Golden Sun
RPG from the makers of Shining Force, featuring an adventure filled with tried-and-true overhead-wandering, random-battle gameplay that looks absolutely sweet on the Game Boy Advance small fact, this game arguably rivals most of the classic RPGs that have ended up on the console systems, like Dragon Warrior or the aforementioned Final Fantasy series, for example. You play Isaac, a young swordsman and resident of the town of Vale, and at the beginning of the adventure a storm is brewing outside that forces Isaac to flee to safety. But every virtual adventurer knows that it's never as simple as that, and eventually you're thrust into the role of the world's savior, befriending other skilled adventurers that will join your crusade...there's strength in numbers, as the phrase goes.
Golden Sun is the first original role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance to appear in the U.S. And despite perhaps a too-familiar story line, Golden Sun's jaw-dropping graphics, deep magic system, and unique multiplayer arena mode truly show that the Game Boy Advance is capable of a serious RPG. Game developer Camelot (which also made the legendary Shining Force series for the Sega Genesis, and, more recently, Mario Golf and Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64) designed Golden Sun from the ground up to take advantage of the GBA's horsepower, and it shows. Sharp, vivid landscapes, detailed towns and dungeons, and awesome weather effects--it looks like a Super Nintendo game with some extra zing squeezed onto a handheld system. Fans of Secret of Mana or Chrono Trigger will appreciate the feel of this game. But the game's greatest strength is its magic system. Your characters each have their own latent psychic abilities based on one of the four elements of alchemy (earth, water, wind, and fire). The characters will be called upon to use their individual forms of telepathy and telekinesis to solve various puzzles in the game. Also, you can collect Djinn (elemental spirits) and link them to your characters. Not only can these Djinn be summoned in battle, they can also bolster or hinder your characters' latent psychic abilities, give them special attacks, and even change your characters' class. This system is similar to Final Fantasy VIII's guardian system, though far more intuitive and easy to master. Golden Sun employs a basic turn-based battle system, but it has amazing spell and fighting techniques that really take advantage of the GBA's technology. The game achieves a nice balance between flashy attacks and the brevity of these same attacks--a lesson the makers of other RPGs should learn. Battles are beautifully and quickly fought, and don't overtax the gamer. The game also has an addictive arena mode in which players can fight monsters they've already encountered in the game. Players can also link up with another GBA (this feature requires another Golden Sun cartridge) and fight against another party. While it's not true a multiplayer option, it adds a great replay value to the game. Golden Sun's weakest point, however, is its standard-issue story. In essence: boy wakes up amidst disaster, meets stalwart friends, and rises to the challenge to save the day (all while living up to the image of his dear departed father). The story is a little stale, but the mechanics of the game transcend this flaw and bring the gamer into a state of handheld nirvana. --Bryan Karsh Pros: - Vivid graphics
- Deep, intuitive magic system
- Addictive multiplayer arena mode
Cons:- A plot straight out of "RPG Story Lines 101"
This role-playing adventure for one to two players lets you delve deep into a new world of fantasy and wonder, and experience the dawning of a new series. Your quest is to recover a powerful artifact that was stolen from your secluded village and now threatens the world with absolute destruction. You will make use of psychic powers, magical spells, and the lost art of alchemy to undo the evil that has befallen the land. Gather the four elements--fire, water, wind, and earth--and use them in different combinations to master new, more complex spells. New interactive possibilities are possible with the multiplayer mode that allows two players to quest together (requires Game Boy Advance Game Link cable).
Golden Sun Accessories
 Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Golden Sun & Golden Sun 2: The Lost Age (Prima's Official Strategy Guide)
Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Final Fantasy VI
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Includes Four Swords)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Final Fantasy IV Advance
Sword of Mana
The Legend of Zelda - The Minish Cap
Golden Sun Reviews
While it's much more involving and satisfying than many other portable RPGs, it has enough boring aspects that I don't think it merits a perfect score. It's this balance of ease and challenge that makes the game so accessible to any age group and, ultimately, makes Golden Sun such an enjoyable game. This is a great RPG for all age groups. I'm drawn to any story involving alchemy, but unfortunately, its application in this game is more Pokemon than Zork.
It's cute and straight-forward enough to appeal to children, but the game play is involving enough to be rewarding to adults. (I logged around 45 hours). To get all of your Djinn and complete all of the side quests, you'll revisit past towns as you gain the abilities you need to solve each puzzle.
To play the game most effectively, you'll need to rearrange your Djinn from time to time to customize your characters to each situation. The biggest con is the lengthy, boring dialogue scenes, as well as the repetitious nature of some of the action (for example, sailing to Tolbi). Some of them last up to 10 minutes, and when you're hitting L & R trying to speed through (which only helps so much you can speed over speech but not animation), that's a lot of sitting around mindlessly mashing buttons. Given the choice of a full 4 or 5 stars, I give it 4.
With other RPGs, you might pick your party members based on the range of abilities you want. Likewise, the battles tend to be challenging but not so hard that your enemy can't be mastered in a few tries. Let's hope the sequel improves its flaws. The game lasts a reasonably long time, if you try to complete all quests.
The Amazon editorial review for this game is pretty much spot on. The puzzles themselves aren't too easy, but don't take days of agony to solve either. The dialogue scenes aren't so terrible the first time through, but I found them unbearable when I resumed from an earlier save spot and had to replay them. (I played straight through the story, then went to the beginning and tied up all the loose ends before proceeding into the final dungeon).
Even as hugely annoying as that was, I was satisfied by the game in the end and I look forward to the expanded universe in the sequel. With Golden Sun, Isaac, Ivan, Garret, and Mia are all you get, so instead, you customize their abilities. It IS possible to back track to any place on the map, but sometimes the story has to advance before the avenue is open.
There are a total of 28 Djinn in the game, 7 for each element, and as you assign them to a character, it affects their class, stats, and available magic. The storyline itself is nothing to write home about, but the use of magic in the game makes up for it. The hardest take a few minutes of thought or exploration.
The story is totally immersive and you can put yourself in the main character's place (Isaac). This is a great game. I actually played the first game before the second game, but that doesn't matter with a game this great. It is an absolutely wonderful game with great GBA graphics and sound. There are many different weapons and you can customize your characters by equipping different Djinn (those little animal things). It has a wonderful magic system and these cute little animals you can release in battle for a super powered attack or temporary stat boosts.
Seriously, people, if you were planning to attack someone, and someone else killed em, you seriously wouldn't just defend. If you don't like all this elemental stuff, you didn't read the box; the graphics are amazing at some points; the plot is awesome; there are plenty of sidequests to go on, i.e Crossbone Isle; and the battle system is amazing. There is only one thing I have to complain about - the automatic defense. (This is my son talking) THIS IS THE BEST TURN-BASED RPG EVER. But it is still awesome. I don't get why it's getting any bad hype at all.
Both series hold up very well,. There were two great role playing series released for the GBA. Final Fantasy 1-6 and the two Golden Sun games. I would actually say that the GS games sported. better graphics, quicker gameplay, and a much longer playing time. and are quite different.
you start out as the chracter issac (u can rename him if u want) and u basically go on an adventure of the world-fight monsters and bosses and get 3 other people in ure party along the way. I beat the game so many times over and over again by killing the last boss which is the fusion dragon. Though the fusion dragon isn't tough, deadbeard is (hardest boss in the game) i killed him in like. 15 minutes.(my chracters are lvl 44+) He just takes forever so it's like the same thing over and over again, Issac and garet attacks ivan uses luff and mia heals. I loved the game and i played about 48 hours total :).
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