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When's the last time you played Golden Sun (1) ?

Started by Thunder-squall, 18, April, 2014, 01:40:04 PM

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Thunder-squall

I started but never finished it years ago, and now I'm playing it for the first time as of a few minutes ago.

Anyone up for a sort of "Golden Sun book club?"

Status on intro
I'm digging the intro scenes, and the silent protagonist.  It's pretty effective now, though I wasn't a fan of it in Dark Dawn.  I'd be willing to discuss why it's more effective in GS1 than in DD, at least in the intro portions.

The NPCs speak and move fast enough that things don't seem to drag during 'cut scenes,' the way other RPGs tend to drag.

The only complaint that's left over from my first impression years ago is the dull color palette, and the softness of the art style.  But since I've already made up my mind not to 'judge the book based on its cover,' (and since the game's inspired some of you guys so much), I don't think that'll deter me on this play through.

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

Silent Protagonist: Maybe Isaac is is afraid of storms, and that shocked him a bit...?

Things you think you might not like could become stuff you might like? Who knows. It could be like nostalgia: When you're living life, you're probably minding your own business, only to find out later, you miss all the old stuff. (Depending on what you value.)

Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Thunder-squall

That squeaky voice though... Someone needs to do a GS mod where all the people are replaced with mouse-people...

Raetah

About the Intro...
Intro of Golden Sun 1 is much better than Intro of Dark Dawn, in Golden Sun they put you almost directly in to the action, your town is in danger, rocks are falling, you have to escape, at one point you find a man aparently wounded and you fight monsters, then you have to find someone that can helps a kid trapped in the river, then a giant rock falls aparently killing everyone in the house of the river, then you fight two mysterios persons that defeat you.

Golden Sun Dark Dawn dont balance correctly the text lenght between the play time during the intro, you have to read what happened in the other games (which is not necessary at all because in the game it explains it correctly in other forms) then you read even more text... Then even when a tense situation starts you have to keep reading, during that time i was: oh come on! Your son has fallen in a dangerous place, there is nothing to talk about, MOVE ON! But no, you have to keep reading...

I have nothing against text, but this is not the type of Intro you want to use to catch players in the game.

Thunder-squall

That's true.  Can you start a new thread where was can talk about to have implemented the intro of Dark Dawn correctly?  Then we could turn that into a hack or something.  As I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure how I would have done DD differently.  I mean they just had so much backstory to give us...

I really liked how we first saw psi energy in GS, when the mom quickly used it to grab something, as if it was no big deal.

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

QuoteI really liked how we first saw psi energy in GS, when the mom quickly used it to grab something, as if it was no big deal.
I like that as well. It makes it seem like the norm. For example, you could suspect that whenever people use their hands, they use psynergy... However, the game isn't quite heavily focused on psynergy in that way, but instead, mostly used for obstacles and battles.
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Misery

I pick up the games occasionally, though there's admittedly very little - if anything - left for me to do.

I think the difference you're describing is GS using the "show, don't tell" approach a bit more, whereas DD essentially spoonfeeds you the entire backstory and then has everybody describing everything. I remember feeling that same irritation during DD's intro - "stop talking, we have to do stuff!"

Regarding silent protagonist in GS, I don't think it made the game either better or worse.

Thunder-squall

I think silent protagonists are conducive to the 'let's do stuff' style.  Link on the DS is a silent protagonist, for example... Actually, a lot of RPGs have silent protagonists, but for whatever reason it really, really stuck out to me in Golden Sun games... Maybe it's the big face symbols? I guess maybe it is just my personal problem that I find the pseudo 3d a bit obnoxious.

KyleRunner

Quote from: Thunder-squall on 18, April, 2014, 02:15:00 PM
That squeaky voice though... Someone needs to do a GS mod where all the people are replaced with mouse-people...

I just love those voices...

Man: Abululululululululu
Woman: Abililililililili

By the way (topic), I play both GBA games frequentey.

Rolina

Last time?

Yesterday.  Casually on my WiiU.  It looks like crap on the TV, though - colors are all wrong.  Best played on the game pad.

Aile~♥

The problem with DD's intro is the unskippable, several-minute-long intro text scroll. GS:TLA had an intro text scroll that was almost that long, but it could be skipped just with the Start button and you wouldn't be missing anything that you won't get later on. GS:DD is that but worse: The intro is longer, unskippable, and tells you even less than the one in TLA. And not only does it spoonfeed you things that the NPCs are going to tell you anyway as soon as the game starts, it even repeats itself! And unlike the unskippable intro text in, for example, Tales of Symphonia, it isn't narrated by Cam Clarke. Instant negative points right there. GS:DD's intro text scroll could easily be half as long and get all the same information across. And you know, I probably wouldn't find the in-game dialogue so incredibly dumbed-down if the intro text scroll hadn't just told me all that.

As for the issue of Silent Protagonists, I actually prefer DD in this regard. Matthew's dialogue is sort of implied, leaving the player to fill in the blanks. It's unfortunate, then, that the emotes are so confusing and generally non-indicative.
[sprite=16, 6, 0]:P[/sprite]

Lloyd: Easy as pie.
Genis: Sweet!
Presea: ...Sweetie pie...
Zelos: Let's not start on this again...

[spoiler=epic mindscrew][/spoiler]

Luna_blade

Quote from: JamietheFlameUserGS:TLA had an intro text scroll that was almost that long, but it could be skipped just with the Start button and you wouldn't be missing anything that you won't get later on.
You could skip the intro?
"Hear the sounds and melodies
Of rilets flowing down
They're the verlasting songs
Whispering all the time
As a warning that behind some rocks
There's a rigid grap even
Oreads fear the tread"

Aile~♥

In GS:TLA, the beginning text scroll that explains what happened in GS1 can be sped up with the B button, or skipped completely with Start. How cool is that? Not the entire tutorial area at Venus Lighthouse, or the overly-long opening conversation between Jenna, Alex, and Kraden, however.
[sprite=16, 6, 0]:P[/sprite]

Lloyd: Easy as pie.
Genis: Sweet!
Presea: ...Sweetie pie...
Zelos: Let's not start on this again...

[spoiler=epic mindscrew][/spoiler]

Knight of Purgatory

I last played gs1 last month. I played gs2 recently as well but i didnt really finish it. I used to play both games often, but I think I overplayed them and I dont really feel like playing it much anymore
MOAR DARKNESS, MOAR COOKIES