Finally, after years of waiting, several fake news stories, and countless "credible rumors," the Big N has confirmed the existence of Golden Sun DS. While some believe that Nintendo had little left to tap from the company’s well of franchises, turning their attention towards one of most acclaimed original intellectual properties of the GBA is a great way to go. While this proclamation filled me with much joy–noted by the liberal use of exclamation points on my notepad–the accompanying demo left me oh so hungry for more.
Sadly, the E3 demo that Nintendo had on display didn’t have much to it. After watching the Press Conference trailer again at the DS kiosk, I was treated to an interesting opening video that showed off the title’s 3D reimaging of Isaac – a character from the original Golden Sun. After taking control of the returning protagonist–which can be done via D-pad or stylus–I was able to walk across a bridge. Somehow, that ended the playable portion of the demo. Not exactly an enthralling experience.
So you might be thinking, "why bother with the preview then?" While the interactive section may have ended quickly, Nintendo did provide showgoers with some exclusive footage. After losing control of Isaac, an extended trailer showed off more Djinn-based summons, including a devastating wall of water from a lady riding a sea horse. While we got to see this summons during a battle, regular combat was not shown. We also got to see some of the exciting new landscapes added to the game. The various vistas–from rocky cliffs to lush forests–were the best part of the demo, as it looks like the locales crafted by Camelot will present some of the most jaw-dropping 3D visuals available on the Nintendo DS.
Aside from what was shown, not much else is known at this time. Nintendo confirmed that the title follows the story of both Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, but it is unclear if you will be able to import your old play data in this iteration as you could in previous entries.
Golden Sun DS is scheduled to burn into stores sometime in 2010.
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