Current Events > How does Golden Sun: Dark Dawn compare to the other two?

(+) Yeah! (+)

nt
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it's bad

so only slightly worse than the first 2
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Bad. It has like 5 points of no return, as soon as a couple of hours in, for no reason. The 3D graphics looked bad back then, they should have kept the sprite animation.
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Delirious_Beard posted...

it's bad

so only slightly worse than the first 2

Wrong.
The first game is a God damn gem in the GBA. The second one while more mediocre, is still great.
Dark Dawn? Fucking trash. Play it just to say you did. Because you will find no joy in it.
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Dark Dawn isn't trash it's almost the same fucking shit as the first two. The biggest issue is ponrs
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Tyranthraxus posted...

Dark Dawn isn't trash it's almost the same fucking shit as the first two. The biggest issue is ponrs

You're so wrong it hurts. I will fight you on this.
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I enjoyed Dark Dawn, obviously not as much as the first two but I found it to be decent enough. The point of no returns are bullshit though and the 3D models suck.
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What exactly is so bad about it besides the graphics and points of no return?
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Shadowplay posted...

What exactly is so bad about it besides the graphics and points of no return?

Honestly, the game is sort of ok. The party isn't as good as in the first 2 games, and nostalgia aside, the parties of the first 2 weren't that good to begin with, but you pretty much have to play with a guide on your side so you don't take a wrong step and lock yourself out of getting 5 Djinns and 3 summons every couple of hours.
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Shadowplay posted...

What exactly is so bad about it besides the graphics and points of no return?

- bland uninteresting characters
- the premise of the story is fucking ridiculous
- fucking cliffhangers
- way too easy
- lack of content
- piss easy puzzles
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Shadowplay posted...

What exactly is so bad about it besides the graphics and points of no return?

Nothing. That's it. Those are the only problems. It's basically the same game.

I guess they also removed the summon dullahan ability but the only character that would have been able to use it sucks.
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@GoldenSun3DS
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the first 2 golden sun games aren't very good either, they're remembered fondly because the standard for handheld RPG's wasn't very high and also nostalgia
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Probably the 2nd most hyped game ever for me.

With that said yes it's bad. I didn't even finish it the game isn't anything like the past games major let down.
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I regret buying it.
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Delirious_Beard posted...

the first 2 golden sun games aren't very good either, they're remembered fondly because the standard for handheld RPG's wasn't very high and also nostalgia

I might agree with this, but I played those games like 5 times each and I refuse to play them again because I have fond memories of them and don't want to see the truth.
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LordFarquad1312 posted...

Delirious_Beard posted...

the first 2 golden sun games aren't very good either, they're remembered fondly because the standard for handheld RPG's wasn't very high and also nostalgia

I might agree with this, but I played those games like 5 times each and I refuse to play them again because I have fond memories of them and don't want to see the truth.

I replay them once a year at least. They hold up imo.
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Delirious_Beard posted...

the first 2 golden sun games aren't very good either, they're remembered fondly because the standard for handheld RPG's wasn't very high and also nostalgia

Nah bro
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Delirious_Beard posted...

the first 2 golden sun games aren't very good either, they're remembered fondly because the standard for handheld RPG's wasn't very high and also nostalgia

That's probably true. The games really should have cut down on the dialogue and some of the puzzles were too time consuming. Not to mention the bland monster design. But everyone always talks like Dark Dawn was a huge drop in quality.
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I didn't even know there was a third game
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meestermj posted...

Shadowplay posted...

What exactly is so bad about it besides the graphics and points of no return?

- bland uninteresting characters
- the premise of the story is fucking ridiculous
- fucking cliffhangers
- way too easy
- lack of content
- piss easy puzzles

It has one annoying puzzle and that's only because you can forget a djinn and decent relic... Which you can't backtrack to later because it's literally a room with a ponr.

I guess you CAN glitch back later but it's extremely difficult and I can't even remember how to do it anymore.
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It also bothered me that the main cast from the original games wasn't that much older yet for some reason we had to deal with their clone children. Would have been better to keep the originals.
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gunplagirl posted...

meestermj posted...

Shadowplay posted...

What exactly is so bad about it besides the graphics and points of no return?

- bland uninteresting characters
- the premise of the story is fucking ridiculous
- fucking cliffhangers
- way too easy
- lack of content
- piss easy puzzles

It has one annoying puzzle and that's only because you can forget a djinn and decent relic... Which you can't backtrack to later because it's literally a room with a ponr.

I guess you CAN glitch back later but it's extremely difficult and I can't even remember how to do it anymore.

It's not that they're annoying. Its that they're way too short and sick ass.
Airs Rock is still one of the best puzzle dungeons in an rpg. Then you get the shit in Dark Dawn that'd the equivalent of "go over there and pull that lever! Yaaaaay! You did it!"
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I traded it in after only a few days because I just couldn't get myself to play it. I really did not like it.
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I'd say my biggest qualms with it

The story is considerably weaker than the first two. Plus lots of things that literally never get answered like it's been 30 years since the first games yet somehow it's like there's been entire generations of beast folk, despite some even saying they transformed in their lifetime. So do they suddenly age faster and have a more animal like development cycle? Then there's the villains and the nation they come from that doesn't have any indication where it was located at in the previous world map, and somehow they massively advanced technology but everyone else is still in medieval times? But hey, let's not forget that there's tons of areas and kingdoms that appeared near old places and somehow are ancient and have been populated the entire time but I guess we never found out about them. Oh, and there are way more djinni than before. Basically, the more you critically evaluate the story, the worse it gets.

Massive drop in difficulty, barely even any reason to summon rush if you can't beat something because only the optional "super bosses" may be able to provide a challenge. And two are literal rehashes from TLA, though I guess that dullahans turn order got made set instead of set with like one possible variation round every cycle.

And worst of all... God. damned. Relics. Ever play ffix and master items for their attached abilities? It's like that. But it is based entirely off of battles you've won. So early game when you can't find many, you'll have time to master them. But later on? As an generic example. You'll get 3 in one area and 2 are swords. Stronger unleashes for the main character if you equip the weaker one, but lower stats than the other sword. But wait, in the time you need to win let's say 40 battles to master either sword, you should already be at the final dungeon and have the Sol blade for him, which then requires winning more battles to master. And mastery? You master most mid and late game weapons in 4 sections. First for an increased crit (also unleash) rate, second for some okay critical move, then an unleash, then a stronger version of that unleash. You have to master it to use that strongest unleash though, you literally can't just equip the Sol blade and start megiddo'ing the enemies.
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meestermj posted...

gunplagirl posted...

meestermj posted...

Shadowplay posted...

What exactly is so bad about it besides the graphics and points of no return?

- bland uninteresting characters
- the premise of the story is fucking ridiculous
- fucking cliffhangers
- way too easy
- lack of content
- piss easy puzzles

It has one annoying puzzle and that's only because you can forget a djinn and decent relic... Which you can't backtrack to later because it's literally a room with a ponr.

I guess you CAN glitch back later but it's extremely difficult and I can't even remember how to do it anymore.

It's not that they're annoying. Its that they're way too short and sick ass.
Airs Rock is still one of the best puzzle dungeons in an rpg. Then you get the shit in Dark Dawn that'd the equivalent of "go over there and pull that lever! Yaaaaay! You did it!"

Airs rock was a bit too long for an intro dungeon since you had 3 characters still. But the puzzles and exploration and " remember to find that summon tablet before you leave " thing, they made you at least wander a bit. Also, it teaches you that yeah, you can and should run from battles. Most people who complained about the length are the "fight every battle" type.

As for the lever stuff

"Oh, what's that, don't touch it. Let me look at this thing. Oh, it moved!" Then the lever resets and the thing moves back to nornal. "Touch the lever again!" Then you touch the lever. Then you get shit tons of dialogue before you can finish that one puzzle.

At least kraden bothered trying to establish world lore. In dark dawn you got stuck with an even more rash version of garet who ends up shoving the very simple and obvious solution down your throat.
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After watching a video of the summons in both TLA and DD, I gotta say, the ones in DD are far better than I remember, and more unique than the ones in TLA.
That said, i do believe there should have been new summons, ideally a whole new cast of them, but realistically, all the mixed summons should have been new. As it is, there was only 1 new summon and it was pretty disappointing.
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only a Golden Sun fan can fully appreciate Dark Dawn. but it's not as great as the first two for obvious reasons.
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Dark Dawn has:

- Less areas to explore.
- Easier puzzles.
- Weaker enemies.
- More repetitive dialog. (and no fast forward)
- Worse music.
- Smudgier graphics.
- No Hard Mode, battle arena, or multiplayer.
- Tons of time-locked content.
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I kinda wanna replay all of them. Loved the first two, don't remember much of the third one tbh.
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meestermj posted...

The first game is a God damn gem in the GBA. The second one while more mediocre, is still great.

GS2 > GS1
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