One of the first RPG's on GBA to kick it into high gear.
Golden Sun was one of the first RPG's on the Gameboy Advance to my knowledge. And what a bang it came out with. I must say, from the day I bought this game I knew it was going to be one of those greats we all remembered some 15 years down the road. And even though it's been a few years since I've played it myself, most of the game is memorized in my head! Kind of sad, eh? Goes to show the impact it had on my gaming life.
I gotta say, I never heard of Camelot until Golden Sun. They did a great job bringing the RPG era to life on the GBA. This game has a rich storyline and great gameplay to offer. Any true RPG fan can easily appreciate it's uniqueness and value in the gaming world. No reason not to give Golden Sun a try and it's sequel. Now that I mention that, it's sequel is pretty much a MUST to play once you play Golden Sun because the game doesn't actually "end". Yeah, so go buy Golden Sun: The Lost Age while you're at it, haha.
Gameplay - 10/10
Goldsun Sun has a rather unique setup for play in my opinion. Given, I'm not an avid gamer much anymore, but compared to most RPG's I've played, this is much different. Menu's after menu's under more menu's, the options are near unlimited. Most 3D games that involve moving/solving things usually have this obvious look to them when they're important in anyway, or going to be used. Golden Sun does a good job of keeping puzzle objects and the such blended in with everything else. And might I add, the puzzles can get very tricky. I remember many a times I gave up for weeks to turn the game back on and suddenly figure it out from something I skipped or forgotten in the past events.
The game consists mostly of 3 different "real" types of play. Overworld, third person and battling. Overworld is most obviously venturing across the continent and heading towards the next destinations whether they be towns, caves or a light tower. Third person is everything in-depth after you leave the Overworld. Everything is much more detailed and gameplay mostly takes place in this setting. You will find battling can take place just about anywhere but in towns. Though you probably will get annoyed of running into monsters every half second just trying to make it to the next town.
As you play more and more, Psynergy will become something you will get used to using very quickly. Psynergy is the 'chi' so to speak (bodily energy) in Golden Sun. Adepts are the only ones capable of using it and it "just so happens" everyone you adventure with is an Adept. You'll gain a very wide range of skills from something as simple as Pushing objects, Pulling, Gust, to harder abilities like Cloak and Force. They all have there applications throughout the game and one good thing is the L&R buttons can be used to hotkey 2 of them so you don't have to enter the menu all the freaking time just to use it at the heat of the moment. Most Psynergy can be used in and out of battle. Depending on what it is. Like Cure obviously has healing properties in a fight, but Move wouldn't really do anything in a fight.
Then there are the attacking Psynergys. These have there obvious uses, but this is where the cream of the crop comes in battling. Psynergy is awesome to use and the more you level, the more powerful they become. Mixing Djinn(explained later) can give your characters some very interesting and unique Psynergy to use in battle. Definitely explore with this and taste all of it.
Like all RPG's, Golden Sun has the typical character stats, leveling and items/weapons to make your characters more powerful and all that good stuff. Weapons and items can mostly be obtained from one of two ways - Buying them or finding them. Most towns have shops to buy healing items and/or the next best weapon or armor to equip on your characters. However, usually when you find something worth buying, there is something else just a little bit better ahead of you. Psynergy will come in use for finding random items or coins hidden in pots/barrels/crates, etc.
One pretty unique difference with Golden Sun are things called Djinn. They are little creatures that possess the powers of Psynergy. You find them throughout the game and the more you get the more powerful your character becomes. Most are a pain to get though because it requires doing some complex puzzle or tricking them to going with you. Just like leveling, finding Djinn can also grant you new powers in battle. You can also switch different elemental Djinn around your characters and really make for some interesting classes. However, in my opinion I generally find pure classes more powerful than mix. But mixing can get you some Psynergy powers that other characters may not usually have.
Djinn also have another important use. Summons. When you engage in combat, you can use Djinn to perform an action that ranges from attacking, raising your attributes or placing negative effects on your enemies. When you use a Djinn, it will enter standby mode you can then use a Summon to perform a devastating attack on the enemy. The more Djinn in standby, the more powerful attack will be performed. Some of the most impressive visuals I've ever seen for a handheld. After summoning, the Djinn will go into recovery for a little while. After a few turns or after enough steps have taken out of battle, they will return to Set mode to be used again.
Battling is very engaging. You have many options to decide what you want to do, especially later on when your party has 4 people in it. Attack, defend, use Psynergy or Djinn. Item to heal, etc. I always love using Psynergy, the graphics are bad ass, especially the summons later on.
Control - 8/10
For a handheld there aren't many buttons to worry about, but there are tons of menu's and some of the buttons usage change depending on the menu or where you are. So it might take some time to get used to after you get lost in a sub-menu of another menu. :|
Storyline - 9/10
The storyline is very rich in this game. From the very second you start, storyline storyline storyline. I must admit, there is quite a bit of dialogue, even for an RPG game. However it serves its purpose and you should find it very rewarding.
Graphics - 9/10
What can I say about detail. Handheld games these days can do impressive things with the limited space they have. Golden Sun went beyond the limit as far as graphics go. I was very impressed with backgrounds, especially using psynergy in battle *cough*Ragnarok*cough*. I mean the only thing more impressive would be to see how this would look if it were a 3D console game. But no doubt, you won't be disappointed by... maybe one thing now that I think about it. Monsters... a lot of them you'll find to be repetitive throughout the game, just stronger versions of passed kinds. Kind of lame, but unless you're OCD or something, it shouldn't bother you.
Music/Sound - 10/10
The music in this game is GRADE A FREAKING AWESOME. I love this music so much I have most of it set as ringtones on my cellphone. The perfect tune for whatever the situation might be. Traveling gets you rowdy and ready for anything, a cave will change to something slightly slower, maybe a bit mysterious... and then you have the heat of the moment tragedies that immerse you in emotions.
The sound is just as good as the music. It blends in nicely, the Psynergy attacks especially. Background sounds are kind of interesting, they help you solve puzzles actually. Be sure to pay good attention to what you hear. You might just hear something familiar that'll get you ahead.
Overall - 8/10
Definitely give Golden Sun a try if you own a Gameboy Advance/SP. It's a great RPG title for any fan of the genre. Though I wouldn't say the replay value is very high since the game isn't really free roam, but mostly set as far as advancement goes. Depends on the level you are looking for. You may be satisfied with the overworld exploration by itself. And if you do, you will fall in love with the sequel very quickly. Playing through should last you a good 20 hours at least. Depends on how quickly you play, if you rush things, explore, take time to read the unfolding story or simply level up beyond what is necessary to take out the next level of enemies. If it wasn't for the fact that I have a good memory, I'd probably play a lot of my RPG games over and over, however most of them LIKE GOLDEN SUN are burned into my brain for many years down the road. Sucks really, but the game doesn't. Now go play it.