31-Jul-2003 The handheld RPG king returns for more fun in the sun
Last year's Golden Sun was an unrelenting miniature masterpiece of role-player splendour.
Opening at the point where that game left off, The Lost Age resumes the complex story of alchemy and world domination and hurtles ever onwards like a circuit trainer on a sugar rush. If you're a series newbie, the chances are you'll be throwing your arms up in dumbfounded confusion before long.
Playing The Role Guide your party of adventurers across fantastic lands, talk bobbins with crazy townsfolk, trawl through fiendish dungeons, obliterate monsters in an endless procession of random turn-based battles and crunch enough stats to make Carol Vorderman's eyes water.
Yep, The Lost Age has its relatively standard old-skool elements for sure, but the inclusion of the ingenious Djinn fighting system helps the game to transcend this. Djinni are little elemental creatures that roam the landscape. Stumble across one and beat it in battle and your party will be able to harness its incredible attack powers in combat, raining pocket-sized mayhem on enemies in a blaze of graphical splendour.
Golden... Delicious? With the two-player Battle Arena mode, the ability to import character stats from the original Golden Sun, beautiful graphics and audio so blissful that butterflies practically shoot out of your GBA whenever you play, it's impossible to fault Lost Age's presentation.
However, there's still too much unnecessary text to wade through during conversations and the early stages of the game are so slow-paced that many gamers will have switched off long before the good stuff starts. Occasionally, too, objectives can be vague, leading to a lot of aimless wandering around the game world, cursing the sometimes hair-tearingly frequent random battles.
If the thought of playing an RPG sends you racing for the hills in terror, The Lost Age probably isn't going to coax you back over the horizon. For anyone else, however, there's a long, satisfying quest ahead. Just remember: newcomers to the series would be wise to start with the original title to truly get the most from the story.
More sublime old-skool role-playing goodness, although it's more of a second chapter than a proper sequel. Could be somewhat impenetrable to series newcomers.
Every now and again, you will cross paths with one of the game's many elemental Djinni. If you succeed in beating these feisty creatures in battle, their devastating magical attacks will be at your disposal during combat.
Use all your cunning and guile to corner one of the little fellas
...ready to unleash its diminutive but deadly fury on your enemies
Once you’ve defeated one, a Djinn will tag along with your party...
They might be wee in stature but Djinni can take a fair bit of pounding
// Monster Mash
In the Battle Arena mode you have the opportunity to hone your skills by challenging the game's formidable roster of monsters to combat. Alternatively, link your GBA up to a mate's and you can pit your two parties against each other.
Only monsters you have already encountered in the main game will appear in the arena
Wait in the lobby for a human challenger or dive straight into the sword-swinging mayhem
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885
