Review: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

[Ravek]

Golden Sun games have to be good, therefore I refuse to accept otherwise.

Not having to grind is definitely a plus. Grinding is the worst part of any game experience ever. I also didn't do it in the previous Golden Sun games, and I'm glad to hear it's not necessary here.

I do like me some difficult bosses though, so if djinn make those too easy, that's a pity.

 

[dghjdgdjf]

Shame to hear this isn't as good as the originals were. Even so, this is definately a must have for me. (Avatar kinda gives that away.) Truth be told, the first 2 games were also very easy if you knew how to use your djinns. Unless you played through Golden sun: The lost age on hard mode I suppose, wich needed some intense grinding at parts.

Oh well. The problems pointed out in this review is basically the same I've seen in other reviews of the game. Fair enough.

 

[Brainst0rm]

I'm about two hours in, and savoring every moment.

However, there's one thing that's bothering me.

"The Golden Sun event happened" ...characters use that exact turn of a phrase constantly, and it's annoying the heck out of me. Could they have found a more awkward wording?

I can sorta/kinda understand the writers not wanting to have people saying "ever since the Golden Sun rose" constantly, but seriously. Do better.

Also - any tips on getting that first Jupiter Djinn (right before Carver's Camp)? Or should I pass 'em by and come back? I'm stumped.

 

[Grey_Focks]

Back when I liked jrpgs the Golden Sun series was my favorite, by far. Nice to see this game remains faithful to the originals, shame it isn't that good. Was never going to get it anyway, or a DS for that matter, but still.

 

[Brainst0rm]

I just posted a comment, but it...didn't.

To rehash - "The Golden Sun event happened". ARGH. The capitalization gives it all the weight it needs, no need to beat us over the head with 'event'. And if it hadn't 'happened', we probably wouldn't be taking about it. So, how about "Even since the Golden Sun rose"? IT WORKS SO BEAUTIFULLY

/rant

I'm a big fan of GS, and so far the game's a blast. Any tips on nabbing that first Jupiter djinn?

EDIT - OH, it did post. My bad

 

[mjc0961]

No, the rush feature in SMT games is full on, rushed automatic attacks. I still have to mash buttons in Golden Sun and considering how weak random encounters are, I really wish I could just hit a single button to initiate an automated battle that goes faster (and also cuts out the unleash animations). It's a small thing but it's a feature I just wish this game had.

Bah, maybe I'm nuts but that sounds like a feature no game should have. If the game wants to play itself, why does it need me? And if it makes me want to have it play itself, something has gone wrong.

Anyway just stick to regular attacks, if you need to bother with summons for the random rats and ghouls that pop up, you are doing something horribly wrong. That or use an item or Psynergy that stops random attacks. Or run.

 

[Calamity]

Bah, maybe I'm nuts but that sounds like a feature no game should have. If the game wants to play itself, why does it need me? And if it makes me want to have it play itself, something has gone wrong.

Anyway just stick to regular attacks, if you need to bother with summons for the random rats and ghouls that pop up, you are doing something horribly wrong. That or use an item or Psynergy that stops random attacks. Or run.

Thing is, unless you were way over leveled rushing is a death sentence in SMT. Thoes games are elemental rock-paper-scissors on steroids (For you and for your enemy).

Now about GS...I do like the game simply because I liked the first two, but I can not get over how this tried so damn hard to hide "his" identity. I mean good lord, I figured it out the second I saw his shadowy portrait, while Karadin just sits there going "duuuuuur whos dis?".

 

[CrystalShadow]

My major issue with the game is the music. I LOVED the soundtrack of the first two games, and the new game's soundtrack just seems... bland. I know it's just a minor detail, but still.

That's... Dissapointing.

I actually had a bit of a shock with The lost age on my GBA when I first plugged in a set of headphones...

Not only did that make it sound a lot better than with the built-in speaker, but it also made me painfully aware that it sounded so much better than the norm for music in games...
(seriously, for what is essentially midi, it sounds better than some orchestral sountracks I've heard.)

On the whole, the review makes the game sound like a bit of a letdown.

Why does a map pack deserve a video and this doesn't?

Oh, we'd love to do DS reviews, but you need a specific doohicky to capture the footage from a DS, and you have to get said doohicky from Nintendo...and they are very, very stingy with how they hand them out.

Doohicky is, of course, a technical term.

I figured it was difficult to get a decent direct capture from a handheld system.

But have you guys, you know, ever experimented with cruder methods of capturing footage?
Like... Say, pointing a camera at the display on a DS?

I know getting even remotely decent footage that way is a big ask, but has anyone tried it?

Anyway... I don't know if that would be any better than not having a video at all, but it's a thought at least.

 

[Senaro]

I'm about two hours in, and savoring every moment.

However, there's one thing that's bothering me.

"The Golden Sun event happened" ...characters use that exact turn of a phrase constantly, and it's annoying the heck out of me. Could they have found a more awkward wording?

I can sorta/kinda understand the writers not wanting to have people saying "ever since the Golden Sun rose" constantly, but seriously. Do better.

Also - any tips on getting that first Jupiter Djinn (right before Carver's Camp)? Or should I pass 'em by and come back? I'm stumped.

You can't go back for it if you leave it behind. I had to restart my file after the first 6 hours because I missed that first Jupiter Djinn.

 

[randomsix]

Thank god I still have my GBA copies. I checked online and they're crazy expensive.

 

[Stevepinto3]

I enjoyed the first two games when you actually got to play them, rather than read endless text explaining the story that you probably have already guessed by that point.

I'm pretty sure at the beginning of the first game you spend at least half an hour in scrolling dialogue after you get into the room with the Elemental Stars until they finally send you off to start your quest. And what did we cover in that time? "Those guys are bad, get the stuff they stole back. It's, like, really important yo."

The combat system was good and the Djinn and class systems were incredibly fun for an RPG-mechanic-nerd like myself, but the dialogue, THE DIALOGUE!

Oh, and one last thing. A question for those that played The Lost Age. Remember near the beginning of the game when you finally cross that one plateau place and you stumble upon that ship? Remember how everyone kept saying "Oh, this is our ship, it drifted down after the tidal wave"? But then Piers joins your party he's all, "yeah, this is totally my ship, let's get going", and nobody even mentions the apparent dillema? If that was Piers' ship, what the apparent mix-up? Am I the only one that was confused as hell by that?

 

[thenamelessloser]

I only played the first Golden Sun but this review makes it sound just like it. Just saying, it sounds like what one should almost expect in a Golden Sun game.

 

[The_Decoy]

I'm sad I don't have a DS now, I loved the first and second ones

 

[hopeneverdies]

Oh, and one last thing. A question for those that played The Lost Age. Remember near the beginning of the game when you finally cross that one plateau place and you stumble upon that ship? Remember how everyone kept saying "Oh, this is our ship, it drifted down after the tidal wave"? But then Piers joins your party he's all, "yeah, this is totally my ship, let's get going", and nobody even mentions the apparent dillema? If that was Piers' ship, what the apparent mix-up? Am I the only one that was confused as hell by that?

Everyone in Madra said that it was a Champa ship, not their ship. You clear Piers' name after defeating Briggs. By the time you return with the Black Crystal, the Madrans realize that it is not a Champa ship.

 

[huigho1215]

even if it wasn't a speech marathon, it would never be as good due to nostalgia

 

[Susan Arendt]

Why does a map pack deserve a video and this doesn't?

Oh, we'd love to do DS reviews, but you need a specific doohicky to capture the footage from a DS, and you have to get said doohicky from Nintendo...and they are very, very stingy with how they hand them out.

Doohicky is, of course, a technical term.

I figured it was difficult to get a decent direct capture from a handheld system.

But have you guys, you know, ever experimented with cruder methods of capturing footage?
Like... Say, pointing a camera at the display on a DS?

I know getting even remotely decent footage that way is a big ask, but has anyone tried it?

Anyway... I don't know if that would be any better than not having a video at all, but it's a thought at least.

Yes. It's dismal.

 

[xyrafhoan]

No, the rush feature in SMT games is full on, rushed automatic attacks. I still have to mash buttons in Golden Sun and considering how weak random encounters are, I really wish I could just hit a single button to initiate an automated battle that goes faster (and also cuts out the unleash animations). It's a small thing but it's a feature I just wish this game had.

Bah, maybe I'm nuts but that sounds like a feature no game should have. If the game wants to play itself, why does it need me? And if it makes me want to have it play itself, something has gone wrong.

Anyway just stick to regular attacks, if you need to bother with summons for the random rats and ghouls that pop up, you are doing something horribly wrong. That or use an item or Psynergy that stops random attacks. Or run.

The problem is, I do stick to regular physical attacks. The unleashes are from my weapons and because I'm stacked with additional critical hit gear, they go off all the time. To be fair, the random encounter rate isn't high, but even against the toughest of random foes on the overworld, nothing is so threatening that I'd stop using basic attacks (and perhaps a psynergy here or there). I'm sure there is a dungeon as tough as say, the Anemos Sanctum, but in the mean time, I just want my battles to go faster than "mash A, watch everything die in two turns". Virtually every recent game I've played has a rush feature too. Persona 3 and 4 in all their incarnations allow you to rush, which saves a lot of time when backtracking through dungeons and mooks need to be squished, which even speeds up the basic attack animation. Strange Journey became way too hard to use rush, but when you were overleveled it was easier to rush anything you knew that wouldn't kill you for using physical attacks. Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light had a different kind of rush but it allowed you to keep repeating the last option you chose and sit back (though this game was wholly unsuitable for that kind of gameplay). Even Disgaea 2 allowed me to turn off all the flashy effects so I could get in more gameplay on my short PSP battery so each turn would progress much faster. It's just a time saving and button saving (my A button is so worn it doesn't even have any real feedback anymore) measure that I tend to expect in turn based RPGs now.

 

[Not-here-anymore]

Need to find my copy of The Lost Age again... Is there some kind of save file transfer thing again?
My only problem with the game is that I can't find it anywhere! Not a single shop I've been to seems to stock it. It's infuriating! Amazon time perhaps.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

I want to play this game, but I'm a little disappointed to hear that it's not as great as it could have been.

Ah well, will probably pick this up anyway on Wednesday. I do have finals to worry about...but my digital video final can go do itself (seriously, it's open note).

 

[Kelethor]

Now, dont get me wrong, I loved Golden Sun. or at least, the first 2/3rds of it, because I had no idea where the hell to go or what too do. my one complaint about those incredible titles was that If you were to stop playing for a week, then come back, youd be doomed. all this hooplah about them telling you every detail over and over again could be helpful for the absent minded gamer (like myself)