Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (Nintendo DS) Review

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn takes place 30 years after the events of the GBA games, and puts you in the shoes of the children of the original heroes, now known throughout the world of Weyard as The Warriors of Vale. As per the events of Golden Sun: The Lost Age, the Golden Sun has risen and restored Alchemy to the world, thereby dramatically altering the lands and causing a number of weather calamities as Weyard re-adjusts itself to support its reborn power structure. You take main control of Matthew, the son of the earlier games' original protagonist Isaac, and are tasked to journey for a rare item to fix essential equipment Isaac uses to monitor the site of the Golden Sun. The game introduces many new faces to accommodate the time gap, and due to the landform shifts, the world feels new to explore again, so Dark Dawn does not give the impression of a re-tread despite the familiar territories.

The game retains its isometric presentation as per Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, injected with a colourful dosage of DS 3D. Movement on the overworld is akin to square by square grid movement, despite powers now being given a 360 degree radius in which to activate. Battle scenes are where the visuals really come into their own, with varied techniques ranging in power and ferocity providing the fireworks, and summon techniques being the true eye candy. Sound is in the same vein, with a few remastered melodies alongside a glutton of new themes that are easily as good as the originals.

Dark Dawn stays true to its roots; whether its the movement style of the character you're guiding, or using Alchemy in the field to solve puzzles, or fighting enemies gathered in a line in a team of four in true JRPG style, Camelot have clearly kept close to a tried, tested, and winning formula. One major change requested by fans was for an auto-redirect of character attacks to another opponent should the original bite the dust before the end of the turn, and thankfully this has made the cut.

With the dual screen aspect, it is easier than ever to keep an eye on your character stats, how many Djinn (small creatures that can be equipped to boost power) are in standby, and for outside of battles it is a handy map reference. Touch control is included, and put to good use; the player can decide if they want to play through the game with either buttons or touch, and there are zero gimmicky strictly-touch-orientated minigames in the place of puzzles for Dark Dawn. Using the stylus for menu selection feels a little slower and more of a hassle at first, but becomes a worthy substitute in time.

Like its predecessors, on the surface Golden Sun: Dark Dawn has clearly been built for the purposes of in-out portable play. Battles are random but over in a matter of seconds if you power through them, field powers have quick animations after activating, and the game allows you to save anywhere you can access the menu. It is a shame however, that one of the most widely criticised aspects of the series, the character speech, has not been not addressed. Golden Sun is fairly notorious for having long text interactions between characters for certain plot points, made all the more longer with movement and minor animations. Dark Dawn actually adds to this with greater expressions, particularly from your mute guided character, with four emotion choices replacing the previous yes/no options. This design choice undoubtedly adds to the sense of character development and interactions, and is certainly one of the major ways Golden Sun separates itself from other role playing franchises, but without an option to speed up the whole event, or to bypass it completely if needed, the game becomes far less portable-friendly during these moments.

In retaining the structure of its battle system, Dark Dawn also brings back the required planning in equipping the right arms and the needed elemental Djinn. The four main types of Venus Earth, Jupiter Wind, Mercury Water, and Mars Fire each present a bottomless pit of strategical possibility in relation to stat changes and the powers that your eight characters could receive. This lends itself well to repeat play and mixing things up a bit when battles get too simplistic. Until the final battle most players, especially experienced ones, may find the game on the easy side. This is most apparent at the beginning, where two characters veteran to the series guide you along and teach you pretty much everything - almost to the point of being condescending - but this is ideal for newcomers and those that want a more streamlined linear experience without too many complications.

As expected for any game of the role playing genre, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn offers an adventure that spans a considerable amount of hours, and despite the familiarity of the world and the functions of gameplay, the game offers a compelling story, and a solid battle system. Much like the first game, Dark Dawn restricts the world map, and that together with the open ending suggests a sequel in the near future. As a prelude to whatever that title might be, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is a worthy title for any RPG enthusiast to seek out, regardless of experience with the series.