Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

About

"Golden Sun: Dark Dawn" continues the story of the previous heroes' descendants in a visually enhanced gaming experience. This DS role-playing game utilizes intuitive touch-screen controls to immerse players in the characters' magical adventures, six years after the original games' events. Players will explore new worlds and battle enemies to prevent the return of a powerful darkness.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 23 reviews

story5 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game beautifully captures the nostalgia of the original Golden Sun series while introducing new elements.
The graphics are impressive for the DS, and the environments are large and unique, enhancing the overall experience.
The battle system is engaging, allowing for a lot of customization and strategic options with Djinn and Psynergies.

The game suffers from a lack of challenging bosses, making battles feel less rewarding compared to the previous titles.
There is an overabundance of dialogue, which can feel excessive and detracts from the pacing of the story.
The plot often feels disjointed and lacks the depth and cohesion of the earlier games, leaving many questions unanswered.

story
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
53%
18%
The story aspect of the game is a mixed bag, featuring a rich narrative with deep characters and atmospheric settings, but suffers from pacing issues and a lack of focus, often jumping between plot points without clear connections. While the inclusion of storybooks from previous games provides context for newcomers, some players find the overall plot weak and poorly constructed. Despite these criticisms, the game offers a fresh storyline and engaging gameplay, appealing to those who appreciate a detailed narrative.
- “There's a neat side quest to collect storybooks where the stories are told from the first two games.”
- “Cohesive, focused yet intertwines plot elements, a diversity of memorable and deep characters, unique and atmospheric lands, a polished battle system, and a breathtaking array of music themes.”
- “You must enjoy reading if you want to fully enjoy this game since it has a very rich story.”
- “Regarding the pacing and story progress, it babies the gamer from the beginning, assuming that those playing this game have no knowledge of the previous structure and battle systems, just as it takes pains to inform the gamer about the 'story-book' events of the past games.”
- “Its story is weak, poorly reasoned, fractured, and uninspiring.”
- “It also has no focus, jumping around to different plot points randomly and never building on the djinn and combat systems of the Game Boy Advance titles.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
18%
27%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and ability to leverage the DS's capabilities, featuring large, unique environments reminiscent of classic titles like Final Fantasy 9. While some players noted a decrease in quality compared to earlier entries in the series and described certain visuals as blocky, the overall aesthetic is considered captivating and enhances the gameplay experience. The combination of stunning visuals and engaging puzzles contributes to a rich and immersive atmosphere.
- “The game is beautiful; taking full advantage of the DS's graphics capabilities, environments are large and unique.”
- “The golden sun series is known for their puzzles, storyline, summons, and breathtaking 3D graphics.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous, the music is epic.”
- “There was a decrease in graphics quality from the first two games.”
- “Some might be put off by the graphics being kind of blocky.”
- “Though for the DS it isn't uncommon to see graphics like this, 7 years ago it wasn't seen much.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
11%
33%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its atmospheric qualities and memorable themes that enhance the overall experience, while others find it forgettable or lacking compared to previous installments. Despite some criticisms, many players appreciate the epic quality of the soundtrack and its contribution to character and gameplay immersion. However, the absence of features like a battle mode or music test has disappointed some fans.
- “This game continues with lovable characters, amazing music, awesome summons and abilities, twists that a casual gamer would love.”
- “The music in Dark Dawn is amazing; it really helps build atmosphere and truly adds a lot of value to the game experience as a whole.”
- “Still, the gameplay is fun and addicting, the graphics are gorgeous, the music is epic.”
- “The music is... forgettable.”
- “My only gripe is that there's no battle mode or music test like the previous two games; what were they thinking?”
- “It also has an uncharacteristically horrible soundtrack.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The gameplay is reminiscent of the Dragon Quest series, featuring familiar mechanics and puzzles while enhancing graphics and controls, particularly with stylus support for comfortable extended play. Players appreciate the engaging world-building and character detail, alongside the nostalgic music that complements the fun and addictive gameplay experience.
- “It puts you in a whole new story, leaving all the key elements that made it great, improving both graphics and gameplay, especially since now you can play the game using the stylus, making it very easy not to get swollen fingers due to all the hours you'll be playing.”
- “I love the world building and all the hints at previous civilizations, and the gameplay is fun.”
- “Still, the gameplay is fun and addicting, the graphics are gorgeous, and the music is epic.”
- “The gameplay reminded me a lot of the Dragon Quest series.”
- “Mechanics are identical to the earlier titles, and the puzzles are still present.”
- “Character detail and gameplay: I expected less, but they proved me wrong.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that while some grinding is present, it is less tedious than in other games due to the abundance of customization and leveling options. The game also features a more efficient world map, reducing the time spent on unproductive exploration compared to its predecessors. Overall, grinding is seen as manageable and integrated into a more enjoyable gameplay experience.
- “There is some grinding to be done, but it wasn't as much of a chore compared to other games.”
- “Unlike the first two games, enemies don't seem to appear as often during puzzle-solving (which there is a lot of) and battling avoids being tedious, since there is so much customization and leveling up.”
- “Taking place years after the first two games when the old protagonists all have kids, Dark Dawn tosses out the tedious and slow overworld of nothing for a much more efficient and enjoyable world map.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by its cohesive and focused narrative, rich character development, and unique environments, all enhanced by a stunning musical score. However, some players feel it does not match the integrity and atmosphere of its predecessors, despite the impressive music contributing significantly to the overall experience.
- “Cohesive, focused yet intertwines plot elements, a diversity of memorable and deep characters, unique and atmospheric lands, a polished battle system, and a breathtaking array of music themes.”
- “The music in Dark Dawn is amazing; it really helps build atmosphere and truly adds a lot of value to the game experience as a whole.”
- “Enjoy this game in blissful ignorance if you wish, but it fails miserably to live up to the integrity, character, and atmosphere of the first two games.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Character development in the game has been criticized for introducing new characters that feel like uninspired replicas of earlier ones, lacking originality and depth. Additionally, some characters appear to be superficial additions with little to no growth throughout the story.
- “The new adepts are either cookie-cutter copies of successful ones from the first two games (Matthew and Tyrell look and act way too similar to Isaac and Garet) or are tacked-on additions who undergo zero character development.”
- “The character development feels rushed and superficial, leaving little room for players to connect with the new characters.”
- “I was disappointed by how the new characters lack depth; they don't evolve throughout the game, making it hard to care about their journeys.”