Golden Sun Dark Dawn for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

I enjoyed this sequel to Golden Sun and GS: The Lost Age. The ease of use of psynergy outside of combat was greatly helped by the ability to use the stylus to target the effects. It opened up more possibilities for the puzzles by increasing the range of casting.

My review is going to sound kind of negative, but that's because I am comparing it to the GBA Golden Sun games, which were epic and challenging. It seems like Dark Dawn was designed to target younger players than the GBA ones targeted, which in my opinion is the wrong move. It should have targeted older players, especially since the people truly interested in it are the ones who enjoyed the GBA games.

The story in Dark Dawn is decent, letting you know why you're going everywhere and giving you a sense of purpose. Unfortunately, it feels less mature than the GBA games, and the story doesn't feel urgent until near the end of the game.

The difficulty level in Dark Dawn is definitely lower than The Lost Age, and I think easier than the first game (been awhile since I played it). Most of the puzzles were easy, and I was constantly over-analyzing them. I even went to Crossbone Isle and went down all the floors, and was surprised by how easy it was to clear. Maybe the puzzles were just easier because I've been trained by the GBA games.

Combat difficulty followed the puzzle difficulty. There were, I guess, 2 somewhat challenging fights in the entire game, Dullahan not withstanding. The leveling pace of the game was good, but the bosses needed more challenging skills/attacks. Almost all the fights were beatable with the simple strategy of 1char mass heals, the rest attack. Dullahan (after completion content) is a different story all together, he's probably the same difficulty he was in The Lost Age.

The game is left WIDE open for a sequel but has more of a sense of completion than the first GS. Hopefully it'll be able to stand up with The Lost Age. Good game, but needs a more mature feel.