[Review] GBA : Golden Sun

Often described as 'the greatest GameBoy Advance game ever released', Golden Sun is a turn-based fantasy RPG released in November 2001 by Camelot. When I played Golden Sun around 7 years ago, I was completely blown away by its engrossing storyline. Perhaps one of the most compelling tales ever told on a GameBoy cart, Golden Sun follows the journey of a young boy who seeks to prevent a mysterious group from unleashing the power of alchemy onto the world, thereby rendering it unstable. He is joined by a childhood friend and 2 other companions that they meet along the way. Each of the 4 represent and possess magical abilities pertaining to the four elements, namely Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. 


At first glance, Golden Sun would do little to invoke interest from the casual gamer. After all, it appears to be a story that has been told a hundred times in countless gaming titles: The classic 'good guys vs. bad guys' with magic thrown into the mix to keep things interesting. However, the first 10 minutes of gameplay are enough to dispel those thoughts of cliche, and pull the player right into the scene of the action. Many of the game's climaxes are presented flawlessly, while key battle scenes are epic.




   
While the game has been said to push the limits of the GBA system with its sharp graphics and memorable soundtrack, I personally feel that the game exceeded all expectations with it's combat system. The inclusion of using 'Psynergy' in battle to cast spells and the ability to summon 'Djinns' or Elemetal spirits that you collect throughout the game make every combat experience a delight. Not only that, battle effects, such as spells and simple attacks, add wonderfully to the setup.

An example of using Psynergy outside
combat to solve puzzles and clear obstacles

However, Psynergy isn't limited to the confines of random encounters and battles. Untraditionally, the game allows you to interact with the field map and use your spells outside of battle. There's a rock blocking your path? Cast a spell to move it out the way. Need to climb a wall? Cast a spell to grow a tiny sapling into a vine. This allows the developers to impliment many creative puzzles that may leave you scratching your head. None of them are too difficult, though, so you won't become frustrated at all. The game in general is very open-world, allowing you to explore at leisure, while diverting away from the main quest.

Also, it should be noted that this game is a bit on the short side (roughly 20-25 hours), but that's still not much of an issue in my view (just so you know, the second game in the series is roughly 40-45 hours long, so that one is lengthier).

The ability to answer NPCs' questions
adds a dimension of realism to the game

The biggest con is the lengthy, boring dialogue scenes, as well as the repetitious nature of some of the action (for example, sailing to Tolbi). Interactions with NPCs can be both insightful and frustrating. Some of them last up to 10 minutes, and when you're hitting L & R trying to speed through (which only helps so much -- you can speed over speech but not animation), that's a lot of sitting around mindlessly mashing buttons. The dialogue scenes aren't so terrible the first time through, but I found them unbearable when I resumed from an earlier save spot and had to replay them.

Seven years after I put Golden Sun down, I still find myself humming tunes from the games soundtrack, while reminiscing the hours and hours I spent being enthralled by this handheld masterpiece.

FINAL VERDICT :
Gameplay: ★★★★★★★★★☆
Graphics:   ★★★★★★★★★☆
Storyline:   ★★★★★★★★☆☆