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| Platform |
Game Boy Advance |
| List Price
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$19.99
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| Published by | Nintendo |
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| ASIN | B00005OARM |
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RPG from the makers of Shining Force, featuring an adventure filled with tried-and-true overhead-wandering, random-battle gameplay that looks absolutely sweet on the Game Boy Advance small fact, this game arguably rivals most of the classic RPGs that have ended up on the console systems, like Dragon Warrior or the aforementioned Final Fantasy series, for example. You play Isaac, a young swordsman and resident of the town of Vale, and at the beginning of the adventure a storm is brewing outside that forces Isaac to flee to safety. But every virtual adventurer knows that it's never as simple as that, and eventually you're thrust into the role of the world's savior, befriending other skilled adventurers that will join your crusade...there's strength in numbers, as the phrase goes.
Golden Sun is the first original role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance to appear in the U.S. And despite perhaps a too-familiar story line, Golden Sun's jaw-dropping graphics, deep magic system, and unique multiplayer arena mode truly show that the Game Boy Advance is capable of a serious RPG. Game developer Camelot (which also made the legendary Shining Force series for the Sega Genesis, and, more recently, Mario Golf and Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64) designed Golden Sun from the ground up to take advantage of the GBA's horsepower, and it shows. Sharp, vivid landscapes, detailed towns and dungeons, and awesome weather effects--it looks like a Super Nintendo game with some extra zing squeezed onto a handheld system. Fans of Secret of Mana or Chrono Trigger will appreciate the feel of this game. But the game's greatest strength is its magic system. Your characters each have their own latent psychic abilities based on one of the four elements of alchemy (earth, water, wind, and fire). The characters will be called upon to use their individual forms of telepathy and telekinesis to solve various puzzles in the game. Also, you can collect Djinn (elemental spirits) and link them to your characters. Not only can these Djinn be summoned in battle, they can also bolster or hinder your characters' latent psychic abilities, give them special attacks, and even change your characters' class. This system is similar to Final Fantasy VIII's guardian system, though far more intuitive and easy to master. Golden Sun employs a basic turn-based battle system, but it has amazing spell and fighting techniques that really take advantage of the GBA's technology. The game achieves a nice balance between flashy attacks and the brevity of these same attacks--a lesson the makers of other RPGs should learn. Battles are beautifully and quickly fought, and don't overtax the gamer. The game also has an addictive arena mode in which players can fight monsters they've already encountered in the game. Players can also link up with another GBA (this feature requires another Golden Sun cartridge) and fight against another party. While it's not true a multiplayer option, it adds a great replay value to the game. Golden Sun's weakest point, however, is its standard-issue story. In essence: boy wakes up amidst disaster, meets stalwart friends, and rises to the challenge to save the day (all while living up to the image of his dear departed father). The story is a little stale, but the mechanics of the game transcend this flaw and bring the gamer into a state of handheld nirvana. --Bryan Karsh Pros: - Vivid graphics
- Deep, intuitive magic system
- Addictive multiplayer arena mode
Cons: - A plot straight out of "RPG Story Lines 101"
This role-playing adventure for one to two players lets you delve deep into a new world of fantasy and wonder, and experience the dawning of a new series. Your quest is to recover a powerful artifact that was stolen from your secluded village and now threatens the world with absolute destruction. You will make use of psychic powers, magical spells, and the lost art of alchemy to undo the evil that has befallen the land. Gather the four elements--fire, water, wind, and earth--and use them in different combinations to master new, more complex spells. New interactive possibilities are possible with the multiplayer mode that allows two players to quest together (requires Game Boy Advance Game Link cable).
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Customer Reviews - courtesy of Amazon.com
Wow, just wow
This is my first review, so I decided to pick the title that got me into RPGs: Golden Sun. This is truly an epic game in every sense. Some might say that it comes straight from "RPG 101", but it does things most other RPGs I've played haven't done or haven't had enough of. This game brings you in with an amazing plot (in my opinion :P), hooks you with a solid battle system that is not too simplistic, but also doesn't go out of the way to be over complex. The graphics I thought were amazing. (Remember when it came out.) They're not over the top superb, but in a way I like that, because they spent more time on the plot and character development than the eye-candy.
Let's start off by talking about the battle system. It's easy to remember, but doesn't leave the feeling that there should be more there. Going through menus in traditional turn-based RPG style, you pick what the party member does and they perform it. It's not an active time battle system like Final Fantasy VII, so the enemy wont attack you when your scrolling through the menus. Instead, it gives you time to pick your move without getting killed on the way by the harder bosses.
Next let's talk about difficulty. Really, it all depends on how much time your willing to put into leveling up. For those of you who don't know, that is fighting monsters in order to get experience points, which make your stats like hit points, attack, and defense better, thus enabling you to fight harder monsters.There were probably two times in the game where I felt I had to go level up, because while you follow the main story line, you get a good deal of leveling up done already.
One aspect I found cool was their designs for the monsters. I found myself looking forward to seeing each new boss and enemy just so I could know what Camelot decided to make them look like. Definitely wasn't disappointed.
Controls are pretty spot on. Battles are basically flipping through menus, so if your character does something wrong, its because you selected the wrong thing. In the world and the towns you control your character with the d-pad. Even when you have four characters in your group, it will still only show Isaac, your main character, as moving on the screen. The others will come out during important discussions to add on, but other than that you mainly see them in battle.
When there are discussions in the game, it uses text instead of voice acting. Thats cool in my opinion so we don't have to listen to bad voice actors and can use our imagination to create what they sound like. (yes i did say imagination deal with it :O) The plot is very interesting and kept me playing throughout the game.
Length is the reason I like RPGs over all other genres. rpgs are long and give you your moneys worth. Golden sun is no exception. Clocking in at 40 hours for me when I include side-quests, thats one heck of alot of car trips. It's kept me entertain for hours and is so good in my opinion I've beaten it 7 times. (I know I have no life.) It keeps you wanting more and had me buying the second a day after I beat it.
Most people already know this, but if you don't, Golden sun was originally going to be an n-64 game. When the gamecube was announced and Camelot realized sales of n 64 games were going to plummet, they took what they started , split it in two and finished it up for gba. I'm glad they did or I wouldn't have it.
Fun: 10/10
replayibility 9/10 (most people probably won't play it 7 times, but might a second.)
graphics 10/10 (for the time)
plot 11/10 (i know its not mathematically correct. sue me)
overall 10/10. A must buy for RPG fans, long road trips, people with gba's or ds's, and basically everyone else who has good sense in games. Hope you enjoyed my review and really hope you enjoy Golden Sun as much as I did.
Bad Axx Game
I remember my friend giving me this game in middle school so i tried it out and this game is awsome. but the day i had beatin it i didnt know thay made a second one. i am so going to get it, thank amazon.
Completely awesome!
I'll admit it- I'm a terrible gamer. No matter how hard I try, I just can't keep up with the button mashing or fight while using a magical item or potion. Shortly after this game released, my boyfriend at the time introduced me to this game. While the relationship didn't work out, my love affair with Golden Sun is still going strong.
The game plotline follows a group of teens/children/whatever who live in a mysterious village where magic is real & must be hidden from the world. When the town researcher persuades them to explore the village's mysterious mountain temple, they end up reintroducing magic to the world, discovering the existence of several stones that could activate mysterious lighthouses... and also discovering that they were followed by several sinister beings who want to unleash that magic for their own purposes.
I really do love this game play. Not only is the story completely awesome, but it's easy for me to play without being babyish. The game play is turn based, so it's good for those who want to think strategy or just aren't fast enough with the button mashing. The characters are all well developed & the graphics are pretty amazing for the Advance system. (This could've easily been put on the GameCube rather than the Advance.) The only downfall of the game is that the speaking scenes are rather long & you'll have to scroll through them if you want to replay. Even so, with there being so many little details to the game it's not that much of a hardship.
If you are looking for something good to start off with or if you are a hardened gamer, you'll love this game.
The best of the rpg series ever!
First of all, i would like to say this game is 5/5, best rpg ever created, and may be better then the final fantasy series. This game has GREAT graphics, great story/plot and characters. This game will take you on a adventure of a lifetime, of friendship and much more, i recommend this game to someone who is really looking for a greatest gaming experience and greatest game ever created. trust me, you WONT BE DISAPPOINTED!
Too much yak yak yaking
UPDATE - OK, I played all the way through this game & learned to like it
despite all the things I first found so irritating. lol
Cons:
Long, boring conversations, dumb fight tactics, tons
of item/weapon/new creature details to learn that are VERY
tedious and confusing.
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