Golden Sun: The Lost Age

 To a RPG fan, it is hard not to like Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Golden Sun itself was a major blockbuster for GBA back in 2001. Golden Sun: The Lost Age follows the same. Golden Sun: The Lost Age was released for Gameboy Advance in 2003. 

This game is a direct sequel to the first Golden Sun. Story continues right after the first game with a different sets of character that intertwine with first games characters. I can't remember seeing such direct sequels often and this caused bit confusion with the story since it was such a long time ago I finished the first game 
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Story involves around lighting the elemental light towers as the first game. Difference being that here we want to lit all of them. Compared to the great thread from first game where this was to be prevented. The change of heart is justified though. And even explained to the first games protagonist which was accepted rather easily. Only niggling thing regarding the story was the fact that just like in the first game some of the items that give special skills are acquired after lengthy dungeons. Where on the first game these items were acquired so much easier. This of course adds more length to the game. Which comes to around 40h on normal play through

Game-play is naturally traditionally turn-based RPG with group of four protagonist. Each member with a base elemental skill. The biggest difference here to any other RPG is the puzzles. The above mentioned special skills are used to solve many of the games fine puzzles. Each special skill needed to solve a particular puzzle. No plain dungeons here, most rooms are with a unique puzzle that is required to be solved before progression. These never feel like a bore and really keeps the game-play fresh. This also spaces out the game well because certain areas are limited to be access by using one particular skill. As well as adding lot of length to the game since the world is filled with obstacles that can be returned with later skills 
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Other unique GS feature is the Djinn creatures. This the same as on the first game just with greater selection. Depending on which four basic element Djinns belong to. And which Djinns are set to which character the type (or professions) change. The over-the top elemental summon spells return as well. Unfortunately these are not changed from the first game. There is new addition here were a few summons with cross elements can be used. 
 

Graphic and the audiovisual presentation is more or less exactly the same in the first game and probably already pushing GBA's limit. Camelot focused adding context to the existing mechanism instead. Seeing how the cartridge size is twice GS1 size one would have expected some improvement on this front. Nevertheless Golden Sun 2 (and GS1 of course) is one the best looking and sounding games for GBA. 

This and the fist Golden Sun are without doubt my all time favorite GBA games, along with couple of other brilliant Cameleot games. The story for these two first games is played interestingly from different perspective. Sequel being the latter and more complex game it is perhaps too easy to dismiss the first game. Regardless these games should be perhaps considered as one. Which means together closer to 100 hour GBA RPG goodness. The third game for Nintendo DS which is released later this year hopefully follows the same quality as these.