20.1.2011

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for the DS is an amazing RPG.My review is a little biased since I played the previous Golden Sun titles and they are part of my favorite games ever, however, that also gives me a little base of comparison.As an RPG Golden Sun DD is a great game, it will stand out, it will be fun to play, it will be adictive, but that doesn't take it apart from the many great RPG's on the DS.As a Golden Sun title I would have to say that, in terms of quality, it would fit between the two previous titles, more enjoyable than the first but not better than the second.There are many upgrades made in this game, you now have an encyclopedia where you can store most of the game's data when it is presented,battle has improved greatly and I daresay it is the biggest improvement in this title, new psynergy allowing for new cfreative puzzles, impressive artistic design and, as usual, a great story that reminds me of the first game (for some reasons I will not explain, as they are spoilers).I found the game enjoyable but it has flaws, and some of them are quite disapointing, for instance, the constant roadblocks that never existed in previous games, somewhat cut the game lifespan as they prevent you from re-exploring some places, hindering the overall game experience. Not that the game is small, it just makes it more linear than other games, which is something I really apreciate.That was a bit general so I'm going to give some detailed explanations now.Graphics:Not the best on the DS I must say, but not bad either, as I said before, artistically it is a great game, with some design flaws, the battle sequences are some of the best I ever seen, but the world map and exploration pales a bit in comparison with other games, as the previous Golden Sun titles had some of the best graphics in the GBA, however they are not despicable and they are quite attractive and enjoyable just like it's predecessors.It doesn't hurt to get to a place and just stare at everything thinking it's beautifull, this game does this sometimes.Gameplay:It's great, enjoyable, addicting... you won't get tired soon!Puzzles are inventive, battles are fun and exploration is the main dish.Some people say this game is a bit on the easy side, they may be right about that, I found it to be just right, but I have some experience from previous games, and that made the game a lot easier for me, some rookies might find some puzzles troubling, but I think the game has the right difficulty for everyone.Just be careful of roadblocks if you are a completionist like me.I found the temples and ruins small compared to Golden Sun: The Lost Age (the second and best entry), as I was expecting 6 floored and labirintic buildings and i got 2 floored and linear places (you will see what i mean when you have to search for the !#$% Gear, sorry spoilers). Halfway through the game it seems like the world squeezes you into the main story, you do get to explore as much as you like later though, but it will still seem weird.Story:May be a bit boring in the beggining, even more if you don't know the basis of this game (i think that's why the encyclopedia exists, after 7 years it's kinda tough to remember everything), but it is not a bad one, by all means, every character has it's own reasons to take part in the story, and the plot makes you care for them, a bond is created between player and the game. I dont't want to dwelve into details here, I may bring a lot of spoilers.Even after completing the game there is stuff to do and your save file will not be blocked, but there is no new game+.Music:How I love thee. (Personal Note: I have werid tastes)Nothing new to the series, the music adds to the atmosphere of the game, but this time around i haven't found a song that got stuck in my mind for weeks, the game does have some impressive tunes though.The game fails a bit in some sound effects, the one i found most weird is the one that plays when you slide down a slope, it seems weird.Ok this ended up being a really biased opinion of the game.To those who have never played Golden Sun before, go ahead and have a great time.To those who have played Golden Sun before, go ahead and rejoice.To those who like RPG's, go ahead it's enjoyable.In any case, I don't think you will regret playing this game.Let's all hope for a sequel, as it deserves one!

27.12.2013

Golden Sun Dark Dawn is a turn-based Japanese Role-playing game (the game is in English. Japanese Role-playing game is the genre/style).The mechanics are overworld exploration of continents and sea, turned based combat, and puzzles that use Psynergy ("Powers" or "Magic"). Unique to this game is the mechanic of "Djinni" who are small creatures that represent each of the traditional elements of alchemy (Wind, Fire, Earth and Water). They augment your party of characters by giving your characters a boost to stats, or affecting what Psynergy powers the character knows. Each of the 8 total playable characters represent one of the 4 elements.You can choose any combination of Djinni on any character.For example, you can have a few Earth Djinni on a Fire character (Adept). Since each Djinni (even within the same element) buffs different stats, you can mix-and-match to craft your perfect character. This adds a surprising amount of depth to the game. Unfortunately, the controls for doing this is rather fiddly. You navigate lots of menus to compare and contrast different Djinni combinations. Especially when you acquire a new Djinni. As a result, you'll probably end up making your Adepts purists. e.g. Putting only Earth Djinni on an Earth Adept. It's a shame.Another area which is a hit and miss is the storyline. There are several points of "No Return" through out the story. This by itself isn't bad. It's a change from the very-open world of the first two games but it helps direct the story and reduces the likelihood of you getting lost. Unfortunately, the problem with this system is the fact Golden Sun has a "Collectable" aspect to it. You can only get certain Djinni and Summons in certain parts of the story. If you progress past a "Point of No Return", you will *never* be able to obtain those Djinni or Summons ever again. Which means if you want to 100% Djinni and Summons, you must refer to a Walkthrough guide. Which isn't enjoyable as you risk reading spoilers and it takes away the decision process of where to go.The puzzles compared to the previous games are improved and at the same time made worse. There are no more annoyingly obscure puzzle solutions. However, on the flip side, some puzzles are insultingly and patronisingly simple. However, it could be that since I had played the previous two games, I can instantly see what needs to be done.The story is different from the previous games. If you had played the previous games you'll appreciate any returning characters/places x years on. But the story isn't focused. Elements are dropped and ignored whilst new agendas appear. Despite the game being more linear, the narrative is less focused. The game feels more like series of events than an over-arcing plot.The 8 playable characters are nicely varied with personality and gameplay. However, encountering them is sprinkled across the story. Which means when you encounter the last two, you are very far into the game and comfortable with your preferred choice of 4 to battle with. Which is a shame.The game makes improvements over the previous two games. However some of the changes to make the game less punishing instead has made some aspects too simplistic. And ironically, this game now punishes you for being ignorant about Djinni and Summon locations. I gave this game 4*s because the previous two games are 5* material. It is a fun game. However, if you're expecting Golden Sun 1 & The Lost Age then you will be slightly disappointed.

22.1.2011

First things first - TALK MUCH?!?! There are reams of dialogue in this game, a lot of which are completely unnecessary or unnecessarily long. I had to replay a section, and even skipping through the text bubbles because I'd already read it, it took 15 minutes!Te-di-ous.Anyway, that aside, it's literally the only thing wrong with the game I think.Graphics are fantastic (somewhat "storybook" retro, but not dated looking). Sound is great; the game play is engrossing and the puzzles are appropriately challenging, without being stupidly hard or offensively easy.As usual with many RPGs you have a team of characters which grows as you play and gather new friends; the characters are "adepts" with elemental abilities attributed to them (earth,air, fire and water), and as usual certain guys can use specific types of weapons/ armour and the like. Again, as is tradition each one has set strengths and weaknesses - i.e. what is essentially the healer, brawler, dark mage etc, but I did find all the little guys curiously likeable which makes the game more fun I suppose!The battle system is of the always popular `turn-based' fashion, so if you've played RPGs before its very intuitive, as is the map navigation and traditional "roam the town, brazenly walking into people's houses and rifling through their cupboards for potions while they carry on nonchalantly doing the pots" which you get in most RPGs - basically there's not very much different from the Final Fantasy games and their ilk, but it's a wonderful incarnation, and has two specific differences from the crowd:With this one you can respond "emotionally" to certain conversation points in the game: i.e. happily, sadly, angrily or (I think) enthusiastically (basically it's a big grinning face and seems to make people excitable). At some level, how you react using these emotion responses influences how other people react to you - not in a story switching way but I suppose it makes all the reading and talking more interactive.And I love the Djinn system of managing your magic and summons - it's so simple but brilliant.The Djinn are a group of funny looking little sprites, again who follow the earth /air /fire / water theme, who you junction to your team to enable you to cast magic (or "psynergy" as the game terms it). Collecting them is essentially a massive, ongoing side quest, and often they're in a place which makes them very tricky to acquire and so adds an extra challenge a lot of RPGs lack (ie if you want some new magic you have to work for it - not just buy a scroll or gem from a shop!)You could no doubt complete the game without collecting them all, but the more you get the more magic/ summons you are given access to.Also applying more Djinn to your character increases/ affects their stats, and grouping types of Djinn impacts your characters magic repertoire - as well as it seems producing different stat outcomes depending on the core ability of the character, so it takes some planning and plotting to find out which arrangement best suits you.In all then, absolutely wonderful little RPG that I cannot recommend enough: the only reason I haven't 5 starred it is the incessant dialogue - unfortunately it is so abundant that I can't imagine many younger players having the patience for it, and it does dramatically slow down what is an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable game.I hope if they make a follow up that they cut the script for it by about half!!

23.2.2011

I'd like to start by saying that it's really nice to see a great RPG actually getting released in the West as they are hard to find in the UK.I enjoyed the original Golden Sun on GBA (although I only ever played the second one) and to anyone who has played either of those games this will be instantly familiar.Golden Sun Dark Dawn story picks up 30 years on from its predecessors and has as its heroes the children of the original's protagonists. I won't comment too much on the story and spoil it for those who haven't played the game yet only to say that as the first two games were really two halves of something more this feels like there is a definite second part still to come.The graphics arereally good; some of the best on the DS I would say.The gameplay is excellent although it can be a little confusing. All the traditional RPG elements are here; levelling, grinding, item finding, sub quests. The main differences between this series and other RPGs are the psy-energy puzzle elements and the class/magic system which revolves around the Djinn.The puzzling is Zelda-esque, relatively simple and rarely requires too much mental power but it is a nice break from slogging through dungeons and cut scenes. The random battle rate is also not too high so it you aren't swamped by enemies as you try to complete the puzzles, which can be a problem in many RPGs.The Djinn system is one of the series strong points and weak points. The Djinn are collectable spirits scattered throughout the game that can be equipped to your characters. They come in four flavours; fire, water, earth and air. Each Djinn provides a different skill that can be used in battle but also provides stat increases to the character they are equipped to. On top of this the number and type of Djinn a character has equipped determines his class which in turn determines his list of spells and also his stats.Then there is the summons which further complicate matters. All in all the combat system and customization allowed by the Djinn has huge depth but is confusing and not particularly well explained and some minor issues with the actual system for equipping them makes it frustrating.Due to the time it would take to find a perfect combo of Djinn for each character I found I couldn't be bothered and that I could make it through the game without really paying much attention; which is a real shame because it would have been nice to experiment more with my character's classes.My one other small gripe is the fact that combat could sometimes be very easy. A characters PP (mana) regenerates quite quickly while walking there is never any need to hoard it and reserve spells for bigger enemies or more difficult encounters. While the spells are rarely phenomenal they are usually better than a simple attack and if each of your characters uses a powerful spell that hits all enemies most battles can be won in a single round.All in all despite the fact that the game has a number of flaws it is, as a whole, charming and engrossing. It's certainly worth purchasing for any fans of the originals or just for fans of RPGs in general.I'm sure there will be another one (the story almost demands it) and I hope they fix the few things that stopped Dark Dawn from being absolutely brilliant; but whether they do or not I'll still probably buy it.

19.1.2011

Golden Sun is an already well established franchise, personally though they'd past me by until this iteration. Twenty minutes in to this game I was exasperated. The opening was a long winded explanation of that which has gone before in the series. To be honest in a DS title who cares? I mean really, does anyone play DS games for the story? I'm principally a story gamer and I know I don't.Forty minutes into it and I was hooked, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is terrific. The game still has a couple of small problems and I'll address those first to get them out of the way. The first is that the over elaborate and poorly paced story telling of the introduction pops up during general game play every now and again.It's not a game breaking flaw, but it certainly slows down your enjoyment and tends to take you out of the moment. The second problem is that one aspect of the game is that the player character can express his emotions about certain situations in which the party finds themselves at various points in the narrative. You can be laid back, up beat, sad, or angry. What effect does this have on the unfolding drama? None. None what so ever. As I said above the DS isn't exactly a format which lends itself to intensity of plot or intimate emotional nuance, but if you're going to give the player to opportunity to have some input it should mean something.Okay those caveats aside GS:DD is a lovely pocket JRPG. You have a well thought through and surprisingly complex battle system which has a considerable amount of customisation. You have a wide world to explore, with all the goodies of treasures, monster hunting, weapon finding, towns, lakes, valleys and so on and a nice sense of burgeoning importance to your journey and party. All these things are the staples that JRPGs used to be about and GD:DD they're here in abundance and done with just the right mixture of charm and tongue in cheek irreverence.Where this particular title scores heavily over many others with in the genre is that it also includes a bevy of environmental puzzles. Wherever you go in the world of GS your path will be blocked by boulders, or streams, or impassible chasms. You are required to think your way around them, utilising the various magic powers of the characters who collect around you as the adventure unfolds. It makes for a very nice changing of pace. The addition of this element breaks up the monotony of explore, fight, exposition, rinse repeat into which most rpgs are prone to fall. The puzzles themselves vary from the simplistic to the diabolical and almost invariably reward you with new equipment, new powers, or at very least the ability to continue on your chosen path.The graphical design is, for the DS, excellent, not perhaps the very best out there, but still filled with as much eye candy as one can hope from and ageing hand held console. The sound design is absolutely spot on, with the environmental sound effects being particularly apposite.If you're a fan of JRPGs you should play this game. If you're a fan of Puzzles, you should play this game. It's one of the best release to come out on the console for a while and I can heartily recommend it.

13.2.2011

I bought this with a mix of trepidation and hysteric excitement. The best RPG series Nintendo ever published makes a return. Dark Dawn retains much of what made the GBA saga a fan favourite, with some updates and enhancements to reflect the age. The series has a strong ancestry, but I was a little afraid that the perfect experience of The Lost Age would be tainted with new problems.I needn't have worried.An absolute must have for any RPG fan and a worthy successor to the series. Is it as good as The Lost Age? Not quite. It's a little shorter, and, despite developer claims that it is a stand alone game, it feels much like the first golden Sun, in that it sets up lots of plot threads and then buries them,

28.6.2016

I played this upon following the list of popular titles at emuparadise, and am glad that I did. In lack of an essay-length review, it offers just that little bit more adaptability and freedom, whilst combining familiar elements from past RPGs; you will immediately recognise the training ground type areas from Pokemon, and the vast temples and shrines from the Zelda series, yet these are better. Another hat-tipper to Pokemon is how each character has creatures called Djinn assigned to him/her. Not only do these provide special powers, but change stats so characters become a new class. I am really keen on how you can change professions, like in Final Fantasy tactics. Yet these career changes are not obvious.

24.5.2011

Ive just finished the main story of this excellent game and it took me a good 25 hours and im sure theres still a good 5 hours of side dungeons to complete still. I was a huge fan of the original games and i was worried that this wouldnt be able to live up to the standard but it exceeded my expectations in every regard. The story was just as immersive as the others but i have to agree with the other reviewers in that there is a ton of dialogue. At least 50% of it could have been cut. That would be my main criticism and the only other one i have is that it could have been longer or bigger as the map felt quite small. It doesnt really finish the story that the game starts with (aka finding and returning a mountain roc feather to your parents)

8.1.2011

Dark Dawn is a great sequel to the other Golden Sun games while also offering an easy way in for newcomers to this brilliant series. Although the game follows on from the two previous ones, it shouldn't matter whether you have played them or not as Dark Dawn is set 30 years afterwards.Game play is pretty much the same from the last games: turn based combat with cool summons and spells that take full advantage of the DS graphical capabilities (the eclipse summon is awesome!), puzzling dungeons that require a brain as well as brute strength and plenty of little bits and pieces to do on the side if you want to gather all the best weapons and summons.

18.1.2011

If you're a fan of traditional RPGs (think Final Fantasy 1-X, Dragon Quest, Breath of fire etc.)then you'll probably love this.If you're a massive fan of the Golden Sun series...there's plenty to enjoy, but it may leave you slightly underwhelmed.The points in its favour are:- All new 3D summon sequences! All of the summons from GS:TLA are included.- 8 characters that you can switch at will.- Interesting turn-based battle system, including new psynergy lines and new Djinn, as well as your usual summons, djinn and attack commands.- New field psynergy, which you can use to solve puzzles.- Three super bosses!- The ability to forge strong elemental items from ores.- The gripping storyline- Cameos

5.10.2012

This is a really good game, but I did have a few issues with it. Mainly concerning the plot, as it is a typical RPG, and is very predictable if you have played many. But, other than that the game is a lot of fun.Without spoiling the plot, the game is set 30 years in the future from the previous Golden Sun games, and after the Golden Sun event. Instead of playing as Isaac, Garet or Felix, this time you play as Matthew (Isaac's son). Also, instead of a party of 4 being separated from one another throughout most of the game, you will find your companions as you visit different countries, towns, and cities. There isn't much of a world map to explore in this one. But, at least the game is a bit more straightforward,

8.2.2012

I have to say, this new addition makes the Golden Sun saga into a proper trilogy. And, it doesn't disappoint.The gameplay has been subtly enhanced without taking away from the original charm of the series - improved animations, bright colours and the use of both screens made the gaming slightly easier. And by slightly easier, I mean that the puzzles have gotten more complex to compensate. If you've played the first two games, you'll find it slightly easier, but not always so. And... very addictive. You may find it difficult to put it down once you've started.As for the storyline goes, you *can* play this without ever playing the first two games... but it is so much better if you have completed the two previous games.

29.3.2011

I bought this today and I can already tell its fabulous.The characters are interactive when you display what moods you feel to a situation. There is some comedy to the plot. The adult characters act like old age parents even though they look young. They are very protective of the main character (You/ Matthew). Learning what to do is easy as the game is very well structured. Each new area holds a task of getting to the next via a puzzle eg. labyrinths- which are relatively simple to do, but makes it more fun. As for bad guys the graphics are great and the battles top notch for CGI on a DS. Each area reveals a little bit more of the plot when the characters give a new set of information that

22.6.2011

I want to say straight off: this game is so much more enjoyable if you have played the two previous golden sun games. Although this game can be played as a stand alone, characters return from those games like Issac and Garet (and Alex of course) so it is very benificial to have a base understanding of the past storyline.As to this game, I love how the graphics have been greatly improved whilst still having the same gameplay feeling as before. The storyline is very linear, so dont expect to be too puzzled by this game, as young children would be able to complete this game themselves with not much difficulty.That said, the game does expand the golden sun universe quite a bit and its a welcome addition to the series.

17.2.2011

A well made game which is fun to play. Feels like a Golden Sun game right from the beginning. A must for anyone who enjoyed the previous games on GameBoy Advance. Though you'll probably miss the beautiful 2D graphics. 3D in this game is as good as it gets on DS, which isn't much. At least the the graphics does it's job and isn't annoying. The controls work well whether you play with the touch screen or the buttons. The plot can be confuing at times with a lot of weird names. And at times there will be a lot of text you want just skip over. The game gives good hints what to do next anyway, All in all I recommend this game for anyone who enjoys playing JRPGs.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (DS) - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail