A Duel is an element of Dark Cloud that appears multiple times over the course of the game. It involves pressing buttons in a similar way to Dance Dance Revolution. There are none in the second game.
Mechanics
The basic principle of duels is that you must hit the buttons that appear on the right side of the screen when they hit the lighter part on the left side. This will cause Toan (and his opponent) to perform actions in the animation that plays in the background. A large red flashing "!" appears before the match, to warn the player of the start of a duel. It can be stopped with the Start button at any time.
If you fail by missing any single button, and after witnessing Toan's grusome death, you are given the following options: "Leave dungeon temporarily" and "Try again from immediately before". The former will take you out of the dungeon for the time being, as if you had just finished a floor and chosen the same option. The latter will take you back to the point where the red "!" flashes.
If you win, you are allowed to move forward in the game. If you hit all the buttons in the whitest part of the bar (the word "Excellent" will appear), you are given a gem from the fairies of Terra. You can also get 3 gems from the fairies of Terra if the word perfect appears. This is achieved by completing the duel on your first attempt and hitting all in the whitest part of the bar.
Duel List
- vs. Master Jacket (1)
- vs. Seda (2)
- vs. Goro (3)
- vs. Two Werewolves (4)
- vs. Killer Snake (5)
There is also a duel-like sequence when you are getting onto the Moon Ship during Chapter 4. It operates exactly the same, but consists of jumping across several pillars before they fall, rather than fighting an actual opponent.