This isn't your average RPG. The story of this game is so complex and amazing it will make your head spin, in a good way. You start off in an enclosed town where you are an inventor named Maximilian. You spend most of your time messing with gadgets and fixing people's electronics. Your family is rather rich, so your father is usually busy, and your mother 'left to go do some work' years ago.
One day Max decides to buy a ticket to the circus. He sneaks around into the back of a tent to get a look at things behind the scenes. He overhears the ringmaster coveting YOUR pendant that you got from your mother. The ringmaster starts beating up the mayor and you gasp. He hears you, see the pendant and starts chasing after you. Thats enough story revealed. Go buy the game.

Later in the game Max finds himself fighting some really intense creatures ranging from evil clowns, to 4 story tree's that try to rip to apart. The strange thing about Dark Cloud 2 is that you can play as two different characters. A character introduced later into the story is a time traveler named Monica. You can switch in between these characters any time during game play.
Your weapons are extremely variable. You get a melee weapon, and a ranged weapon. Max uses mostly guns and blunt weapons like wrenches, drills, and hammers. Monica uses some crazy magic, and swords. You must play through many different environments and levels that randomly generate so it's new every time you pass through.
Wait wait wait... I bet you are thinking it's just a non-stop action beat-em-up game. Wrong!
After conquering a zone, you must rebuild it so that in the future things are as they should be. Building is very expansive. You can construct entire towns and cities on many different landscapes. Not only can you customize fully, but you can even walk around and use it as a playing area!

To sum it up... This is a great game.