Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Review

Golden Sun:  Dark Dawn  Review for the DS

.                    Some of you may recall spending hours with strained eyes and sweaty palms while playing the original Golden Sun games as a kid. With only two entries in the series the critically acclaimed Golden Sun franchise is widely regarded as one of the highlights of the Game Boy Advance catalog. Expectations of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn as the third chapter in the series and its first outing on the DS were sky high. Does this long awaited sequel mark a new beginning for the series and can Dark Dawn live up to its pedigree?

.                    Golden Sun: Dark Dawn takes place thirty years after the last game. You play as the children of the previous game’s heroes. Your parent’s past actions have ushered in a new era. The flat disk-like world of Weyard has been saved from a slow death but their actions are not universally acclaimed. Weyard has entered a period of drastic change. Settlements have been destroyed and areas that were once ruins or small villages have become thriving countries.

.                   Each area in the game feels distinct. The different architecture and use of color in each town give a sense of cultural diversity. Enemies and bosses are also varied and detailed as are the backdrops for battles. The game’s difficulty has been curbed which relieves much of the tedium of the past games.

.                    As in previous Golden Sun titles you spend your time  exploring, solving puzzles and fighting enemies. As Adepts your characters each wield one of four elemental powers. These powers are called Psynergies. A growing arsenal of Pynergy abilities are used to solve puzzles as well as damage foes.

.                   The puzzles and combat of Dark Dawn are varied and dynamic. There are many options while in combat including the use of: Psynergy, items, Djinn and summons. These systems are co-dependant. Djinn are elemental creatures that can be captured and assigned to different members of your party. The Djinn you have equipped determine your character’s class which enables different Psynergies. Djinn can also be used in combat for a variety of effects. Some Djinn attack or defend while others can heal or revive downed allies. You can also learn summon spells that combine the powers of Djinn to cast impressive attacks that display on both screens.

.                    Collecting Djinn and assigning them to different characters is addictive and rewarding. The Djinn system manages to avoid pifalls that games like Pokemon continually endure.  Namely that every Djinn remains useful from the the moment you first obtain it to the end of the game. This is achieved by the class, psynergy and summon systems all working in tandem and all making full use of every Djinn you have.

.                    The menus are intuitive and combat targets can be selected simply by touching them. In fact, the entire game can be played using the stylus. Button controls are also available.

.                   Dark Dawn introduces several new systems that unfortunately fail to add much to the game. The emoticon system can be funny and it seems like a good idea. Unfortunately what your character will actually emote when you pick from one of four faces is far too unclear and often results in unintended reactions. Another system that could use some work is the encyclopedia. The concept is great and the drawings in many of the entries are a nice addition. However, most of the entries don’t teach you anything new if you read the dialogue.

.                   This is one of the best looking games on the DS. Graphics are great across the board and frequent use of camera angles and panning both during cutscenes and gameplay set this game apart from its competitors.

.                   The only flaw with Dark Dawn that surpasses the level of a minor gripe is its dialogue. For such a beautifully detailed and imaginative game it’s a shame that the dialogue disappoints. Conversations often become tedious and long-winded. The characters seem to lack anything interesting to say. Overall however, there is a surprisingly wide vocabulary that intentionally educates the player at times. The four wise men in the town of Passaj who each use a different synonym for thinking come to mind. Overall the dialogue is like a leaky boat that struggles to stay afloat yet somehow manages to get its crew ashore.

.                   These flaws do little to detract from Dark Dawn which proves to be well worth playing and stands out from the competition despite the system’s crowded catalog of role playing games.

Immersive – 8 – Smooth gameplay and an imaginative setting overshadow weak dialogue.

Technical – 10 – A graphical benchmark for the system with refreshing use of camera.

Value – 9 – High production values but harder difficulties and modes would have been nice.

Average = 9/10

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