Golden Sun (Nintendo Game Boy Advance, 2001)

Golden Sun is a video Role-Playing Game made by Camelot. The gameplay mechanics are standard RPG fare (different controls for battle and overworld movement, menus for selecting possible actions, etc.), but it is the story and puzzles that set it apart.

This is not a game where you can simply cut your way through the problems you face. Even the earliest areas of the game are littered with environmental puzzles. Some are necessary and simple. Many more end with prizes for clever thinking and maneuvering. From an obstacle course, to figuring out what power or item you need, to using them in ways you didn't think of until there was no other way forward; a great amount of effort went into making this game more mentally challenging than most and it is VERY rewarding to see everything finally come together.

The plot begins in a world where magic is a little more than a myth or distant memory, except for a few special individuals cloistered away from the rest of the world of Weyland. This tranquility is shattered when a mysterious pair rob the sacred Mt. Aleph of what they need to bring back the age of magic. Alex and Garet pursue the pair through a vast world beset by many troubles to stop this from happening and to rescue their kidnapped friends. The story maintains this intense focus no matter how many diversion you run into and the ending is emotionally satisfying, if a bit of a blatant cliff-hanger.

Golden Sun is a superb game in it's own right and well worth the hours you will put into it. However, the story and world in it are not explored fully until it's sequel Golden Sun: The Lost Age, and that was entirely intentional.

Look into this game if you have any interest in RPGs or puzzle games, and buy its sequel as well if you can.

Like many other bored teenagers, when I was looking for something new to do, I turned to the internet to find a new video game to buy. Looking at the reviews, it seemed like Golden Sun was the game for me. Upon playing, my video game urges were pleasantly sated.

If you've played any of the games in the Final Fantasy series, you'll probably either love Golden Sun or hate Golden Sun for the very same reasons that you loved or hated Final Fantasy. The battle system is very much the same, and the characters have a rather Final Fantasy-ish flavor, except the names they have are relatively normal.

As in Final Fantasy, Golden Sun has 'summons'. They're called Djinni and they were, hands down, my favorite part of the game. They appear on the screen (unlike other foes, that you just run into by chance) and are usually in a difficult place to get. I loved the challenge of getting them, and what abilities you have or don't have varies greatly depending on which Djinn each character has equipped, which adds a lovely strategical element that Final Fantasy's brute force summons just don't have.

On top of that, Golden Sun has a lot more puzzle-based dungeons than the Final Fantasy series ever did. (Think Final Fantasy X, where they had the Chamber of the Fayth puzzles, only less obnoxious)

Now, I'm not saying that Golden Sun was a better game. It had a lot of shortcomings that were difficult to get over.

The first and foremost bother about Golden Sun was the dialogue. It had way too much of it. Big chunks, little chunks, huge monologues, it had a plethora of useless dialogue boxes with no way of skipping through them. Usually they had a large one right before every boss fight, which meant that, if you happened to perish fighting that boss, you had to listen to it all over again.

Your inventory was comparatively small, and places you could sell things were rather few and far between. So, while each character could carry small amount of items, I often found myself searching desperately for more room.

Speaking of characters, you only had four, which you played continuously. Like every single other video game in existence, you have a weak link in your party , in this case, Ivan. Unlike in the Final Fantasy series, you can't just switch him out for a better member, because you only have the four you constantly play as.

I have to say, though, that the biggest let-down of the game was the horrible ending. If you think that a story should end with at least a little bit of resolution, you're going to be rather disappointed with Golden Sun. The entire plot revolves around these four 'elemental lighthouses' that you're supposed to visit. In the end of the game, you only get to visit two. The enemies that you're chasing throughout the entire game never really get defeated, and the game ends basically in the middle of a mission. It was as though the people at Camelot decided that they'd had enough of making that game, and just cut the funding midway through.

Because of this, Golden Sun is a good length for a handheld game, (for me, a little over twenty hours), but if it meant adding on another five hours or so, just so we could have a better ending, I'd go for it.

To put it simply, Golden Sun was a good game that I had a lot of fun playing, but wasn't Hall of Fame material. It's available pretty cheap used, and is definitely worth it if you're looking to fill out your GBA arsenal.

This game almost plays like Final Fantasy III (FFIII) for Nintendo DS. There is a major difference, though. In Golden Sun, special magic-like power called psynergy and magical creatures called Djinn are more useful than swords or other weapons, while offensive magic are not very useful in FFIII. Golden Sun battle runs faster, so it can be more enjoyable than FFIII despite that it also has enemy encounters too often. However, I felt that there are too many psynergy and Dijinn options in each battle, and yet there is not much strategy that can be used. I would still recommend this game for a player who likes turn-based RPGs but has not played too many of them.

Released November 11, 2001 (US), Golden Sun is a Role Playing Game (RPG) following classic RPG format. With the ability to use "Psynergy", yet another form of magic, the player is guided through the fictional world of Weyard. In order to progress through the game, the player will need to struggle through mazes, fight through hords of monsters using the game's turn-based battle system, and listen through gobs of information recieved via the traditional textboxes. Golden Sun is a single player game, but it does have the capability to be played against an opponent, using a GBA Link Cable. There is also a feature for the player to fight off monster after monster if he/she prefers purely battling. With multiple unlockable features, such as naming all characters and acquiring a password to transfer game data to its sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, this classic RPG is definitely one worth playing.

Rating:

Story: 7/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Lasting Gameplay: 8/10
Content: 10/10
Originality: 5/10
Overall: 8/10

THIS GAME IS AWESOME. IF YOU LIKE TURN-BASED RPGs SUCH AS FINAL FANTASY, YOU'LL GET ADDICTED TO THIS ONE. GBA GRAPHICS ARE GREAT. TRIED AND TRUE OVER-HEAD ROAMING AND RANDOM MONSTER BATTLES ALMOST NEVER GET MONOTONOUS. ALL AROUND GREAT GAME. LOW REPLAY VALUE THOUGH.