Overall 9.5 Graphics 9.2 Sound 9.2 Addictive 9.4 Story 9.1 Depth 8.7 Difficulty 6.3
9.5
Golden Sun is a great example of the beauty of the GBA gamerforlifefor..
Back when I had a GBA, I didn't have this game. Many years later, I decided to buy it from Gamestop for $7.99 and I gotta say I'm so glad that I bought it. Better late than never right? (I would have been willing to pay much more for this masterpiece if I would have known how incredible it is). Golden Sun in my opinion is the first truly great RPG to come out for a handheld console that has nothing to do with Pokemon. Golden Sun along with it's sequel are two of the best games to ever come out for the GBA. Why is this particular game one of the best you ask? I'll tell you by making this review. I hope you enjoy it and I hope that fans of the series will like my review and I'd love to hear your feedback on how I did. It's time that I get this review started!
Graphics: The graphics for this game are some of the best for any GBA game. The battle graphics in particular are superb they're better than a lot of SNES graphics because the characters and monsters have so much more detail. The overworld looks beautiful as well along with the towns and caves. For those reasons I give the graphics a 10.
Sound: The soundtrack for Golden Sun (and it's sequel) are the best that the GBA has to offer. Some of the music is even better than the music from modern games. That's how wonderful and fantastic this soundtrack is. If you're not a fan of RPGs I'd still recommend this game just for the incredible soundtrack. For those reasons I give the sound a 10!
Addictiveness: Golden Sun is a throwback to classics such as Final Fantasy but it adds some innovative features such as solving some really interesting puzzles. The puzzles are really intriguing and fun. That's one thing that makes this game so unique. Another unique feature in this game is the djinn. You find them in various locations. Some of them will join you without hesitation while others will try and get away from you and even fight you. All these features make this game so enjoyable. Also the main characters are known as adepts. Adepts are people who can use a power called psynergy which is the Final Fantasy equivalent of magic. There are 4 different types of adepts: Venus (earth), Mars (fire) Jupiter (wind) and Mercury (water). Adepts can equip djinn to either change their existing psynergy or making their current psynergy stronger. There's a lot of different combinations you can try which gives this game lots of replay value. For those reasons I give addictiveness a 10.
Story: This game has a fantastic story. I don't want to give away spoilers so I won't say anything except just trust me the storyline is phenomenal. For that reason I give the story a 10. I will say though that people should play this game before Lost Age just saying.
Depth: The game is only about 20 hours long so it's pretty short. That's the one complaint I have about this game. I give depth a 7.
Difficulty: There aren't very many tough battles in the game. Only 3 bosses gave me any kind of trouble. For that reason I give difficulty a 2.
Overall: Golden Sun is one of the best games for the GBA and should be played by all RPG fans. I give the overall score a 9.5!
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 7 Difficulty 2
Review Rating: 4.8/5
Submitted: 08-26-14
Review Replies: 1
9.5
Golden Sun Review by Ajax gfnAjax
Ajax here with my second game review, and this time it's for the game that is, in my opinion, the best RPG that has ever been released exclusively on hand held systems. Before we get to the actual review please, dear reader, permit to gush a little bit because this game, and it's sequel, were both quite a large part of my childhood. Along with Tales of Symphonia and Ocarina of Time this game was one of my gateway games into the world of RPG's and, as I'm sure no small number of you have, I sank around 120 hours into this game and got every last thing I possibly could, especially all those delicious djinn. And now without further side tracking, onwards to adventure!
Graphics: 8/10
Golden Sun does something that many RPG's strive for and only a select few manage to accomplish. And that is to make their particular world stand out among all the others that surround them, to give their world its own feel so that you remember, not just the game it self or the characters, but cities and towns and fields as well. And one way in which Golden Sun has accomplished this is it's graphical style. Even working within the limitations of the Game Boy Advanced, Golden Sun managed to make it's visuals stand out while still drawing from familiar enough sources so that nothing ever felt too remote or weird until you got far enough in the lore that you understood why it was like that.
Sound: 10/10
Golden Sun had some undeniably great music, I mean I could probably have this part of my review be just a list of the different names of the songs from the game (Venus Light House, Battle Scene/ Final Boss) but that would also miss out on a key detail that bears mentioning. The placement of Golden Sun's music is absolutely impeccable, all of it just sounds like it 'fits' in a way that a lot of games don't have. And for those of you who were paying extra close attention, you probably saw that both the songs in parenthesis were from the end of the game and play almost back to back. If you go and listen to them they play as if one leads into the other, Venus Lighthouse's theme is slower and mysterious as you're wandering through a strange dungeon full of technology that you have no way of understanding. And then you get to the top and things kick into high gear as the final boss battle begins and the music becomes faster paced and a lot more tense. As if the Venus Lighthouse was the final build up and the Boss fight was the climax. Oh wait...
Addictiveness: 9/10
There's a lot to find, enjoy, and explore in Golden Sun and if it doesn't last you through multiple play throughs then something has gone wrong.
Story: 8/10
Golden Sun tells a great story with a plenty of lovable characters in a well crafted and executed setting with plenty of depth and room for thought and examination. I knocked a couple points off because I'm a firm believer in telling a story through game play and not just text boxes and while Golden Sun does manage to do that in several really stroke of genius moments (we'll get to those in a second) those moments are few are far between and I would have liked to see a few more of them. Now addressing the moments of genius the one that struck me the most is the moment when, after you've completed Mercury Lighthouse, you follow in the wake of the two main villains of the game, and as you pass through a small makeshift barricade the local town erected for reasons, you find three small trees knocked over and one of them is floating in the near by river. *minor spoilers* Now as most of you will know, these aren't really trees, they're children and when you break the curse that's been put over them the little girl in the river will drown, unless you save her. And you don't save her through a text box or a choice wheel, you save her, or don't, through your actions, or inaction.
Depth: 9/10
As I've said before there is a lot to explore and discover in the world of Golden Sun. But another major source of depth comes from your characters and the djinn. You see, djinn work as minor summons that you use to summon bigger summons, or so it seems at first. But djinn are actually what make your characters what they are in battle because certain djinn combinations change what your character does and how they act in battle and this adds a whole new layer of depth to the combat because using a djinn can have really nice effects: a really strong attack, a whole party buff, instant revive, and they also unlock powerful summons as more and more of them are used. But using them also weakens your characters stat-wise and will sometimes make it so they can't use the top tier spells that they could before.
Difficulty: 5/10
This game is many things and difficult is not one of them, but seeing as how this game is largely text book RNG turn based combat that's not a bad thing. With a little common sense and experimentation you'll get through just fine.
Well that's all folks. This had been Ajax and thank you all for reading.
Graphics 8 Sound 10 Addictive 9 Story 8 Depth 9 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 4.4/5
Submitted: 07-02-13
Review Replies: 2
9.7
Classic RPG, But Perhaps not for Everyone Geicen
I remember sitting in Homeroom in Highschool, and trying to ignore the channel 1 news that would play before the bell would ring for first period. I could not, however, ignore some of the adds and commercials that would play in the middle of it. One in particular was for this game. Now, allow me to paint the picture for you:
Imagine an orchestra playing, a chandelier in the rafters of a music hall that starts to come to life with fire an light. A woman in a red dress holds her hand out towards it as the creature comes down, power radiating off it.
Then, the Golden Sun logo as well as clips from the game appear...
Really didn't explain what was going on very well.
But I was intrigued, but not enough to buy it myself. I waited until my father (a gamer in his own right) got the game, and after he was finished, I played it. I played and finished it, only after I was done realizing that I hadn't found everything this game had to offer. But now, after losing the game and being unable to play it for years it was nice to sit down and finally be able to play once again. Now, looking at it in a more critical eye, I enjoy this game in so many more ways.
However, if the classic RPG style isn't your thing, then I suppose you might have to pass this game up.
Graphics: 9
For the day and system in which the game was created for, the graphics are really good. Though expressions are not really shown, you are able to get a feel for what each character is feeling due to thought bubbles and comical motions. The battle graphics is where the game truly shines. After a shift in the screen you are treated to a battle screen that rivals and ever surpasses in some cases some SNES (and even some early generation PS1) games. Each monster has its own details and traits that, while some are re-colors of other monsters, are still unique in each.
Sound: 8
The music is pleasant to the ears, and it helps give you a sense of where you are. If something serious is happening the music fits it perfectly, and also if something is comical you can tell. The sound effects for battle and magic is pretty cool as well. The only problem that I had with it was that sometimes it would feel repetitive, so I would be forced to turn the sound off, just so that my sanity wasn't lost.
Addictiveness: 10
Once you are able to freely explore the world, the game becomes far more addicting. Some stories in the game don't have to be completed in a specific order (or even at all) in order to complete the game. There are side stories everywhere, and not to mention the Dijinn to find. You'll find yourself not being able to put the game down, wanting to know what happened.
Story: 8
I give the story an 8 because, to be honest, the story, while compelling, does lack in a few areas. Some things are lost in the scuffle and stories go unanswered (even after playing the sequel). The basic story is that you play as Isaac, a young man who's been charged with saving the world from men and women who wish to return Alchemy to the world by lighting the lighthouses of the elements. This, however, doesn't necessarily seem like a bad thing. It's never really explained why it's a bad thing, and the world never seems to really be in danger. However, it is enough to make you want to keep going, and play the sequel in order to finish and understand the story from there on.
Depth: 10
Crossbone Isle, Dijinn, Drop Items (Kuichimonji), so many things make you want to keep playing and find that if you find yourself growing bored with the actual storyline you're free to go and explore the world to your hearts content. Side stories and abilities to find, this game has so much to offer that I could write an entire review based solely on this.
Difficulty: 9
The game, while not seeming incredibly difficult, can actually take a bit of planning ahead and level grinding. If you are a purist and like to keep your characters with their chosen elements, then you may find the game just a tad bit more challenging than someone else who switches the Dijinn around freely. Bosses are challenging and the game itself lends one to wanting to throw it against the wall, but as long as you hold that urge down you won't be disappointed when playing the game.
Overall: 9.8
Play the game to see what I mean. If classic RPG style is your forte, then you will not be able to put the game down. If not, then I suppose this game is not for you. But it is a game that, when played, can invite you to a story which spans not one, but three separate games.
Graphics 9 Sound 8 Addictive 10 Story 8 Depth 10 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 4.3/5
Submitted: 10-22-12
Review Replies: 0
9.2
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Graphics 10 Sound 9 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 7 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 04-06-14
Updated: 04-30-21
Review Replies: 1
9
Pretty Chill jayron122
This game is pretty awesome thank god some one recommend this game to me because I love this game a lot now. The story is amazing and very intense at times. The graphics are good and are amazing when your fighting against monsters and what not. Also I really like the music in the game. I also really like the characters in the game especially Isaac and Garret. I really the game overall there is nothing really wrong with this game in my opinion but I bet some people can say it's a bad game but I think it is a really good game. But the best thing about this game is the fighting style; I love how you fight it's like final fantasy which is why I especially like the fighting style. So overall I really like this game and I am glad someone recommended to me and I recommend it to anyone who likes rpg's really.
Graphics 10 Sound 7 Addictive 9 Story 10 Depth 8 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 3.8/5
Submitted: 03-10-13
Review Replies: 0
10
Great game LOVE IT iaindude
When I first saw golden sun it was near the start just before you go on the epic quest, when I first played it was a phenomenon the areas that you visited were amazingly created, the characters brilliantly made with the development and design, the djin have got to be one of the cleaver game mechanics of the time.
The sounds for its time were phenomenal on the gba, yes you probably could have made the characters look 3D or even provide voices on the game cube or PC but Nintendo just proves to everyone with this game (and lost age) graphics don't make the game, the game play does,
As for addictiveness from the moment I first saw the game running (funny enough on my brothers gba sat on a counter while he was doing something) I was wanting to play it see what it was like and what it was about, when I did get to play it that was amazing just going from one area to another being told a story and collecting djin, even the mini games were fun the amount of times I ended up just buying herbs and other items just to get raffle tickets was unbelievable.
The story.. Well for me it is like a game version of Harry potter, when I first read HP I didn't want to put the book down until I finished.
Difficulty its hard in parts but if you level up right then you can easily beat the game (it does have some parts that require a bit of thinking but it is fun
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 3.6/5
Submitted: 01-20-13
Review Replies: 1
9.8
Lack of Nostalgia Kioken
This is my first review here and I never thought I would make one. I used this site to find games I played when I was a kid instead of edging out into unknown waters, but of late I decided I wanted to play an old school RPG. Golden Sun was one of "those" games for me when I was younger, you hear about them a lot and they look pretty good but you just never try them. I remember browsing the RPG section when I had spot this and thinking about how much different I would've felt playing this before. No matter the case, this review is based exactly on how I felt playing the game fresh, nostalgia absent.
Graphics: 9/10
Upon first look the game is actually quite pleasant to the eye. The character sprites are nice and portraits well done. The style is distinct without being unappealing. The world feels mystical makes you urn to explore more of it. It makes it feel like it's own unique world rather than some cookie cutter layout. The real detail however is in the battles. Animations are spectacular and mesh together for a wonderful display. Enemies look great, your characters look great. If you can use the same move over a hundred times and still like it, it was done right.
Sound: 10/10
Ah the sound... personally what I feel the be the best quality of the game. There are games that have good soundtracks and use them well, and then there are games that have great soundtracks and utilize them perfectly, Golden Sun being the latter. The music was tailored seamlessly into the game and with no expense to quality. The variety is immense as well, going from peaceful, to depressing, to intense. If you have ever played a game that you felt like leaving on just to hear the music that plays, this is exactly that. There are pieces that even music from consoles three generations later cannot compare to. The sound effects in battle also fit the display, together making a big hit or spell just that much more satisfying. If I could give this more than a 10, I certainly would.
Addictiveness: 9/10
Golden Sun definitely has the elements of a game that makes you go, "I feel like playing again". There are secrets to find each time through and the game loses no enjoyment playing through things you already have done before. Though I've only fully completed the game once, I restarted halfway through an accident but didn't feel a loss in playing through the early stages once more, in fact I found secrets I hadn't before which I may not have otherwise. The short end here is just knowing the story, but if you're just thirsty for RPG action then this will quench that.
Story: 9/10
RPGs are a genre that typically revolve around a story, and Golden Sun tells a tale that meets expectations. The story is interwoven in both the world and the game play, one of these elements being Psyenergy. Your character is a young boy in a village, this village is special as the people in it can use this power, including yourself. This special energy also ties into what partakes in the story and why the world is the way it is. The actual characters all contain their own flare that gives them a face absent in a lot of games. Rarely does a game make you feel for a character or look at them like a real friend. Beyond this it does a great job at introducing you to all these elements without leaving you lost and confused. The game situates you with the story in a short amount of time, without completing overbearing you with knowledge and continuing to feed you it as you play.
Depth: 10/10
I've already mentioned the game has secrets for you to find through exploring more or thinking outside of the box, but it goes well beyond just hidden items. Although there is a steady path for you to follow in the game, there are side quests and areas to explore as well. You can find new things by back-tracking and testing out new powers in old places. Psyenergy itself offers a lot for game depth, because it adds a whole level of puzzle and problem solving. Through out the game you'll always find yourself wondering what you can fiddle with using your abilities.
The second major factor contributing to depth would be the Djinn. These special creatures aid you in fighting, but in a deeper matter. Djinn have two separate modes, set for increasing you base stats and learning abilities, and standby which allows you to summon them for massive damage at the cost of set stats. Early on this seems like a trivial matter and the obvious solution is to always use them when available, but later on enemies call for a wiser use of setting and using as you need a mix of both to survive and fight. Djinn also influence what class your character is. Stacking a character with their own respective element will get you one class, but changing or switching out another Djinn can give you an entirely different one. Some Psyenergy required to solve puzzles is also given to classes outside the normal set-up. Experimenting with these can give you a stat and move composition that suits your own play style, the best thing is this is all up to you. They did depth without making it exceedingly complex.
Difficulty: 8/10
For an RPG, difficulty tends to lean on how much grinding is required to complete in game in a reasonable matter, as such the difficulty varies from person to person. For someone who likes exploring every possible venture and collecting all the secret treasures while grinding out, the game will be much easier on you compared to another who goes from town to town battling as little as possible. There are really three main factors to the difficulty. Those would be levels, items, and Djinn. Level is self explanatory, though it does tie into Djinn classes as well due to gaining skills. Your items depend on either how much exploring for artifacts you do, or grinding for shop items. Either way you'll have to go out of your way if you want to be well equipped. Djinn may be the most important factor in difficulty, for more than one reason. The first is Djinn are hidden. Not all of them are difficult to find, but some require you to go outside the paved road to obtain. Djinn give an important amount of stats and fighting with many or with few of them can be day and night. How you allocate Djinn can also make a huge impact in how your character plays out.
That all being said, it comes down to how much someone invests into their characters, the grinding for levels itself is average but getting that equipment and more importantly, Djinn is crucial to how difficult the game will feel.
Overall Score : 9.8/10
Golden Sun is called a classic and for good reason. It has everything an RPG player looks for in a game while still remaining open to all types of players. For anyone looking to play a game that feels fresh without being foreign, give Golden Sun a try.
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 9 Story 9 Depth 10 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 11-10-14
Review Replies: 2
9
Linkshade's Opinion 7: Golden Sun linkshade 121
The Game Boy Advance was the first Nintendo 32-bit portable console, selling 81.48 million units as of June 30th, 2009. At its time, it was considered to be one of the most advanced portable consoles of its time. When we think of Nintendo, we think of the usual: Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc.; but when we think of GBA, we think of these things, and a popular role-playing game that stole our hearts. I am Linkshade 121, and this my opinion of one of the most critically acclaimed titles on the GBA: Golden Sun.
Graphics-10
Unlike most games from the GBA, Golden Sun was unique in the way that it was one of the only games on the GBA to have 3-Dimensional graphics, or at least try too. It isn't true 3-Dimensional so to speak, but a panoramic battle stage and tipped over world to make it look like a rendered 3rd Dimensional perspective, while also balancing 2-Dimensional Dungeons and towns. The animations in this game made even the final fantasy GBA games make a run for their money. The battle animations are pretty top notch as to saying they look more realistic, well made, and rendered. You will be loving the many Psynergy Spells that look pretty good in a 3-Dimensional panoramic view, coming down on the enemy faster and more fluent than a bolt of lightning. It is once again better than Final Fantasy's 2-dimensional battle view.
Sound-10
This game had one of the most catchy soundtracks I'd ever listened to. This game knows the right music for every place, situation, it was totally perfect, nothing out of place. A village of peaceful adepts known as Vale, right sort of music. The Sol Sanctum, mysterious and cool song that was perfect for that kind of atmosphere. Awesome battle themes against main antagonists, great tempo changes and a nice beat. There was no flaws when it came to this soundtrack.
Addictiveness-6 This game was not really that addicting as in I would play it 10 hours a day sort of deal, because when you play it the first time, you have no idea where to go, and it makes you less interested. I'm sorry, but I thought the whole purpose of playing the game is to add interest to you so you would play more and complete the game, not be completely confused because the game isn't giving you a sense on where to go. It is because of this one flaw with the game that people throw the game out the window because you need to do a lot of senseless looking and know what you are doing before hand. This is why it took me 10 million tries before I finally found the patience to complete this game. When you complete the game, you want to play again because you know exactly what to do, and can become addicting, it's just that if you played the game once, you get lost and that does not add any interest to the you; it's this fact that lowered it to a 6.
Story-8
This story started off at a point where you have no idea what is going on, you just know that you have to get down to the plaza and save yourself from the Mt. Aleph boulder. If anything, I found that point of the story completely redundant because we could have learned about what happened from the villagers of Vale 3 years after those events took place, to get a little back story. This story was not complete straight forward in the fact that the elder that sends us on the quest with no idea where to go as previously stated. Some points of the story I found pretty good and awesome when you look at events that are quite supernatural. Busting a group of bandits by using a guy who could read minds was one of my most favorite parts of the story. It is because of the rest of the story that I found it pretty enjoyable to say the least.
Depth-10 This game had a lot to offer in terms of collecting, battling, and size. This game had one of the most complex battling systems I ever laid eyes on. You had your basic attack command, which just had you attack. Then there was psynergy, where there is many different psynergy you can learn and attack with. There is also Djinn, cute little creatures that give you better stats, different sets of psynergy, and a summon to initiate a powerful attack, giving you many different battle combinations. You could also battle endlessly, giving those who love playing unlimited play time. The giant over world further improves this function by battling anywhere on the map, giving this game an endless sort of depth.
Difficulty- 5
The difficulty of this game depends somewhat. Some parts of the game were so difficult that I would tape it onto a rocket and blast it into rocket on an intercept path with a black hole. This because of confusing direction and one hit psynergy attacks that can bring down your own spell casters in one hit. Some parts of the game where easy, like going through certain areas with ease. And some parts were in middle ground, neither too easy, or extremely difficult. The difficulty balances itself out like that.
Overall-9 Despite the flaws I pointed out, I still like the game as a whole, and I'd give it a 9. I liked its unique graphics, awesome music, frustration with direction, battling, liking the story as a whole, and it's shaky difficulty. I recommend it to those that just want a role-playing game to play. I will see you again, until then, express your opinion.
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 6 Story 8 Depth 10 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 06-24-14
Review Replies: 0
9.5
Golden Sun - A Golden RPG Blubcreator
Golden Sun is known to a lot of people as one of the best RPG'S around. I myself also consider it one of my more favourite RPG game. I'll try my best not to be biased in this review as this is one of my more favourite games. I got a lot of recommendations from my friends about this game a long while back and now it remains one of my most treasured games to date. So lets get this under way.
STORY: The story of Golden Sun blew my mind. It's obvious that a lot of thought was put into this game. The game starts you off in the village of Vale. Vale is no ordinary village for it is the source of a force called psynergy. A power that gives you the ability to many things such as read minds, move objects or even beat the living hell out of monsters by summoning flames and blizzards! You start as Mt.Aleph is about to erupt and all of Vale is taking cover from the flying boulders (I wanna know who's bright idea it was to build half the village next to a volcano). Your character, Issac, is woken up b your mother who tells you to leave. As you are leaving the house with her you and your mother are told that they need help to save a boy named Felix. Your mother tells you to get someone who has psynergy to help them lift Felix out of the water. You then meet up with your best friend Garret who then joins your party. You then set out and search Vale for someone with psynergy. Once you accomplish this you attempt to return to your your mother,Jenna (the sister of Felix) and Felix you is hanging on my a rope (literally). Until you are stopped by a mysterious pair who accuse you of eavesdropping (the nerve of them right!?). Even if you deny it they challenge you to a fight and then you get your butts handed to you. It then goes 5 years into the past where we meet the grown up versions of Issac and Garret. You meet up with Jenna who reminds you to meet up with Kraden to go to Mt.Aleph for a field trip on Alchemy. On your way you meet up with the mysterious pair with whom you fought 5 years ago. They tell you to go on and continue to get Kraden (nothing suspicious about that) and you continue to do so. Once in Mt.Aleph after solving multiple puzzles you are teleported into a mysterious room with a giant eye watching you. Kraden tells you and Garret to retrieve the Alchemy gems (Mars,Venus,Jupiter,and Mercury) then the mysterious pair show up and have taken Kraden and Jenna hostage ordering you to give them the stones. But wait there's more! Felix suddenly shows up saying the the pair (who now call themselves Saturous and Menardi) saved him when they found him floating in the river. You give them the stone then they leave with Kraden and Jenna much to Felix's contempt. The giant eye that was watching you before then tells Issac and Garret the with these stones they plan on lighting the 4 lighthouses and bringing alchemy back to its former self. Once you escape the once again erupting Mt.Aleph you set of on your quest to save Jenna and Kraden and to stop Saturous,Menardi and Felix from lighting the light houses. This story s quite amazing would you not say? It is unique in almost every way and creative nonetheless. I'll challenge you to find me a story even closely similar. For all these aspects I will give the story a 9/10 because of it's amazing creativity and fun story line.
DIFFICULTY: Something I found quite amazing in this game is that it's simple yet not simple. Complex yet not complex. It wasn't so simple where it wasn't any fun to play and it wasn't so complicated where you shut down before you even figure out hat to do. Even using your psynergy or items was as simple as pressing a button. The game play and combat was also quite easy to learn and actually felt amazing! I'd say the one thing that did irritate me is in the world map where it looked like to could walk thought a gap in a mountain but really you couldn't. Finding your way around the map was also quite difficult. However overall learning the controls and actually playing the game were not a challenge at all. Even though it's not what i'm rating I will say that the game itself is no cake walk. The bosses actually give you a challenge and the puzzles require you to use your brain. It's not like most games where you just sit back,relax and show the bosses what for. You're actually required to be on your toes with these guys or you will die. But back on topic I will give difficulty a 5/10
GRAPHICS: The sprite animation in this game was quite decent.There were no problems in it and it looked quite clean. Some people might complain about the world map but they forget that 5% of your game is actually spent there and it's the areas you visit that actually count. However what really gives this game such a big score in graphics is the combat animation. Even normal attacks felt like you were using some sort of special attack. It wasn't just as if when you attacked the characters body moved towards the enemy and you to some crappy hit looking animation. They actually put effort into the effects that went into it. The combat effects were beyond my expectations especially when using psynergy or summoning a djinn. Fighting made me feel like a warrior god just because of the effects. In the actual locations I will say they made the scenery and even the puzzles look quite good. It was always nicely detailed and the rooms never looked boring or dull. Considering this game came out only a few months after the GBA's release the graphics are beyond any ones expectations. The monster sprites in the game are creatively designed and look fantastic. The character sprites are well detailed and clean. The graphics in this game are comparable to quite a few Nintendo DS games I've played. The only complaint I might have is that the world map is maybe a bit blurry. I'm not sure how I would explain it besides by saying it's maybe a bit too low res. But it's not as bad considering it's not the actual location and it's just the world map and basically only 5% of your game is actually spent there. Overall the graphics are undoubtedly some of the best when it comes to GBA. The graphics get an 8/10.
ADDICTIVENESS: Golden Sun had me hooked for weeks. I'd be on my phone playing this game non-stop. I think we can agree that when it comes to RPG's most have a level up system where you just wanna keep playing to get more powerful. Golden Sun is exactly that. But there's more to it than that. Lets start with the puzzles for instance. I remember each time I completed a portion of the puzzle it would make me feel like I was closer to the goal. They would show me a new room or door making me think "Hey i'm almost done i'll just not
sleep for my 3rd day in a row and keep playing for just 5 more minutes". When really I had 4 more rooms ahead of me. It was also just one of those game where the story also gets you hooked and you just gotta keep playing to see what happens next. The fact that the game itself is just so much fun to battle in makes it so you just wanna keep playing. As I said about the leveling up system there''s also money you can earn and secret items you can find in dungeons which want to make you search more and battle for it. I can say from experience that Golden Sun is an incredibly addictive game. However this is common in a lot of games where you are travelling and random enemies appear. Occasionally it's fine but eventually it just gets on your nerves and makes you want to put the game away for a bit. But it compensates for it by making the battles fun and giving you quite a few ways to avoid them besides just running away. Addictiveness gets an 8/10
SOUND: I'm just gonna say it, the music in Golden Sun is definitely on my top 10 list. Everywhere you go the music just fits in perfectly wherever you are. If i'm in a village it'll play a nice, soft and relaxing tune and at the same time lifting my spirits. The music pretty much controls your thoughts in this game. If the game wants you to be relaxed it'll play some nice music and if it wants to tell you some boss is gonna destroy you it'll play some intense music to let you know just that. My favourite music is the track to the Venus Lighthouse. It pretty much made me feel like the final battle was approaching and I was unbeatable! That was until the Fusion Dragon beat the living psynergy out of me. The point is that it fit in so well with cut scenes and locations it let you know how tense the situation really was. Overall the music was incredible and flawless. Now moving on to the effects. The battle effects were quite decent and went perfectly with the attacks. Even when using your psynergy or normal attacks they had a unique sound for everything which I very much enjoyed. The effects had no problems in my opinions they were nice and simple. I wont really say they were amazing either. On it's own the effects were just effects but together with the music it's pure perfection. It's quite hard to explain but good effects and amazing sound put together just complete the experience. I wont second guess myself when I say that the sound in this game deserves a 10/10
DEPTH/REPLAY-ABILITY: Golden Sun on it's own is a fairly large game with quite a bit to do. Like most RPG's most of the game is spent leveling up and finding power-ups and collectibles. In Golden Sun it's just that. You complete the game which includes puzzles and bosses, find all the djinn to complete your team and stock up on all the best weapons and gear. After that you just complete the story and that's that. This isn't much to complain about as this was on the GBA where pretty much not games have side quests. However Golden Sun does have a few optional quests to do which are mainly if you want to make the main quests more easier. However the game does keep track of your battle stats and records so it does give you that slight urge to want to beat them. The puzzles do require you to think and some skill and could take a while or not. Otherwise the game has plenty enough to offer but after you beat the the game there's not much you can do. I will give the depth a 7/10
THE GAME OVERALL: Golden Suns best features would definitely have to be it's sound and jaw-dropping graphics. It's story is interesting and gets many people hooked. I found it's combat features to be simply amazing. Even though it want mentioned in this review it's multi-player arena is also quite amazing. All of these features show that the GBA is capable of some serious RPG's. I think that this game overall deserves a 9.5/10. Golden Sun has all the aspects of a perfect RPG. A great combat system, An amazing story and character and good graphics and sound. This will most likely remain one of my most favourite RPG's for a long time.
Graphics 8 Sound 10 Addictive 8 Story 9 Depth 7 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 01-06-14
Review Replies: 4
9
Awesome game! inukiraK
If you love Final Fantasy series and League of Zelda puzzle games then you will love this game!
This was the first Japanese RPG to really catch my interest. I got it on the recommendation from a friend. I almost wish I had kept it. When I returned it to him, he had told me he sold it. I was devastated.
This game really shines in it's well-written story, interesting psynergy system, djinn system, and great music. I can never forget the opening scene to the game, and I loved the expansiveness of the world. In fact, 9 times out of 10, I was completely lost. I just jumped from location to location, doing each little side quest until I happened upon the main quest. There are a lot of side quests, so I was lost for a long time.
That might be my only issue with the game. I'm all for a great big open world, but I also prefer to have a better bearing of what I'm doing.
Nevertheless, it's an excellent game and one that is very memorable.
Therefore I'm giving this 9/10.
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 7 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 02-17-16
Review Replies: 1
9
One of the best RPG games of all time TheFadedWarrior
I beat this game in the early Summer of 2014 and said to myself, "I'm gonna make a review of this game." As you can see, it took half a year before I finally got around to it. Golden Sun is a unique RPG made by Camelot in the 1900s. Or maybe the 2000s, I dunno. It has sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide and was critically acclaimed as an incredibly good RPG. But... how come no one has played it? Have you played it? It's not very well known unless you're aware of the high request for Isaac in the Smash Bros. community. Anyhow, onto the review!Graphics - 9The GameBoy Advance was a big step in mobile graphics. You look at the GameBoy Color, which basically looks like crappier NES graphics, then you look at the GameBoy Advance and see graphics better than the Super Nintendo. Golden Sun is no exception to this, certainly not. It has among the best graphics the system can offer. Bright and beautiful color, really cool effects when you attack, and some pretty well-made portraits. The only "bad" graphics are the battle sprites. They have probably 4 different frames they can change between.Sound - 10This game has pretty generic RPG noises for the dialogue and battle sound effects. But the music? Oh boy, the music. Golden Sun is known for its battle music. Behold, the famous Isaac Battle Theme. It repeats a lot but... It never gets annoying. It's that good of a song. But there is another song that blows people's minds... This song gives you a sense of courage and heroism in the game and keeps motivating you to play until you complete the game. Ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about the Venus Lighthouse theme. Each type of location (village, forest, overworld, etc.) also has unique music.Gameplay / Addictiveness - 10This game is fun. You thought RPG's by Squaresoft/Square Enix are the best? You thought Paper Mario was a very good RPG series? You haven't seen anything until you've played Golden Sun. Golden Sun is a bit different than most RPGs. Instead of having magic/mana/MP, you have PP, or Psynergy Points. Psynergy is when you take control of an element and use its power to attack your enemy.
Each of your 4 characters control a different element. Some of the element names are a bit... unfitting. Isaac controls Venus (Earth), Garet controls Mars (fire and lava), Ivan controls Jupiter (Lightning, wind, and stat boosts), and Mia controls Mercury (ice and water, but mainly for healing). These attacks become stronger and you can use different attacks be equipping Djinn. Djinn are cute element spirit things that you can give to any character. The Djinn also have elements, but you can equip any Djinn to any character (e.g. Mars Djinn to Mia) and it will give them different Psynergy. Of course, there's also regular attacking with critical hits. If you have a stronger weapon and get a critical hit, it will unleash a unique ability. For example, Mia has a staff that has the ability "Drown," which can 1-hit-KO regular enemies. Isaac has a sword that unleashes Titan Blade, an extremely powerful attack.
But when you're not in battle, the game is a puzzle. Literally. It's not like "Hmm, I did this cutscene, so now where do I go and what do I do with this jewel?" In Golden Sun, you have to solve puzzles using non-battle Psynergy such as Lift, Move, and Pound. These are really fun.
With all that fun unique stuff, you never get tired of the game. I played this nonstop until I beat it. I don't think I've ever played a game so addictive before.
Story - 8
The story is pretty cool. I'll try not to have any spoilers (this game has a
really deep and important story, so I can barely say anything). Basically you go on a trip with your teacher to Sol Sanctum, a place of elemental central power. You do all this crazy puzzle stuff and open a portal. You go through the portal and you're in a cave with four statues holding "Elemental Stars." Your teacher then confesses that he was going to Sol Sanctum to see if the ancient legends of the Elemental Stars were true. He tells you to go get them, but when you're getting them... Oh no! Saturos and Menardi, two extremely powerful Mars Adepts come and grab Kraiden, your teacher. They tell you to put the Elemental Stars in a bag for them, so you do that and they run away and blah blah blah you have to go find them. It's a really cool story with lots of cutscenes...
Lots of cutscenes. The only problem with the story is that it tries to turn the game into a movie. Nothing else that's bad though.
Depth - 6
After you complete the average-length main quest, there's hardly anything to do. RPG's usually have a big aftergame, but in Golden Sun there's two sidequests: One, to get all the Djinn. There's no reward and it's hardly a sidequest -- It's really just to get more powerful. The second is Crossbone Isle, which is actually one of my favorite sidequests in any RPG. There's 10 floors of Crossbone Isle filled with very difficult puzzles, powerful monsters, and really good "cursed" equipment. At the end you fight Deadbeard, a really creepy and powerful Cyborg-Pirate superboss. After you defeat him you get the best armor in the game and the "Angel Ring," which removes the curse effect of any cursed item.
Difficulty - 6
The game has pretty average difficulty. Not much else to say. The bosses are really hard, but all you need to do is grind levels.
Overall - 9
Overall, Golden Sun is definitely worth the money (or emulator hurrhurrhurr). It has great graphics, great music, and a great story. It may be short, but it has a unique and extremely addicting playstyle. I must issue a fair warning: You may not be able to stop playing once you get past the Sol Sanctum, the opening level. This is one of my all-time favorite games... There's only three better. Star Wars Bounty Hunter, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and one more... Golden Sun: The Lost Age (basically this game but with all the negative bits fixed).
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 8 Depth 6 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 01-09-15
Review Replies: 3
10
my favorite rpg ever! skyboy3004
I have an original copy of the game! This has been my favorite game ever! I hope everyone gets a chance to play it! The story is great but it has some minor details that aren't part of the story. Still it is great. The music is amazing but there is one kind of battle music for monsters and a few other tunes for bosses and the lighthouses. The game sounds are perfect! The sounds for spells and attacks remind me of multiple animes that I enjoy. The battle style is very fun and the exp, coins and item collecting rate is very balanced. This game offers many puzzles and lots of secrets. There is even a secret area with a repeatable boss that you can use for exp and coin grinding! The game gets very dark at the end since Sartoros and Menardie both die in the end and Isaac & friends believed
that Sheba died with Felix when he jumped after her. Still this is my favorite series and game to play!
Graphics 10 Sound 9 Addictive 9 Story 7 Depth 10 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 1/5
Submitted: 07-03-15
Review Replies: 2
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