The Dawn of a New Generation (Golden Sun: Dark Dawn [NDS])

It was the summer after my sophomore in high school. Golden Sun: The Lost Age just released on the GBA, the follow-up to the amazing original Golden Sun title released in 2001, and I couldn't be happier. The first game was so fantastic that I bet it twice. I was so excited about the file transfer option for The Lost Age, I almost peed myself when I walked out of the store with the game already in my GBA.

Two weeks later, I hit one of the most extreme cliffhangers in my gaming career (don't worry I won't spoil it for anyone who still need to get through TLA), and as rumors of sequels swarmed over the next several years, I steadily replayed and cried over the ending of one of the best GBA series in history for seven years. SEVEN YEARS!!!!

So my junior year in college starts to wrap itself up, and I'm working on getting into an internship, a new rumor surfaced: the third installment was set to release in November. Just in time to ruin my finals! Hurray!!!



Luckily I made it out of my finals VERY well, and I still had time to play the shit out of Dark Dawn! And what a game it was. I'm not saying that it was worth the wait, but Camelot certainly made me a happy camper. For the most part.

The game takes place 30 years after the Golden Sun event sparked by Felix, Issac and the original Warriors of Vale, and much has changed in Wayward. Continents have shifted, islands sunk and certain cities have prospered brings a new golden age of Alchemy into existence. We join Issac and his son Matthew returning from a quick supply run to find Karis, Ivan's daughter, and Garet trying to stop Garet's hotheaded son Tyrell from taking off in a special glider called the Soarwing. That's right, Issac hooks up with Jenna after TLA, and they got busy with the baby-making.

Matthew graces the cover of Dark Dawn for the DS. (image from Neoseeker.com)

Anyway, back to the Soarwing. It's a special glider constructed by Ivan which can only be piloted by powerful Adepts and/or Wind Adepts. Tyrell, like his father, is an idiot, and thinks that he can do it regardless of his lack in experience and skill. Of course he crashes, and after a short rescue mission/tutorial dungeon, Matthew, Tyrell and Karis set off to gather supplies to fix this all-important tool to the well-aged Warriors of Vale.

The quest quickly spirals out of control, leading the trio on a mad dash all around Wayward, making allies and facing new foes, all while being pursued by agents of a shadowy nation of Tuaparang and a mysterious masked man. All the while Psynergy Vortexes are popping up all over the world, draining the energy of everything around them - even Adepts.

Much like in TLA, the player is eventually able to assemble a team of eight Adepts from all around Wayward, two from each element. Several descendants from the first two games appear and are very influential to the story line, but Camelot manages to inject several douses of new blood into the franchise to keep things fresh, including the Beastmen of Morgal and the introduction of the ancient Jenei and Exathi tribes.

The game still includes Djinni, of course. What would a Golden Sun game be without them? While there are some familiar faces amoung the 83 Djinni that can be found within the game, there are several brand new ones with very interesting abilities. Releasing a Djinn activates abilities ranging from heals and party buffs to concentrated enemy attacks and damage cancelers. Releasing these creatures also allows the player to summon powerful entities to aid the party in battle. There are a couple new summons, too, for you veteran players to find, and all summons have brand new animations which span both screens.

Procne gets ready to whip the enemy into shape. Image courtesy of Goldensunrealm.com.

The controls are pretty solid. Players can choose between playing with the touch screen or with the buttons (or, as I liked to play, with a hybrid of both). Both options provide the player with ample control over the action, and it really comes down to user preference on which one you should go with. I personally liked using the touch screen while scouring cities, looking fro hidden items, and using the button controls for most everything else.



While Dark Dawn has tons of room for praise, I have to say that the game isn't perfect. The game suffers from some of the same storyline issues that plagued the second title. You can tell that the writers are purposefully leaving out tidbit of information just to piss you off or to cater to a young, immature audience. Story lines are left with huge gaping holes, leaving you to shout at your screen, "I know who that f*&k that is!!! He's ***** ******!!!" (Trust me, you'll know what I'm talking about as soon as you hit The Throne Room scene in Ayuthay) I found myself calling Kraden an asshole at least once per minute during the final 10 hours of the game, which is sad, 'cause I really like him as a character. Or at least I did, until he became the grand keeper of secrets that aren't really secrets at all. Sveta does make up for half of what Kraden says/does, only because she's a total badass.

Hi, I'm Sveta! You don't know me yet, but I'm a total badass. (Image courtesy of Goldensunwiki.net)

The game also leaves room for another sequel, which brings me joy and anguish all at the same time. The possibilities that are available for the next title are massive and exhilarating, but because of the ending, Dark Dawn lacks the closure that most Golden Sun fans were probably looking for. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I picked it up. I'm just pissed that I have to wait for an explanation of things that they had time for in this game. But at the same time Felix is missing, Peirs is off doing god-knows-what, and presumably Ivan is still alive and kicking somewhere, so there are many different directions that Camelot go with in the next title. I just hope it takes them less than 3 years to do so.

I give Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for the Nintendo DS an 7.75/10. It is a good game, and definitely worth the money, but as a ardent Golden Sun/Camelot fan, I expected more. I also expected a file transfer option, but given the amount of in-game references, I'm willing to let that pass. Go buy it, though, if you're looking for a good DS title until Re:coded and Pokemon Black and White come out.