This is quite possibly
the coolest game
to ever come out for the Gameboy system in any of its incarnations! I played this game nearly non-stop from
November (when I bought it) until Christmas when I started occupying my time with my GameCube (!). But I'm still
playing it quite a bit, and my GBA is drinking batteries like water! Bravo to Nintendo and Camelot Software for
coming up with an absolutely stupendous new RPG!
The story chronicles the adventures of Isaac (pictured) and his three friends Garet, Ivan and Mia as they traverse the land of Angara on a quest to stop some really nasty bad guys from destroying the world. The plot takes a lot of interesting twists and turns the further you go, and the characters really develop. Garet, for instance, often speaks without thinking and can be quite funny, while Ivan and Mia are more likely to make sense of everything that's going on. Isaac, as the player-controlled character, never speaks, but that's to be expected. Each warrior is a master of one of the four element powers (earth, wind, water, fire) and can use a special form of magic called Psyenergy. Psyenergy varies greatly--it can be used to heal, attack (the battle animations are amazing!) or cause status problems for the enemies. Along with the Psyenergy each character learns on his/her own, you can find up to 28 little creatures called Djinn that give you access to new, greater powers as well as an ability to summon spirits to thwart foes. This adds a great deal of complexity, and I must say that this magic system can be tricky at first (its explanation consumes almost half the manual) but it does get easier the more you use it.
I have only two problems with this game. First, it is too short. My first run-through took about 25 hours, and each of my 8 (yep, 8 at last count) subsequent plays took even less. I speculate that this has to do with limitations to the programming for such a small system. Those little paks may not have been able to hold any more information at this point in time. But, whatever the reason, it's a disappointment to get so involved in this game and then have it end so abruptly. Which leads to my second complaint--the ending leaves a lot of unanswered questions. I'm not about to give away what happens, but the final screen of the ending sequence displays three terrible little words that made me screech the first time I saw them--To Be Continued!!! I was ready to hurl my GBA across the room! Why, Nintendo? Why, why, why??!!
Other than that, I am in love with Golden Sun. It has wonderful characters, an immersive story, incredible graphics, beautiful music, and tons of room for tinkering. Nintendo Power called this game "the next Zelda," and it very well could be. The GBA sequel is due out in Japan in the spring, and I heard a rumor on the internet that there may even be one for the GameCube in time (!). I hope that this can become as legendary a series as the Zelda games, because there's nothing quite like a magical adventure like this to captivate my imagination. I only hope that you'll agree with me. :)