Golden Sun: The Lost Age is the sequel to the Game Boy Advance’s massive 2001 hit Golden Sun. Newcomers to this colossal hit are urged to go through and play the first installment of Golden Sun because the new episode features a rewarding link up feature which allows you to upload your character on from the first chapter to the new game. It’s humorous to see how much better the second installment of GS is so much better than the first it almost puts it to shame.

    Fundamentally, the Lost Age has the same basic configuration as the first GS and veterans of the first are in for the same type of controls and such. The Lost Age begins moments before the preceding quest concluded, in which Isaac and his companions defeat Saturos’ and Menardi’s threat to the world but they regrettably don’t succeed in preventing them for lighting the second elemental lighthouse of Venus. The Lost Age begins from the point right before the catastrophe that results from the lighting of the lighthouse before Felix and Sheba dive into the undulating seas.

    The main reason The Lost Age is so dissimilar from the first is because the game takes a complete turnaround and takes you off from the perspective of Felix, Jenna, Kraden and Sheba which in fact pit themselves against our heroes of the original GS. Needless to say, the perspective change significantly affects the story to come.

    The best way to explain how good The Lost Age succeeds is by figuring out in what ways the original game in fact went wrong. One of the negatives of the original GS was the fact that the story implementation was appalling. The story itself was quite captivating, incorporating plot twists and such to the very much archetypal storylines that the original RPG gamers are familiar with. The world was astoundingly well realized, and Psynergy was added into the everyday life of the GS world. It’s sad that the story, which was almost absent beyond the extensive opening was additionally hampered by indistinctly worded dialogue, plodding and the game’s general incapacity to remain relevant. And of course, the fact that game was not able to graduate beyond a child’s level.

    One of the positives of The Lost Age is that it features an almost faultless translation, but the dialogue is still ubiquitous and almost as long winded as before. The writing is well balanced and powerful. In my opinion, the storyline of The Lost Age is much better than the story of the first chapter. Whereas Golden Sun offered a one-dimensional story rife with boring clichés, The Lost Age begins much more different than the first installment. Similarly, where GS fails to surprise and keep the player intrigued, The Lost Age keeps them surprised and asking questions. The story comes together at the end in a way which is sure to blow away newcomers to the series and the veterans of it.

    Graphics wise I give Camelot a thumbs-up mainly due to the fact that the game was created using the same engine that ran the first GS. Accordingly, The Lost Age looks exactly like the original GS. There are many more graphical additions to The Lost Age including extra special effects in battle and out. The new interactive Psynergies are awe-inspiring. The old Djinn summons have been coupled with Djinn combination summons which are incredibly gratifying to the eyes. More weapons, many of which release satisfying pyrotechnics and here we have a game that utterly destroys the competition on the GBA. The only thing about the graphics that bothers me is that sporadic pixelization that occurs within battle.

    The sound is exceedingly pleasurable and Camelot sure has done justice to Sakuraba’s magnificent OST. The utter greatness of the soundtrack is purely unparalleled on the GBA and takes full advantage of the top sound that can possibly be done on the handheld. In some cases, the sound effects are regrettably 8-bit at times and 16-bit at best but it can be a bit grating when compared to the actual OST. I really wished that Camelot had taken that extra step to make the sound more like the soundtrack.

    Wrapping things up, this is the best RPG to be released in many years and should definitely be purchased by any GBA enthusiast. Golden Sun was blemished, but the game was absolutely addictive and still very much worth playing due to the link up feature provided with The Lost Age with the ability to transfer your information. Without a doubt, an entire dungeon and a fairly large amount of side quests and rewards remain exclusive to those who utilize this entertaining and inventive design decision. I highly recommend this game to anyone who would be interested in playing a game that commands the player to fall in love with it.