', [[spoiler:Seda. His goals were good, his methods questionable, and he did his best to fix things.]]
* ArtInitiatesLife: In ''Chronicle'', Parn's wife Julia was a painting he brought to life using gold paint made from gold eggs.
* [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil As Long As There Is Hate]]: [[spoiler: the Dark Genie flat out says this about itself.]]
* AwesomeButImpractical: Steve's [[MacrossMissileMassacre Missile Pod Arms]] in the sequel. Sure, it looks awesome... but good luck hitting anything.
** The Missile Pod Arms work a lot better if you're in a wide-open area, with a lock on your target. However, it also suffers from chewing through WHP ridiculously fast, like the Machine Gun Arm. The Missile Pod Arms are also very useful when fighting [[spoiler:Gaspard's battleship]], especially if you have up to version II or III by then.
* BadassAdorable: [[spoiler: Griffon's true form.]]
* BadassPrincess: Monica Raybrandt, [[ActionGirl natch]].

** RippleEffectProofMemory: Everyone involved in the sequel's time-travel plot, even those who don't actually ''travel''. With one minor inconsistency when Galen's memory of Paznos that remains unchanged, but Elena and Monica are aware of both timelines. Toan and Xiao in the original.

* FlamboyantGay: Possibly the only thing ever in which the flamboyant gay is a ''fish''.
** [[SouthPark "Yeah you know that I'm a gay fish!"]]

** RippleEffectProofMemory: Everyone involved in the sequel's time-travel plot, even those who don't actually ''travel''. With one minor inconsistency when Galen's memory of Paznos that remains unchanged, but Elena and Monica are aware of both timelines. Toan, Xiao, and Priest Bruno in the original.

* SaintlyChurch: The one in Palm Brinks in ''Chronicle''. It doesn't actually ''do'' anything, but at least it's not evil.

** Linda, the circus elephant in the prologue, performs a perfect BulletTime [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Sphere Shot]]. Eat your heart out, Tidus.

** Some people actually resorted to snapping their disk in half when their heavenly cloud sword broke.
*** [[WhatAnIdiot And realized they could have reset and loaded from the last save shortly afterwards.]]

* [[{{CantCatchUp}} Can't Catch Up]]: Very easy to invoke. Fortunately, you can subvert the trope in both games by beating a monster to an inch of its life with a strong character, then having a weaker character finish it off. Unfortunately, it's very easy to kill a monster by accident if you're in the middle of a combo.
** In ''Chronicle'', ExperiencePoints are dropped in the form of blue crystals, and anyone can pick them up. After the stronger character kills a monster, the character in need of catching up can come in and steal all the EXP for him/herself. The downside is that the EXP is evenly split between the active character's equipped melee and ranged weapons. If you want to level up only one of the weapons, you must use the above method, landing the killing blow with the weapon you want to grow.

* ShoutOut: [[spoiler: Dark Genie]] is the boss of the BonusDungeon in ''Chronicle'' [[spoiler: in addition the music from the 1st game's intro plays in the battle]]

* NeverSayDie: Partially avoided in ''Cloud'', since near the end [[spoiler:Toan is told that the only way to stop Seda from creating the Dark Genie is to use the Atlamilia to resurrect Sophia]]. Completely averted in the ''Chronicle'', when one of the first things Flotsam tells Max is "Give me that stone or die!"

** You ''can'' however turn off the rage meter. It makes fighting ''much'' easier.

** And you can turn off the rage meter, too.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: Linda's circus performance in the prologue of ''Chronicle''. Who knew elephants could jump that high?

* MeaningfulName: [[EvilGenius Dr. Jamming]] from ''Chronicle'' dedicated his life to DiscoTech, most of all, making objects float by sound alone.

** Also, the Balloon monsters in ''Chronicle''. They're not so laughable when they're piloting Vanguards, Sonic Boomers, and Yo-Yo Barrels, are they? Duke Balloon from chapter 8 as well; despite not being one of the stronger monsters in the final dungeon, Max's maxed-out weapon LEGEND will hardly scratch it.

* SprintShoes: Dran's feather in ''Dark Cloud''. Possibly the Wing Shoes in ''Chronicle''.

* TraintopBattle: Just after the first chapter of ''Chronicle''.

* HopeSpot: You created the Sun Giant and have just [[CurbstompBattle effortlessly beaten]] [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu the Dark Genie!]] [[spoiler: ...except not. The REAL Dark Genie was [[TheManBehindTheMan the general of the army that unsealed the urn.]] What you just fought off was a ''rat'' influenced by the urn for years of being trapped inside. Oh, and the real Dark Genie pretty much dismantles your Sun Giant faster than you beat up the rat genie.]]

* NamedWeapons: As the weapons evolve, they cease having generic names and start becoming unique artifacts. Particularly, the Dark Cloud and Dark Chronicle weapons [[JustifiedTitle justify the games' titles]].

* {{Expy}}: [[StockNessMonster The Shiguras]] bear an uncanny resemblance to [[{{Pokemon}} Lapras]].

* MonsterClown: ''Chronicle'''s Flotsam and his Circus, and strangely one of Max's costumes is [[YourMileageMayVary (unintentionally)]] even creepier.

* [[ViewersAreGoldfish Players are Goldfish]]: Every single cutscene in the future of ''Chronicle'' has both parts of the conversation included. This is especially bad since the game has voice acting. ''Cloud'' didn't patronize us by showing us what Toan was saying because we already knew from the beginning what he'd be explaining (''i.e.'', not a mute). Oh, and YourMileageMayVary.

* NotSoHarmless: After revealing his true form, the first battle with Griffon in ''Chronicle'' is one of the hardest in the game.

* BigBadWannabe: Subverted ''so hard'' in the second game with [[spoiler:[[BadassAdorable Griffon's true form]]]]. Despite his appearance, he really '''is''' [[{{KillerRabbit}} that]] [[NotSoHarmless dangerous]].