Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (DS Review) by Carl B.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Camelot Software Planning
System: Nintendo DS
Release: November 29, 2010

December 2, 2010, by Carl B. - On November 11, 2001, Nintendo and developer Camelot Software Planning released Golden Sun for the Gameboy Advance, and it quickly became one of the highest rated and most beloved RPG title to release on Nintendo's handheld. Golden Sun has sold over one million copies in the United States and Japan combined, and has an average of 90 on Metacritic, with reviewers praising the game's story and combat system. In April of 2003 a sequel to Golden Sun was released on the GBA, titled Golden Sun: The Lost Age, and was once again praised for excellent story-telling and intuitive combat. After a seven year hiatus that left many fans worrying about the future of the series, Camelot and Nintendo have finally released the third installment of Golden Sun, titled Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. The role-playing genre hasn't changed much during the last seven years, but does Golden Sun: Dark Dawn manage to feel fresh and inviting, or is it bogged down by dated gameplay mechanics?

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn takes place 30 years after the events of The Lost Age. The four lighthouses have been lit; causing the "Golden Sun event," a phenomenon that spread the ancient power of alchemy across the world of Weyard and destroyed Vale in the process. In Dark Dawn players take control of Matthew, Karis, and Tyrell, the children of Isaac, Ivan, and Garet, respectively, with five other characters that are added to the player's party throughout the course of the game.

Due to the Golden Sun event, the world of Weyard has changed dramatically. Continents have shifted and new countries have been founded, giving a new world for players to explore while still making references to locations in the previous two Golden Sun games to please the veteran fans. For players that haven't played the first two titles, Camelot has incorporated an encyclopedia function that highlights key terms in a conversation and lets players select the term to view more information about it. Not only is this a great addition for new players, but it also acts as a welcome refresher for fans that may have forgotten events, locations, or characters in the seven year period of no Golden Sun titles.

Dark Dawn features a lot of the same charm found in the first two games while still managing to feel fresh. The cast of characters in the first two Golden Sun titles were loveable, even the antagonists, but that can't be said for Dark Dawn. Tyrell, son of Garet, acts like a complete idiot for a great deal of the game, specifically in the beginning of the game and in several dialog sequences throughout the experience where he doesn't seem to understand the urgency of their quest. Matthew and Karis are perfectly likeable, along with a few of the extra players that join the warriors later in the game. I ended up replacing the Mercury Adept Rief with another Mercury Adept called Amiti in my main party, and switched out Tyrell for the alternate Mars Adept when I was able to use him. Luckily, party members can be switched at any time (including in battle) and gain experience even when they're not used in combat.

The main method of story-telling in Dark Dawn is found in the form of dialog between the game's many characters, just like in the first two games. However, these dialog segments are often drawn out much longer than they should be, even in moments leading up to big battles. In certain portions of conversations players are able to respond by selecting one of four different emoticons, unlocking different portions of dialog depending on which emoticon players choose. This doesn't have any effect on the overall outcome of the game's story, and often leads players into even more dialog. Unfortunately, there is no way to skip past dialog sections, making it a pain in certain areas to replay the game.

Despite its flaws on the story-telling front, Dark Dawn features an excellent combat system modeled after the previous two games. Players are able to attack, defend, flee, cast Psyenergy - the Golden Sun equivalent to magic - and use powerful Djinn. By using different weapons characters will level up their weapon skill in that respective weapon, and by defeating enemies in battle characters gain experience to level up, granting increased stats and additional Psyenergy. There are a total of 72 usable Djinn in Dark Dawn, with many new and returning Djinn. The effects of using Djinn in battle are the same as in previous games; having Djinn on a character may change their usable Psyenergy and stats, but once they're used in a battle the character's stats return to their base form. When a certain amount of the same type of Djinn is used in battle players can summon them and unleash their ultra-powerful attacks. A total of 30 different summons can be used in Dark Dawn, each with fantastic looking animations that make use of both screens. The different levels of summons will increase the character's Psyenergy power, with the top screen displaying each character's proficiency in each category during combat. Battles in Dark Dawn tend to be very easy, including boss battles, as players can spam Psyenergy and Djinn summons to overpower their opponents with ease.

Dark Dawn also incorporates the same type of overworld and dungeon progression seen in the first two games, with new puzzles to challenge players with. Players will travel from city to city similar to most RPG titles, but what makes Dark Dawn and the Golden Sun series in its entirety stand out from the rest are the engaging dungeons. Throughout the game players will traverse dangerous dungeons that range from underground ruins, temples, and caverns, each filled with puzzles that draw similarities to the Zelda and Lufia series. Most of the puzzles make use of the game's new field Psyenergy, including the Fireball, but they're ultimately not as challenging as the puzzles from the GBA installments.

The visuals in Dark Dawn certainly aren't spectacular, but they aren't anything to scoff at, either. The overworld portions of the game make use of nice looking cel-shaded models and environments while the battles use a more realistic visual style, similar to the way Final Fantasy VII's visuals differ from overworld play and combat. Dark Dawn's soundtrack is filled with familiar and new tunes, with the best being the numerous battle themes used for bosses.

The Verdict

Sound
14/15 - Familiar tunes will keep veteran fans feeling nostalgic, despite the low-quality of some thanks to the DS' speakers.

Graphics
18/20 - Dark Dawn doesn't push the DS to its limits, but the game features some nice looking cel-shaded visuals. Animations for summons are excellent.

Appeal
19/25 - Over 25 hours of adventure will keep players engaged longer than most DS titles. Not being able to skip annoying dialog segments hurts Dark Dawn's replay-ability.

Gameplay
34/40 - The game features the same great battle system as the previous two titles, but that in itself is somewhat disappointing, as Camelot didn't bother to add new elements to the combat. Dungeons are as fun as ever, even if they're easier than in the GBA games.

Overall
85/100 - Golden Sun: Dark Dawn isn't as good as its predecessors, but it's definitely great to be playing a new title after a seven year hiatus. Those who don't care for story-heavy RPGs should steer far away from Dark Dawn, but gamers who prefer a little more substance, even at the cost of unnecessary chatter, will love the game.