Dark Cloud Hints XVII (PS2)

Dark Cloud is a video game developed by Level 5 Inc. and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated. Created exclusively for the PlayStation 2 console from Sony, it was released in December 2000. The title is classed as an action and role-playing game, played from a third-person perspective.

Over 400 years ago, as a war between the Eastern Continent and the Western Wizard Army raged on, the world was destroyed because a great evil power was unleashed. Now, the power-hungry and fiendish General Flag is getting ready to launch a ritual, with the purpose of awakening this evil once more, under the guise of the Dark Genie.

The peaceful village of Norune is the first victim of the embodiment of this evil. Toan, the son of the great hero Ada, is the only one to survive the attack, and the Spirit King tells him that Atla spheres hold all his loved ones. In order to set them free, the boy must learn to wield a glove, called the Atlamillia, and defeat the dark powers.

Toan will fight his way through randomly-generated dungeons, and will have to battle against monsters, while trying to get his hands on the Atla spheres. As the game progresses, other characters will offer their help to Toan, and will join his party. All of them can equip items, and they will also get various objects and power-ups that can enhance their fighting abilities. The final aim of the game is to recover all the Atla spheres in order to rebuild the village of Norune.

GAMEPLAY HINTS

Baron Garayan fish

Once you have gotten the hang of fishing, try your luck at the really rare fish, such as at the Muska Lacka Oasis at dusk. You can catch a Baron Garayan 127cm which is worth +655FP. They seem to like Potato Cakes, but it does not enable any new weapon on the FP exchange screen.

Though they are very rare, Baron Garayan can be easily identified since they are huge, usually bigger than Toan, but are sometimes disguised as normal-sized big fish. Netting a 246cm Baron easily gets you 800+ FP. Finding one is usually a problem, since when you find a big fish and toss in a Potato Cake, chances are you will catch a Den or Neggie. To avoid this, when you find a large sized shadow of a fish, toss in a Gooey Peach, Throbbing Cherry, or Bomb Nuts. See if they get interested in the bait. If they are, reel in the bait, and move on to the next big fish. Baron Garayans are only interested in Potato Cakes.

Marayan Garayan fish

There is a fish called Marayan Garayan which is difficult to catch. It can be caught at the waterfall in Matataki Village at night. You must use a Poison Apple. It can also be caught in the oasis in Muska Racka at dusk. If it does not appear, quit and try again. It brings in about 200 points each time.

Use the following trick to get around the Trap Treasure Boxes where you have to guess the trap to open it or use one of those Treasure Box Keys. Go to Matataki Village and fish at the waterfall at night. Use a Poison Apple as your bait to catch a Marayan Garayan fish. This fish looks strange, but is worth many fishing points. After you catch this fish, the next time you encounter a Trap Treasure Box, the screen will say "Maraya Garayan shows the path" and will highlight the correct trap every time. This is also helpful because you can now sell all those Treasure Box Keys for extra money.

If you are a good fisher, you can catch Baron Garayan. However, you should catch Marayan Garayan. Save up the points and buy the Marayan Eins. Then, make all of its stats go up by Status Breaking a weapon to it. Then, you must catch a lot more Marayan. When you have enough, you can build up. Repeat this process until you get Arise Marayan. This sword can be very strong. The maximum attack for Arise Marayan is 250. If you do not want to fight to build up your weapon, fish instead. Marayan Garayan only like Poison Apples. When the bobber goes under, immediately pull in the fish. Always carry a Gooey Peach and a Potato Cake. When you see a big fish, throw in the peach. If he goes for it, pull it out. If he does not, he is either a Marayan Garayan or Baron Garayan. Barons only like Potato Cakes, which you can buy at Brooks; and Poison Apples at Lana's store in Queens.

Here's a video: