Golden Sun: The Lost Age: Difference between revisions

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(What was the point of all this Gaia Falls stuff? It was on this one too. Were their really arguments about this? Oh well, I got rid of non-working refrences again.)
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'''''Golden Sun: The Lost Age''''' ('''黄金の太陽 失われし時代''' ''Ōgon no Taiyō: Ushinawareshi Toki / Golden Sun: The Lost Age'' in Japanese) is the second installment of a series of role-playing video games developed by [[Camelot Software Planning]] and published by Nintendo. The game was released in April 2003 for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, being a direct sequel to the Game Boy Advance ''[[Golden Sun]]''. Players can transfer their characters and items from ''Golden Sun'' to ''The Lost Age'' by means of a password system or Game Link Cable, and players are rewarded for fully completing both games.<ref name=ignrev_1>{{cite web|author=Harris, Craig|date=2003-04-10|url=http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/393/393159p1.html|title=IGN- Golden Sun: The Lost Age [pg 1]|work=[[IGN]]|accessdate=2008-01-12}}</ref>
'''''Golden Sun: The Lost Age''''' ('''黄金の太陽 失われし時代''' ''Ōgon no Taiyō: Ushinawareshi Toki / Golden Sun: The Lost Age'' in Japanese) is the second installment of a series of role-playing video games developed by [[Camelot Software Planning]] and published by Nintendo. The game was released in April 2003 for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, being a direct sequel to the Game Boy Advance ''[[Golden Sun]]''. Players can transfer their characters and items from ''Golden Sun'' to ''The Lost Age'' by means of a password system or Game Link Cable, and players are rewarded for fully completing both games.


Picking up the story during the events of the previous game,<ref name=ignrev_1/> ''The Lost Age'' puts the player into the roles of a magic-attuned "[[Adept]]" named [[Felix]] and his allies as they seek to restore the power of [[Alchemy]] to the world of [[Weyard]]. Along the way, the player uses magic to defeat enemies and discover new locations, help out local populations, and find elemental [[Djinn]] which augment the character's powers. Upon release, ''The Lost Age'' was generally praised, although most publications found that the game was not as good a title as ''Golden Sun''. Nonetheless, the game ranks as the eighth best Game Boy Advance title of 2003 and the 22nd best GBA game of all time.<ref name=gr/>
Picking up the story during the events of the previous game, ''The Lost Age'' puts the player into the roles of a magic-attuned "[[Adept]]" named [[Felix]] and his allies as they seek to restore the power of [[Alchemy]] to the world of [[Weyard]]. Along the way, the player uses magic to defeat enemies and discover new locations, help out local populations, and find elemental [[Djinn]] which augment the character's powers. Upon release, ''The Lost Age'' was generally praised, although most publications found that the game was not as good a title as ''Golden Sun''. Nonetheless, the game ranks as the eighth best Game Boy Advance title of 2003 and the 22nd best GBA game of all time.


==Setting==
==Setting==
''Golden Sun: The Lost Age'' takes place on the same fantasy world as its predecessor: The world of "[[Weyard]]", a massive earth-like environment modeled off the old Flat Earth idea of the world; it is a flat, vaguely circular plane whose oceans perpetually spill off the edge of the world's entire perimeter into what seems to be an endless abyss, although no one knows what is over it. <ref name="gaiafalls1">'''Male villager:''' The huge waterfall at the edge of the world is known as Gaia Falls. {{cite video game|title=Golden Sun: The Lost Age |developer=Camelot Software Planning |publisher=Nintendo |date=2003-04-14 |platform=Game Boy Advance |language=English}}</ref><ref name="gaiafalls2">'''Old male villager:''' Well, at least Gaia Falls will put an end to a few silly arguments. After all, if it's got an edge and you can fall off it, the world is clearly FLAT! {{cite video game|title=Golden Sun: The Lost Age |developer=Camelot Software Planning |publisher=Nintendo |date=2003-04-14 |platform=Game Boy Advance |language=English}}</ref> The plot progression of ''Golden Sun: The Lost Age'' spans many continents, islands, and oceans around the two main continents where the previous game takes place. All matter on Weyard consists of any combination of the four base elements: [[Venus]] (Essence of rocks and plants), [[Mars]] (Heat, fire, and lava), [[Jupiter]] (Wind and electricity), and [[Mercury]] (Water and ice);<ref>{{cite book | year=2002 | editor=Camelot | title=''Golden Sun'': A Forbidden Power Is Unleashed | pages=5–6 | publisher=Nintendo|language=English}}</ref> magically-attuned [[Adepts]] can manipulate these [[elements]].
''Golden Sun: The Lost Age'' takes place on the same fantasy world as its predecessor: The world of "[[Weyard]]", a massive earth-like environment modeled off the old Flat Earth idea of the world; it is a flat, vaguely circular plane whose oceans perpetually spill off the edge of the world's entire perimeter into what seems to be an endless abyss, although no one knows what is over it. The plot progression of ''Golden Sun: The Lost Age'' spans many continents, islands, and oceans around the two main continents where the previous game takes place. All matter on Weyard consists of any combination of the four base elements: [[Venus]] (Essence of rocks and plants), [[Mars]] (Heat, fire, and lava), [[Jupiter]] (Wind and electricity), and [[Mercury]] (Water and ice), magically-attuned [[Adepts]] can manipulate these [[elements]].


== General Storyline ==
== General Storyline ==
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==Reception==
==Reception==


''The Lost Age'' generally received positive reviews, but critics were divided on whether or not the game was better than the original ''Golden Sun''.<!-- with most calling it both an improvement and a more hefty challenge.<ref name="reviews">{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/g/game_boy_advance/golden_sun_the_lost_age/|title= Rotten Tomatoes: Golden Sun TLA|publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate=2008-01-19}}</ref> -->
''The Lost Age'' generally received positive reviews, but critics were divided on whether or not the game was better than the original ''Golden Sun'', with most calling it both an improvement and a more hefty challenge. On Metacritic, ''The Lost Age'' has an 86% aggregate rating, compared to ''Golden Sun's'' 91%. Likewise, Game Rankings gives ''The Lost Age'' an 87% overall rating, slightly lower than ''Golden Sun's'' 90%. Conversely, ''The Lost Age'' was ranked 78 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever, higher than its predecessor. It was also rated the 69th best game made on a Nintendo System in ''Nintendo Power's'' "Top 200 Games" list.
On Metacritic, ''The Lost Age'' has an 86% aggregate rating,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/gba/goldensunthelostage?q=Golden%20Sun|title=''Golden Sun: The Lost Age''  (2003-GBA)|publisher=[[Metacritic]]|accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref> compared to ''Golden Sun's'' 91%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/gba/goldensun?q=Golden%20Sun|title=''Golden Sun'' (2001-GBA)|publisher=[[Metacritic]]|accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref> Likewise, Game Rankings gives ''The Lost Age'' an 87% overall rating,<ref name=gr>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/561356.asp|title=''Golden Sun: The Lost Age'' at GR|publisher=[[Game Rankings]]|accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref> slightly lower than ''Golden Sun's'' 90%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/468548.asp?q=golden%20sun|title=''Golden Sun'' at GR|publisher=[[Game Rankings]]|accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref> Conversely, ''The Lost Age'' was ranked 78 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever, higher than its predecessor.<ref>{{cite web|author=Staff|year=2006|url=http://top100.ign.com/2006/071-080.html|title=Readers' Picks Top 100 Games: 71-80|publisher=[[IGN]]|accessdate=2008-01-21}}</ref> It was also rated the 69th best game made on a Nintendo System in ''Nintendo Power's'' "Top 200 Games" list.<ref name="NP Top 200">{{cite journal|year=2006|month=February|author=Staff| title=NP Top 200|journal=[[Nintendo Power]]|volume=200|pages=58–66}}.</ref>


IGN gave the sequel high marks, noting that even though the game is not a sequel in the traditional literary sense, it was still an excellent game.<ref name="ign pg2"/> While most of the game mechanics remained unchanged, the addition of more complicated puzzles was welcomed.<ref name="ign pg2">{{cite web|author=Harris, Craig|date=2003-04-10|url=http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/393/393159p2.html|title=Golden Sun: The Lost Age (page 2)|publisher=[[IGN]]|accessdate=2008-04-10}}</ref> ''The Lost Age'' subsequently became IGN's "Game of the Month" in April 2003.<ref>{{cite web|author=Staff|date=2003-05-02|url=http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/400/400522p1.html|title=GBA Game of the Month: April 2003|publisher=[[IGN]]|accessdate=2008-04-11}}</ref> Shane Bettenhausen of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' argued that though ''The Lost Age'' is "not going to win any originality contests (this looks, sounds, and feels nearly identical to its predecessor), but when more of the same means more top-notch roleplaying, I can't complain".<ref name="egm-review"/> Other publications singled out the graphics and audio as particularly strong features.<ref name="gamespot  pg2">{{cite web|author=Torres, Ricardo|date=2003-04-15|url=http://www.gamespot.com/gba/rpg/goldensunthelostage/review.html?page=2|title=Golden Sun: The Lost Age (page 2)|publisher=[[GameSpot]]|accessdate=2008-05-01}}</ref>
IGN gave the sequel high marks, noting that even though the game is not a sequel in the traditional literary sense, it was still an excellent game. ''The Lost Age'' subsequently became IGN's "Game of the Month" in April 2003. Shane Bettenhausen of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' argued that though ''The Lost Age'' is "not going to win any originality contests (this looks, sounds, and feels nearly identical to its predecessor), but when more of the same means more top-notch roleplaying, I can't complain". Other publications singled out the graphics and audio as particularly strong features.


Some publications found fault with complaints which remained from the original, including the combat system. IGN and ''GamePro'' took issue with the lack of "smart" combat; if an enemy is killed before other party members attack it, those members switch to defense instead of intelligently attacking the remaining enemies.<ref name="ign pg2"/><ref name="gamepro">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamepro.com/nintendo/gameboy_advance/games/reviews/28950.shtml|title=Review: Golden Sun: The Lost Age|publisher=[[GamePro]]|accessdate=2008-04-11}}</ref> Ethan Einhorn of ''GameNOW'' felt that the only elements that set the fighting system above "typical RPG fare" were the graphics.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Einhorn, Ethan|title=Golden Sun The Lost Age: The GBA's best RPG franchise returns in fine form|journal=[[GameNOW]]|year=2003|month=May|issue=19|volume=3|pages=37}}</ref> GameSpy felt that Camelot could have added more features, and criticized the long opening sequence which either alienated players of the previous games, or confused new players by swamping them with unfamiliar places and characters.<ref name="gamespy rev">{{cite web|author=Padilla, Raymond|date=2004-04-26|url=http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/april03/goldensun2gba/|title=Golden Sun: The Lost Age (GBA)|publisher=[[GameSpy]]|accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
Some publications found fault with complaints which remained from the original, including the combat system. IGN and ''GamePro'' took issue with the lack of "smart" combat; if an enemy is killed before other party members attack it, those members switch to defense instead of intelligently attacking the remaining enemies. Ethan Einhorn of ''GameNOW'' felt that the only elements that set the fighting system above "typical RPG fare" were the graphics. GameSpy felt that Camelot could have added more features, and criticized the long opening sequence which either alienated players of the previous games, or confused new players by swamping them with unfamiliar places and characters.


''The Lost Age'' sold 96,000 units in its first week in Japan, being the best-selling game of the period.<ref>{{cite web|author=Staff|date=2002-07-12|url=http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=24989|title= Top 30 Japanese Video Games 06/30/02|publisher=[[Game Pro]]|accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> The game sold a total of 249,000 copies in Japan and 437,000 in North America by November 21, 2004.<ref name="sales">{{cite web|date=2004-11-21|archivedate=2004-12-09|accessdate=2008-04-14|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20041209193033/http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~hokora/gbarank.html|url=http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~hokora/gbarank.html|title= Game Boy Advance Software Best Seller Ranking|publisher=biglobe.ne.jp|language=Japanese}}</ref>
''The Lost Age'' sold 96,000 units in its first week in Japan, being the best-selling game of the period. The game sold a total of 249,000 copies in Japan and 437,000 in North America by November 21, 2004.


{{Golden Sun series}}
{{Golden Sun series}}

Revision as of 16:14, 25 June 2009

Golden Sun: The Lost Age
TheLostAgeBox.jpg
North American box art
Developer(s) Camelot Software Planning
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Designer(s) Hiroshi Yamauchi (executive producer)
Composer(s) Motoi Sakuraba
Series Golden Sun
Platform Game Boy Advance
Release Date Japan: June 28, 2002,
North America: April 14, 2003,
Europe: September 19, 2003
Genre Console role-playing game
Ratings PEGI=7+,
CERO=A (All Ages),
ESRB=E (Everyone)
Media 128-megabit cartridge

Golden Sun: The Lost Age (黄金の太陽 失われし時代 Ōgon no Taiyō: Ushinawareshi Toki / Golden Sun: The Lost Age in Japanese) is the second installment of a series of role-playing video games developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. The game was released in April 2003 for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, being a direct sequel to the Game Boy Advance Golden Sun. Players can transfer their characters and items from Golden Sun to The Lost Age by means of a password system or Game Link Cable, and players are rewarded for fully completing both games.

Picking up the story during the events of the previous game, The Lost Age puts the player into the roles of a magic-attuned "Adept" named Felix and his allies as they seek to restore the power of Alchemy to the world of Weyard. Along the way, the player uses magic to defeat enemies and discover new locations, help out local populations, and find elemental Djinn which augment the character's powers. Upon release, The Lost Age was generally praised, although most publications found that the game was not as good a title as Golden Sun. Nonetheless, the game ranks as the eighth best Game Boy Advance title of 2003 and the 22nd best GBA game of all time.

Setting

Golden Sun: The Lost Age takes place on the same fantasy world as its predecessor: The world of "Weyard", a massive earth-like environment modeled off the old Flat Earth idea of the world; it is a flat, vaguely circular plane whose oceans perpetually spill off the edge of the world's entire perimeter into what seems to be an endless abyss, although no one knows what is over it. The plot progression of Golden Sun: The Lost Age spans many continents, islands, and oceans around the two main continents where the previous game takes place. All matter on Weyard consists of any combination of the four base elements: Venus (Essence of rocks and plants), Mars (Heat, fire, and lava), Jupiter (Wind and electricity), and Mercury (Water and ice), magically-attuned Adepts can manipulate these elements.

General Storyline

The Lost Age begins with a prologue summarizing the events of the previous game and explaining all the major plot points. Afterwards, players take the role of Jenna moments before Venus Lighthouse was lit. Alex tells Jenna and Kraden to go to Saturos and Menardi's boat, then he leaves to keep Tolbi's soldiers at bay. Once the three regroup at Idejima, Venus Lighthouse is lit, and the following tremors tears a rift in the mountain range, causing Idejima to drift into the ocean.

Soon, Alex discovers Felix and Sheba washed up on the beach. As Jenna and Kraden try to wake them up, a tidal wave strikes, and Idejima is sent crashing into the continent of Indra. Felix wakes up and gathers Jenna, Sheba, and Kraden, and they go search for Alex.

For more information on the game's storyline, see this page.

Characters

For much of the game, the player controls a total of four characters: Felix is an eighteen-year-old Venus Adept from the village of Vale, who was an anti-hero in Golden Sun but serves as the game's new silent protagonist. His younger sister, Jenna, a seventeen-year-old Mars Adept also from Vale, and a fourteen-year-old girl and Jupiter Adept named Sheba, as well as a sharp-witted elderly scholar named Kraden, are all hostages that Felix was forced to take with his now-deceased masters, the Mars Adept warriors Saturos and Menardi that served as the previous game's antagonists. In this game the player takes the role of Felix as he strives to complete Saturos and Menardi's original objective to restore Alchemy to the world of Weyard, and joining them is a Mercury Adept named Piers, a mysterious young man whose ship Felix's party uses to explore the world throughout their journey.

Several groups of characters serve as Felix's antagonists in The Lost Age. He is at odds with the heroes of the original Golden Sun, led by the young Venus Adept warrior Isaac, who pursue him across Weyard under the belief that Alchemy would potentially destroy Weyard if unleashed. One of Saturos' original companions, a powerful and enigmatic Mercury Adept named Alex, allies himself with a second pair of powerful and imposing Mars Adept warriors, Menardi's sister Karst and her partner Agatio. They keep the pressure on Felix to ensure he proceeds with his quest as he is supposed to.

Reception

The Lost Age generally received positive reviews, but critics were divided on whether or not the game was better than the original Golden Sun, with most calling it both an improvement and a more hefty challenge. On Metacritic, The Lost Age has an 86% aggregate rating, compared to Golden Sun's 91%. Likewise, Game Rankings gives The Lost Age an 87% overall rating, slightly lower than Golden Sun's 90%. Conversely, The Lost Age was ranked 78 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever, higher than its predecessor. It was also rated the 69th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list.

IGN gave the sequel high marks, noting that even though the game is not a sequel in the traditional literary sense, it was still an excellent game. The Lost Age subsequently became IGN's "Game of the Month" in April 2003. Shane Bettenhausen of Electronic Gaming Monthly argued that though The Lost Age is "not going to win any originality contests (this looks, sounds, and feels nearly identical to its predecessor), but when more of the same means more top-notch roleplaying, I can't complain". Other publications singled out the graphics and audio as particularly strong features.

Some publications found fault with complaints which remained from the original, including the combat system. IGN and GamePro took issue with the lack of "smart" combat; if an enemy is killed before other party members attack it, those members switch to defense instead of intelligently attacking the remaining enemies. Ethan Einhorn of GameNOW felt that the only elements that set the fighting system above "typical RPG fare" were the graphics. GameSpy felt that Camelot could have added more features, and criticized the long opening sequence which either alienated players of the previous games, or confused new players by swamping them with unfamiliar places and characters.

The Lost Age sold 96,000 units in its first week in Japan, being the best-selling game of the period. The game sold a total of 249,000 copies in Japan and 437,000 in North America by November 21, 2004.

Golden Sun games and media
Main Series Games Golden SunGolden Sun: The Lost AgeGolden Sun: Dark Dawn
Cameos: Super Smash Bros. Brawl & Ultimate
Other Media: 4-Koma Gag BattleDark Dawn V-Jump manga
Other Information: Game data directoryGBA plot summaryDark Dawn plot summaryStaff Credits


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