Yes, I know. Calling Golden Sun a series is a little laughable, but this RPG tournament qualification process is all about including every game the Dtoid Army demands, and the Golden Sun games were high on that list.
In last week's debate we opened the flood gates to what will surely be one of the fiercest competitors in the tournament that lies ahead. I basically asked everyone what "generation" of Pokémon games was their overall favorite, and "it was super effective." With almost 200 votes cast, I'd certainly say so. After the dust settled, here is what the final vote totals came out to:
- Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal / HeartGold / SoulSilver (115 votes) -- Winner!
- Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow / FireRed / LeafGreen (35 votes)
- Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald (16 votes)
- Pokémon Pearl / Diamond / Platinum (9 vote)
- Pokémon Snap (2 votes) -- Awwww!
There were also a few games that received only one vote, such as Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, Pokémon Puzzle League, and Pokémon: Johto Photo Finish. Maybe in the next debate I'll even go back and tally up which pokémon earned the most votes in last week's bonus question.
Both Golden Sun and its sequel Golden Sun: The Lost Age managed to achieve nearly identical amounts of success, and went on to be some of the best gaming the Game Boy Advance ever offered. They both added a few refreshing elements to the RPG gameplay formula, and were also well known for their impressive handheld graphics and special effects. I've heard equally great things about both games, so I'm really eager to see which one comes out victorious this week.
Which of the two Golden Sun games is better, and why? What sets it apart from the other game in its series? Sell me on the idea! Get me stoked to see it compete in the tournament! Give it some serious thought, share your reasoning with all of us, and then check back next week to see how your game did!
P.S. I'm going on vacation to Italy for the next few weeks, so there won't be another debate for a while. Use that extra time to catch up on some of the RPGs that have won recently that you never had a chance to play! You don't want to get caught with your pants unequipped in the middle of a heated RPG series tournament!
Contest:
8:30 PM on 05.26.2010 | 
However, I'd also like to cast a preliminary vote for a Golden Sun compilation/fusion/splice for the DS (complete with revisitable GS1 areas?!). I'd also hope that it'd give Book I a proper subtitle (I'd bank on "The Broken Seal").
So I'm gonna have to say Golden Sun: The Lost Age was my fave of the two.
I really can't wait for the DS iteration of the series, and I think that the originals should be re-released due to how difficult it is to actually get hold of them.
Difficulty or length? Or boredom? Just out of interest. I found the final boss of the second one to be a bitch.
I simply lost interest.
Also, I vote for calling the first game "The Broken Seal" too. Very nice suggestion, TJF588.
While its true the first one had a story line that was more memorable at least to me, I believe the second one had a more involved character development story line.
Spoilerz! After you find out the "bad guys" your playing as are really the "good guys" and you team up with your previous 4 from the first game, a crazy amazing dynamic starts up, not just between the characters but also with the game play, being able to mix and match between the parties.
Also, come on FLYING BOAT.
Thats why The Lost Age gets my vote.
Until then THE ORIGINAL keeps a warm place in my heart and with my vote.
Plus, I have a personal grudge against some of the stupid dungeons in the second game. Damn water cave temple thing.
If I had to choose though, I'd go with The Lost Age.
Also, GS compilation for DS please.
So...first Golden Sun.
The reason, the party of the first game is more lovable, also for some strange reason I felt that I explored more places in the first game even that the second game has more places, but this was in partly that the distances that you have to make from one place to another in the second game were really long. This also repercuted in the plot development, in the first game you learn many things in a very short succesion of events, in the second game felt a little slow paced in that aspect.
But I have to admit that second has many interested twist that put "The Lost Age" in the second place of favorite games.
In short words I choose Golden Sun 1.
But I have to admit that the second game has many
Although, I'm going to have to agree with thelostwoods here and say that I think of them both as one huge game.
The first one really wasn't anything but setup for it anyway (makes sense, given that they're two parts of the same game).
Also, Piers' name in the JPN version is Picard, and that's awesome.
I guess it has to be Lost Age though. Can't really justify why, other than the fact it lasted longer (I think).
The only boss I ever had trouble with in the original was Deadbeard.
Dullahan in TLA is in a whole other league!
And the summons, oh my...Catastrophe is still to this day, my favourite RPG summon ever.
The first game was amazing for sure. The opening is awesome (love the thunderstorm), summons blew me away, dungeon designs were satisfying, characters were likeable, music was great and the story was very engrossing.
To understand what everyone means by Lost Age being a continuation, think of Final Fantasy VII. Everything taking place in Midgar is almost a game in and of itself. Then, once you get out of Midgar, more of the world is open to you and the story is not quite what you thought it was. This is what the Lost Age did. Finding out the two different parties' intentions for what they're doing made it kind of hard to root for one side or the other. Then add in even more summons, being able to switch your party members mid battle, more bosses and even more fun dungeons, the Lost Age is just all around better to me.
Granted, I did play both of them with strategy guides (except for the dungeons, i chose to be on my own for those), so I wouldn't be able to say whether or not they had confusing progression.
tl:dr Lost Age
The two games to me really are 2 halves of one game/story, as opposed to 2 separate games. The developers hardly changed much after the first (it didn't need anything anyway) thus the games are essentially identical excluding the continued story.
I accidentally bought The Lost Age without knowing anything about the game. In fact I was a video games virgin. I was very young and I mixed by purchase with another game I wanted at the time. When I arrived at home I was kind of pissed for making such a stupid error, but I soon realized this was one of the best RPGs of all time. I played the original afterward but it was not the same even though I was finaly able to understand the background of that story telling masterpiece. Damn it makes me want to play it again from the beginning. I'm seriously thinking about buying a DS just for GS3!