Date played: March 15th and 16th
Platform: DS
Time played: 200 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10
Well, I bought this impulsively on Amazon. I had been interested in this game when I first heard about it but when it came out, I was waist deep in the big holiday releases for consoles so it went off my radar. I had played the original Golden Sun on my trusty GBA SP back in 2002 and while I never actually completed it, I played about 75% of it and had loved it. I never played the sequel as I always wanted to finish the first one but never did.
Now, the new version is modernized, has 3D graphics, save anywhere and semi-optional (I'll get to that in a sec) touch screen controls. It actually takes place about 30 years after the first game and the heroes are the children of the original cast. I was hooked right away.
This game is amazing so far. The writing is good, the graphics looks nice, the music is pretty good, the battle system is interesting and the story is shaping up nicely. One cool thing is that when characters talk about something, you can sometimes highlight a word and get a short encyclopedia entry displayed on the top screen with more information. Also, you can control the action with either the buttons or the stylus which is a welcome option after playing some Zelda Spirit Tracks.
Some of the actions require targeting though which can be done with both the stylus or the directional buttons but I missed more often than I expected when using the buttons, that's why I said the touch screen controls were semi-optional.
I basically went through a bit of a tutorial section with Isaac and Garett, the heroes from the first game, backing me up in case I fucked up. I thought it was a nice way to set up the story and present a tutorial at the same time.
The next day, I actually started the adventure proper and reached my first town. I bought some gear, talked to some people, searched some pots and vases and went on with my business. There was also a nice little mini-game that essentially showed me how to use my magic powers out in the field while retelling the story of the original game.
I then moved on to my a mountain range where I fought some baddies, discovered some Djinn (little magical creatures that players can equip to get new spells and stronger abilities) and pushed some wooden logs around.
I'm very impressed with the game so far and will definitely continue playing.
Platform: DS
Time played: 200 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10
Well, I bought this impulsively on Amazon. I had been interested in this game when I first heard about it but when it came out, I was waist deep in the big holiday releases for consoles so it went off my radar. I had played the original Golden Sun on my trusty GBA SP back in 2002 and while I never actually completed it, I played about 75% of it and had loved it. I never played the sequel as I always wanted to finish the first one but never did.
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| Yay for spiky hair! |
Now, the new version is modernized, has 3D graphics, save anywhere and semi-optional (I'll get to that in a sec) touch screen controls. It actually takes place about 30 years after the first game and the heroes are the children of the original cast. I was hooked right away.
This game is amazing so far. The writing is good, the graphics looks nice, the music is pretty good, the battle system is interesting and the story is shaping up nicely. One cool thing is that when characters talk about something, you can sometimes highlight a word and get a short encyclopedia entry displayed on the top screen with more information. Also, you can control the action with either the buttons or the stylus which is a welcome option after playing some Zelda Spirit Tracks.
Some of the actions require targeting though which can be done with both the stylus or the directional buttons but I missed more often than I expected when using the buttons, that's why I said the touch screen controls were semi-optional.
I basically went through a bit of a tutorial section with Isaac and Garett, the heroes from the first game, backing me up in case I fucked up. I thought it was a nice way to set up the story and present a tutorial at the same time.
The next day, I actually started the adventure proper and reached my first town. I bought some gear, talked to some people, searched some pots and vases and went on with my business. There was also a nice little mini-game that essentially showed me how to use my magic powers out in the field while retelling the story of the original game.
I then moved on to my a mountain range where I fought some baddies, discovered some Djinn (little magical creatures that players can equip to get new spells and stronger abilities) and pushed some wooden logs around.
I'm very impressed with the game so far and will definitely continue playing.
