Golden Sun

Here are the Pros: The graphics and sound make you understand the true power of this little system. The fights are fast paced, and characters are colorful and well animated. The music is classic RPG material similar to the Squaresoft games. The story, albeit cliched by RPG standards, is engrossing, and will require a lot of reading and attention. This is a major plus because the time flies by as you are playing, so a long bus ride or flight won't seem so long when you are playing this.

Here are the Cons: There are very few. But the one problem that I often experience is that the hours of gameplay required takes it's toll on your batteries. As well, though "Golden Sun" can be considered gound-breaking by handheld standards, the story gives the player a real deja-vu feeling. A more fresh and original storyline would have helped. But a standard RPG story is always engrossing, you just sometimes get that "been there, done that" feeling.

"Golden Sun" is a game for the more intellegent and attentative gamer, and a great way to pass time on the road. You will be impressed by the graphics and sound, but you'll stay for the fun and adventure.


the best RPG ever   January 17, 2002
Ben Wilson (Inola, OK USA)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

(I KNOW THIS SEEMS LIKE A LONG ARTICLE BUT WHEN YOU GET DONE READING IT NOT ONLY WILL YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION BUT WILL WANT TO BUY THIS GAME PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE....) this is the best RPG i have ever played and i have played zelda ,(the newest ones anyway) chrono trigger, and some of the final fantasies. well this is what it is all about , you are a young boy named isaac (you can change the name) and you live in a mysterious village named vale and you and your friend garet (by the way you get 2 more teammates along the way named ivan and mia) are on a quest to take back the elemental stars from 2 villains named saturos and minardi, and 2 others but I do not want to reveal who they are. (it goes along with the story)anyway people from vale and some other places can use psynergy a special ability you can use in and out of battle. you also have creatures called djinns there are 4 types they are earth which is also known as venus, fire also known as mars,wind also known as jupiter, and finally water aso known as mercury. you can use these creatures in battle. each one has a special power and when they are on standby you can summon them.the more standby djinn you have the more powerful the summon is. well although i have not beat the game yet i am very far and am about to beat it the story is awesome and the graphics are very impressive for a handheld. oh i forgot your characters when gained enough exp. points they gain levels and become stronger. you can collect coins and upgrade your party's gear. and also when your characters gain levels they learn more powerful psynergy moves. well i hope this article will persuade you to buy or rent this game bye........


"Rays of light give birth to shadows, revealing the way"---temple plaque   May 30, 2006
mwreview (Northern California, USA)
9 out of 12 found this review helpful

For several months I was obsessed with this game. I logged over 40 hours of playing time and probably more like 60 counting the times I left the game w/o saving because I missed something, couldn't get passed a boss, or wanted to cheat my way at the slot machine at Tolbi Springs--and that was with the aid of a walkthrough. I can't imagine how long it would take to conquer this monster game w/o one; there are so many places to go, hidden things to uncover, and useful powers to master. Since Golden Sun was my first role-playing game, I needed all the help I could get.

I loved this game! I was disappointed that there was no conclusion to the story here (that is on the sequel Golden Sun: The Lost Age), but then I realized that I would just need to play more GS, and the more is better when it comes to a game like this. It is very complicated and, at times, incredibly challenging but, with a detailed walkthrough, even a novice like me whose previous proudest video game moment was beating Pitfall II on my Atari 2600 can become a GS master (or mistress as it were). I love that you can save the game almost anytime save for during a battle. You can even save in the middle of a puzzle so you can get tricky parts out of the way and just focus on the next. I wish all games were like that.

You start out as a kid named Isaac (you can customize the name; in fact, if you hit the select button a bunch of times at the start, you can name all the characters). Isaac lives with his mom in a town called Vale. Right away, there is danger lurking as the peaceful town will eventually be destroyed by a giant boulder. A kid named Felix will be swept away in a stream (he will be key to the sequel). You and buddy Garet meet two mysterious adepts, Saturos and Menardi, who are up to no good. They challenge you to a fight. Being just kids with no fighting psynergy, you have no chance. This defeat inspires you and Garet to build up your powers in the aftermath of the avalanche. There is a lot of dialog at the beginning which may make the game appear slow and boring but, be patient, the game will have you hooked before long.

You will use the psynergy you acquire through the game in fighting and, especially, in completing certain tasks like lifting, moving, and carrying heavy objects, turning puddles into ice, and reading minds to help you in your adventure. You also have Djinn: cute little creatures who can fight for you or protect you in battle or, if placed on stand-by, can summon the planets to give you enormous powers. By the time you face Saturos and Menardi again at the end of the game, some 40 hours of logged playing time later, you will have no trouble leveling your revenge.

The final boss isn't all that hard, even the Fusion Dragon they unleash. I defeated them twice, first try each time. The most difficult boss is Deadbeard who lives on a sunken ship at the bottom of the dungeon on Crossbone Island. It took me forever to beat this guy! The trick (and this trick can be used on other big bosses) is to alternate Djinn Flash (with Garet) and Ground (with Isaac) to limit the damage and fight only with Ivan using attack Djinn and summons while Mia is primarily used for healing. This strategy takes a long time--maybe 40 minutes--but it works!

What I like the most about this game are all the neat places you see, various tasks you complete, and all that cool music you hear. There is a different tune for almost every place you visit. I would actually like a CD of all the different GS tunes. You do not have to complete GS to play Lost Age, but I highly recommend it as I recommend getting a thorough, detailed walkthrough. You will get the most out of the game and, before long, you will have mastered both! Good luck adept!


finaly a good rpg game for game boy advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   October 10, 2001
sloan poelman (Orem,Ut USA)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Ive done reaserch for six moths at a japanese site and oter sites to see if this game was worth it and i found that it was rated best game of the year in japan and Ive seen the graphics of the game and they are incredible.


Golden Sun- best GBA game ever.   December 17, 2001
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

The best word that describes Golden Sun is 'awsome.' The game is truely amazing. The graphics are mind-blowing, the gameplay is fabulous, the sound is CD-quality excellent (you need headphones to do it justice), and in my opinion, it is as good as any final fantasy game. There are tons of cool items that I can only begin to go into, such as powerful (and sometimes magical) swords, axes, maces, staffs, rings, shields and armor not to mention hearbs, and all kinds of other healing medicines. The magic system is very neat once you get used to it, somewhat comparable to Final Fantasy 3's esper system but with much more complexity and ways to use it. Everyone will obtain an impressive array of magic, but it's not too excessive, like the RPGs that you have 400 spells per person to pick from. Some people complain that the plot of Golden Sun is a little dry but I disagree. The plot is (in my opinion) quite different from most other RPGs like the Final Fantasy series and is alot more interesting I think. There are plenty of neat sequences in the game, which keeps it from being just one long, boring quest and the game keeps a cool optimistic attitude if you know what I mean, instead of the somewhat dark attitude of most of the Final Fantasies, it has a kind of hopeful and fun feal to it (more like Final Fantasy tactics) even though it's a serious situation that's going on. Anyway, I could go on like this forever, but I have to keep it short for this review so all I have left to say is buy it! Buy it! BUY IT! It is the best game for GBA so far and is liable to be the best ever... except of course for it's sequel, which I am already anxiously awaiting... -the amazing one