This is my first review here and I never thought I would make one. I used this site to find games I played when I was a kid instead of edging out into unknown waters, but of late I decided I wanted to play an old school RPG. Golden Sun was one of "those" games for me when I was younger, you hear about them a lot and they look pretty good but you just never try them. I remember browsing the RPG section when I had spot this and thinking about how much different I would've felt playing this before. No matter the case, this review is based exactly on how I felt playing the game fresh, nostalgia absent.

Graphics: 9/10

Upon first look the game is actually quite pleasant to the eye. The character sprites are nice and portraits well done. The style is distinct without being unappealing. The world feels mystical makes you urn to explore more of it.  It makes it feel like it's own unique world rather than some cookie cutter layout. The real detail however is in the battles. Animations are spectacular and mesh together for a wonderful display. Enemies look great, your characters look great. If you can use the same move over a hundred times and still like it, it was done right.

Sound: 10/10

Ah the sound... personally what I feel the be the best quality of the game.  There are games that have good soundtracks and use them well, and then there are games that have great soundtracks and utilize them perfectly, Golden Sun being the latter. The music was tailored seamlessly into the game and with no expense to quality. The variety is immense as well, going from peaceful, to depressing, to intense. If you have ever played a game that you felt like leaving on just to hear the music that plays, this is exactly that. There are pieces that even music from consoles three generations later cannot compare to. The sound effects in battle also fit the display, together making a big hit or spell just that much more satisfying. If I could give this more than a 10, I certainly would.

Addictiveness: 9/10

Golden Sun definitely has the elements of a game that makes you go, "I feel like playing again". There are secrets to find each time through and the game loses no enjoyment playing through things you already have done before. Though I've only fully completed the game once, I restarted halfway through an accident but didn't feel a loss in playing through the early stages once more, in fact I found secrets I hadn't before which I may not have otherwise. The short end here is just knowing the story, but if you're just thirsty for RPG action then this will quench that.

Story: 9/10

RPGs are a genre that typically revolve around a story, and Golden Sun tells a tale that meets expectations. The story is interwoven in both the world and the game play, one of these elements being Psyenergy. Your character is a young boy in a village, this village is special as the people in it can use this power, including yourself. This special energy also ties into what partakes in the story and why the world is the way it is. The actual characters all contain their own flare that gives them a face absent in a lot of games. Rarely does a game make you feel for a character or look at them like a real friend. Beyond this it does a great job at introducing you to all these elements without leaving you lost and confused. The game situates you with the story in a short amount of time, without completing overbearing you with knowledge and continuing to feed you it as you play.

Depth: 10/10

I've already mentioned the game has secrets for you to find through exploring more or thinking outside of the box, but it goes well beyond just hidden items. Although there is a steady path for you to follow in the game, there are side quests and areas to explore as well. You can find new things by back-tracking and testing out new powers in old places. Psyenergy itself offers a lot for game depth, because it adds a whole level of puzzle and problem solving. Through out the game you'll always find yourself wondering what you can fiddle with using your abilities.

The second major factor contributing to depth would be the Djinn. These special creatures aid you in fighting, but in a deeper matter. Djinn have two separate modes, set for increasing you base stats and learning abilities, and standby which allows you to summon them for massive damage at the cost of set stats. Early on this seems like a trivial matter and the obvious solution is to always use them when available, but later on enemies call for a wiser use of setting and using as you need a mix of both to survive and fight. Djinn also influence what class your character is. Stacking a character with their own respective element will get you one class, but changing or switching out another Djinn can give you an entirely different one. Some Psyenergy required to solve puzzles is also given to classes outside the normal set-up. Experimenting with these can give you a stat and move composition that suits your own play style, the best thing is this is all up to you. They did depth without making it exceedingly complex.

Difficulty: 8/10

 For an RPG, difficulty tends to lean on how much grinding is required to complete in game in a reasonable matter, as such the difficulty varies from person to person. For someone who likes exploring every possible venture and collecting all the secret treasures while grinding out, the game will be much easier on you compared to another who goes from town to town battling as little as possible. There are really three main factors to the difficulty. Those would be levels, items, and Djinn. Level is self explanatory, though it does tie into Djinn classes as well due to gaining skills. Your items depend on either how much exploring for artifacts you do, or grinding for shop items. Either way you'll have to go out of your way if you want to be well equipped. Djinn may be the most important factor in difficulty, for more than one reason. The first is Djinn are hidden. Not all of them are difficult to find, but some require you to go outside the paved road to obtain. Djinn give an important amount of stats and fighting with many or with few of them can be day and night. How you allocate Djinn can also make a huge impact in how your character plays out.

That all being said, it comes down to how much someone invests into their characters, the grinding for levels itself is average but getting that equipment and more importantly, Djinn is crucial to how difficult the game will feel.

Overall Score : 9.8/10

Golden Sun is called a classic and for good reason. It has everything an RPG player looks for in a game while still remaining open to all types of players. For anyone looking to play a game that feels fresh without being foreign, give Golden Sun a try.

Great review! I wouldn't change a single thing in yours! Keep up the good work!


A little off topic, Welcome to vizzed, glad to see your post!

darthyoda : Thank you for the welcome, I've been playing on and off here for some time but I am still a newbie to the community side.
Also off topic, but early happy birthday.