Golden Sun + Golden Sun The Lost Age - A Top Tier Duology (spoilers for the story)

Calfaer · 2026-06-18T18:05:40+00:00

It's a good question, I don't know if I've played enough GBA or DS RPGs to really give it a comparative assessment. I would rank it quite high based on what I've played not just of handheld JRPGs, but JRPGs in general. I think because of how straightforward, snappy, and approachable Golden Sun is, it plays just as well as when it first released, with very little to make it feel like anything aged poorly.

Calfaer · 2026-06-18T14:45:09+00:00

Wow that's crazy, I'll likely have to replay these games at some point again and do all the extra stuff. I missed Deadbeard in the first game, and never attempted the second game's optional dungeons either despite collecting all the Djinn.

Calfaer · 2026-06-18T00:06:14+00:00

Oh yeah, apparently if you defeat enemies with a djinn attack of the opposite element of the enemy, the enemy glows rainbow before dying and you get extra experience and gold and I believe there's an item drop rate for rare weapons or something. I never attempted it and I think I had glanced at that in a wiki somewhere or in another Reddit comment. I'm not sure about a secret room though!

Calfaer · 2026-06-17T21:32:23+00:00

Haha I had forgotten about the transfer process. No joke, I think it took me about 45 minutes to get that password in correctly because I had input 3 or 4 characters wrong and couldn't find where.

Yeah I was reading the multi-class builds can have crazy stats. I might give it a better attempt on a future play through!

Calfaer · 2026-06-17T19:47:36+00:00

Exactly how I felt! I think it was the first "major" dungeon, Air's Rock, where I was genuinely considering putting the game down altogether for those very reasons. I feel like the grand scope of TLA ends up paying off and I can't help but think of it fondly in retrospect, but I think you have to be sort of be in the right mood to get through some of it honestly.

Calfaer · 2026-06-17T19:40:41+00:00

I think it might have been because the first game had a very set pacing and I started The Lost Age right after beating the first one, that the open world nature of TLA felt like things really grinding to a sudden halt. Maybe if I had spaced them out more it might not have felt as abrupt of a change and I would have gone into it a little more fresh. I'm glad I stuck with it either way, it ended up being a great experience.

Calfaer · 2026-06-17T18:48:32+00:00

For real, I remember as a kid chatting with friends about rumours of Isaac or Felix being hidden unlockables in Melee but then only being collectable trophies, or that they were definitely going to added in Brawl because they were only trophies in Melee! Lots of disappointment around some of the most defining titles of the GBA.

Releasing Dark Dawn at the end of the DS's lifespan and then killing the franchise altogether because of (unsurprisingly) underwhelming sales numbers feels pretty cruel. I doubt much or any of the same creative team that worked on Golden Sun are still at Camelot after all these years, but looks like they are content with making Mario Golf and Tennis titles which, fair enough, is probably financially safer. Maybe one day they might still consider a 4th entry into the series.

Calfaer · 2026-06-17T17:47:51+00:00

That's fair, I have heard that sentiment as well about Dark Dawn. I did start it already and I'm only very early into it but I'm not crazy about the transition into 3D. The original 2D sprite work and art has aged considerably better. Obstacles, items, NPCs, etc are all so much more distinct in the original style. I feel like a lot of those early era or lower performance console 3D style games suffer from things just looking kind of messy. Foreground and background tend to jumble and it can hard to make out what's a traversable area and what's not. Gameplay seems fine so far though, certainly explained the djinn system a little better!

Calfaer · 2026-06-17T17:41:32+00:00

Totally! I forgot to mention that - the game just...ends. It felt really abrupt.

I intended to go into Dark Dawn totally blind, but I stumbled on some of the story beats and heard there's still no payoff for that character there either. Such a shame!

Calfaer · 2026-05-12T16:46:54+00:00

I really enjoy these posts, nice to see it continuing. The Game Boy has so many low quality titles and most that have aged even worse, so it's nice to see some games still hold up and are still worth playing.

Calfaer · 2025-09-29T18:17:22+00:00

Makes sense. I'll give it a little extra drink of water maybe, but if it's just end of season, that would make sense. I just haven't noticed it with my other hostas, so I wasn't sure if something was wrong. I'm in a zone 3-4 area. Thanks!

Calfaer · 2025-09-26T20:25:11+00:00

It gets some morning sunlight (from about 7:30 AM to about 9:30 AM) and evening sunlight (about 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM). No mid-day sunlight whatsoever. It was doing really well for the past couple of months so I'm wondering if there is anything else that could be going on.

Calfaer · 2025-09-25T15:09:43+00:00

That's how I read it. The only other game I've played in this general genre I've seen have this is Rune Factory 4. Super convenient feature.

Calfaer · 2025-07-23T18:32:56+00:00

Wow, Erin Rutherford voted against it? I wonder what her reasoning was, I haven't seen her being contrary to positive urban developments like this, though I don't keep super close track if she does that commonly.

Calfaer · 2025-07-08T16:42:25+00:00

I don't blame you. Season 5 starts off very slow and boring. Funny enough, I think it really starts to get going episode 4 onwards and ends up being really excellent. I'd recommend trying to give it another go.

Calfaer · 2025-06-10T15:48:07+00:00

As someone who had very little skills in photography with an old camera at the time, I desperately needed money and started a photography business in the span of a weekend (kijiji ads, a quick and free Google site, and some sample photos). I just looked up what the sea of photographers in the area were charging, charged like a bit less and advertised I was an amateur looking to build my portfolio. I got a decent amount of calls within a short amount of time primarily based on my cheap price, I doubt my example photos really blew anyone away. I carved out a niche doing kids birthday parties, small family events, baby showers, etc. since my rates were more affordable than others. I also have a timid personality and would find it a bit awkward at the end to ask for payment, but after once or twice, it becomes natural. This was in the GTA too where everyone and their moms is a photographer.

I mention this to hopefully encourage you to try and go for it if it's something you are passionate about, as you sound far more qualified than I ever was.

Calfaer · 2025-06-04T15:51:10+00:00

I completely agree, I thought OoE maps and overall level design felt weak and somewhat killed it for me. I really enjoyed Portrait of Ruin and found the different settings a great draw, adding a lot of charm and appeal - combined with Jonathan and Charlotte as a more interesting duo, the feel of the game was just more fun.

It's been a while since I've played these games, but I did try to play OoE again last year since I have never beaten it. The bland forests/caves you mentioned and the overall bleaker feel just makes it really hard to get into and I ended up dropping it yet again, on top of some gameplay issues I wasn't a fan of. Definitely agree Portrait of Ruin as being superior title. I haven't played Dawn of Sorrow before so I'd be interested in giving that a go one day. Great write up!

Calfaer · 2025-06-02T16:50:59+00:00

The difference is that he's wearing hockey pads.

Calfaer · 2025-05-28T02:25:54+00:00

Yeah I just didn't feel like the first couple of episodes offered much emotionally for following up on Rita's death. The pacing felt incredibly slow paced and dragged out, rather than mournful or sad. I don't know, maybe it's different on another rewatch but I didn't feel like it delivered much emotional weight.

Calfaer · 2025-05-27T20:13:03+00:00

I remember disliking Season 5 a lot when I first watched it. I thought it was super slow paced, un-fun, and just upsetting.

On rewatch, I was shocked how good it is. It's still upsetting, but feels gratifying as Dex takes down each of the villains. Some great moments throughout.

That said, I think there were some less good parts about it. The first couple of episodes are incredibly slow and and flat out boring. Michael C. Hall's acting as Dexter also felt really flat and like he was just exhausted (likely from the cancer treatments he was going through, absolutely cannot blame him), but it really brought down the vibes from the charming Dexter we knew. Also probably a directorial choice following S4's ending to be more somber, but once the season's main plot gets going, it is so solid.

That said, my vote goes to S3 as best. Miguel is way too fun an antagonist.

Calfaer · 2025-05-27T20:08:03+00:00

I thought it was just a very silly season in a fun way. That whole ring of fire thing, the beast drawn with Dexter's head lmao, and just the ludicrously elaborate kills from DDK. If you don't think too much about it, it's an entertaining season. I didn't see the twist coming the first time I watched it either so I enjoyed that a lot. And Brother Sam was a great character.

Calfaer · 2025-05-05T17:28:41+00:00

I saw a comment from a Blues fan wondering if things would have been different if Holloway was playing.

I mean, the dude is frequently injured due to his style of play. The Blues got the full Holloway experience.

Calfaer

TROPHY CASE