This is definitely the best RPG on the GBA. The game play is solid, and simple to learn, yet has the possibility for muc
The game play in Golden Sun is simplistic and complex at the same time. The basics are simple, walk around the world map from place to place following the story as it progresses. You will arrive in towns where you can buy new equipment, heal, and get party members revived. Most of the storyline also happens in towns. Then there are the dungeons, which have the same detailed design as the towns, but have random battles like the world map. In battle you can choose to attack with your weapon, use ‘Psynergy’ (the games equivalent of magic) or use Djinni. As you adventure around you’ll level up and collect Djinni. A Djinn is a little elemental creature who can be unleashed in battle for a powerful effect. Once they have been used (or just set outside of battle) you can use the powers of one or more Djinn to summon a powerful spirit, which does an attack that deals lots of damage. Now it gets complicated. In Dungeons and towns you can use certain Psynergy to interact with your surroundings, by moving things, revealing hidden chests and caves, reading peoples minds and other things. You must use this ‘Area Psynergy’ to solve puzzles to get rare items or advance through a dungeon. You can also use your Djinn to boost your stats in battle. My giving certain Djinn to certain members of your party you can change what class that person has, which changes the types of Psynergy they can use.
Graphics:
The graphics on golden sun are really good for a GBA game. The in-battle images are amazing, and the effects of some of the available attacks are explosive and hard to believe. The summon attacks also have beautifully animated psuedo-cut-scenes of powerful characters attacking your enemies. The only issue with the graphics is the Manga style of the art, and the silly little emotion bubbles above the characters heads, which some may dislike or find annoying.
Storyline:
Golden Sun’s story is a classic tale of the villain using a sealed away power to try and rule the world-apparently. The story begins properly when a group of your characters friends are kidnapped along with three of the four ‘elemental stars’ (the source of alchemy and by extension Psynergy) to use for their own ends. The story deepens however as the people who were captured seem to begin to side with their captors…
The end of the game reveals that it is not in fact the entire story, and that it continues in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. In the second game the story is told from a different viewpoint, and explains anything that doesn’t make sense in the first one, so you really need to play both games to understand the story. Aside from the main game, there are several side-quests to undertake which provide a nice respite from the main story.
Replay value:
With all the different possible equipment configurations and the Djinni combinations for your characters, you can get loads of time playing the games ‘battle mode’ where you take your party through a seemingly never ending stream of battles against random enemies (from any already encountered on the save file your using). The main game doesn’t offer much to do after completion (and if you save the game after beating the final boss and completing the game you will create a file that says (Clear Data) after the name. This is used for transferring game data over into Golden Sun: The Lost Age, but you can’t play on this file. If you are a bit of an RPG addict (like me) it is easy to play the game through several times (I have played it through five times now, since release) with a big enough gap in between. It’s a game you can come back to time and again for a fulfilling enjoyable and memorable PRG experience.