Dark Cloud/Gameplay

Starting a game
At the title screen, press psx: Start to get to the start menu (you get previews of the game if you do nothing). Select Start to begin a new game or Load to begin from a previous save. You can also open the options menu.

Note: once you've started a game you can't return to the main menu without resetting the game console. Even if you are defeated in battle you are only returned to the nearest village with a penalty; there is no "game over" screen.

Gameplay
Your goal is to release people, houses, etc. from Atla, then restore villages by assembling the pieces. The Atla is saved in dungeons and you spent much of your time exploring dungeons to get it. The dungeons are also where you can find treasure and defeat enemies to obtain items and money. When a village has been partially completed, you must then gather clues to learn the correct way to finish. To advance to the next village you must defeat the boss at the end of the dungeon and correctly restore the current village. When all the dungeons and villages have been completed, it's time to take on the Dark Genie who started all this trouble in the first place.

Levels
Each dungeon has multiple levels and you can't advance to the next level until you have cleared the current level. Most levels are generated at random when you enter the dungeon, but certain event levels are exceptions. In order to advance to the next level of a dungeon you must defeat the enemy carrying the level key and pick up its drop. There is no way of telling which enemy this is, so you may get it from the first one or you have to defeat every enemy on the level to get it.

Some levels, determined at random when you enter the dungeon, have back areas with tougher monsters but more valuable treasure. Each dungeon has its own system for reaching the back area, for example in the Divine Beast Cave you board a trolley. For each dungeon there is a special item needed to activate the system.

Atla
Dungeons are where you find Atla, which contains people, buildings and items. They appear as large floating spheres and Toan can release the contents to be restored to the villages. The distribution of Atla within a dungeon is randomized for each game, so if you replay from the beginning you may see different Atla counts than the first time through. In which level a particular piece appears is random as well, though there are certain pieces that you are guaranteed to find near the start. This is because you need to collect and restore certain parts of the village to trigger events which in turn allow you to get past barriers in the dungeon.

Battle
Enemies wander at random in dungeons. Engage by attacking or getting close enough for them to notice you and waiting for them to attack. You are defeated if you lose all hit points. If you defeat the enemy, your current weapon is credited with that monster’s Abs. points. These take the place of experience points in this game, the difference being that the points are credited to the weapon, not to your character. There is a good chance that monster will drop either money or an item. Monsters in back areas are charged with energy, so their attacks do more damage and your attacks on them do less damage.

Treasure
Dungeons also have treasure chests; usually these are small but occasionally there are large ones. The small ones usually have normal items but each level has a chest with a map of the current level and another with a crystal which shows the locations of enemies and treasure. Large chests usually contain weapons and are sometimes locked. Treasure in back rooms is more valuable.

Swapping characters
In dungeons you can play as one of Toan's companions. Different characters have different strengths and weaknesses, so it may be much easier to defeat an enemy as one character rather than another. New characters become available when they join Toan, and this is triggered when certain parts of a village have been restored.

Health and thirst
You can lose health due to monster attacks or because of poison. If your health reaches 0 then that character becomes "nearly dead"; if you have other characters in your party you must then change to one of them. If you have only one character, or all characters have been defeated, then you are returned to the nearest village with half your money.

In this game, not only can you be injured by the monsters that roam the dungeons, but you also get thirsty and must get water from time to time. If you reach the limit of thirst your health starts to decrease. Some dungeon levels have springs which fully refresh both your health and your thirst level, but some don't so it's a good idea to carry water as well as healing items with you while exploring.

Duals
At certain points in the game you must fight what are called duals. A grey strip appears on the screen and symbols for controller buttons slide across. You must press the corresponding button just as it reaches a lighter section of the strip. If you you time it well you hear a note and 'Ok' flashes on the screen. If you get the exact center you hear several notes and 'Cool!' flashes. You need to get 'Ok' or better for each symbol to win the dual and go on with the game, though you can can retry if you fail. If you get 'Cool!' on each symbol you get a prize as well. The game says 'Excellent' in this case instead of 'Clear', but there's no retry if you get 'Clear' when you're trying for an 'Excellent'.

Improvement
This game does not use character levels or experience points, instead it's the weapon that absorbs the life energy, also known as Abs. points, when they are used to defeat an enemy. When a weapon has reached its limit for Abs. points it can be upgraded (similar to leveling up) and this increases the overall strength of the weapon. In addition, certain items can be attached to a weapon which improve its abilities, and these attachments are permanently absorbed when the weapon is upgraded. Improvements to a weapon stay with the weapon if a character equips a different weapon.

Most weapons can be built up when they have improved to a certain point. This changes it to a new and better weapon. The process is repeated until a so called ultimate weapon is reached, which can no longer be built up but can still be upgraded.

Each weapon type is specific to a certain character. For example, only Toan can use swords.

Damage
When used, a weapon gradually gets damaged and worn out, as shown by its weapon hit points or Whp. This means that the weapon must be repaired from time to time to keep it from breaking. If a weapon breaks then it disappears from the game, and since it may have taken a great deal of effort to build a weapon up to its current level this is very undesirable.

Georama
After collecting atla, you reconstruct villages in georama mode. You get a bird's eye view of the area and can place buildings on empty land. You can also place furnishings outside buildings and villagers inside. Talk to villagers in normal mode to learn about additional furnishings. Once a building is complete the components can no long be disassembled and you can get a reward from a villager. Most villagers also have specific requests on the design of the village. For example one might want to be close to a specific landmark and another might want to have their house facing a certain direction. When all the villagers have there requests fulfilled you get another reword.

Fishing
There is a minigame where you collect fishing points by catching fish in certain locations in villages. This points are then exchanged for various prizes, mostly weapon attachments. Fishing uses bait which you can get as treasure in villages and dungeons and as drops from some monsters. Fishing is optional and you can sell any bait you obtain.