Dark Chronicle is the European name for Dark Cloud 2. Therefore Dark Cloud and Dark Chronicle are the two games in the series, not the same game.

The repairing of weapons is an annoying aspect of the games, but it is also common in other RPGs. As the weapons degrade they become less effective in battle, and if you don't repair them before they become too badly damaged they will break and be lost.

I also liked these games. The second game, Dark Chronicles, is much better than the first. With the first game the gameplay felt very much like a sandbox with you placed in a big open area ready to build the town and access to the dungeon to use for collecting the objects to build the town. It was more of a different take on god games than a full RPG as it lacked a complex and involving story. The sequel solved this by adding the elements of the first game into a proper story based RPG. The cell shaded graphics were also very nicely made.