Games of 2010 impressions - Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
Ah, Golden Sun. How I’ve longed for your company ever since you left me all those years ago. You let we with promises I thought you would never keep, promises that had tortured my soul ever since. Of continuing the fantastic journey you and I once took, a journeys that changed my life. For seven years I held on to those promises, hoping beyond hope I had not just assumed to much. And now that you’re back, am I ready to forgive you?
Yes. Yes I am. Because Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, from the very first minute, is everything I wanted to see out of a prequel. It wastes no time addressing the question that’s been simmering through my head since the end of part two, nor does it take long to add more questions to replace those answered, and by the time the Golden Sun logo rolled out, I had a tear in my eye. I couldn’t believe it. Golden Sun is back, and it’s living up to its reputation.
But like any fan of the series knows, the story, though compelling, isn’t what drew us into it in the first place. The originals for Gameboy Advance were known for intuitive puzzle-based dungeons, fun strategic battles and music that easily rank among the best in the genre; not to mention it was a visual masterpiece for its time. And the newest installment certainly tries it best holding up its proud tradition, getting almost everything right: the djinns are back and so are the brainteasers, and it both looks and sounds right at home. Despite being on the next generation handheld, neither esthetics nor sound deviates much from its roots, and retains it charm.
I say it “almost” everything right, because there IS nitpicking to be made. I personally thought they didn’t have to change the battle system so that when a character is set to attack an enemy that’s already been defeated, it targets the next, as opposed to go into defense mode, thus wasting a turn. It would force you to think before distributing your attacks, adding a extra layer of depth to the standard battle formula. I also wish the original heroes beside Isaac and Garret had gotten more story time. We’re playing with their children here, so it would have been nice to get a better picture of who had a baby with whom; it only briefly mentioned that Jenna is the mother of Isaacs son, Matthew, but I’m not sure about Tyrell’s mother. Then there’s the music; while some of the tunes are admittedly the best in the series (especially that main battle theme; I would prolong the battles just to hear it to the end), others were borderline annoying. Overall the soundtrack is still excellent, but more of a mixed bag than the originals.
But if I were to point to big one definite fault with this game, it would be that it ended. And I’m not saying that as testament on how I couldn’t put the DS down, but on how it manages to capture yet another Golden Sun tradition: the cliffhanger. By the end of the adventure (spoiler alert), the immediate danger was averted, but the larger threats, the obvious questions, were left out in the cold. In fact, the very last scene in the game shows the main character pointing back at a plot devise introduced at the very beginning. This isn’t like The Lost Age, where the story reached a satisfying conclusion but left doors open for a sequel; this here practically demands one, much like the very first game in the series.
So if Nintendo doesn’t announce the Golden Sun 4 this E3, I think I’m gonna cry. I don’t care if it’s on DS or 3DS, just give us a sign that you’re working on it. What we got this time was the perfect sequel, and all the better if it means more installments in the future, but I don’t want to wait another seven years.
Yes. Yes I am. Because Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, from the very first minute, is everything I wanted to see out of a prequel. It wastes no time addressing the question that’s been simmering through my head since the end of part two, nor does it take long to add more questions to replace those answered, and by the time the Golden Sun logo rolled out, I had a tear in my eye. I couldn’t believe it. Golden Sun is back, and it’s living up to its reputation.
But like any fan of the series knows, the story, though compelling, isn’t what drew us into it in the first place. The originals for Gameboy Advance were known for intuitive puzzle-based dungeons, fun strategic battles and music that easily rank among the best in the genre; not to mention it was a visual masterpiece for its time. And the newest installment certainly tries it best holding up its proud tradition, getting almost everything right: the djinns are back and so are the brainteasers, and it both looks and sounds right at home. Despite being on the next generation handheld, neither esthetics nor sound deviates much from its roots, and retains it charm.
I say it “almost” everything right, because there IS nitpicking to be made. I personally thought they didn’t have to change the battle system so that when a character is set to attack an enemy that’s already been defeated, it targets the next, as opposed to go into defense mode, thus wasting a turn. It would force you to think before distributing your attacks, adding a extra layer of depth to the standard battle formula. I also wish the original heroes beside Isaac and Garret had gotten more story time. We’re playing with their children here, so it would have been nice to get a better picture of who had a baby with whom; it only briefly mentioned that Jenna is the mother of Isaacs son, Matthew, but I’m not sure about Tyrell’s mother. Then there’s the music; while some of the tunes are admittedly the best in the series (especially that main battle theme; I would prolong the battles just to hear it to the end), others were borderline annoying. Overall the soundtrack is still excellent, but more of a mixed bag than the originals.
But if I were to point to big one definite fault with this game, it would be that it ended. And I’m not saying that as testament on how I couldn’t put the DS down, but on how it manages to capture yet another Golden Sun tradition: the cliffhanger. By the end of the adventure (spoiler alert), the immediate danger was averted, but the larger threats, the obvious questions, were left out in the cold. In fact, the very last scene in the game shows the main character pointing back at a plot devise introduced at the very beginning. This isn’t like The Lost Age, where the story reached a satisfying conclusion but left doors open for a sequel; this here practically demands one, much like the very first game in the series.
So if Nintendo doesn’t announce the Golden Sun 4 this E3, I think I’m gonna cry. I don’t care if it’s on DS or 3DS, just give us a sign that you’re working on it. What we got this time was the perfect sequel, and all the better if it means more installments in the future, but I don’t want to wait another seven years.