Link to the Past – Dark Chronicle

We all have one title that forces us to throw absolute objectivity out the window, in order that its status as our favourite can be forever preserved. Mine is none other than Level 5’s Dark Chronicle, sequel to their earlier Playstation 2 venture Dark Cloud, and my recent replay cemented it even more firmly in that hallowed place.

For starters, you can’t go wrong with cel-shaded graphics in a JRPG, or anywhere else really, which in this case make it look as fresh as ever even on modern 4K displays, a far cry from the humble CRT I first played it on. Dark Chronicle is incredibly bright and colourful, with an almost cartoon-style flair laid over the general steampunk aesthetic.

Image: Ollie Burton

The basic premise is thus: young inventor boy Max discovers that his inherited Atlamillia medallion is in fact a time travel device, and it is one of three that grant the owner complete freedom to manipulate time. It then follows that there is a no-good aristocrat trying to steal these amulets from their owners, and will send all manner of underlings after Max to obtain his (including a psychopathic ringleader and his elephant, no less). After escaping the sealed-off town of his birth, Max is joined by Monica, a princess from the future who holds her own Atlamillia. Together they are tasked with restoring balance to the disrupted timelines in the world, through the rather spiffy Georama system.

This involves placing past-era elements of a town, like houses, trees and river tiles in such a way that its future inhabitants are satisfied, which allows further progression into the storyline.

Dark Chronicle is incredibly bright and colourful, with an almost cartoon-style flair laid over the general steampunk aesthetic

Beyond that, you can take photos of objects in the environment to use as inspiration for inventions, which could be useful items, weapons, or even upgrades for the steampunk robot you can pilot around inside dungeons to take out more powerful enemies. I don’t have nearly enough space to go too much further into it here, but between the weapon build-up mechanics, enemy variety, character recruitment, hack n’ slash combat and fish racing (yes, fish racing), and a beautiful soundtrack to top it all, you’ll have a magical time.