This was way better than what I expected! The cities and dungeons are diverse, super fun to explore and the battlesystem is speedy and flashy. The only real drawbacks I gathered were some unannounced point of no returns and the enemies could've done with some more omph in difficulty, but the overall dungeon design (save for one stinker dungeon at the midway point of the game) and metroidvania esque gameplay more than made up for it. I generally find Golden Sun is more about the journey and the world you explore rather than the actual plot, and Dark Dawn has that same setup going for it. It's just too bad the series cancelled after this one likely due to its polar reception.
If this game has a follow up then perhaps it could've been looked back on as a nice set up game but most of its story is building up to a sequel that doesn't exist. That of course means you will absolutely feel let down by the story aspect of the game, even if you're a fan of the previous games. In terms of gameplay and dungeon design it does actually have some neat ideas but I don't think they're enough on their own for me to recommend this game.
So...... we're gonna be left hanging on that ending forever, huh?
Man Golden Sun was a great series I wish they'd made a third one.
Pretty decent follow-up to the GBA classics but unfocused plot, point of no return and being way too damn easy hold it back. It still deserves a sequel though
A fun disappointment. Let's get this out of the way; this game is much worse than Golden Sun 1 and 2. I know it and you know it. Yet I had a lot of fun with it.
A lot of the charm from previous entries is still here; music, artstyle, sound effects, the clever level design and specially the gameplay, which has been improved from the previous entries. The jump to 3d is a welcome change, all animations have been re-hauled to be flashier than ever. The flow or finding and re-equipping your party is still just as good, now improved with the weapon mastery feature, allowing you to stack multiple unleashes on one weapon.
I never really played with the class system in previous entries. While viable I never experimented outside of using mono-elemental classes. Boy was I missing out; The strongest classes in the game are available by fooling around with djinn swapping, which only improved the experience.
However, not every aspect shines. Golden Sun has never been a pillar of well written characters, but it's almost as if Camelot went out of its way to write the most bland and uninteresting characters imaginable (Sveta is cool tho). Seriously, your last party member comes in so late into the game that they barely have any dialogue whatsoever. The decision to adopt an 8-party member system, similar to The Lost Age (where your characters developed over the course of two games), feels unnecessary and hinders character development. It doesn't help also that having 8 party members is unnecessary, as this is the easiest Golden Sun so far.
Dark Dawn's weakest aspect is the plot. Many writing decisions caused detrimental effects in the gameplay. Most controversial of all was to add FOUR points of no return, all which don't truly have a good reason to be. This writing choice locks you out of summons and several much needed djinn.
Part of the setup in this game is that the Golden Sun event caused severe continental shifts throughout the world, attempting to fool the player into thinking several new towns and cultures have been around for centuries despite never being mentioned in the past. This leaves you yearning what happened to all the places and characters from past adventures, but worst of all I only met Isaac and Garet from the main old cast. I imagine they expected to explore this in future games as this one ends on a gargantuan cliff-hanger. To my infinite disappointment, it's been nearly 14 years without any news of a sequel as Camelot seems infatuated with making Mario sports games.
Despite these issues Dark Dawn is still an alright game, offering a fun entry for fans of the series
A lot of the charm from previous entries is still here; music, artstyle, sound effects, the clever level design and specially the gameplay, which has been improved from the previous entries. The jump to 3d is a welcome change, all animations have been re-hauled to be flashier than ever. The flow or finding and re-equipping your party is still just as good, now improved with the weapon mastery feature, allowing you to stack multiple unleashes on one weapon.
I never really played with the class system in previous entries. While viable I never experimented outside of using mono-elemental classes. Boy was I missing out; The strongest classes in the game are available by fooling around with djinn swapping, which only improved the experience.
However, not every aspect shines. Golden Sun has never been a pillar of well written characters, but it's almost as if Camelot went out of its way to write the most bland and uninteresting characters imaginable (Sveta is cool tho). Seriously, your last party member comes in so late into the game that they barely have any dialogue whatsoever. The decision to adopt an 8-party member system, similar to The Lost Age (where your characters developed over the course of two games), feels unnecessary and hinders character development. It doesn't help also that having 8 party members is unnecessary, as this is the easiest Golden Sun so far.
Dark Dawn's weakest aspect is the plot. Many writing decisions caused detrimental effects in the gameplay. Most controversial of all was to add FOUR points of no return, all which don't truly have a good reason to be. This writing choice locks you out of summons and several much needed djinn.
Part of the setup in this game is that the Golden Sun event caused severe continental shifts throughout the world, attempting to fool the player into thinking several new towns and cultures have been around for centuries despite never being mentioned in the past. This leaves you yearning what happened to all the places and characters from past adventures, but worst of all I only met Isaac and Garet from the main old cast. I imagine they expected to explore this in future games as this one ends on a gargantuan cliff-hanger. To my infinite disappointment, it's been nearly 14 years without any news of a sequel as Camelot seems infatuated with making Mario sports games.
Despite these issues Dark Dawn is still an alright game, offering a fun entry for fans of the series
On its own, it's pretty a-okay, but I've also never played the other entries. Apparently it's pretty bad by comparison, but I wouldn't know. I DO remember the ending being underwhelming though.
Fucked up how they ended the series on a cliffhanger
this game blew my entire mind in elementary school tbh and i still think it's pretty good. it did a great job shifting the series from 2d to 3d and continuing to deliver on the strengths of golden sun: neat puzzle dungeons, a huge world to explore, & a cast of characters with really cool magic abilities. maybe it's not quite as strong as the original duology, but i still think it deserves a sequel, and is worth a playthrough if you're craving a fun little rpg adventure you can put in your pocket :)
One of my all time favorite JRPGs also a continuation of a 2002 game the events have been 30 years since the second GBA game its animations are beautiful well built characters a light good humor but at the same time dealing with serious issues a of the most beautiful games on the Nintendo DS.
Dark Dawn has always been considered the ugly duckling of the saga one of the biggest reasons is for leaving many questions unanswered and that's not the game's fault but Nintendo and Camelot's own fault the game's producers promised a direct continuation but we never had them. It's been a decade since then and nothing! but it remains one of my all-time favorite JRPGs.
Dark Dawn has always been considered the ugly duckling of the saga one of the biggest reasons is for leaving many questions unanswered and that's not the game's fault but Nintendo and Camelot's own fault the game's producers promised a direct continuation but we never had them. It's been a decade since then and nothing! but it remains one of my all-time favorite JRPGs.
Despite its many flaws and annoyances, it's still Golden Sun.
LMAO remember this?
Game was bad, couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Kept a lot of faults from the past 2 games, while also being torn on story between wanting to continue everything the other games set up, and doing its own thing with a generic plot that came in out of nowhere. Key terms needing to be hunted down for a glossary was also a bad call, especially when many are missable.
Se queda en un aprobado raspado en comparación con sus predecesores.
A pesar de no estar a la altura de los dos juegos anteriores, Golden Sun Dark Dawn es un tremendo juegarral. Extremadamente divertido en combate y en las mazmorras, que son más imaginativas y creativas que en los dos primeros. Pero, por desgracia, su gran lacra es la trama y los personajes, que no tienen ni la mitad de presencia e importancia que los anteriores. Aun así, gran juego
waited an absurd amount of time for this game to release back in december 2010 and even though it didn't deliver the same as gs1/2 for many, it delivered personally for me and I love it wholeheartedly, fuck cliffhanger endings it's been 13 year camelot, stop making shitty mario sports games
Golden Sun hardly changed over the course of eight years with their third release - Dark Dawn, a bland compilation of old ideas with little to add to what the previous two already achieved. Migrating to the DS mainly gave their craft a cheap, generic 3D skin and lazy touchscreen controls, but the lack of difficulty and a wealth of info, guidance and options at least present a much smoother introduction to it.
Ah, Dark Dawn, the black sheep of the Golden Sun series. 13 years on and we still haven't gotten a follow-up to the 3rd GS game, which (of course) ended on a cliffhanger.
I have a lot of issues with Dark Dawn, but I do not think it's a bad game. First, the good: Sakuraba's soundtrack is still top-notch, and the visuals are some of the better looking ones on the DS, though the chibi-style overworld models do not work for everyone. The Djinn system is still here, and is just as fun to utilize as the GBA titles; I had a lot of fun with the battles in this game.
SPeaking of Djinn, the bad: unlike the original duology (outside of not transferring your save), Dark Dawn has points of no return and permanently missable collectibles...including Djinn. And these points of no return are not well-telegraphed, making it easy to screw yourself over unless you look them up ahead of time. I generally do not like permanent missables in games, especially RPGs, and the fact that Dark Dawn has them while the GBA games do not is a big problem to me. I recommend following a guide if you want to play this.
Additionally, the plot feels more aimless that the original games. I honestly don't even recall much of it outside of the final climactic sequence. And it still has all the writing and pacing issues that plagued the orignals' plots. Dark Dawn also has a full party of eight new characters, with some of the originals appearing as NPCs. They're decent overall, but the last few barely get any development as they join you extremely late in the story. At least one of them never even gets the chance to interact with the main antagonists until the literal final boss!
If you liked the originals and are itching for more, it's not a bad game and I do recommend it, but it's a shame that it felt like it took one step forward and two steps back. And damn it, Camelot, give us a follow-up already!!!
I have a lot of issues with Dark Dawn, but I do not think it's a bad game. First, the good: Sakuraba's soundtrack is still top-notch, and the visuals are some of the better looking ones on the DS, though the chibi-style overworld models do not work for everyone. The Djinn system is still here, and is just as fun to utilize as the GBA titles; I had a lot of fun with the battles in this game.
SPeaking of Djinn, the bad: unlike the original duology (outside of not transferring your save), Dark Dawn has points of no return and permanently missable collectibles...including Djinn. And these points of no return are not well-telegraphed, making it easy to screw yourself over unless you look them up ahead of time. I generally do not like permanent missables in games, especially RPGs, and the fact that Dark Dawn has them while the GBA games do not is a big problem to me. I recommend following a guide if you want to play this.
Additionally, the plot feels more aimless that the original games. I honestly don't even recall much of it outside of the final climactic sequence. And it still has all the writing and pacing issues that plagued the orignals' plots. Dark Dawn also has a full party of eight new characters, with some of the originals appearing as NPCs. They're decent overall, but the last few barely get any development as they join you extremely late in the story. At least one of them never even gets the chance to interact with the main antagonists until the literal final boss!
If you liked the originals and are itching for more, it's not a bad game and I do recommend it, but it's a shame that it felt like it took one step forward and two steps back. And damn it, Camelot, give us a follow-up already!!!
Somehow the worst one in the trilogy. Camelot are such shit developers goddamn
el final es una gigantesca patada en el estómago?????? osea cómo me dejan con ese cliffhanger?????? me dan pena los de camelot que los tienen esclavizaos haciendo mario tennis en vez de una secuela de esto
en fin, el juego no es malo pero tampoco es la hostia. si buscas un rpg sencillito para la ds pues está ok, pero en la misma consola hay rpgs mejores
en fin, el juego no es malo pero tampoco es la hostia. si buscas un rpg sencillito para la ds pues está ok, pero en la misma consola hay rpgs mejores
Basic, ugly, and disappointing. Gameplay didn't do much to evolve from the last two games, and those were made nearly a decade ago. Graphics were pretty bad, even by DS standards. Story at least had some interesting revelations, especially if you're a fan of the series, but it doesn't end up going anywhere and it hands on a cliffhanger that kinda feels moreso like a forgotten plot point. Game didn't offer much of a challenge either.
Golden Sun as a series can be put to rest at this point.
Golden Sun as a series can be put to rest at this point.
Camelot pls
I can count on two hands the amount of JRPGs I have actually finished from start to finish. I’m not a completionist with these games as they are long-winded, difficult, and usually very complicated and complex. Golden Sun is no exception. It starts out like a light hearted easy going JRPG, but then things turn around quickly once you get into the meat of the game.
That’s not to say Dark Dawn is bad at all, but it’s the only Golden Sun game I’ve actually played. I dabbled in the first game a bit but never got through it. The first things that got me hooked in Dark Dawn were the visuals, some of the best on the system, and the deep combat system. Golden Sun isn’t just about attacks and magic powers. The lore uses elements of the Earth to create Psynergy that each hero can harness and unleash which you will use more than regular attacks. Djinni are little creatures that you can equip to enhance stats, add new psynergy powers, and summon giant creatures. The combat system requires quite a bit of strategy and you can’t ignore this Djinn system. You must go around collecting at least half of them or you will never be able to finish the game. This is part of where my issues started to set in.
While combat is deep and complex, and quite fun, the exploration part of Golden Sun is just as deep. Every dungeon is full of puzzles that require you to use your Psynergy powers to pull blocks, grow vines, smash rocks, and slap stuff around. You unlock these powers as you acquire new party members and go along in the game. The game is actually quite large spanning a huge map and a couple dozen dungeons which are quite a lot for a handheld title. Once you get a third through you unlock your ship which allows you to access the rest of this world. There’s are many towns to explore, people to talk to, and weapons and armor to acquire. I never had an issue always having the most powerful stuff as the game is generous with money during battles. I also found this was the easiest game to level up in, but more on that later.
So, while the first few dungeons were easy and just the right amount of hard to figure out, they became obscure and downright confusing and labyrinthine later on. I actually needed a walkthrough for the last half of the game. I had no idea where to go, what to do, and the game requires certain objects to be obtained before you can even continue the story. I would never have known this without a walkthrough. When I got to the final boss I actually had to level up 20 whole levels to beat him because I didn’t acquire all the Djinn in the game. I had to compensate with much higher base stats even though I had the most powerful weapons and armor in the game. Thankfully, at the final dungeon, the enemies are really easy and I could level up every two battles which are something I’ve never seen in a JRPG. The 20 level climb took only about 2 hours which is fast compared to most.
How about the story? Well, there’s a lot of lore here and I appreciated all of it, but it’s just really forgettable and not all that interesting. You start out trying to find a bird feather to power a flying machine you broke then you end up saving the world? The dialog and writing are extremely cheesy and cliche and I just wanted everyone to shut up. The characters are nice, but once again, forgettable. I had higher hopes for the story in this series, the lore and everything is there, but it’s just not very fulfilling.
Overall, Dark Dawn is still one of the best games on the DS and one of the best looking. The graphics are fantastic with clean texture, high res models, and so much detail. The game is just brimming with variety and beautiful locales. I can only recommend this game to the hardest of hardcore JRPG players. The game is so complex and full of optional bosses, hidden weapons, and armor, that won’t appeal to most players. It’s fun and pretty straight forward until about 10 hours in then it gets complex and overwhelming.
That’s not to say Dark Dawn is bad at all, but it’s the only Golden Sun game I’ve actually played. I dabbled in the first game a bit but never got through it. The first things that got me hooked in Dark Dawn were the visuals, some of the best on the system, and the deep combat system. Golden Sun isn’t just about attacks and magic powers. The lore uses elements of the Earth to create Psynergy that each hero can harness and unleash which you will use more than regular attacks. Djinni are little creatures that you can equip to enhance stats, add new psynergy powers, and summon giant creatures. The combat system requires quite a bit of strategy and you can’t ignore this Djinn system. You must go around collecting at least half of them or you will never be able to finish the game. This is part of where my issues started to set in.
While combat is deep and complex, and quite fun, the exploration part of Golden Sun is just as deep. Every dungeon is full of puzzles that require you to use your Psynergy powers to pull blocks, grow vines, smash rocks, and slap stuff around. You unlock these powers as you acquire new party members and go along in the game. The game is actually quite large spanning a huge map and a couple dozen dungeons which are quite a lot for a handheld title. Once you get a third through you unlock your ship which allows you to access the rest of this world. There’s are many towns to explore, people to talk to, and weapons and armor to acquire. I never had an issue always having the most powerful stuff as the game is generous with money during battles. I also found this was the easiest game to level up in, but more on that later.
So, while the first few dungeons were easy and just the right amount of hard to figure out, they became obscure and downright confusing and labyrinthine later on. I actually needed a walkthrough for the last half of the game. I had no idea where to go, what to do, and the game requires certain objects to be obtained before you can even continue the story. I would never have known this without a walkthrough. When I got to the final boss I actually had to level up 20 whole levels to beat him because I didn’t acquire all the Djinn in the game. I had to compensate with much higher base stats even though I had the most powerful weapons and armor in the game. Thankfully, at the final dungeon, the enemies are really easy and I could level up every two battles which are something I’ve never seen in a JRPG. The 20 level climb took only about 2 hours which is fast compared to most.
How about the story? Well, there’s a lot of lore here and I appreciated all of it, but it’s just really forgettable and not all that interesting. You start out trying to find a bird feather to power a flying machine you broke then you end up saving the world? The dialog and writing are extremely cheesy and cliche and I just wanted everyone to shut up. The characters are nice, but once again, forgettable. I had higher hopes for the story in this series, the lore and everything is there, but it’s just not very fulfilling.
Overall, Dark Dawn is still one of the best games on the DS and one of the best looking. The graphics are fantastic with clean texture, high res models, and so much detail. The game is just brimming with variety and beautiful locales. I can only recommend this game to the hardest of hardcore JRPG players. The game is so complex and full of optional bosses, hidden weapons, and armor, that won’t appeal to most players. It’s fun and pretty straight forward until about 10 hours in then it gets complex and overwhelming.
Underrated. I get why some people are "eh" about it, but still feel it's underrated. Still hoping for a sequel...
Insultingly bad.
The best Golden Sun game is still a 2/5, which should give you an idea why Camelot is now regulated to making mediocre Mario sports games whenever Nintendo needs some extra cash.
You would think when making a sequel you would iterate on good ideas and improve on the flaws present in the previous installments but this game doesn't do that
I need to get back to it, maybe after replaying the original two... but something about it did not feel quite right at the time.
This review contains spoilers
Wanted to get to the part where Isaac and friends show up because I transferred over my save data and didn't care about the other characters. Set it down because of that, but it isn't a bad game.
so....