A good, solid game that's worth picking up.
Review 82
Released: November 11, 2001
Developers: Nintendo, Camelot Co. Ltd. Game Genre: RPG
Opening Thoughts:
Golden Sun accomplishes the job that Nintendo wanted it to do. It combines a typical RPG gameplay with a solid storyline (though a tad corny), and throws in some of the best Gameboy Advance graphics to date.
Story
The storyline is very lacking…partially. At the start of the game, the story is in complete control. Very little moving around is required, and the first hour or so involves the gamer pressing the A button repeatedly, reading the dialogue between characters. The story itself is a great idea. However, Nintendo and Camelot focused way too much on puzzles and a logical aspect, which takes a lot away from a story. Most of the time spent in this game is spent solving puzzles, and after the puzzles are solved, you forget why you were solving them. Many times, I found myself forgetting where I was even at.
Gameplay
Golden Sun is a typical RPG game. You walk, talk, and fight random battles. The gameplay is so simple, yet it works flawlessly. Sometimes it can get rather confusing due to a large variety of spells that you can cast (the spells “carry” and “move” are very similar). That is the only bad part of the gameplay. Though the puzzles can be hard, it’s very obvious when you need to move something or use a spell on something. For example, dotted lines are on the ground to show that you need to move a statue or a rock.
Very solid gameplay keeps the game moving along.
Graphics
The graphics on this game are truly amazing for such an early system release. Many of the spells and “Djinni” that can be cast have some nice qualities, and the backgrounds in the game are very realistic for an early handheld system. The best graphics on a GBA game that I have seen to date. Character sprites are also very nice and not pixilated.
Durability
The puzzles in the game are incredibly difficult at times, and some of the places you need to go are not made clear at all. At certain points I had to follow a guide to get me through, and the end result was just ridiculous…I’m a very experienced gamer, and I would never have figured it out. The game can be very frustrating.
Final Thoughts:
A solid game and decent to play, but very hard to beat. The end of the story does leave you in suspense for a sequel, though.