Golden Sun: The Lost Age Review

GBA Review | The Venus Lighthouse has been lit. Idejima is floating aimlessly across the Great Eastern Sea. Now more than ever, Weyard needs a hero. Are you ready to once again wield the power of Psynergy?

Golden Sun has been hailed as one of the best examples of the power of the Gameboy Advance, boasting incredible graphics and sound. The gameplay may not have been the pinnacle of originality, with an arguably linear storyline, but it became an instant hit with gamers nonetheless.

After leaving players on a cliffhanger at the end of the first chapter of Golden Sun and giving them a seemingly useless save file, Camelot worked hard to make the wait for the second chapter worthwhile, and succeded admirably.

It must be noted that Golden Sun: The Lost Age is NOT a fully fledged sequel, rather a continuation of the first game. It uses the same graphic and audio style of the first, with minor but noticeable improvements.

New Beginnings

When you first start up the game, you're asked if you want to transfer your data from the original Golden Sun. Remember that 'useless' save file? It isn't so useless after all, as it allows you to move all of your characters, stats, items, and Djinn into The Lost Age. This is accomplished either with a link cable (which is HIGHLY recommended), or with a Password which is given by the original game that can be up to 160 characters long. If you decide to skip this step, you'll be given a generic party with level 29 stats, but you can choose to update your save file at a later date - providing you haven't met up with the party in the game yet.

Your adventure then begins with a textual recap of the events of the previous game, and you'll get to see the fate of Idejima, which overlaps with the closing sequence of the original.

If you can't remember, or if you didn't play Golden Sun, Idejima is an island that broke off Gondowan when the Venus Lighthouse violently tore it off the mainland. Kraden, Jenna, Felix, Sheba, and Alex were marooned upon it as it drifted across the ocean.

This seems strangely familiar...

Your quest begins when a tidal wave sends Idejima crashing into the continent of Indra. Alex goes scouting ahead while the rest gather their bearings and head off in the pursuit of lighting the two remaining Lighthouses. Yes, now you're playing the enemies from Golden Sun, and your original party which you transferred over will be pursuing you.

It is then that the sheer size of the game will hit you. You'd only previously explored the continent of Angara, and northern Gondowan. Now you're left to explore the rest, including the fabled Lemuria. You'll find yourself sailing across oceans and exploring little islands, navigating the northern and southern ice-covered reaches, trekking across huge deserts, and making your way through mountain ranges. The storyline is involving, and at times emotional. You'll most likely feel stupid for feeling sympathetic toward the plight of a sprite, and it's a credit to Camelot that they've been able to include emotional depth in a GBA game.

The gameplay remains largely untouched, but is expanded upon considerably. Since you've got a new party, you'll need to collect all new weapons, armour, and items. This is the heart of the game, and like any good RPG, you'll need to go wandering aimlessly in search of these collectables.

You'll also need to collect new Djinn, the elemental creatures which boost your character's stats and allow you to summon creatures. Expanding upon this idea, you can also collect stone tablets across the world, which give you the instructions for creating new and more powerful summons.

Your characters learn new Psynergies, just as in the previous game, but also pick up some new ones along the way, such as 'Lash' which lets you make rope bridges. The inclusion of new abilities keeps the gameplay relatively fresh until the end, as you are hit with increasingly complex puzzles that require a lot of time and thought to get through.

The 'dungeons' of Golden Sun (lets face it, they're called Elemental Rocks and Lighthouses but they're really dungeons) are long. Very long. They take an average of 1-2 hours to complete, and by the end the repeating music will get on your nerves, you'll be annoyed by repeating puzzles, and you won't be in the mood for a boss. The dungeons in the original were well paced and interesting, but Camelot has included too much of a good thing in the sequel's dungeons, which degrades the fun-factor considerably. That's not to say that all of the dungeons were boring, it's just that the majority seem too drawn out, and some don't include a definite ending, which will cause you to backtrack and wander without direction.

How many synonyms for 'Whoa' can you think of?

The graphics of The Lost Age are nearly identical to it's predecessor, which is a good thing considering the quality in the first game. The landscapes are colourful and vibrant, and towns ooze with personality, making them a pleasure to explore. Different civilisations on different continents have their own distinct landscapes, architecture and costumes, and it's fun to go looking for towns hidden away on islands or inbetween mountains just to see how they look, and how the people react to your arrival. The character models are cute and still have those little emotive bubbles that randomly appear above their heads, and they'll give you a laugh every now and then to see their reactions to certain events.

The battle system is the same as before, but the battle animations are so much better. You've got access to all of the Psynergy moves that your original party had, but there's also a LOT more you can learn, and the effects they produce are nothing short of amazing. Weapons which have their own special moves attached usually impress the most, and you'll be eagerly hunting them down to see what they do. This is the game you show to friends who call the Gameboy Advance a portable SNES.

If I hear that chorus ONE MORE TIME...

The audio is also improved from the original. The music is catchy and upbeat, and exploits the GBA's sound chip to the max. From the moment you step into the first town, you'll realise the music of the game is something special, albeit repetitive after extended periods. In all honesty, most of it sounds as if it's been ripped from an N64 game - it's that good. The sound effects aren't all that impressive - just as in Golden Sun, but they're functional and get the job done.

Golden Sun: The Lost Age is a hard game to recommend if you haven't played through the original, as the plot is complex and confusing. However, if you invested plenty of time in the original, and want to find out what happens after that abrupt ending, then you'll want to rush out and buy this immediately.

The Score

A satisfying conclusion to one of the best Gameboy Advance titles to date. If you enjoyed the original, you'll love this.

8½

Looking to buy this game right now? PALGN recommends www.Play-Asia.com.

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