Appreciating Dark Cloud Today—Beyond the "Zelda Killer" Hype

As press got their first glimpses of Dark Cloud for the PS2, some hailed it as a coming "Zelda killer" and the PlayStation's answer to Nintendo's storied franchise. This narrative would follow the game through its development and even into its reviews. But looking back more than two decades later, was all this hype really justified? And did premature comparisons to Zelda—when the game was really going for something very different—blind people to the game's unique identity? For this episode, we have two Sound Stone Network founders and Millennium Edition co-producers on the panel, as Darren Hupke hosts a conversation with Gooey on the game and its legacy. Darren is a longtime Dark Cloud fan and Gooey is just experiencing its unique blend of RPG action and city building for the first time—without the weight of expectations players might have felt in 2001. Together they talk about what made Dark Cloud special, why it's better to appreciate the game without the Zelda comparisons, and how a hype bandwagon can shape our perceptions of a game before it even comes out.What do you think of Dark Cloud? Did you play it back in 2001, with its "Zelda killer" rumors fresh in your mind? Or did you have the chance to play it without that past hype affecting your experience? Send us a message at [email protected] or @soundstone.network on Bluesky and let us know!Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief GigiFlashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKennaPixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction Derby Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.