A Game Redminding Us Of The Value Of Maintaining Supply Lines

Nowadays, when I'm not working, or doing any of the other myriad activities I while away the time with, I find some time to play some games. Having received a PS2 relatively recently (last couple of years), there's a massive game library out there for it, and I've been grabbing any game that looks good now, lest I not be able to find it later. So I'm in the cycle of trying to beat a dozen games simultaneously these days, so the progress I make is sometimes limited. And if the gameplay itself seems to be what's limiting me, well, that's not going to help my disposition.

Which brings me to Dark Cloud. At this point I've put in less than 5 hours on the game, but part of that owes to the beginning being frustrating. A genie flies over a village and nearly destroys everything, except some helpful, elderly fairy saves everyone and everything by storing them in giant capsules. For some reason, he then decided the best place to put said capsules was in a cave full of monsters. I guess senility is a problem for mystical creatures as well. I'm playing as the typical adolescent hero who winds up with the responsibility of venturing into said cave, recovering those capsules, and restoring the village. I imagine I'll eventually have to defeat the genie, but that's a long way off.

So into the cave/dungeon I go. Now, Dark Cloud does a few things I'm not really accustomed to. For one, health doesn't just decline when a monster smacks you. You have a thirst meter, and if you go too long without water, your health starts plummeting. There are springs scattered through the cave, but no guarantee there's one around when you need it*, so you have to bring water with you. Also, your weapon will gradually wear down with use. There's a helpful meter to warn you how close you are to that happening. If you aren't careful, the weapon breaks, and if you keep using it, the weapon is destroyed and lost forever. You can fix your weapons with Repair Powder, so in theory you can keep going.

The trick is, in the early going, you receive supplies from the mayor**. He only provides the bare minimum, so one bag of Repair Powder, maybe a single bottle of water. So once you run out, you have to leave, get him to cough up some more supplies, and then go back in. It's makes for a rather herky-jerky progress, as I find myself at times trying to avoid any fights while I search desperately for either a spring, or better yet the key to the next level so I can make a little more progress. I imagine my trail would look similar to early European exploration of the Great Plains: A bunch of excursions that travel out a little way, realize there's nothing to replenish supplies, and a hasty retreat back home.

So on the one hand, I think it's a nice touch, because those are things that an actual heroic explorer would have to concern themselves with, but on the other hand, it's a pain to actually deal with. Also, certain levels of the cave have special rules. So I've gained a partner, and one level specified that only she could be used. Other levels won't let you switch or repair weapons. Not really sure what the game designers thought that contributed.

For some reason I've yet to learn, a person I believe is from the future is trying to take the little device you used to open the capsules and restore the village. He's one of those "You're not worthy of it" types, which I guess makes me the Guy Gardner to his Parallax-influenced Hal. And this guy does switch from being calm to red-eyed and hyper-aggressive, so there's definitely some possession going on.

One nifty aspect of the game is that you're responsible for putting the town back together. You have all the pieces, so you put them where you like. That includes houses, trees, rivers, roads, etc. Once a house is placed, you can add the people that lived there (if you've found them), and talk to them about what their house needs, or get some ideas on how to rebuild the village. Though the ideas for the village usually involve things that only pertain to them, so one lady desn't want her house near the mayor's because he likes to tinker with inventions. I don't think you have to accomodate them, but you can if you'd like. If you can completely restore their houses, they'll give you a gift. I've already realized I'm not much of a city planner, and I'm starting to worry about how many more homes there can be, as space is growing scarce. I guess I'll just tear down the trees, fill in the pond, and dam up the river, and I'm sure that will solve all the problems forever. Who needs water and trees, right?

* Unrelated, but also irritating. Every time you visit a particular level of the cave, it's layout changes. So just because there was a spring there last time, doesn't mean there will be when you return.

** The Mayor is cheap. I've reached the point where I found the capsule containing the village trader, and his trading wagons, so he's set up shop. Now the Mayor won't hook me up at all, telling me I can't rely on him forever. Oh, well in that case, how about he goes in the damn cave and rescue his constituents?! He can't rely on me forever. The stingy bastard.