Mash A to Win - Let's Play Golden Sun Dark Dawn

Really? Sounds like great advice to me!
Also, do you get anything for having the original games in the gameboy slot? Or did they ignore that?

Hmmm, some of the complaints you've stated could be directed at the first 2 games. I enjoyed those a lot, so I'd probably like this one too. Are the issues just more of the same or is it exponentially worse? Because there seems to be so much more talking in this game.

By the time Dark Dawn came out, the DS had long since stopped giving bonuses for putting specific GBA games in Slot 2.

Dark Dawn suffers from even more talking than the first two games, and also has a greater amount of bullshit why-do-I-have-to-do-this puzzles. Add in the fact that the game is so linear that once you finally do get free reign you actually can break the game's plot progression hints, and you don't get something I would ever recommend.

The things the original did well, the sequel does even better; the things the original did poorly, the sequel does even worse.

I live.



Completely ignoring the fact that freaking ninja just attacked, Kraden, Matthew, Karis, and Tyrell chat. Speaking of Tyrell, he asks why Kraden didn’t do anything to help the party get through the ruins.



This results in Nowell berating Tyrell. More importantly, this little scene reveals that Nowell is pretty much standing right next to the party, which leads to the obvious question of why didn’t she help during the battle.



After some more talking, Karis looks up and notices that Rief has gone missing.



This revelation is so stunning that the game repeats it twice.



…Vale was wiped off the map almost two decades ago,

After a long camera pan (which I suppose represents the party looking around), Kraden gets his own little scene dedicated to him just looking around. Eventually he asks for the voice to show himself.



Insert more talking and Kraden getting angry.



At this point, Nowell gets off her ass and jumps over to Kraden. Along the way, she demands to know where Rief was taken. She is completely ignored in favor of Matthew.

In between the scene I just described and the next picture, there is a completely pointless scene where Karis and Tyrell emote and Matthew turns around to look at them.



By solving the tedious puzzle in the ruins right above here?

The player’s given another emoticon choice here. I was mashing A, so I ended up choosing the basic smiley face option.



That was apparently Matthew just saying yes. Anyways, the reason I bring this up is so I can have context for



This hilarious line.

Anyways, Kraden demands exposition, and he is completely ignored. The shadowy voices decide to reveal themselves.



So they descend from the god damn ceiling. Remember that airship way back in the intro? Apparently it was hovering above Konpa Cave.



Say hello to Blados. Can you guess what weapon he uses?

Moving on, Blados is this game’s blue male antagonist, and he’s even more ineffectual than the last two. This doesn’t stop him from acting like he’s actually someone to be afraid of, sadly.

I’ll just sum up the following conversation: Blados and the Masked Man use Rief to force Matthew’s party to head for the cave’s southern exit instead of the northern one. This is the exact opposite direction we want to go, yet we go there anyways because we can’t just let Rief die.



Take a wild guess which exit Rief gets dropped off at.

Kraden is starting to recall who the Masked Man is. Can you figure it out before him?



Considering that Rief was kidnapped while Matthew and co. were dealing with the Stealthy Scouts, I think Kraden is talking out of his ass.

Anyways, Nowell says that Kraden shouldn’t blame himself and that it’s her fault. Though it’s really both of their faults, this is enough to assuage Kraden’s guilt.



So he says this, which makes no sense whatsoever seeing as how nobody has even been able to approach Sol Sanctum in all of these years.

Anyways, Kraden and Nowell decide to go the north exit.



This is the last time Nowell shows up in this game. Sadly, it is not even close to the last time Kraden appears.

After Matthew and co. say their farewells, Kraden drops an unnecessary drama bomb and explains that the Psynergy Vortex the machine is creating will somehow make it impossible for Matthew and co. to take the north exit. While the smart thing to do would be to destroy the machine, Kraden wants Matthew and co. to go hike over a mountain. But instead of climbing over Konpa Cave (which would make perfect sense), Kraden wants Matthew to climb over the Khiren Mountains, which are way off to the east.



Sorry, but this game’s just getting started with the sidequest train.

Tyrell and Karis discuss the events that just happened for a bit, then, instead of clearing out of the room with a gigantic psychic black hole in it, exposit about where the southern path will lead. There is also a short talk about how Tyrell being mature, but eh.



As soon as Matthew leaves Konpa Cave, a cutscene plays where some ninja drop a bunch of rocks over the exit.

Blados pops up and there is more talking. Along the way, Blados compares Karis to her father.



This apparently counts as knowing a lot about Karis.



This is not Matthew and co. wondering if they should scale the mountain, it’s them looking for Rief.



Pathetically, despite being trapped in a box, Rief finds them.



But because Tyrell and Karis are blithering idiots, they honestly think it’s a hopping crate. Matthew has to tell them to open it.



RIEF DIED FOR YOUR SINS.

Er-hem, anyways, simply tapping the box causes it to unfold outwards, leading to the obvious question as to why Rief’s hopping didn’t just cause the box to explode.

After a fade to black and some meaningless chatter, Blados appears out of nowhere to



Tell Matthew something he already knew and witnessed. This game.



Throughout the entirety of his appearance so far, Blados has constantly made very unsubtle hints that Matthew and co are being used like pawns. However, it is only this blatant declaration that gets Matthew and co to realize that’s going on.



And they never will. Let me be the first to tell you that the plan Blados is talking about is fucking incomprehensible.



Blados and co leave by the route Matthew and co honestly should be taking.

The party then proceed to chat. Rief shows no worry at all about being around three complete strangers, Tyrell and Karis completely forget Kraden’s last words and discuss Blados’ suggestion that they climb over the Khiren Mountains, and Karis completely 180s on her earlier excitement over exploring Angara.

Eventually, Rief restates Kraden’s earlier suggestion to go to a town nearby, and Karis follows suit by also restating said suggestion.

Ahahahahahaha Rief.



Rief sucks. He’s currently better than Karis/Tyrell in their (naturally weakest) stats, but that’s because he’s level 10 (the game has set levels for each new party member).

Rief’s problem is that, like his mother, he’s a dedicated healer. Thus he has a terrible equipment selection (staffs and maces()and some less than satisfactory combat stats. And unlike Mia, he doesn’t get a pass due to being the only healer in a four man party; Karis has Fresh Breeze, and this game will give me more than four members. Rief is all around one of the worst units in the game, and even the game knows it considering how fast they provide a replacement.

There is one good thing about Rief though.



And that would be this fellow. Sleet boosts HP by 11, Attack by 3, and Luck by 1. Using him in battle results in a Mercury element attack that does the user‘s normal attack damage +30, and has a chance of lowering the enemy‘s attack by 25%. But I’m not interested in what he does, I’m interested in his status as a Mercury Djinni. Once I get another one, my low level run will get much, much easier.



On one of the ledges inside the blocked cave exit is this, the PP stat boost item.



And right outside is this thing, a statue that fully heals the party.



Anyways, I am now permanently blocked from going back where I came. Good thing I got everything.

…Right?



Actually, no, I missed two things on purpose to show off how much of a dick move this game’s frequent points of no return are.

(I’m kind of tempted to break the hell out of this game and head straight to Belinsk.)



The first thing is back in Carver’s Camp. Right next to the exit is a ladder that leads to a Mercury Djinni.



The second thing is in an area southwest of Carver’s Camp. Solving an annoying puzzle area gets me my first mixed Summon, Zagan. I’d explain it, but I’m not using Summons anyways so why bother?



(Chill boosts HP by 9, PP by 4, and Defense by 2. When unleashed,, it results in a Mercury element attack that does 40 damage more than the user’s normal physical attack. Also has a chance of lowering the target’s defense by 25%.)

Now that I have two Mercury Djinn, I can turn Tyrell (or Matthew, but Tyrell benefits more) into a Defender.



So now he can cast Avoid. It’s not very good, but I’m just going to pretend it is and turn on No Random Encounters.



Nearby is another puzzle area, this time requiring me to use Rief’s Douse.

At the end is Megaera, another mixed Summon I won’t be using.



Here is Harapa, the town at the start of one very, very long sidequest.



Blah blah blah, Harapa is one big archeological tourist trap.



As always, there’s an annoyingly long conversation before I can actually start moving around. Oh, and a sudden fact about Garet that never actually showed up in the original games.



As a food connoisseur, Matthew is ashamed.



Some pretty important exposition. Ever since the Golden Sun rose, a lot of new countries have sprung up. Few get along, so they all want soldiers. Because of this,



Society has become worryingly military oriented. Even kids want to learn how to fight.

Anyways, the party’s reaction to this little declaration is a solid “meh”, so the kid accuses them of being country bumpkins who don’t know what Psynergy is.



Ever the petulant child, Tyrell proceeds to light the torch with Psynergy, thus completely blowing the party’s cover.

Unlike what you might have expected, Karis doesn’t chews Tyrell out about this. Instead, she loses about 500 IQ points and asks Tyrell to put the fire out.



You’d think Karis and Matthew would know this. Rief has to put it out with Douse (thus showing the player he has it) before Karis goes back to ranting at Tyrell. Somehow the rant segues into a Psynergy morality speech, then a jab at Tyrell, then praise for the Warriors of Vale. Meanwhile, those two kids are just standing there the entire time, forgotten.



I get too close to the exit, so the “leaving Harapa” cutscene plays. In it, the game spells out where to go because the player is a total baby who needs to be directed everywhere.



Harapa has a puzzle area, but it can’t be solved yet.



What the hell kind of spices turn milk pink?



Psst, writers. Alliteration doesn’t make everything interesting.



Exiting from the second floor of the church lets you access Harapa’s walls. One path is blocked for now, but the other leads to Cinder. Cinder boosts HP by 11 and PP and Agility by 3. He’s another “chance to revive” Djinni.



The final thing I can say about Harapa for now is this fortune teller. She offers to look at Matthew’s future, and after muttering about rabid beasts, endless darkness, and the end of the world, she completely spazzes out and demands for Matthew to leave.

About twenty steps away from Harapa, Passaj Mountain Climb is my next destination.



Yay, shoes. Believe it or not, these are the rarest pieces of armor in the game. They’re mostly useless, though.



This short dungeon introduces Zol.



Zol is a very odd metal that, when exposed to wind, levitates. All puzzles involving it usually involve giant updrafts of wind/Whirlwind (to send the blocks up) or pits (to send the blocks down).



Aside from that, there are holes in the wall that shoot wind. Some can be blocked with convenient pillars, others need to be ran past.



Whoop-de-doo.



Poor guy never had a chance.



Bark boosts HP by 9, Agility by 4, Attack by 2, and Luck by 1. Using him results in a one turn full party barrier that reduces the damage of enemy attacks by 50%. He is kind of sort of broken, but he won’t reach his full potential until I get another full party barrier Djinni. Once I do, though, I’ll have access to the most tedious game breaking strategy ever.

By the way, I should mention something: the stat boosts I’ve been saying each Djinni gives aren’t quite accurate. The Djinni are boosting the stats I say they’re boosting, but they’re boosting the base stats, not counting the class modifiers. This doesn’t really change that much until the later class‘ ridiculous modifiers, though, so I‘m not going to bother checking the wiki for the exact numbers.



Taking a side path near the end of the dungeon lets me reach a puzzle room (that cave under the bridge).



I can not solve this puzzle room yet, but the prize is Flora, a really terrible dual element Summon.



I won’t be able to get this guy for a long while.

And with that, just before I enter Passaj, this update ends. That’s right, I’m not stopping at a boss like normal. Why? To be blunt, the next boss is something like three plot dumps away, and I’m honestly not sure if I’ll ever get this update done if I try and slog through all of it at the rate I‘m playing this game.

Yes, but do you hunger?

Run, coward