he Lost Age begins where Golden Sun ends, with Isaac and Jenna at the final battle to stop the Venus lighthouse from being lit. To help those who didn’t finish the original or only vaguely remember it, the opening sequence gives an extensive recap of the events in Golden Sun. Sadly, even this detailed account doesn’t really lessen the confusion you will experience for a good portion of the game, whether you played the first title or not.

Felix, not Isaac, is the hero of this adventure and the game quickly gets you into the thick of things, which is simultaneously good and bad. It’s nice to get straight into some of the action, but it also leaves you without much direction as to what to do or where to go. Also, The Lost Age features almost no improvements to the original game’s engine, save for a new story, Djinni, harder puzzles, and Psynergy powers. Since the original was so well done, I wouldn’t say that this is necessarily a disaster, but it would have been nice to see some new innovations, especially in the gameplay department.

For those who played the first title, The Lost Age is a welcome treat. You even have the option of transferring data from your original game to this one for added fun. Overall, I feel Golden Sun: The Lost Age is a slight disappointment. It’s still a solid choice for anyone mildly interested in RPGs, but without at least some new content, fans of the series will walk away a little too underwhelmed.   

CHET BARBER   8.5 Although Lost Age certainly maintains a high level of quality in many respects, outside of the story, the design and play mechanics resemble the original’s far too closely. Furthermore, the game begins in medias res (look it up); which, on a positive note, breaks the traditional banal beginning found in almost every other RPG. But to its detriment, this approach comes at the sacrifice of continuity, making it difficult to understand the plot and – more importantly – your objectives for the first three or four hours. Players who missed the original title will especially feel confused. One major problem Camelot did manage to remedy (thank goodness) is combat frequency. Now you won’t waste countless hours unnecessarily fighting every two or three steps!