I kid, I don't have a problem with the 'death-grip' the "less than 1%" of us who own the phone are having. My calls've been perfectly fine. Reception goes off and on in my house, but it's always been like that here, so I'll hafta see as I go places, but so far no big deal. Nice to get our $60 back on those over-priced rubber liners. (Seriously, 30 bucks each? How much does it take to make that, Apple? *sigh*)
But enough on relevant topics! Let's rewind back to last generation: '01 and '03.
The game series in question?
Yep, ever since the ethnic-clensing of my bedroom took place over Memorial Weekend, the power cord to my micro (you know, the last model of GBA? Yeah, I don't blame you) has been uncovered with my copy of the original Golden Sun inside. To beat the heat of our non-curtained living room with the consoles, I've been reliving one of my more fondly-remembered RPGs. Now a faux review/retrospect!The series would've been that classic Super NES RPG you remember playing as a kid next to other greats like Sword of Mana, Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, among the countless others back in the heydays of the JRPG. The story's simple: you control a group of Adepts, those who can harness the four elements of Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury (Earth, Fire, Wind and Water respectively) with your powers of Psynergy. Your job in the first game is to prevent the Elemental Lighthouses across the world from being lit and reawakening Alchemy to the world of Weyard. However, in the second game, The Lost Age, a perspective shift occurs and you now control the surviving memebers of the very team you tried to stop in the first game and now have to find a way to light the remaining Lighthouses.
The games play out in a very 90s role-playing fashion: you have a team of four main playable characters, each allied with one of the main elements, you fight enemies in speedy turn-based combat to level up which earns you money for various items and equipment, cross an overworld to get to various destinations, collecting Djinn (elemental creatures that boost your powers/change your classes) all while going through a very well-written story filled with hundreds of NPCs to help immerse yourself into the world.
Any fan of the SNES' RPGs will feel right at home with Golden Sun's familiar yet deep system. I myself play with the mono-elemental system of battling (allying each Djinni to their respective Adept - Venus go to the Venus Adepts, etc.). I realize I'm getting about a third of the combat system, but I'm simple like that and I got through the same just fine. The series can be played however you see fit, and is even non-linear in sections to accomodate all forms of playstyles.
I'm glad the series is as beloved as it is, with fans like myself eagerly awaiting the third title coming out this year for DS. Part of the charm of the original two GBA games was it's presentation. The games looked amazing for being on the then-new Game Boy Advance and showcased some of the handheld's most impressive visuals. The battles were quick, enhanced with the rotating camera angle during battles, with amazing shows of particle effects which were phenominal on my rootbeer-tinged Glacier GBA. The summon Catastrophe in particular is the most impressive in-game feat I've seen the GBA output outside of some impressive use of FMVs (albeit compressed, yet no less impressive on the small GBA cartridges).
The soundtrack was a wonderfully 'orchestrated' score that definitely stood out in the GBA's time. Headphones were a regular must for me as I hummed along with the classic-sounding pieces. The sound effects were classic 16-32 bit bleeps and screeches that helped aided the lost-in-time RPG series.
Of particular note was the ability to transfer your characters' complete stats from Golden Sun to The Lost Age for the time when your old party met your new one, to form a super 8-member party of elemental fury. It was also necessary to fully experience the sequel's full content, as all Djinn are needed to unlock the Superboss and optional dungeon he's housed in (the reward being an obscenely powerful summon whose only practical use is for two-player battling/boasting rights and could save you in the final boss fight). It's an appreciated feature, though I don't think it'll be used for the third game, but you never know.
Now I'm off to play summore.
