I just don't like the grindy, repetitive nature of them. Turn-based battle systems just don't interest me much anymore unless they have some sort of twist. I can't even really get into Golden Sun, despite having wanted to play it for a loooong time, because the battle system is so archaic.
I typically feel the same towards a lot of RPG's, but for some reason, I absolutely love it in Golden Sun. The only thing that made me feel a bit iffy was the lack of automatic target-correction when someone else kills the target of another character (Instead of attacking another target, the character would just defend for the turn), but even that was fixed in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. That said, I do hope that the inevitable Golden Sun IV changes up the battle system a bit, considering the first three games all play exactly the same.
I wouldn't say it's inevitable. Would I like another one? Absolutely! But Dark Dawn was released 7 years after The Lost Age, so if a sequel were to be made it probably wouldn't be for awhile. Here's what Hiroyuki Takahashi, co-head of Camelot, said when asked about the possibility of Golden Sun 4, "Speaking personally from the perspective of the story, I think that honestly it may not be so likely because Golden Sun really requires a full effort to be put in. But of course, if there are enough people saying that we really must create another game, then we may just have to listen to them. Still, you would need to give me a bit of time to work on ideas for the story before we could release a fourth game in the series." I know at the end of Dark Dawn, 'The End?' appeared on screen so a sequel could happen I guess.
Dark Dawn's ending is the sole reason I say it's inevitable. It wasn't quite as big a cliffhanger as the first game's ending was, but it was still pretty big, as was the Psynergy Vortex near Mt. Aleph. I think the game sold pretty well, so I'd be surprised if they aren't at least doing preliminary work on a fourth game at the moment.
I've heard so much negative about Dark Dawn though. I know that The Lost Age is supposedly a bit better than the first GS though. Hopefully I'll be able to get into the series eventually.
It's a HELL of a lot better than the first. But I actually really enjoyed Dark Dawn. I loved the characters, it was nice to see how other previous stories were wrapped up, and all in all, it was awesome! I haven't played a Golden Sun game I haven't liked, though. As much as the first wasn't exactly my favorite, it's still and epic game.
Dark Dawn isn't a bad game. The only problems I had with it were that it was way too easy (Even by Golden Sun's standards), the world map was restrictive compared to The Lost Age (In TLA, you can explore all of Weyard; meanwhile, you're restricted to one continent and a few islands in Dark Dawn), and the whole story just felt like one large side-quest, which is something they blatantly shove in your face after the game's credits. It definitely isn't my favorite Golden Sun game - the first game takes that spot - but it's still a pretty fun game. Very pretty, too, for a DS game with 3D visuals.
Dark Dawn was also super boring... the plot just never drew me in. I don't really find the characters all that likeable either. Literally, you just follow things to happen and you can't afford to even give much attention to it. I tried really hard but just couldn't finish that game...
I'm finding the same thing about the original Golden Sun though. I mean, the plot and characters weren't THAT engaging, and the battle system is just so archaic. For some reason I loved the game at first, but I'm not sure if I just hit a slow section or what, but every time I pick it up I struggle to not put it right back down within a few minutes.
As I learned playing Tales of the Abyss, you don't really get maximum enjoyment is you stretch out a JRPG and play it in short bursts. It just gets tiresome. I love the original Golden Sun. But Book 2 has such a slow start that I always lose interest. Which is a shame because it is supposedly better than the first. Never bothered with the third since I didn't finish the second XD
