Golden Sun: The Lost Age

Often, reviews come straight from my testers, and I'm going to let you in one one reviewer's notes. Tim is a gaming veteran at age 11 and here's what he had to say about spending about two weeks with this game and beating it thoroughly!

"Golden Sun: The Lost Age is my favorite Nintendo game ever. I can't wait until a sequel comes out! I give this game a perfect 10/10.

The game begins at Venus Lighthouse. First of all, you need to know that Adepts are psychic energy masters. You start the game with Felix (Squire), an 18-year-old Earth adept (and the hero of Golden Sun: The Lost Age); Jenna (Flame Seer), a 17-year-old Fire adept (Felix's sister), Sheba (Wind Seer), a 14-year-old Wind adept, and Piers (Mariner), a mysterious character. In TLA, the goal is to light the two remaining lighthouses and save the world from darkness. Sounds simple? Think again!

Our hero figure, Felix, takes on Alex, Karst, and Agatio. Alex is a descendent of an ancient tribe who protected the Mercury lighthouse while Karst and Agatio are members of the Fire tribe.

You can transfer your old stats from your original Golden Sun game by either putting a Gold, a Silver, or a Bronze password in, or transferring your data with a GameLink.

The Gold password has everything included, Silver transfers party levels, Djinn, and character stats, and Bronze transfers levels stats and Djinns.

What are Djinns? They are spirits of the earth, water, fire and the wind--the four elements that make up all matter. Think of them as TLA's power boosts. You'll run into many Djins during this game--some you'll acquire willingly while others will join you after a fight. Djinns come in four flavors: Earth (Echo), Water (Steam), Fire (Cannon) and Wind (Breath).

Djinns are sort of like Pokemon on steroids! You can trade 'em, give 'em, or equip and remove 'em! You know, you gotta have them all!! When they are set, they can increase your stats. Each Djinn has a special ability it can use when it is sent into Battle. After its ability is used, it goes into Standby Mode, where you can summon. You summon by having multiple Djinn on standby. Like Judgement, you need four Venus Djinn on standby. Also look out for Summon Tablets that are used to make fusion summons.

After you get Issac's party, you have the option of switching during battle, since you can only have four people out at a time.

Later in the game, you can get a boat to sail with. Much later, you'll get an upgrade to it! This game rocks the charts!"
- Tim Velgos, Lead Tester
The Review Zone.com

You can challenge your friends in one-on-one competitions by using the GBA Link cable (sold separately from the game).

If you have a GBA SP, go directly to the Nintendo Store to buy a headphone adapter!

We used the headphone adapter on this game and it's ideal! You will be blown away by the sound when you hook your headphones to the adapter!!! At press time, the GBA headphone adapter could be purchased at the online Nintendo store. For $4.25 (plus postage) it is one of the best investments you can make for your GBA SP. Parents will love the fact that there is PEACE as you storm away the hours making a lot less noise. Remember, they can still hear you humming and singing along while you play but it's a happy hum, you know? To get that important GBA SP headphone adapter, go to the Nintendo Store at http://store.nintendo.com/ (select Parts & Accessories..., then Game Boy, then Game Boy Advance SP, then Headphone adaptor)

Although this game may sound complicated to some parentals, this game is loaded with intricate game strategy detail and you'll get maximum bang for your hard-earned gaming bucks by buying this game. Scoring off the charts in replayability and challenge, Golden Sun: The Lost Age is the best of the best that Nintendo has to offer on its handheld platform!

I can tell you that the long wait was worth it! And now the wait continues as we anticipate a sequel to Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Whether you're a newbie to Golden Sun or a Golden Sun veteran, you'll be stunned by this high-octane, adrenaline boosting adventure!

Highly recommended by The Review Zone.com and undoubtedly, this year's best handheld game!