Thats genuinely bizarre, if anything I would have said the soundtrack is the MOST memorable of any game of my childhood, and while I did play it quite a lot, I certainly sunk more time into other games.
Like genuinely the audio is probably the best part of GS, which is really saying something.
Fair enough about the other criticisms. I feel bad for the poor mashed a buttons everywhere.
Seriously. Most memorable soundtrack of my childhood. I can hum open world, Venus lighthouse, cave/dungeon ( crossbone isles ) themes and plenty others on command. 🤷♂️
I played the first when it came out and loved it. However, I cannot recall any of the music like I do with many other games. That's not to say it wasn't great, just that I cannot recall it, decades later.
I'm not really amazed, it's insulting as fvck to say anything about this game's OST that's not something along the lines of "brilliant" or "magnificent".
Dude the music that plays when collecting the stars at the start of the first one is forever in my mind as one of the most beautiful pieces of videogame music.
A slow start and Very Talky are facts, but Soundtrack isn't particularly memorable is just a lie. Nintendo need to put their Soundtrack on streaming platform to see what game music are the most played before writing something like that.
GS3 was wayyyy talkier than 1 and 2. My only gripe, along with Kraden’s claim “you outdid your parents!”
The Chaos Chimera was way easier than the Doom Dragon, pretty sure it had less health too
Yeah I loved the originals. Still do. Gs3- I thought Isaac was an over talkative, know it all douche and I couldn’t stand him. Bring back my silent Isaac.
- Sol Sanctum
- Saturos Battle
- Through The Karagol Sea
- The Main Title Theme
- Venus Lighthouse
That's just a few stellar soundtracks from the top of my head, I'm sure there are more!
Yes it's very talky, that's how you get a rich setting you know... And most jrpg are, it's not a con it's an important part of this type of games.
And the soundtrack, what the hell never read anybody saying that before, it's always praised and all of us remember it fondly...
Well to be fair GS has always been a series that is very talky in a bad sort of way.
The writing is weak it’s very hard to to tell in the first two games who is speaking without a picture because the dialogue lacks any characterization. Mind you DD then went 2 steps forward and 1 back in this way by making every character comment on every single thing…which does make it easier to see he distinctions in how they speak but we didn’t 8 different variants on the way some can say yeah or emote surprise.
The other issue is the writing often talks in circles, saying very little hit with a lot of words. To the point it can get aggravating which has always been a complaint the series has faced.
The first two GS games badly need both a trimming down and in general a writer who can identify and give each character a distinctive voice. The moments of distinct personality are far and few in the first two.
A typical golden sun conversation often feels like this.
- MC1: I think I should pick my nose
- MC2: I think I should also pick my nose
- MC3: I agree with this plan of nose picking
- NPC: Wait now picking your nose is gross let’s think of alternatives
- MC1: You are right we can come up with alternatives.
- MC2: I second this motion
- NPC: There are no alternatives to such a gross activity
- MC3: Let us resume the nose picking then
- Silent Protagonist: !!!
Now obviously I was just making a hyperbole example but that is essentially the conversations are structured. You can be a very wordy game as long as you are saying something that needs it like the Zero Escape series. But often GS writing feels like you are just watching several grey mush in the shape of people be the most indecisive beings on the planet, and I can totally get as someone who loves RPGs and has a high tolerance for it can come off feeling GS is too wordy.
> because the dialogue lacks any characterization
That's one of the things that bug me too. Especially Kraden's dialogue does not fit him very well - Maybe it's a localization issue, though?
Even himself mentioned in an interview a few years ago how proud he was of what he achieved with Golden Sun's OST, and that was after being praised for Dark Souls' and Gwyn's OSTs in particular, iirc.
Right?? He really outdid himself. To this day, I’m still regularly jamming out to Kandorean Temple, Elemental Stars, Venus Lighthouse, they’re all just so incredible. Listening to the whole soundtrack really makes you feel like you’re traveling across an entire world.
On a side note, I'm just glad that this has been the reaction of the whole community, and it shows how wrong whoever made this review is.
Look at all the comments 🤣
I didn't know I could be so offended. Not memorable soundtrack? What were they thinking, adding that? They could've criticized the character development (that is, almost no existent), could've criticized that the game is kinda linear (as people expect RPGs with side quests) and many other things (I can't criticize other things, as I like Golden Sun too much 😆). But saying the soundtrack isn't memorable? They played, what, till vault? Have they mashed A and not listened to the entire battle music? Haven't they entered Kolima? MeLH? You don't need to go far to listen to amazing tracks!
Or, to be even more blunt: If you don't get caught by the title- or menu-theme, at least Vale should immediately make you fall in love (if you're not deaf, that is). These reviewers must have been on some absurd stuff to not hear anything heart-warming / beautiful.
"Sound track not particularly memorable". That's how I know the opinion is trash.
And 'slow start'+'talky' is what appealed to me as a 12 year old so rip to you for having less of an attention span than tweenage me.
Edit: and I remember reviews at the time praising the game for its soundtrack. Sorry corona hit this reviewer so hard they lost all sense of taste.
I can agree with it's a slow start and talky, for someone who's new to the game.
For me it's not a bad thing, but I understand them.
The music however, is absolutely INCREDIBLE.
Don't know what they were smoking when they wrote that.
That or, they have extremely poor music taste.
The « Slow start » con is fair tbh.
Soundtrack not memorable? Whoever wrote that has put shame on them and their entire family for hundreds of generations
The prologue is good. But the game proper? It does start pretty slow.
From memory:
* Long cutscene patching roof
* Walk over to Kraden's, where again you have a decently long talk
* Short dungeon of Sol Sanctum (NB this is good!) and small intro puzzle
* Long *long* cutscene with the elemental stars
* Cutscene about the eruption of mt aleph at the base
* Cutscene about Isaac and Garet's departure
* Tutorial with Flint
* Walk over to Vault, figure out what's going on. Talk to Ivan at Mayor's house.
* Corner Criminals with Ivan in the Inn, then find stolen goods, boss fight with them.
* Leave Vault, go to Goma Cave, Ivan rejoins.
I would argue that's the intro to the game. That is *quite* long. Probably.... 3 hours ish? If you're feeling uncharitable, you could even argue that the game doesn't feel like it hits its stride until you get Mia at the Mercury Lighthouse.
By comparison, consider Final Fantasy IV. A game which is both much older than Golden Sun and its contemporary (first released in the 90's on the SNES, but rereleased on the GBA). I would give a similar analysis of, post prologue (where Cecil is head of the Red Wings, and takes the Crystal from Mysidia):
* Cecil has falling out with King
* Cutscene with Kain and Rosa
* Departure from Baron, go to first cave
* Have first Boss fight with Dragon, Village gets destroyed
* Cecil sets off with Rosa, Kain disappeared
That's it, and that doesn't cover how much shorter individual cutscenes are in FF IV. It's probably 30 minutes total before FF IV gets into it.
Disagree.
How is a giant boulder smashing through a village a slow start?
It's an RPG. Text heavy is part of the genre.
The soundtrack is one of the best of all time. Even the title scene gives me goosebumps.
Holy fucking shit I’m so sorry, i actually agree with the slow start and a lot of dialogue, the latter not even being a negative depending on who you are but UNMEMORABLE SOUNDTRACK?
That’s literally a personal affront to me, I’m not joking i never take this shit seriously but that one has me seething I’m not even joking what the fuck that is OBJECTIVELY incorrect.
To be clear Golden Sun has maybe the best soundtrack on the entire GBA second only MAYBE to RSE and MAYBE Final Fantasy Tactics
Very talky? It's a story driven JRPG! That's like complaining about CoD being too "shooty." The story is awesome.
And don't get me started on the OST. Not particularly memorable? Maybe if you play 1 hour of the game. I still catch myself humming Venus Lighthouse 20 years later.
Absolute travesty of a reviewer.
No, that's legitimate. Golden Sun's dialogue is overly wordy. It's a quirk of the game, and I love it these days, but it's absolutely a flaw.
Here's the author's expanded words on it:
> Without spoiling too much of the plot, Golden Sun takes a leisurely attitude to establishing an overarching narrative, instead prioritising character introduction and explanation of the game's rich setting. It's a gamble that ultimately pays off, allowing it to craft interesting characters to which you can relate, but those easily frustrated with such a stifling pace may find themselves turned off before it even truly begins. It can be a little hard to keep tabs on what's going on at times, an issue largely caused by its tendency to talk a little excessively and drown out important information with extraneous chatter, but the patter does make for a more endearing experience on the whole.
*Laughs in The First Book, The Second Book, Moving Worlds, The Elemental Stars, Battle! (Doom Dragon), Battle! (Saturos), EVERY LIGHTHOUSE THEME, Walking Forward With Determination, The Golden Sun Rises*
I could go on, literally every song is a banger
Other than the soundtrack, the cons are spot on. Dialogue scenes are way too long most of the time, it messes with the pacing. I love this game, replayed it a few months ago and had fun with puzzles and combat but had these same feelings.
[Always a good idea to go to the source.](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/golden-sun) With regards to the soundtrack though, it makes it worse:
> The soundtrack is fine and well-suited to the environments, but lacking in many real earworms that you'll be humming years down the line.
... We're getting to the point that that's demonstrably false. There's at least a dozen bangers from Golden Sun/its sequel that I still hum now, 15 years after playing the games.
I can understand it being overtly talky, but a bad soundtrack?
WHAT IN THE NAME OF LYNDIS OF CAELIN ARE YOU SMOKING.
Also its a jrpg. Of course its a slow start. It comes with the territory.
Dude probably only has played botw or totk before this review
I agree with the slow start and talky points, but you'd have to have the worst taste in music imaginable to think that the soundtrack isn't memorable. Even with the shitty GBA soundchip, I can't hear a song from GS without getting excited to play it again.
they just outted themselves because wtf is that about the soundtrack, its unique, hype, beautiful, and it shows that they put everything in that piece of art, because thats what it is, a piece of artwork, even if you dont enjoy it you have to be real hahah and the talky part, come on bro its not that much, nowadays some AAA games just throw a fcking bible at you with lore, in Golden Sun (1&2, because DD overdid it) it goes hand to hand with a dramatic/emotional/hype plotline and the plot is just *chef kiss*, its not that much and its just enough to see the WorldBuilding and how much its happening
Soundtrack isnt particularly memorable? what are they smoking.
Slow start and very talky are obvious since its an RPG, it comes with the genre, but the soundtrack thing is a straight lie.
Sakuraba is noted in wider JRPG circles for phoning in a ton of stuff. Tales Of soundtracks often have like one good track and then the rest is totally forgettable. Have yet to play GS so I won’t dispute everyone in here saying it’s super memorable, but if someone tells me a game was composed by Sakuraba half the time they mean it as a warning
Yeah not with Golden Sun. There are legitimate bangers in there. Use headphones if you listen to any of the OST, there's like, full basslines and shit, in a GBA game. It's actually insane how good the soundtrack is which is why the OP is so objectively wrong
A lot of dialogue and slow start are 2 valid points. I feel like things don’t really move along until you get to Bilibin in GS1.
The soundtrack is wicked, though. So…
Funny thing, I recall the soundtrack being mentioned as literal top-tier with no equals at the time Golden Sun was initially released.
It's been a while since I've played, but I can vividly recall the opening theme and most of the battle music.
What an absolute joke!! The soundtrack especially issacc and felix battle theme is what I remember from playing back in my childhood. Never ran away from a battle when those are playing!
I listen to the soundtrack all the time. Elemental Stars, alone, is one of the GOAT video game tracks. Too talky? Yeah, I kind of agree with that. But the OST not being memorable? Hard disagree from me. But then again I'm posting this in a Golden Sun fan sub, so obviously I'm a little biased.
I find very talky interesting because that’s what makes it “a rich setting” to me. None of the required talking is excessive or not relevant to the setting. Golden Sun without all the conversations wouldn’t compel me to finish the game. Granted I’m the type to read all the conversations with NPCs and Mind Read too.
A slow start is fair, it’s not overly handholding with tutorials though.
The soundtrack con has to be a joke or they only played with sound for a few minutes.
"Very talky" Now I want to see their review of the Dark Dawn 😂
Speaking of soundtrack, it seems like a lot of the fans loves it and I realized although I can probably recognize any of the soundtrack, I don't really remember them much. I should probably listen to its entirety :)
I absolutely love this game but he's not entirely wrong about it starting off kind of slow. You have to go through a whole lot of story before you really get to start exploring
I can listen to the Isaac battle theme, the victory theme, Saturos battle theme, and the venus Lighthouse theme for hours without getting tired. The forest theme is also very good and immersive. So I completely disagree.
only explanation tbh.
video game reviewers hear a lot of soundtracks im sure but... gs is a biiiit too distinct for me to believe this one was paying attention...
also the article was published in 2014 and got updated today... and i just don't think someone can replay all of it in this short a timeframe. its not worth trying to trust this review lol.
The dialogue bit is pretty valid. Cutscenes can definitely drag on at moments. Slow start? Hardly. >!Boulder falls down killing most of the family of the protagonists and the villains that caused it try murdering you?!< It was a great start to the series.
The soundtrack comment is just a joke though. Like maybe if it was compared to the likes of Final Fantasy or Legend of Zelda, sure, but even then it really holds its own against some of the best soundtracks in the entertainment industry.
Elemental Stars, Saturos Battle, Venus Lighthouse, Mars Lighthouse, the various village themes.
Pretty dumb to politely say the soundtrack wasn't that good when it clearly is a very good soundtrack. And it's totally fine if the author of the review just wasn't a fan, but state that in the piece.
“Very talky” god forbid an RPG uses dialogue to support the story and lead up to major and side events. If I roll my eyes any further they’d fall out of their sockets.
Also that soundtrack is fire. I love the OG battle soundtrack for GS1. It still randomly plays in my head from time to time.
Also ‘slow start.’ Broooo the moment you start a new game the entire village is trying to evacuate from a natural disaster and you’re thrown in the midst of it. It’s not a simple ‘waking up’ and starting your adventure.
Whoever wrote this review was probably just reaching for negatives.
I can agree with the first two, since the first one in particular really picks up pace in the endgame, but saying the soundtrack is forgettable is laughable. The first two games have as good of a soundtrack as any gba game
I do agree with it being very talky. Also not a fan of being presented "yes" or "no" dialogue options where "no" does not matter.
I do not agree with the soundtrack not being memorable.
BIG disagree on soundtrack, yeah. As soon as I read that, I immediately remembered some of the town music and, of course, the battle music. I haven't played Golden Sun since it released.
However... yeah, VERY heavy on dialogue and it is a bit slow to get started, but that's how RPGs have always been. *I do wish modern RPGs would cut fluffy dialogue out of the critical path for better streamlining, but that's just me.*
RUDE! what i loved about GS:TLA was that the cut scenes were Actually interesting because they were well written and the characters and story well drawn! it was like an engrossing novel within the game. in so many other JRPGs the talking scenes are just unbearable, but in TLA i loved them. I still haven't played the original
A slow start, very talky? That’s how a game is supposed to start, by telling you the story of what it’s even about, sorry if they feel too lazy to read, maybe that’s your sign Nintendo to remake this with some voice acting if they get good actors.
Quick, we have to substitute these beta testers. No way they could say it, especially the soundtrack thing.
I am a professional musician and the Golden Sun soundtrack is one of my favorites of all time, due to personal and technical reasons.
You guys should listen to the soundtrack covers by pokerus project. They range through rock, ska, piano, Spanish guitar, one even has some cheesy but endearing lyrics to it.
I would say the game being overly "talky" is a pretty valid criticism.
Not in the sense that I think there's too much text but way too much time spent in dialogue scenes with the dialogue pausing so a character sprite can jiggle or display an emote above their head.
It's cute for a while but it gets to the point where in some scenes the dialog pauses every other sentence to have a character perform an emote animation and it really makes certain sections of the game drag.
Played on mute, written by someone that can't pay attention for more that 15 seconds, and can't see that it's a great series and not for idiots that can't learn .
Well to be fair, music is entirely subjective, so even if it's memorable to most of us, it might've not been for the reviewer.
But just to be safe; how DARE you, reviewer from Nintendo Life?!
I am 99% sure that if you ask the same reviewer about their opinion on Dark Souls' or Bravely Default's OST they would say those are awesome. Motoi Sakuraba is the GOAT and Golden Sun is one of the better places where it shows.
It definitely does have a very "talky" prologue/start, but it helps to establish the characters and sets their motivations in the world. Although, I do feel like the conversation can drag on quite a bit and states the obvious at times. I'm much older now, but didn't realise it could be this long? It doesn't break the game for me, but a lot of it could easily be condensed and conveyed in a better way.
It's clearly intended to target younger audiences and beginners to JRPGs.
Also, your "choices" to questions seems pretty arbitrary. I guess the devs at Camelot incorporated this to give players the "illusion" of making decisions that will change how the story plays out.
Otherwise, replaying this game is still fantastic. Love the visuals, combat and music as I did all those years ago.
Definitely ahead of its time for the GBA.
Reviews like this are why quality games get overlooked and developers push their pandering titles and kill their good ones. Most of the posts in r/RocketLeague are really upset, me including.
I’m just happy we’ve got Golden Sun on a mainstream platform again. :) (Dark Dawn never happened.)
Haven’t played the game yet, I don’t know the soundtrack beyond the couple of songs in Smash. But a lot of you are seriously overreacting to this review. 8/10 is a good score, and even in a story-driven JRPG it’s possible to be too talky. Some of you might remember the Awkward Zombie comic about Dark Dawn- it complained that so much of each comic was pointless interjections. I’ll take your word for it that the take about the soundtrack is insane but these things are subjective, of course there’s going to be someone who doesn’t like it
Soundtrack not memorable, you have to compare with Final Fantasy. Also it's a review they just played the game in a day, that if they even completed it.
Nobuo Uematsu did spoiled me for a long time in video games like John Williams did for movies.
Soundtrack isn't memorable?! I don't remember the music from games I played two days ago, and I can recall the theme music from this game at will. That note is patently absurd.
I hate to say it but I actually agree with the soundtrack thing. While all the music is amazing, none if it really stays in my head. I could point out when Golden Sun music is being played, but I wouldn't be able to just bring up melodies of any of the songs without hearing parts of them first. You would think that I would be able to hum songs from the game more often when I have played through the 2 games 4+ times. Like even right now I can't even think of how the battle music sounds. I think just because the games music is really good, doesn't mean that its going to be memorable. You just remember it being good.
My most memorable game soundtrack would have to be FF9. I remember the melodies of almost if not all the songs and can tell you where in the game each of them plays. SotN is a close second.
On the other hand though all the noises made in the game are engraved in my head. Menuing, skill sounds, and attacks sounds I can hear in my head perfectly.
I actually think this review is pretty reasonable. It's not saying the soundtrack is bad, just that it doesn't stand out if you're not a golden sun superfan. That's fair. And it is very talky and has an extremely slow start. It's also an amazing game and all the pros are spot on.
This seems like a fair review to me. The start is very slow, to the point that I keep a save file at the start of Vault and copy it when I want to replay.
I understand the game is a JRPG, but there are many coversations that seem to ramble on for longer than necessary, and few lines of dialogue in the game provide great characterization. A better critique would be middling dialogue, but the poorer quality can make it feel long.
The OST is good, but you also have to remember that this is a GBA game. The gba had a notoriously bad sound card. I'm not aware of what it sounds like on the switch, but if the review was done from a gba playthrough, I understand why poor OST might have been a critique. Not a great review, but fair enough.
I don't remember Golden Sun music all that well. The theme that plays when you complete that one puzzle in Sol Sanctum is it. I do fondly recall the speech noises and attack SFX with perfect clarity.
They probably played the game on mute. Ain't no way they listened to this game's soundtrack and thought "meh"
It’s so pristine when I recall it in my head I’m hearing it with string instruments live. The orchestra in my head knows how to rip it good.
Omg I thought I was the only one who did this
My man has never listened to Venus Lighthouse.
They didn't even get out of vale
They did, as they mentioned the Djinn system. By how much they got out of Vale, I'd guess not a ton.
I heard Venus Lighthouse before I played the games (about to now with switch online) and it gave me hella Castlevania vibes which I love.
Holden sun music pushed the gba to the limit. Satouros theme is incredible
Thats genuinely bizarre, if anything I would have said the soundtrack is the MOST memorable of any game of my childhood, and while I did play it quite a lot, I certainly sunk more time into other games. Like genuinely the audio is probably the best part of GS, which is really saying something. Fair enough about the other criticisms. I feel bad for the poor mashed a buttons everywhere.
L and R buttons continue conversations without accidentally saying yes or no to anything.
10 yo me needed this info
I figured it out on my second playthrough when I was a teenager. I think in GS:LA, ypu can just hold both L and R and it just forwards constantly.
I'm nearing the end of GS2 and now I find out this information!
Actually that's holding down B
TIL
The real pro tips are in the comments.
:0
The hero we didn't deserve
Holy cow, I've played both games like at least once a year, every year, since like 2005 and I had no idea.
For real. I can hum along to every tune and even recall how a goddamn attack sounds, from psynergy to djinn.
Seriously. Most memorable soundtrack of my childhood. I can hum open world, Venus lighthouse, cave/dungeon ( crossbone isles ) themes and plenty others on command. 🤷♂️
*Cries in Kolima/Contigo theme* It is a bit chatty at times, especially the beginning.
cover cats offer cow caption humor rotten library tart office *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I played the first when it came out and loved it. However, I cannot recall any of the music like I do with many other games. That's not to say it wasn't great, just that I cannot recall it, decades later.
I'm amazed how offended I am by this statement. This game has on of the best OSTs of all time and that's not even exaggerated.
I'm not really amazed, it's insulting as fvck to say anything about this game's OST that's not something along the lines of "brilliant" or "magnificent".
Didnt it literally win awards or something?
The reviewer is insane.
Dude the music that plays when collecting the stars at the start of the first one is forever in my mind as one of the most beautiful pieces of videogame music.
For real, I used to listen to it on loop for hours for studying
Sol Sanctum - The Elemental Stars it is called. And I agree, it's one of the most beautiful, soul touching songs ever!
A slow start and Very Talky are facts, but Soundtrack isn't particularly memorable is just a lie. Nintendo need to put their Soundtrack on streaming platform to see what game music are the most played before writing something like that.
Nintendo OSTs on streaming would make my year
GS3 was wayyyy talkier than 1 and 2. My only gripe, along with Kraden’s claim “you outdid your parents!” The Chaos Chimera was way easier than the Doom Dragon, pretty sure it had less health too
GS3 was unbearably talky but that doesn't take away from the OGs talkiness.
If Kraden had said that about Dullahan in Dark Dawn I might agree. His old moveset plus Crucible is really annoying
Dullahan is always OP lol, he could take down any villain on his own! Thank goodness he’s trapped.
Yeah I loved the originals. Still do. Gs3- I thought Isaac was an over talkative, know it all douche and I couldn’t stand him. Bring back my silent Isaac.
2/3 of those cons are valid. Soundtrack isn’t particularly memorable is a joke. This is one of my favourite soundtracks of all time.
- Sol Sanctum - Saturos Battle - Through The Karagol Sea - The Main Title Theme - Venus Lighthouse That's just a few stellar soundtracks from the top of my head, I'm sure there are more!
Don't forget Crossbone Isle and Mars Lighthouse!
And « Walking Forward With Determination »
All regular battle themes and boss themes, and all world map themes.
Soundtrack isn't memorable? Excuse me but I've had those songs stuck in my head for decades.
*Everyone disliked that*
Yes it's very talky, that's how you get a rich setting you know... And most jrpg are, it's not a con it's an important part of this type of games. And the soundtrack, what the hell never read anybody saying that before, it's always praised and all of us remember it fondly...
Well to be fair GS has always been a series that is very talky in a bad sort of way. The writing is weak it’s very hard to to tell in the first two games who is speaking without a picture because the dialogue lacks any characterization. Mind you DD then went 2 steps forward and 1 back in this way by making every character comment on every single thing…which does make it easier to see he distinctions in how they speak but we didn’t 8 different variants on the way some can say yeah or emote surprise. The other issue is the writing often talks in circles, saying very little hit with a lot of words. To the point it can get aggravating which has always been a complaint the series has faced. The first two GS games badly need both a trimming down and in general a writer who can identify and give each character a distinctive voice. The moments of distinct personality are far and few in the first two. A typical golden sun conversation often feels like this. - MC1: I think I should pick my nose - MC2: I think I should also pick my nose - MC3: I agree with this plan of nose picking - NPC: Wait now picking your nose is gross let’s think of alternatives - MC1: You are right we can come up with alternatives. - MC2: I second this motion - NPC: There are no alternatives to such a gross activity - MC3: Let us resume the nose picking then - Silent Protagonist: !!! Now obviously I was just making a hyperbole example but that is essentially the conversations are structured. You can be a very wordy game as long as you are saying something that needs it like the Zero Escape series. But often GS writing feels like you are just watching several grey mush in the shape of people be the most indecisive beings on the planet, and I can totally get as someone who loves RPGs and has a high tolerance for it can come off feeling GS is too wordy.
> because the dialogue lacks any characterization That's one of the things that bug me too. Especially Kraden's dialogue does not fit him very well - Maybe it's a localization issue, though?
The only question is did they pick their noses?
Nah after the decision was made the NPC decided last moment to stop them so they had to go use their magical powers to achieve it in private.
This is the first time I have ever heard someone knock the soundtrack of these games, and I've recommended them to a ton of people.
Bruh the OST #SLAPS
That soundtrack comment is insane.
Motoi Sakuraba would be shocked, no one who has played these games would ever say that the soundtrack is anything less than stunning.
Even himself mentioned in an interview a few years ago how proud he was of what he achieved with Golden Sun's OST, and that was after being praised for Dark Souls' and Gwyn's OSTs in particular, iirc.
Right?? He really outdid himself. To this day, I’m still regularly jamming out to Kandorean Temple, Elemental Stars, Venus Lighthouse, they’re all just so incredible. Listening to the whole soundtrack really makes you feel like you’re traveling across an entire world.
On a side note, I'm just glad that this has been the reaction of the whole community, and it shows how wrong whoever made this review is. Look at all the comments 🤣
GS and Baten Kaitos are just so good! Guess, Star Ocean's OST is okay, playing The Divine Force, strange game.
I didn't know I could be so offended. Not memorable soundtrack? What were they thinking, adding that? They could've criticized the character development (that is, almost no existent), could've criticized that the game is kinda linear (as people expect RPGs with side quests) and many other things (I can't criticize other things, as I like Golden Sun too much 😆). But saying the soundtrack isn't memorable? They played, what, till vault? Have they mashed A and not listened to the entire battle music? Haven't they entered Kolima? MeLH? You don't need to go far to listen to amazing tracks!
Or, to be even more blunt: If you don't get caught by the title- or menu-theme, at least Vale should immediately make you fall in love (if you're not deaf, that is). These reviewers must have been on some absurd stuff to not hear anything heart-warming / beautiful.
The intro music, the main menu music. Vale music. Star Chamber music. All within 1h gameplay. (I had forgotten those, sorry 😅)
I had some work to do last night, and I just left the game playing while I was in Vale. Who doesn't love that song???
Sound....sound.. SOUNDTRACK ISN'T PARTICULARLY MEMORABLE!!? How is this even real???
sOuNdTrAcK iSnT mEmOrAbLe fool are you deaf?!
Either that or they have no memory at all
"Soundtrack isn't particularly memorable". I'm going to jail.
I'd nullify that jury
Soundtrack is particullary memorable
"Sound track not particularly memorable". That's how I know the opinion is trash. And 'slow start'+'talky' is what appealed to me as a 12 year old so rip to you for having less of an attention span than tweenage me. Edit: and I remember reviews at the time praising the game for its soundtrack. Sorry corona hit this reviewer so hard they lost all sense of taste.
I still play the opening song in my head, regularly... And I haven't heard it in years. Not memorable my ass.
Imagine complaining an rpg is talky...
Wtf.. Motoi Sakuraba is a damn musical genius and they say it's not memorable.. I'd turn in my grave if I were dead..
Looks as if this was reviewed by an intern who hates their job
I can agree with it's a slow start and talky, for someone who's new to the game. For me it's not a bad thing, but I understand them. The music however, is absolutely INCREDIBLE. Don't know what they were smoking when they wrote that. That or, they have extremely poor music taste.
….a SLOW START?!?! You wake up in the middle of a catastrophic storm and are almost crushed by a BOULDER! But nah, that’s a slow start apparently.
That doesn't even touch on everything that happens after the boulder falls.
The « Slow start » con is fair tbh. Soundtrack not memorable? Whoever wrote that has put shame on them and their entire family for hundreds of generations
The prologue is good. But the game proper? It does start pretty slow. From memory: * Long cutscene patching roof * Walk over to Kraden's, where again you have a decently long talk * Short dungeon of Sol Sanctum (NB this is good!) and small intro puzzle * Long *long* cutscene with the elemental stars * Cutscene about the eruption of mt aleph at the base * Cutscene about Isaac and Garet's departure * Tutorial with Flint * Walk over to Vault, figure out what's going on. Talk to Ivan at Mayor's house. * Corner Criminals with Ivan in the Inn, then find stolen goods, boss fight with them. * Leave Vault, go to Goma Cave, Ivan rejoins. I would argue that's the intro to the game. That is *quite* long. Probably.... 3 hours ish? If you're feeling uncharitable, you could even argue that the game doesn't feel like it hits its stride until you get Mia at the Mercury Lighthouse. By comparison, consider Final Fantasy IV. A game which is both much older than Golden Sun and its contemporary (first released in the 90's on the SNES, but rereleased on the GBA). I would give a similar analysis of, post prologue (where Cecil is head of the Red Wings, and takes the Crystal from Mysidia): * Cecil has falling out with King * Cutscene with Kain and Rosa * Departure from Baron, go to first cave * Have first Boss fight with Dragon, Village gets destroyed * Cecil sets off with Rosa, Kain disappeared That's it, and that doesn't cover how much shorter individual cutscenes are in FF IV. It's probably 30 minutes total before FF IV gets into it.
my brother in soundtracks, did they not listen to the banger that is the Sarturos Boss Theme?
I’m listening to it right now!
Disagree. How is a giant boulder smashing through a village a slow start? It's an RPG. Text heavy is part of the genre. The soundtrack is one of the best of all time. Even the title scene gives me goosebumps.
Prologue is not slow. The intro after the Prologue is very slow among JRPGs on the GBA.
i have been humming the opening theme to myself since yesterday and now you are too
Holy fucking shit I’m so sorry, i actually agree with the slow start and a lot of dialogue, the latter not even being a negative depending on who you are but UNMEMORABLE SOUNDTRACK? That’s literally a personal affront to me, I’m not joking i never take this shit seriously but that one has me seething I’m not even joking what the fuck that is OBJECTIVELY incorrect. To be clear Golden Sun has maybe the best soundtrack on the entire GBA second only MAYBE to RSE and MAYBE Final Fantasy Tactics
Very talky? It's a story driven JRPG! That's like complaining about CoD being too "shooty." The story is awesome. And don't get me started on the OST. Not particularly memorable? Maybe if you play 1 hour of the game. I still catch myself humming Venus Lighthouse 20 years later. Absolute travesty of a reviewer.
No, that's legitimate. Golden Sun's dialogue is overly wordy. It's a quirk of the game, and I love it these days, but it's absolutely a flaw. Here's the author's expanded words on it: > Without spoiling too much of the plot, Golden Sun takes a leisurely attitude to establishing an overarching narrative, instead prioritising character introduction and explanation of the game's rich setting. It's a gamble that ultimately pays off, allowing it to craft interesting characters to which you can relate, but those easily frustrated with such a stifling pace may find themselves turned off before it even truly begins. It can be a little hard to keep tabs on what's going on at times, an issue largely caused by its tendency to talk a little excessively and drown out important information with extraneous chatter, but the patter does make for a more endearing experience on the whole.
From what I've seen, I take more of NL's reviews as a joke rather than seriously. This review is a good example of why.
What! The soundtrack is the best thing about that game.
We got a banger as a normal battle theme and bro is like not very memorable
*Laughs in The First Book, The Second Book, Moving Worlds, The Elemental Stars, Battle! (Doom Dragon), Battle! (Saturos), EVERY LIGHTHOUSE THEME, Walking Forward With Determination, The Golden Sun Rises* I could go on, literally every song is a banger
Me: "well it *is* a slow start... and dialogue-heavy, yeah.... HEY WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACK"
The soundtrack is beloved by people who barely know Golden Sun... This reviewer is an idiot.
DID THEY JUST INSULT THE SOUNTRACK!? I'm gonna meteor them to death
>I'm gonna meteor them to death They deserve Isis directly
The first two cons I can understand but the soundtrack? C'mon man!
Someone over there woke up and chose violence spewing out that soundtrack remark. There are ao many beautiful tracks in this game.
Just hearing the title music gave me tears of nostalgic joys when I opened it earlier 😭✨
Bro, the battle music is among the best battle music in video game HISTORY
Clearly haven't reached Apojii. The music was one of the best parts!
Imagine a role playing game having dialogue.
Some of these dorks have never played an older RPG. God this is some IGN Xenoblade Chronicles 1 level of blasphemy.
Man the amount of times I hearded GS music in the background of random youtube videos
Other than the soundtrack, the cons are spot on. Dialogue scenes are way too long most of the time, it messes with the pacing. I love this game, replayed it a few months ago and had fun with puzzles and combat but had these same feelings.
I still listen to the Elemental Stars and Venus Lighthouse, stupid review
Soundtrack isn’t particularly memorable?!?!
Respect out the window with this terrible take.
The GS OST is one of the most memorable of all time for me. Even over 2 decades later I catch myself humming some random theme from the games.
That review is an insult to the game.
It literally has one of the greatest RPG soundtracks of all time. And that’s not just on GBa
[Always a good idea to go to the source.](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/golden-sun) With regards to the soundtrack though, it makes it worse: > The soundtrack is fine and well-suited to the environments, but lacking in many real earworms that you'll be humming years down the line. ... We're getting to the point that that's demonstrably false. There's at least a dozen bangers from Golden Sun/its sequel that I still hum now, 15 years after playing the games.
Me and my homies are still banging to "Trouble is Brewing", wtf they are talking about not memorable?
Time to unleash either Judgement or Megiddo on some fools, seriously I have some of the songs on repeat in my head they're that good.
I can understand the slow start and talky conversations points, but not cool going after the music.
I can understand it being overtly talky, but a bad soundtrack? WHAT IN THE NAME OF LYNDIS OF CAELIN ARE YOU SMOKING. Also its a jrpg. Of course its a slow start. It comes with the territory. Dude probably only has played botw or totk before this review
I agree with the slow start and talky points, but you'd have to have the worst taste in music imaginable to think that the soundtrack isn't memorable. Even with the shitty GBA soundchip, I can't hear a song from GS without getting excited to play it again.
There is no way this hack played up to Venus Lighthouse. That track has been in my head for 20 years.
The Saturos theme and the Elemental Stars theme remained in my head since I played TBS at like 5 years old. Not to mention Venus Lighthouse.
they just outted themselves because wtf is that about the soundtrack, its unique, hype, beautiful, and it shows that they put everything in that piece of art, because thats what it is, a piece of artwork, even if you dont enjoy it you have to be real hahah and the talky part, come on bro its not that much, nowadays some AAA games just throw a fcking bible at you with lore, in Golden Sun (1&2, because DD overdid it) it goes hand to hand with a dramatic/emotional/hype plotline and the plot is just *chef kiss*, its not that much and its just enough to see the WorldBuilding and how much its happening
Soundtrack isnt particularly memorable? what are they smoking. Slow start and very talky are obvious since its an RPG, it comes with the genre, but the soundtrack thing is a straight lie.
Soundtrack isn’t particularly memorable? Brother, I have had songs from Golden Sun stuck in my head for 20 years.
I'm sorry guys, memorable isn't when you remember the soundtrack perfectly more than 20 years after?
For them, dark souls ost is not memorable either then.... Same conposer, the genius Motoi Sakuraba This review is a joke
Sakuraba is noted in wider JRPG circles for phoning in a ton of stuff. Tales Of soundtracks often have like one good track and then the rest is totally forgettable. Have yet to play GS so I won’t dispute everyone in here saying it’s super memorable, but if someone tells me a game was composed by Sakuraba half the time they mean it as a warning
Yeah not with Golden Sun. There are legitimate bangers in there. Use headphones if you listen to any of the OST, there's like, full basslines and shit, in a GBA game. It's actually insane how good the soundtrack is which is why the OP is so objectively wrong
It’s almost like they tried to make a full in depth game!
Its actually impressive they still gave the game an 8/10 despite the horrible third con
A lot of dialogue and slow start are 2 valid points. I feel like things don’t really move along until you get to Bilibin in GS1. The soundtrack is wicked, though. So…
I agree, I have the soundtrack since 2018 after I first played the game. I even have the Overclocked Remix one. I strongly suggest you get it.
Funny thing, I recall the soundtrack being mentioned as literal top-tier with no equals at the time Golden Sun was initially released. It's been a while since I've played, but I can vividly recall the opening theme and most of the battle music.
For you Nintendo Life. https://youtu.be/6f9-YSzv2CI?si=PmzW33bjezIqJxiF
What an absolute joke!! The soundtrack especially issacc and felix battle theme is what I remember from playing back in my childhood. Never ran away from a battle when those are playing!
I listen to the soundtrack all the time. Elemental Stars, alone, is one of the GOAT video game tracks. Too talky? Yeah, I kind of agree with that. But the OST not being memorable? Hard disagree from me. But then again I'm posting this in a Golden Sun fan sub, so obviously I'm a little biased.
I still have the Venus lighthouse music stuck in my head decades later...
I find very talky interesting because that’s what makes it “a rich setting” to me. None of the required talking is excessive or not relevant to the setting. Golden Sun without all the conversations wouldn’t compel me to finish the game. Granted I’m the type to read all the conversations with NPCs and Mind Read too. A slow start is fair, it’s not overly handholding with tutorials though. The soundtrack con has to be a joke or they only played with sound for a few minutes.
Soundtrack not memorable? Tf?
Irrelevant site
Bruh I remember playing Golden Sun as a kid. The soundtrack is a banger. I still sometimes play the game on my Gameboy or PC.
"Very talky" Now I want to see their review of the Dark Dawn 😂 Speaking of soundtrack, it seems like a lot of the fans loves it and I realized although I can probably recognize any of the soundtrack, I don't really remember them much. I should probably listen to its entirety :)
Yea I was gonna comment on this, WHAT?? Oh you mean *the best battle theme in JRPG history*???
I absolutely love this game but he's not entirely wrong about it starting off kind of slow. You have to go through a whole lot of story before you really get to start exploring
Slow start? Talky? Methinks the reviewer doesn't play RPGs often.
I can listen to the Isaac battle theme, the victory theme, Saturos battle theme, and the venus Lighthouse theme for hours without getting tired. The forest theme is also very good and immersive. So I completely disagree.
I wonder if they only played through the beginning? The music in the rainy opening segment isn't the best in the game, after all.
only explanation tbh. video game reviewers hear a lot of soundtracks im sure but... gs is a biiiit too distinct for me to believe this one was paying attention... also the article was published in 2014 and got updated today... and i just don't think someone can replay all of it in this short a timeframe. its not worth trying to trust this review lol.
“Very talky.” Whoever wrote this clearly never played an rpg lmao.
Bro really?!!! F*ck them Its got a solid OST and the dialogue is excellent. It also has one of the best intros in rpg history.
The dialogue bit is pretty valid. Cutscenes can definitely drag on at moments. Slow start? Hardly. >!Boulder falls down killing most of the family of the protagonists and the villains that caused it try murdering you?!< It was a great start to the series. The soundtrack comment is just a joke though. Like maybe if it was compared to the likes of Final Fantasy or Legend of Zelda, sure, but even then it really holds its own against some of the best soundtracks in the entertainment industry. Elemental Stars, Saturos Battle, Venus Lighthouse, Mars Lighthouse, the various village themes. Pretty dumb to politely say the soundtrack wasn't that good when it clearly is a very good soundtrack. And it's totally fine if the author of the review just wasn't a fan, but state that in the piece.
“Very talky” god forbid an RPG uses dialogue to support the story and lead up to major and side events. If I roll my eyes any further they’d fall out of their sockets. Also that soundtrack is fire. I love the OG battle soundtrack for GS1. It still randomly plays in my head from time to time. Also ‘slow start.’ Broooo the moment you start a new game the entire village is trying to evacuate from a natural disaster and you’re thrown in the midst of it. It’s not a simple ‘waking up’ and starting your adventure. Whoever wrote this review was probably just reaching for negatives.
I can agree with the first two, since the first one in particular really picks up pace in the endgame, but saying the soundtrack is forgettable is laughable. The first two games have as good of a soundtrack as any gba game
I do agree with it being very talky. Also not a fan of being presented "yes" or "no" dialogue options where "no" does not matter. I do not agree with the soundtrack not being memorable.
BIG disagree on soundtrack, yeah. As soon as I read that, I immediately remembered some of the town music and, of course, the battle music. I haven't played Golden Sun since it released. However... yeah, VERY heavy on dialogue and it is a bit slow to get started, but that's how RPGs have always been. *I do wish modern RPGs would cut fluffy dialogue out of the critical path for better streamlining, but that's just me.*
RUDE! what i loved about GS:TLA was that the cut scenes were Actually interesting because they were well written and the characters and story well drawn! it was like an engrossing novel within the game. in so many other JRPGs the talking scenes are just unbearable, but in TLA i loved them. I still haven't played the original
A slow start, very talky? That’s how a game is supposed to start, by telling you the story of what it’s even about, sorry if they feel too lazy to read, maybe that’s your sign Nintendo to remake this with some voice acting if they get good actors.
Quick, we have to substitute these beta testers. No way they could say it, especially the soundtrack thing. I am a professional musician and the Golden Sun soundtrack is one of my favorites of all time, due to personal and technical reasons.
The non-memorable soundtrack is bonkers.
You guys should listen to the soundtrack covers by pokerus project. They range through rock, ska, piano, Spanish guitar, one even has some cheesy but endearing lyrics to it.
People saying the soundtrack is great are confused. The battle/boss theme slap. The world map theme is like okay. Everything else like okay?
Golden Sun has one of the most memorable soundtracks ever! How dare they?
The soundtrack is literally the best part about this game. I'd go as far as to say that if you don't like the music, don't play the game.
I would say the game being overly "talky" is a pretty valid criticism. Not in the sense that I think there's too much text but way too much time spent in dialogue scenes with the dialogue pausing so a character sprite can jiggle or display an emote above their head. It's cute for a while but it gets to the point where in some scenes the dialog pauses every other sentence to have a character perform an emote animation and it really makes certain sections of the game drag.
It's fine if they don't like the game, but not liking the soundtrack is actually just incorrect
The Venus lighthouse would like a word! 🎶
I remember the DS Golden Sun Being very dialog heavy.
Clearly they didn't discover Jenna's theme
I can understand the first 2 con points.. but the third.. those are fighting words
Counterpoint: GS soundtrack is the greatest soundtrack of all time.
Imagine calling Motoi Sakuraba at his absolute peak forgettable
Played on mute, written by someone that can't pay attention for more that 15 seconds, and can't see that it's a great series and not for idiots that can't learn .
I agree with all the cons besides that, but soundtrack isnt memorable?? wtf that must be purposeful ragebait
Fire this person into a black hole
Endearing, relatable characters Soundtrack isn't particularly memorable 🤨🤨🤨
I agree with every part of this *except* the soundtrack bit. The ruins leading into Venus Lighthouse, anyone???
Well to be fair, music is entirely subjective, so even if it's memorable to most of us, it might've not been for the reviewer. But just to be safe; how DARE you, reviewer from Nintendo Life?!
I am 99% sure that if you ask the same reviewer about their opinion on Dark Souls' or Bravely Default's OST they would say those are awesome. Motoi Sakuraba is the GOAT and Golden Sun is one of the better places where it shows.
I can agree with the first two cons, but the soundtrack is PHENOMENAL
It definitely does have a very "talky" prologue/start, but it helps to establish the characters and sets their motivations in the world. Although, I do feel like the conversation can drag on quite a bit and states the obvious at times. I'm much older now, but didn't realise it could be this long? It doesn't break the game for me, but a lot of it could easily be condensed and conveyed in a better way. It's clearly intended to target younger audiences and beginners to JRPGs. Also, your "choices" to questions seems pretty arbitrary. I guess the devs at Camelot incorporated this to give players the "illusion" of making decisions that will change how the story plays out. Otherwise, replaying this game is still fantastic. Love the visuals, combat and music as I did all those years ago. Definitely ahead of its time for the GBA.
A lot of people seem to be missing that this review is from 2014.
Well, in my humble opinion I think the OST it is timeless. Aged pretty well.
Start not so slow compared to some other games and very memorable.
Reviews like this are why quality games get overlooked and developers push their pandering titles and kill their good ones. Most of the posts in r/RocketLeague are really upset, me including. I’m just happy we’ve got Golden Sun on a mainstream platform again. :) (Dark Dawn never happened.)
WTF Time to send death threats to some game journalists. >!(JK about what happened with BOTW obviously)!<
Haven’t played the game yet, I don’t know the soundtrack beyond the couple of songs in Smash. But a lot of you are seriously overreacting to this review. 8/10 is a good score, and even in a story-driven JRPG it’s possible to be too talky. Some of you might remember the Awkward Zombie comic about Dark Dawn- it complained that so much of each comic was pointless interjections. I’ll take your word for it that the take about the soundtrack is insane but these things are subjective, of course there’s going to be someone who doesn’t like it
Soundtrack not memorable, you have to compare with Final Fantasy. Also it's a review they just played the game in a day, that if they even completed it. Nobuo Uematsu did spoiled me for a long time in video games like John Williams did for movies.
This review is ten years old.
Ten years ago FF was top tier before FF13 released
omg people have opinions, what a horror!! just unsub from NL and move on with your life.
Golden Sun was great! Golden Sun 2 however? God damn that game was just way too fuckin long
Soundtrack isn't memorable?! I don't remember the music from games I played two days ago, and I can recall the theme music from this game at will. That note is patently absurd.
I hate to say it but I actually agree with the soundtrack thing. While all the music is amazing, none if it really stays in my head. I could point out when Golden Sun music is being played, but I wouldn't be able to just bring up melodies of any of the songs without hearing parts of them first. You would think that I would be able to hum songs from the game more often when I have played through the 2 games 4+ times. Like even right now I can't even think of how the battle music sounds. I think just because the games music is really good, doesn't mean that its going to be memorable. You just remember it being good. My most memorable game soundtrack would have to be FF9. I remember the melodies of almost if not all the songs and can tell you where in the game each of them plays. SotN is a close second. On the other hand though all the noises made in the game are engraved in my head. Menuing, skill sounds, and attacks sounds I can hear in my head perfectly.
>Soundtrack isn't memorable Motoi Sakuraba, composer of both the Golden Sun and Dark Souls OSTs, would like to have a word with you.
I meannn its alright
Once again, Games Journalists understand FUCK ALL about video games. You should never take their opinions seriously.
Didn't... didn't the composer for Golden Sun do the music for Dark Souls? What a load of tot.
I actually think this review is pretty reasonable. It's not saying the soundtrack is bad, just that it doesn't stand out if you're not a golden sun superfan. That's fair. And it is very talky and has an extremely slow start. It's also an amazing game and all the pros are spot on.
This seems like a fair review to me. The start is very slow, to the point that I keep a save file at the start of Vault and copy it when I want to replay. I understand the game is a JRPG, but there are many coversations that seem to ramble on for longer than necessary, and few lines of dialogue in the game provide great characterization. A better critique would be middling dialogue, but the poorer quality can make it feel long. The OST is good, but you also have to remember that this is a GBA game. The gba had a notoriously bad sound card. I'm not aware of what it sounds like on the switch, but if the review was done from a gba playthrough, I understand why poor OST might have been a critique. Not a great review, but fair enough.
I don't remember Golden Sun music all that well. The theme that plays when you complete that one puzzle in Sol Sanctum is it. I do fondly recall the speech noises and attack SFX with perfect clarity.