Golden Sun: The Lost Age

Reviewed By:
VOLUNTEER GUEST REVIEWER

GAME TECH INFO

Computer Platform: Game Boy Advance (Nintendo)
Produced by: Nintendo / CAMELOT
Price Range: $21-30
Learning curve time: 31-60 min.
Age level: All Ages
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Genre: Roleplaying Game (RPG)
Christian Rating: 3 of 5
   (some objectionable elements)
Gameplay: 5 of 5
   (excellent)
Violence: 4 of 5
   (barely present)
Adult Content: 5 of 5
   (none)

Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Illustration copyrighted.

The long awaited sequel to Golden Sun is truly a work of art. The game starts exactly where Golden Sun left off, however this time around you start off as Felix's party instead of Isaac's. When you really begin the game, you start off with Felix, Jenna and Sheba, then later on in the game Piers the Mariner joins you. An if you've heard rumors, YES, you can transfer data from the first Golden Sun to Golden Sun: The Lost Age, it will come in handy later on in the game when a certain party from the first game joins in :) . And of course those little Djinni are back as well, this time there are 72 of them! And that's just in The Lost Age alone, you can transfer your other Djinni from the first Golden Sun for a HUGE amount of the little guys! Now on to the review!

Graphics: 9 out of 10 - I have really no complaints here, the world is green and lush surrounded by blue sea's. The character models are quite humorous outside of battle, while in battle they have a rough and tough look which is perfect for the game. The summons you can call from Djinni on standby look even better than the first game (The new ones that is, the old ones are still there of course!). Overall I cannot find any flaws besides Psynergy getting cut off in caves because of the sprites overlaying sometimes.

Sound: 8 out of 10 - Great music that always fits the occasion, however the sound effects can get a bit repetitive.

Gameplay: 10 out of 10 - Like the first Golden Sun, the gameplay is quite out of the ordinary of a normal RPG. All of the Psynergy from the first game is back, as well as a slew of new abilities that will help on your journey as well. And although battling may seem tedious at times, if you put in the effort to mix in the right Djinni attacks and abilities it can be very fun.

Story: After Isaac and the others stopped Saturos and Menardi in Golden Sun, the Lighthouse lights up but then collapses into the ground, causing an Earthquake that breaks off an island which Felix and the others are on at the moment. A tidal wave then washes the island into another part of land where it smashes and basically connects. Felix, Jenna and Sheba journey then to find a ship to continue their journey. I won't go any further because I would start to ruin some things, but I will say that the new Antagonists of the game are Karst and Agatio, members of the Fire Tribe just like Saturos and Menardi were.

Christian Value: 3 out of 5 - Although this is a great game, some Christians will find quite a few things objectionable. Such as the 'Shrine of the Sea God', the game also makes a few other references to gods and goddesses. Another objectionable thing in the game is while you are in a town ruled by lycanthropy (humans that have beasts forms/werewolves), you speak with the town leader (He is somewhat the leader) who speaks of that the humans in the town have 'evolved' to their werewolve forms to protect themselves. Although some objectionable content is in the game, it can be easily overlooked if you don't mind the things I've mentioned, but parents should always be aware of what their children are playing.

Overall: 9 out of 10 - This is a great game if you can get past some of the objectionable content. The Graphics are lovely for a 32-bit handheld system, the sound is pretty well done, the gameplay is solid and the story is wonderful. I would highly recommend buying this game if you are a big fan of the original Golden Sun, or if you just want a change from the normal RPG style.

Year of Release—2003

Neutral—Alas, the first series of true RPG's on the Game Boy Advanced fall sadly short. The Lost Age (TLA) does improve on the original Golden Sun, but still leaves much to be desired. My original problem with Golden Sun was the horrendous dialogue. For instance, whenever the hero's finally catch up to the villains, they spend five minutes talking for no reason. Not to mention, one of the villains asks the completely ridiculous questions "Will you still pursue us?" TLA manages to improve slightly on this point, but the long dialogues before an inevitable fight that we knew was coming are completely unnecessary and unbelievable.

The magic system in this game mainly revolves around little Pokémon-like creatures called Djinn. This is very satisfactory, as each character can equip up to 9 Djinn. Also, equipping different types of Djinn cause the class of a character to change.

The plot could have been better. It was above average, but honestly, the only part that really interested me was the ending. Every other event seemed to drag on and on for no apparent reason.

From a Christian perspective, the whole overtone of the game can be considered to very good. The entire quest revolves around the main characters trying to save their parents, and the world from completely disappearing, due to the fact that the power called Alchemy has been sealed. So, the characters are all in the quest not for their own, selfish reasons, but entirely for the benefit of others.

In all, the Golden Sun series may be worth buying, as it is enjoyable the first time through. However, it is certainly not the best and older players will quickly find themselves bored with it. My Ratings: [3 / 4]
—Joe Linhardt, age 17

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this Christian Spotlight review are those of the reviewer (both ratings and recommendations), and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Films for Christ or the Christian Answers Network.