Golden Sun! The storyline is this: A big storm happens, your dad and some other people are supposedly killed, these weird guys named Saturos and Mernardi did it, they're trying to light these lighthouses, you have to stop them.

Basically, in this game, you go around doing stuff. Enemy battles are random (meaning that unlike in Super Mario RPG, you don't SEE where the enemies are so you can avoid them). You defeat enemies, you level up. Of course, you'll get more members for your party later on (like in practically
every RPG ever created).

If you know RPGs, you should know how this game works. If you know my Reviews, you should know how the rating scale works (0-5 stars).

Graphics: ****

Pretty cool graphics. Now that the Gameboy Advance has been out for a while, they don't seem QUITE as cool, but they still are. Especially when you use your Djinn to summon things... (You can get these things called Djinn throughout the game and use them to summon weird creatures to deal damage to your opponents.)

Sound and Music: ***

Nothing too good or too bad here. But it's at least a little above average.

Difficulty: Insane (or Easy)

Okay, the games goes like this...

The difficulty in solving the various puzzles is insane. I was looking at a strategy guide after about about FIVE MINUTES of playing. Plus, a bunch of the Djinn (these cool little guys you can use to summon these cool monster guys to attack your opponents) are near-impossible to find without a guide. They're basically on the "world map" and you have to be in a certain area for them to appear.
Without any kind of guide, your chances of finding them, without just wandering around doing nothing, is almost zero.

However, if you use a guide, the game becomes insanely easy because they tell you, point blank, how to solve the puzzles. Since the puzzles are really the only thing that give any level of difficulty to this game, that's not exactly a good thing. The battles, except for a few, are a cinch.

So the difficulty curve for this game isn't very good. It's either a completely insanely difficult game (the puzzles are THAT hard) or it's way too freaking easy.

Controls: *****

Just like essentially every single RPG ever made, the controls are a cinch. Since unlike action games, there's nov "hurry"; if you accidentally pressed the wrong button, you can easily go back. There isn't much timing required here.

Bosses: **** 1/2

The bosses are really the only worthwhile enemies in this game. They're usually pretty fun to fight. Usually.

Replayability: *

Once you beat the game, you can't, unlike in a bunch of RPGs, go back and do some other stuff. For example, in Super Mario RPG, even after you beat the game you could go back to right before the final boss (which is where the save point was) and go back to the rest of the game (OK, so you had to go through all of Smithy's Factory again, but still). You can't do that here. Okay, so you CAN go back to your last save point (after you win), but you won't be able to go anywhere except to the end of the game.

Plus, there's not much to do. There's this secret island with the toughest boss in the game (tougher than the final one, yes), but that's not really that much. Plus you can't get there after beating the final boss. The fact it's so difficult to replay this other than restarting it decreases the replayability score.

Oh yeah, and even in the games where you do have to restart it, usually you'll enjoy going through it again. In this game, however, it's more of an "Ugh, I have to do this AGAIN?" thing.

Secrets: **

Other than the hidden Djinn, a few hidden items, and that weird island I mentioned, there really isn't that much that's secret in this game. There are a few side quests, but not that many. If it had more secrets/side quests, it would compensate for its lack of replayability.

Puzzles: no stars

As I explained before, these are freaking insane. If you get help, the guides basically tell you exactly what to do, making them super-easy. But it's better than going crazy trying to solve them.

Addictiveness: ****

One thing I will say for this game: It is addictive. When you start playing, you'll want to play it to the end. Of course, once you beat it, you probably won't have much desire to go through it again. Ever.

Gameplay: **

The puzzles are annoying and some are extremely difficult to do, having enemies crop up a bunch is annoying, and it needs to be a little more clear sometimes on where you need to go. The only thing that raised this grade is the battles, and even then they're not that interesting except for the boss battles. One of the things that was cool about Super Mario RPG was that it had great gameplay even when you weren't fighting enemies. Not so with this game. Plus sometimes the talking is REALLY long. Once it was maybe 10-15 minutes! Straight! I had to wait through it all until I could save. Outside of the battles, it's just one frustrating mess. Unless you have a guide and use it a bunch. Then it's just one super-easy mess.

Fun Factor!: ****

Strangely, despite the not-so-great gameplay and the really bad difficulty level, this game is pretty fun. As with many games, it's difficult to explain WHY or HOW it's fun, but it is. But even if it's fun, having to deal with all the problems I've laid out really does decrease the quality of the game (it's basically fun up until you hit something really tough to beat--then it loses its appeal)

OVERALL: ***

This game is completely overhyped and overrated. I'm not saying the game is necessarily bad, but it's definitely not as great as the hype says it is. It's not worth $30 at all. Of course, almost no GBA game is worth $30, in my opinion. Just like almost no GameCube game is really worth $50.

Basically, you MIGHT enjoy this if you like RPGs. But otherwise you probably wouldn't want it. It really comes down to whether you like RPGs. But then again, I usually like RPGs and didn't like this game too much. The just plain badness of the difficulty and the lack of replayability really brought its score down. The sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age is only a little better. It's about in the same level of insanity but is a little more interesting. But that's not really the point here.

Golden Sun is an OK but totally overrated and overhyped game. Don't get it unless you're a fan of RPGs, and even then there are better ones out there. And if you want a good starting game for the Gameboy Advance, pick up Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising.

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