Golden Sun Review
As you stand atop a lighthouse with the fierce wind blowing in your hair you know you can’t turn back. This is the moment you have been waiting for after hours and hours of playing. As you stand face to face with your enemy you know you can’t turn back. You must rely on your Djinni and hours of training. Its do or die. This feeling can be held at the palm of your hand on your Game Boy Advance. Remember the good old days when 16 bit RPGs such as Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana and many more ruled the NES and SNES world? That was long ago and its time for a change. Camelot and Nintendo have joined forces to take this port and bring it to your home making Golden Sun one kick-ass RPG.
In the beginning I never liked RPGs. To me they were stupid and I couldn’t stand games such as Legend of Dragoon that were three or four disks long. RPGs seemed to be for lowlifes and hillbillies who had no life and thought they lived in a Playstation. Also they were boring and had no point to me. There was no excitement in playing them. They were all the same. How many Final Fantasies are there? I lost count. But that all changed when Golden Sun hit the shelves. Somehow it called out to me, “Buy me!” and I couldn’t resist. So I rushed to EB to get it the day it came out but they have everything two days later. (Basterds) So walking home pissed off I heard the voice again and did not give up hope. So I got a copy on Amazon.com (which I recommend you do). That Friday It finally came so I ripped the package open and sat down anxiously to play.
The story is complex like in most RPGs. You begin with a prologue that goes back three years. Your mother wakes you up in a raging storm. You run outside wile it is pouring. A humongous boulder is heading your way from the mountains. If you don’t evacuate the town will be crushed. Three years later a group of thieves steels the element stars from sol sanctum and you head out on a journey to stop them. But it’s not that easy (a lot more happens but I wont spoil it for you).
On your journey you will meet three new characters Ivan, Garet, and Mia. Each with there own abilities. Ivan is a wind adept, Mia is an ice and water adept, Garet is a fire adapt, and referred in the game to as Isaac (the main character) is an earth adapt. (I’m not talking about Pokemon). Remember in those times people believed that there were four elements: fire, wind, water and earth. Each character’s stats are different. For example, Ivan has the least hp but the most pp. Garet has the most hp but the least pp.
The graphics are like nothing I have ever seen before in a hand held. I have heard that someone made a hand held Playstation. Who needs that crap when you have a GBA. Everything is fully detailed ranging from hair to clothes. The battles you have are set on a perfect camera angle that gives just the right touch. Some attacks stop and go matrix style that you will love. The background changes to match the location you are in. So lets say you are in a cave, the background will show you battling in a cave. If you are in a forest, the background will show you in a beautiful but evil forest.
What makes a good RPG is the gameplay and Golden Sun has that. On your long and dangerous journey you will need to defend yourself against monsters that appear randomly. You can attack with your sword or use magic or called psynergy. There all kinds of psynergy that you can use in battle like volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and more. Also there are little monsters called Djinni. Once you find them they join you. What they do is they alter your stats. Djinni of the same element as the player they are set to make that player stronger. So an earth Djinni set to Isaac who is an earth adapt will make him stronger. You can also try different combos by setting the Djinni to different players. You can then summon them in battle where they release powerful attacks at your enemies. What is interesting about this game is the variety of puzzles. To pass the game you don’t only need power but also wits. Some lighthouses or caves can get very confusing. You must solve the puzzles to continue. Some psynergy can be used outside of battle like for example, move, which you can use to move rocks or statues. In some caves you have to use frost to turn water into ice to open a door. This game will have you thinking for a long time.
This game has a beet that both hippies and rappers would like. The music really sets the mood for the game. It fits every moment perfectly and makes the game dramatic and makes it a true epic. A great quality about this game is that its multiplayer. That’s right! Both you and you friend need a copy to link up and battle each other. Also if you have no one to battle with you can still go to the battle area and fight monsters. You can set records for the number of monsters you beat.
So when you send your holiday wish list to Santa, the Easter Bunny, your local Rabbi or whoever you believe in, make sure that golden sun is written down 100 times. Overall this game is an epic and a true classic that changes the gaming world forever and people will be talking about for a long time. Never before has a handheld had a game of so much power. I just can’t wait for Golden Sun 2.
Visuals: 9
Sound: 9
Originality: 9
Replay: 8
Overall: 9