The second game in the Golden Sun series is pretty much identical to the first, which is fine because the first Golden Sun game was so good. Again: this sequel was developed by Camelot and published by Nintendo in 2002 (2003 in Europe).

In Golden Sun: The Lost Age you can import your characters and items from the first game if you like, via the Game Link Cable or a password system, or you can start afresh if you haven’t played the first game. Playing the first Golden Sun is not compulsory, but if you do complete both games you are apparently rewarded with special items.

Golden Sun: The Lost Age plays the same as most JRPGs: colourful towns and villages with shops that you can explore at will; a pseudo 3D map for exploring the “overworld”; and a long procession of dungeons and caves to crawl through. And, if you don’t enjoy a bit of turn-based dungeon-crawling, then maybe this game isn’t for you.

For those who love level-grinders, though, both Golden Sun games present an opportunity for weeks of absorbing adventuring and are well worth a play if you’ve never tried them before.

More: Golden Sun: The Lost Age on Wikipedia