The Seventh Tower Series

When I was in elementary school, I remember going to the annual Book Fair held in my school's library. There, the children could aimlessly peruse the books, crafts and otherwise random toys to see if they could find anything of interest. A 5th grade me wandered past a certain table in particular, and that's where I first met them...

The Seventh Tower series by Garth Nix.

I had no idea what they were about -- and honestly I was a little skeptical, considering they seemed very short and that somehow equated to juvenile in my young brain -- but seeing as there were no other decent-looking fantasy novels, I quickly bought up the few that they had and took them home with me.

I had no idea what sort of world I was about to get absorbed into.

Even looking back now as an almost 21-year old, I can honestly say that these books easily rank incredibly high up on my "Ultimate-Love-Forever-Until-The-End-Of-All-Time" literature list. Returning to Tal's world within the Castle and Milla's home upon the Ice returns me not only to my childhood, but the manner in which this series exposed me to some very adult themes.

That day at the Book Fair, I had no idea that the lessons and impressions I received from The Seventh Tower series would not only set the bar for my taste in fantasy literature but also shape my own personal view on the fantasy genre as a whole.

The Seventh Tower series grapples with, as I mentioned before, several adult themes lurking around in young adult fantasy novels. I don't want to give much away particularly because much of the impact from this series stems from one's personal journey with both Tal and Milla as well as the plot's development itself, but I will say this: reading this series changed my perception of the fantastical. Garth Nix weaves incredibly complex universes with truly original concepts, character designs and presentation of his storylines. Prejudice, the strength of familial bonds and the true terror and power of magic are only a few of the concepts covered in this series.

That was one of the things that struck me so about this series. The main character doesn't start out his journey searching for glory, recognition or even trying to impress a love interest. Instead, he's looking for a way to save his ailing mother, care for his younger brother and search for his missing father. True, Tal is a hot-headed and incredibly brash young man, but that actually endears him to me as the reader. He screws up a whole lot through his journey in these novels, but his goal remains more or less the same; he seeks to preserve and protect his family first and foremost.

The struggle shared by the Underfolk and eventually all who reside within the Castle also hit home with me. I guess I had heard of prejudice as a kid, but I was never really aware of just how much it could affect people until I picked up these books. The rebel leader Crow remains to this day my favorite character in the series. Yes, he was a crafty, crafty young man -- I won't spoil what he does for you -- but what he worked for was the ultimate liberation and equality for his people. He may have not gone about it in a totally upright way, but his goal remained a noble one. The final scene you read of him in the last book destroyed me inside. I'll never forget the line he cries out:

"Freeeeeeeedoooooommm!"

There are several heroes in this series, all with their own personal agendas, but no singular character is "the" hero by the end. Only with the weaving together of all their dreams can the fate of their world be shaped. Walls are broken down, bridges are burned and friendships are forged all for the sake of those they cherish.

I only wish more literature today hammered home such values as these.

If I had to recommend only one series to the young generations of the world, it would be Garth Nix's The Seventh Tower. They're easy to read, deceptively insightful about the workings of society -- even a wholly fictional one! -- immensely creative and all at once terribly thought-provoking.

In Which ProofCat Takes Care of Biznazz ("Dark Dawn" Playthrough, Part IV)

Y'know, I don't know whether to be disturbed or pleased with the fact that I am gradually liking Dark Dawn more and more as I continue playing. It's almost like they had different writers for the beginning of this game -- it REALLY seems that way.

Today's playthrough entailed me traveling from Passaj to Kaocho in the east, a very Asian-inspired village -- Chinese-esque, I think. It was a LITTLE creepy since the town was deserted, but apparently that was on account of the fact that the military had left to take over another city 'er somethin'. How nice of them!

I'm not complaining. I liked it better that way -- easier to loot people's houses.

Yeah, I've always loved that aspect of the Golden Sun series. You can just waltz into people's homes and swipe goods from their belongings, and nobody ever knows or complains about your doing so! I guess since you're a hero it justifies you robbing them blind?



Mischief!

Anyway, after I pillaged the town, I was forced to have an audience with the Emperor. Who is, quite frankly, quite a jerk. Everyone in the town (who's still there) are all, "Oh, Wo is so great! I LAHV HIM." And, well, he's an ass. He's all pouty because his militaristic BS wasn't selected to rule Sana (I guess that's the country? I get confused because ALL these places are brand new WTF) 'er somethin'. Instead a wise ruler is in his place and everyone seems to have a problem with it.

Yeah, I don't understand, either.

Some crazy lady in a short dress named Chalis (LOL) convinces the Emperor that I'm there to help him. Yeah, okay, good luck with that, woman. After it's apparent that I'm NOT there to do so (what a shocker) they drop me down a hole after telling me to help their army out at Ayuthay. HEY. PEOPLE. I JUST SAID I AIN'T HELPIN'. LISTEN TO ME.



*sigh*

After escaping the cave (which is apparently the maze that holds the Sol Mask I'm lookin' for) the party headed for Ayuthay to see what was happening.

And let me say, Ayuthay is pretty rad. As I told my friend False Start, "It's sort of like…a cross between Polynesian culture and Atlantis with a little India thrown in." The entire upper city seems like more or less a facade for the city located underneath that "palace." I mean, I know it's supposed to be where the citizens go when they're under siege (like how they are when you first arrive) but...there doesn't seem like anything truly city-esque about the above ground area. Sure, there's a big palace lookin' thing and a pretty lake, but that's about it.

I digress.

Below the city, there's this crazy hub of water, awesome stonework and cool glowy blue lantern balls...trust me, they're really neat. Here you come to warn the people of Ayuthay about the two nutball generals lurking outside their front door while trying to find the way inside. You meet Amiti, who I will from now on call "Prince Shirtless of the Supa Fine."

If there was concept art, I'd put it here. But sadly, as there is none of him missing his shirt, I will leave it up to your imagination (which could actually be quite terrifying, depending on who you are).

You have to apparently retrieve an artifact called the Insight Glass in order to find the Sol Mask in the maze, and the only person who seems able to use it is Amiti. So that means NEW PARTY MEMBER! YAY! So much more awesome than Chilly Velma!

Y'know, I think EVERYONE needs a nickname:


Matthew: Stoner Boy (since he's Venus-aligned and I make him do nothing but smile HAR)
Karis: Bluster Bitch
Tyrell: Flaming Moron
Rief: Chilly Velma
Amiti: Prince Shirtless of the Supa Fine


...Can you tell who I favor in this game yet?

Anywhoo, you retrieve the mask by using the "Arid Heat" Psynergy AKA Totally The "Parch" Psynergy from The Lost Age Why Do We Even Try Anymore. You were doing so well for a minute, Camelot!

After doing so, Amiti joins the party (after putting on a shirt NOOOOO) and you're all set for leaving the city...when those stupid generals attack you. OH COME ON. Upon dealing with Tweedle Twit and Tweedle Twat, you can continue back towards Kaocho where you can FINALLY POSSIBLY MAYBE GOD I HOPE SO get the stupid Sol Mask back.

And here is where I figured would be an excellent place to stop for the day. Nice clean break. Tomorrow y'all will be getting a SPECIAL BONUS post -- it'll be a tagteam LIVE commentary/review from False Start and myself about the movie Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike. And it's gonna totally rock. It'll be lots of hilarity, so stay tuned!

(Also, as a special, SPECIAL bonus, have two really funny videos of a hacked Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Seriously, check 'em out and AtriusV's other nonsense, too!)

In Which ProofCat Is a Fictional History Otaku ("Dark Dawn" Playthrough, Part III)

Short post tonight since I have to get up early in the morning. BOO MORNING.

Anyway, I actually ENJOYED part of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Yes, you heard me. Enjoyed.

What is the world coming to?

Anyway, after Chilly Velma joined the party, I headed for Passaj, a mountain town where I would supposedly find a way over the mountain range and meet up with Kraden again. AND WOULDN'T YA KNOW IT, the "way over" was nothing but the top of a freakin' mountain where I'm supposed to make some sort of cloud bridge nonsense happen.

...Yeah. Walkin' on clouds. THAT SOUNDS...PLAUSIBLE.

Granted, I've put up with a great deal of the fantastic in the Golden Sun franchise. Flying with tornadoes, clinging desperately to the outside of exploding elemental plateaus, reading minds and resurrecting dead parents as well as battling the ghost of a notorious pirate.

Yes, these games are full of weird shit. But a CLOUD bridge? I hope there's a catch because I really don't see myself LEVITATING without the Hover Jade from The Lost Age which I'm sure one of the old heroes ate or something before they conveniently went missing.

Though, with how...stupid this plan seemed, Chilly Velma revealed a lot of history about the world BEFORE the original Golden Sun game...and surprisingly, I found it extraordinarily interesting. I love to nerd about all the weird little cultures presented in this series. You can peek into ovens to observe the local cuisines, and the architecture from town to town in the same country varies widely. The garb the citizens wear differs too as well as the different lifestyles. Call me a SUPANERD but I love the little details like this. Even if there isn't quite the level of exploration of this world that I'd like (granted, I know there's limits since it's only on the handheld systems) I really love how each culture is constructed separately. They all have their own religious beliefs, even. It's just little things like this that give Golden Sun games their own atmosphere, so I'm glad Dark Dawn has at least kept THAT in existence.

So yes, much joyous nerding was had by all! (And by all I mean me, and by joyous I mean TEMPORARILY. I'm on to you, game.)

Anyway, I made the odd "Alchemy Forge" -- some old-age relic from the ancient world -- start working again, but I think I'm being sent on another CONVENIENT errand to yet ANOTHER perilous place that the Passaj elder is sending me on. Because hey, nothing says "responsible leader" quite like sending TEENAGERS to fetch dangerous artifacts in enemy territory.

I'm off to locate and retrieve the "Sol Mask" (seriously, why are there so many failsafes located in IDIOTIC places? WHY WOULD YOU HIDE SOMETHING TO POWER YOUR SUPER IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGY IN ENEMY TERRITORY IF YOU DON'T WANT IT TO FALL INTO ENEMY HANDS?) from a labyrinth.

Excellent.

Tomorrow I'll make a super-awesome-and-hilarious post for y'all to make up for the brief nature of today's. Stay tuned!

In Which ProofCat Notices a Masked Man Fetish ("Dark Dawn" Playthrough, Part II)

Today marked the second day of me working on my Golden Sun: Dark Dawn playthrough. And let me tell you, I was totally excited!



*tumbleweed*

Last time I left off with lettin' y'all know I was off to explore some ruins -- the Konpa Ruins to be exact. Apparently I'm supposed to meet up with Kraden or somethin' stupid. Yes. Kraden. Remember that ANNOYING old sage that traveled with you and did nothing but annoy the everlivin' outta you? Yes they brought HIM back of all people! JOY. Why on EARTH would they bring back someone who was useful?



Piers...*sob*

Anyway, these ruins are a breeze compared to the lighthouses fans were subjected to in the first two games. Lots of running around, but the puzzles are...well, to be blunt, incredibly stupid and easy. I swear, with a half a brain cell you could figure these out.

Deep inside the ruins is this funky tablet with all these neat symbols on it. Now, I'm a hardcore nerd, so I very much love symbols. So I took out my notebook and began recording in the ancient language so I could be pretentious in the future when I used it:



But then I noticed that the characters and the letters they corresponded to in the American alphabet didn't match up. They were inconsistent. As FUKYEAHSEAKING already knows, MAXIMUM RAEG ENSUED:

ProofCat:YOU KNOW WHAT DARK DAWN
I always write down the cool runes and such I see in these games, and I was copying down the runes for the Konpa Ruins...AND THEY AREN'T CONSISTENT WITH WHICH CHARACTER CORRESPONDS TO WHICH ALPHABET LETTER.

FUKYEAH: Well, it could also just follow different linguistic patterns. It doesn't have to be a one-to-one correlation. *shrug*

ProofCat: Some of them match and some don't.
The D in "SEND" uses the character for R in "SKYWARD", but the R in "FLOWER" is different than the one for "SKYWARD."
But the "FLOWER" R matches the "CENTER" R.
**"FLOWER" D
So I'm like WHICH IS IT. D OR R

FUKYEAH: ...oh. Well. That's...a bit...suspicious.

ProofCat: And I mean "SKYWARD" D. RAEG CANNOT SPELL

FUKYEAH: "LET'S JUST SPAM IT WITH A JUMBLE OF WEIRD SHIT, NO ONE WILL ACTUALLY NOTICE"
Camelot, you seem to be unfamiliar with the concept of NEEEEEEEEERDS.

Do they ever! Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed.

I loved how you needed someone of each element/alignment to proceed through these ruins. It was almost like a nod to the lighthouses in the previous two games. "Remember those days? When you seemed to have an actual mission? Not just an errand to retrieve a stupid feather to repair something you probably will never get to use? Yeah. Go ahead and cry."

UGH.

Anyway, long story short you get to the caves below the ruins (HOW EXCITING) and meet up with Kraden, Nowell and Rief. Apparently Nowell and Rief are the daughter and son of Mia...or as I like to think of them, "Mia's daughters." Because let's face it, Rief is totally a girl.



If Velma from Scooby-Doo dyed her hair blue and carried around a stick, this is how she would look. TRY AND TELL ME THAT I'M WRONG.

Think I'm still wrong? Then guess what is the first thing Rief does after you meet him. If you guessed getting kidnapped, YOU ARE CORRECT. HE IS A FREAKING DAMSEL IN DISTRESS. END OF STORY.

Anyway, after a brief boss battle with some "Scouts" -- who, quite frankly, look like freakin' gladiators with gimpy bows -- we're introduced to some antagonists. First, we meet Blados, who seems like the bastard son of Saturos and Garet. He's mouthy, rude and carried a big sword. Yup, definitely their love child. And then we see this man:



OH MY LORD. I WONDER WHO THIS COULD BE...NOPE. NO IDEA WHATSOEVER.

FUKYEAH: HANG ON, WAIT, THAT BLUE HAIR?

OH WAIT FUCK

IT IS OBVIOUSLY MIA, HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THIS

A SHAME THESE KIDS CAN'T RECOGNIZE THEIR OWN MOTHER

(Look! Another shameless shout out to FUKYEAHSEAKING. But really, why not? Most everything he says is hilarious.)

Seriously, Camelot...it's so OBVIOUSLY Alex from the original games. Yeah, maybe NEW fans wouldn't know who the heck he is but ANYONE who played Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age would KNOW that this is Alex. My intelligence is actually insulted.

And really, what's with Camelot's Masked Man Fetish? First we had Felix parading around in a mask for the first game and now we get "Masked Man" aka SOTOTALLYALEXDERP. None of the women seem to wear masks...



I'm on to you, Camelot!

Anyway, as per the usual, we are derailed from our northward journey to retrieve Rief from the southern exit of the caves. And here marks our "point of no return" -- Blados caves in the only route fit for backtracking. Well, that totally sucks. He encourages the party to move forward. And by encourages I mean threatens at virtual swordpoint. Whatta creep.

Chilly Velma joins your party outside and tells you that you need to get going to a town to the south before you begin your treacherous climb over the northern mountains...fun.

I'll end this post here. I'll keep playing and if I feel the need to do so, another post will get tacked up sometime later this morning.

Karis: You meant to kill Kraden with that ambush!

Blados: Yeah we did! And would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!



Jinkies!

(See? I told you it'd work.)

In Which ProofCat Finds Many Faults ("Dark Dawn" Playthrough, Part I)

So, I started Golden Sun: Dark Dawn this evening. Aaaaand I hadn't even STARTED PLAYING BY THE TIME THINGS WERE WRONG ALREADY.



Granted, the awesome Golden Sun theme was included on the title page. Take a listen if you've never heard it before.

But then I got to the menu...and the menu had the WRONG MUSIC. Maybe I'm just a stickler, but as a veteran of this series I fully intend on hearing the original music, or at the very least a remix. Sad -- this theme was one of my favorites from the first two games. Now it's a sissy harp soundtrack. Laaaaaame.

So I start a new file and the backstory/prologue/terrible mash-up of the game history rolls by. It's pretty bland and surprisingly stupidly written. It seems to want to seem like an epic tale, but it just...doesn't read like one:

"Long ago, the ancients of Weyward discovered the secrets of Alchemy.
They found that all life in Weyward was based on the four elements: earth, wind, fire and water.

They used their knowledge of Alchemy to forge a dazzling(DOES IT DAZZLE YOU?)civilization from the elements.
And the ancients made their wildest dreams come true.

And then began the nightmare of Alchemy.

Abuses of Alchemy threatened to tear apart their entire civilization. So the ancients did the unthinkable: They sealed away the power of Alchemy so no one could use it.

Civilization was saved, but the physical world itself began to die a slow death.
For the ancients didn't realize that Alchemy was what held Weyward together."

Wow. And -- correct me if I'm wrong -- but the story isn't lining up to me:

The history says that the ancients that existed before the events of the first Golden Sun game were more or less masters of Alchemy. Then, not ten seconds later, the history says that the sealing of Alchemy by the ancients causes Weyward to start dying slowly, an event the ancients did not know of. Okay, if you are MASTERS of a certain power, that seems to imply that you know it inside and out. YOU ARE A FREAKING MASTER AFTER ALL. Somehow I feel like the ancients KNEW that sealing Alchemy wasn't a good thing for the world, but they did so anyway to keep the IMMEDIATE death of Weyward from happening. I don't know about you, but I think that buying some time to fix what you've royally screwed up seems pretty damn smart to me, not foolish like the history seems to suggest.

ProofCat Logic: 1, BS History: 0.

More obligatory filler history explaining Isaac and Co.'s journey is inserted before we get this little bit of information:

"They had long lived at the foot of Mount Aleph, home to a people charged with a sacred duty from the ancients.
That was to protect Sol Sanctum, where the forbidden keys to the Elemental Lighthouses were hidden.

[...]

They persist in their duty to Sol Sanctum at Mount Aleph. Or at least what remains of it."

Okay, BS History, I'm still having problems with you:

Vale -- the town where Isaac and a few others originally hailed from -- was indeed charged with protecting the Elemental Stars, the "forbidden keys to the Elemental Lighthouses." But since Isaac and Co. already LIT the lighthouses in the past two games, I'm pretty sure the stars were used up/rest in the beacon wells at the lighthouses. The only reason Sol Sanctum existed was to hide and protect these stars. So, what I'm asking is WHY are the people of Vale still protecting the stupid temple? IT SERVES NO MORE PURPOSE. The stars as per previous Golden Sun logic shouldn't even BE there. And if they ARE there, WHY WOULD YOU KEEP THEM ALL IN ONE PLACE? We already learned from the first 10 minutes of the first game that this strategy DOES NOT WORK. Saturos and Menardi were able to STEAL them all in the original Golden Sun because they were ALL IN ONE PLACE. You'd think Isaac would have wised up and said, "Hey, that OBVIOUSLY didn't work last time. Why don't we split them up with the hero-friends we WON'T be showing because obviously they are SO far gone that nobody can find them -- not even the damn writers!" SIGH. TRY HARDER DARK DAWN.

And you might be thinking, "Maybe they're protecting the Golden Sun. That's important right?" IT'S A FREAKING SUN. HOW DO YOU STEAL A FREAKING SUN. Its only purpose thus far was to make Alchemy KAPOOF into existence and then be all shiny and annoying over Mount Aleph. I really don't think you need to keep it safe.

ProofCat Logic: 2, BS History: 0.

"Two survivors live near the crater where Vale once was."

...Why aren't the others there? If Alchemy is so freaking DANGEROUS, why in Weyward's name are only TWO of the original EIGHT present to protect its secrets? Wouldn't there be strength in numbers? We already know Garet's an idiot from the first two games, so that leaves Isaac. Isaac, the inheritor of a piece of the fabled Golden Sun, must be wise, right? ...We'll address that soon.

ProofCat Logic: 3, BS History: 0.

Would you believe I'm only seven minutes in? Seven. Minutes.



FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY DON'T MAKE ME CONTINUE THIS TORTURE.

So we meet old!Isaac (who actually does look like an aged version of the original Isaac) and our hero, Matthew. He is apparently the spawn of Isaac and Jenna (and to this game's credit, he actually really does look like their kid). And where is Jenna you might ask? Well, according to FUKYEAHSEAKING and I, Jenna eloped with Sheba where they decided to continue their hot lesbian love affair that they held behind Isaac's back to produce the annoying bastard child and lead heroine, Karis. HA. YOU JUST THOUGHT SHE WAS IVAN'S DAUGHTER. NO WRONG. Don't worry, it's totally legit (and so are we).

In case you didn't guess already, Jenna is gone. Literally, there's no mention of her. Gee, you'd think two people who seemed to have the hots for each other in the previous two games and are now MARRIED would live with each other or at least MENTION THEIR SPOUSE. But hey, logic apparently has no place in Dark Dawn so who am I to question?



Anyway, you meet Karis and Tyrell (Garet's son) and you see Tyrell being a dumbass. Ah, just like his old man (who is sporting a RIDICULOUS mustache now). Tyrell takes a flying device called a soarwing and crashes it in the valley below Isaac and Garet's cabin...and somehow saying that makes me want to make a spin-off called Brokeback Adept.

I DIGRESS.

You venture down into the Tanglewood as Isaac tests your abilities as an Adept or, as I like to think of it, Isaac-is-a-total-asshole-and-failure-as-a-parent. No wonder Jenna left him to be with Sheba. Seriously, he's all, "TYRELL YOU MORON YOU'LL BE KILLED BECAUSE YOU'RE INEXPERIENCED." And then FIVE SECONDS later he turns around to Karis and his own son and is all, "You know what would be rad? You leading the way because you're inexperienced but hell! You'll have to pay your own bills someday, runt." Wow, thanks Dad!



"Also, remember to get take drugs, play with matches and ALWAYS run with scissors!"

So while in Tanglewood, you get the Djinn rundown like in the previous two games. AND YAY FLINT IS BACK. I'M SHOCKED THEY DIDN'T RUN YOU OVER WITH PIERS' BOAT OR SOMETHING EQUALLY LAME. And I'm actually kind of happy how each Djinni looks a little different from the rest. I approve of this change.

Anyway, you go through the pretty standard forest and reach a mine where Tyrell has been knocked out by having his Psynergy sucked out by a Psynergy Vortex. My boss senses are tingling.

Sure enough, here is where you fight the tree-flower from the depths of hell, Tanglebloom.

And I have to admit, the Summon sequences I've seen so far are pretty damn cool. Seriously, if I saw the new "Kirin" animation coming for me I'd wet myself with fear. Ramses actually looks badass now, which is...pretty rad considering he was a little lame looking in the original.

After rescuing Tyrell, it seems I've been tasked with traversing the continent to get the item needed to repair the poor soarwing. JOY.

I'll end my playthrough here for now. Stay tuned for the next part!

In Which ProofCat Feels Nostalgic...and Violent AKA ProofCat's Intro to Her Playthrough of "Golden Sun: Dark Dawn"

...Sigh.



Yeah. Just "...Sigh."

Okay, so a little personal backstory with the Golden Sun franchise. I FREAKING LOVE IT. If I could play only one series for the rest of my life, it would be this one. Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age are my two most favorite video games of ALL TIME. When it came out it had kickass graphics, a great storyline, an innovative battle system and an awesome soundtrack by one of my favorite video game composers, Motoi Sakuraba. Seriously, this game was the best. It was challenging, it was creative and it remains to this day one of the ONLY turn-based battle systems that I will actually play with WILLINGLY. And if you know me, that's really saying a lot.

Anyway, the first two games were AWESOME. I even think I enjoyed the second one (The Lost Age) more than the original, which is really unusual for me as I tend to dislike sequels. AND SINCE THEY ARE AMAZING MASTERPIECES OF VIDEO GAMES, I will include the following spoiler warning for those who have not played:

HELLO I AM PROOFCAT'S OBLIGATORY SPOILER WARNING. I have intended this review for those who already know the Golden Sun franchise and its storyline. If y'all don't want to have anything ruined for Golden Sun or Golden Sun: The Lost Age, I suggest you don't read through my review covering any of the series. While I don't reveal EVERYTHING in the games, I have to give some major plot points away to explain Dark Dawn. So if you don't want to be spoiled, turn away now. Now that that's out of the way, LET US RESUME.

The Golden Sun franchise covers the adventures of Isaac and Co. as they try to save their world Weyard from being destroyed by the threat of Alchemy. Isaac and Co. are people known as "Adepts", people who control an ability known as "Psynergy" with their minds. Sort of like...really elemental-specific mages...who are vaguely psychic. Or something. THIS MADE SENSE IN MY HEAD, I SWEAR. Anywhoo, they are tasked with preventing the lighting of four elemental lighthouses -- one for each main element: Mercury (Water), Venus (Earth), Jupiter (Wind) and Mars (Fire). If they are lit, the power of Alchemy will be released upon the world through a catastrophic event known as "the Golden Sun." LONG STORY SHORT, you learn that you actually need to unleash the Golden Sun or the world will eventually die. Your party does so and the world is saved! Hoorah!

...Orrrr so you'd think.

The Lost Age ends with a super cryptic scene of the series' main antagonist possibly absorbing most of the Golden Sun's energy and basically becoming God.

Well damn.

However, he is rendered immobile at the top of a mountain peak as it sinks into the earth. The game ends with the question of whether he lived or died, a question that remained unanswered for years -- SEVEN years to be exact. All that fans were left with was the revelation that Isaac received a piece of the Golden Sun as well and became sort of a savior of the world. What happened afterward? Did your nemesis survive? How would Alchemy now affect the land? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? I didn't know, and neither did anyone else. And I don't know about them, but I was fine with not knowing.

And then...seven years later, Camelot released the third installment, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

When I heard that there would be a possible sequel nearly a decade ago, at first I was like:



Camelot made The Lost Age after all and it kicked ASS. Even though I thought the story was pretty self-contained, I felt I could trust the developers of my favorite series to make the third game just as good.



AHAHAHAHAHAHA



...

Well, my excitement was BEFORE I found out what the sequel would actually entail. As the development was shelved for a while, I sort of figured, "Hey, I guess it was just a rumor. And it's been almost SEVEN YEARS. Why would they release a sequel now?" WELL. They did.

I got all hyped again when I heard they would actually continue the story and that Isaac and Co. were set to appear again. I was like, "WHOO. My favorite heroes!" And then I learned this:

That the game would center not on Isaac and Co. but their kids.

...

wat

AND NOT ONLY THAT, but apparently Isaac and Jenna got together and popped a baby. Actually, each of the original characters had a kid somewhere in the 30 years (UM HEY THERE GRATUITOUS TIMESKIP) between the events of The Lost Age and the events of Dark Dawn. Riiiiight, Camelot. Oh, and when I say each of the original characters, I mean the ones who are FREAKING MENTIONED. Seriously, WHERE ARE THE MAIN CAST? Sure, Isaac and Garet are on board, but what about Ivan? HE DID JUST AS MUCH AS THEM. Piers? HE WAS BANISHED FROM HIS HOME LAND AND WILL NOW NO LONGER BE IMMORTAL. Sheba? SHE FELL FROM THE FREAKIN' MOON AND CAME ON THIS JOURNEY. No, instead of our main heroes, we get basically the equivalent of fanbabies. Fanbabies and nearly no mention of the original characters.



CAMELOT STOP RAPING THE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES I HOLD SO DEAR. ;A; DRAMATIC TEAR ASKS YOU WHYYYYY?

So yeah. This is going to be Dark Dawn, folks. Maybe I'm wrong and somewhere one of the ACTUAL heroes will make a drive-by cameo (like Piers on his sea-hobo boatmobile), but I have a sinking suspicion that they will use the "OH YEAH HE/SHE IS ON A JOURNEY OF MILD IMPORTANCE WE THINK LOLOL" cop-out.

Sigh. Just, sigh.

This, ladies and gentlemen, marks the start of my Golden Sun: Dark Dawn playthrough.

...Wish me luck. And sanity.

In Which ProofCat and Little Miss Squish Begin Their Journey

My apologies for getting this intro post up so late, but lots has been going on in the real life of ProofCat. I've had to drive back and forth from Jupiter to Boca about 4 times over the past few days, and I'm working on reading four novels simultaneously for college as well as writing three essays for next week. And then today I volunteered at Quantum House with some friends for several hours. I AM TEH STRESS.

So, FINALLY, the Tales of Vesperia (ToV) playthrough has begun! :D Not gonna lie -- it was TOTALLY fun (even if Little Miss Squish kinda totally sucks at casting any spell besides First Aid).

Anyhoo, insults aside...


Hooray for pretty anime-style openings!

We started our playthrough this evening by admiring the hotness that is Yuri Lowell ('cause who doesn't love seeing a guy in an almost open shirt?)

I DIGRESS.

I'm not going to detail every event of the game. Just major plot points will be covered and whatever funny crazy moments we want to include. There will be spoilers, so here is your warning.

SPOILERS. AHMYGAWD.

During the beginning of the game, we are introduced to both Yuri and his faithful canine companion, Repede. And yes, the dog has only one eye, carries a pipe and fights with a dagger.


Your Fluffy is inferior.

Yuri more or less doesn't give a crap about anyone besides himself, but you see that's not true as more dialogue plays out. He doesn't give a crap about ANYTHING. Seriously, he must be the most apathetic protagonist in any RPG EVER. He gets the job done, but I really don't think he could care less about it all.

Either way, he gets arrested since he's the lousiest criminal EVER when it comes to breaking-and-entering. He kinda just stands there and lets himself get taken in. OUR HERO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

After being reprimanded, Yuri breaks out of prison and we meet our damsel in distress: Estellise!


Or, as Yuri calls her, "Estelle." Though it takes her about 20 years to understand "Estelle" refers to her.

Estelle needs to get a message to Flynn Scifo, Yuri's blonde knight friend (that sounded a little sketch), and so she tags along with Yuri to the world outside the capital city -- he's hot on the trail of a blastia thief. (Blastia: see generic magical device that makes life awesome with it and suck without it.)

We also meet Karol, a really annoying young boy who masquerades as bravery incarnate who actually wets himself at the first sign of trouble. Though, this sets us up for one of the BEST lines in all of RPG history.

Note the magic that is Yuri's Karol imitation:



Little Miss Squish and I concluded our intro to ToV in Aspio after Rita the PMS (Pissy Mage Spectacular) joined the party. Next we play, we're off to investigate some ruins! OH JOY.

Stay tuned!