So anyway, the Afghan elections, was it worth it?!?

I dont forgive you

She/he'll be back. I hope they include lots of things to collect in the next Zelda, and a bombers notebook type thing. I want to feel attached to the townsfolk like in Majora's.

I hope they innovate the series similarily to Majoras Mask. Make it a living world again. Where you can talk to everyone, not just 10%
looks at TP

Yeah that was heartbreaking having people just ignore me in town. I can' wait to find out the new dynamic in the next Zelda, assuming there is one.

There is one. Its basically confirmed. And Motion plus only too!!!!!! TP is my least favorite 3d Zelda INCLUDING PH. They all had theyre reasons: Majoras Mask: Fairies, real living world, awesome masks. OoT: TP but better, WindWaker: Island exploration, awesome gameplay and style. PH: Really fun and intuitive

The Nintendo Gallery in Wind Waker was quite possibly the best thing ever in gaming (imo). Never before have I been given such good reason to play a game 3 times back to back. I hope that returns. Are you listening Shigsy?!?

yeah i know

Im going to stare at Chuck Norris until Zelda Wii is as awesome as Windwaker or Majoras Mask! Best 3d Zeldas in my opinion!
stares at Chuck Norris

Im thinking of getting MPT or LKS. Which one should I go for?

Do I even need to go there?! Erm, actually I'm confused now, I love them both. Buy LKS cos' it sooo damn fresh n' charming. Plus, they need our cash help!

I have something interesting to say, I think

THEN SAY IT OR ILL STARE!

Stare at me! I will say something interesting later, maybe. I need sleep, so I want to end the fun early. I am sad now! Wasn't that interesting?

Really interesting!!!!!
stares at Machu

So Luiginator, anything specific, or just the whole long rundown? I have a piece already written on this very site (it's really a review, but people don't like that word 'round the forums) that I could gut just the gampley part of.

How it flows between battles and overworld exploration and how they both work.

Im actually resorting to this for my boredom as lz is not here today...

Captain Falcon = Chuck Norris in Disguise

Chuck Norris=Captain Falcon in disguise

Ahh, the flow between the overworld and the battles. Got it.

Outside of battles, you have two main areas: the zoomed-out overworld (present in many JRPG's) and the zoomed-in, more detailed areas (towns, caves, Lighthouses, etc). The overworld serves no purpose other than to get you from point A to point B as quickly as possible. The more detailed areas have much more interaction. Your basic RPG commands are included in these areas: things like talking to NPC's, open chests, so on and so forth. However, Camelot also included the option to use Psynergy (Golden Sun's answer to magic) in these areas. You can do things like read people's minds (lz will be quick to mention that) to find the locations of secret treasures, freeze puddles of water, move blocks that are just out of reach, and the like. It makes puzzle-solving a bit more interesting and in-depth to have the magic system tied to it.

Now, when moving about in the overworld and most other areas, you will be thrown into battle randomly. Sadly, you can't see monsters on-screen; it's just random and you'll see the screen flash to let you know you've been attacked. While in battle, you have basic commands like Attack, Psynergy, Items, and Defend. All extremely self-explanatory, I'm sure. However, Golden Sun does feature one unique aspect of combat: the Djinn system. Quoting myself from MetalMario's Golden Sun topic (because I'm too tired to do it again): While traveling the overworld, many times you’ll run into Djinn. After getting the little dudes to come with you, they will attach themselves to one of your party members and set themselves. Once set, the Djinni melds with the Adept and boost their stats significantly. They also can change an Adept’s usable Psynergy, depending on the element of the Adept and the Djinni. For example, setting Flint (a Venus Djinni) to Isaac will increase Isaac’s natural earth power, and he will retain his basic Psynergies like Quake, Spire, and Cure. However, if you were to set Forge (a Mars Djinni) to Isaac, you’ll change Isaac’s base class to Brute and gain the use of that class’ Psynergy, namely the Growth series. Mixing and matching Djinn to your Adepts produces a myriad number of classes and different Psynergies. It’s a very deep, complex, and customizable system if you’re willing to give it a shot.

But what does that mean for battle? Well, while in battle, you can make use of the Djinn command. In battle, every Djinni has a unique unleash effect. The aforementioned Flint’s unleash deals heavy Venus-elemental damage to one person, while Forge will boost attack strength. Once a Djinni is unleashed, it moves into the Standby phase. While on Standby, a Djinni no longer boosts your stats, but it allows you one last battle command: Summon. A Djinni on standby can be used to summon a giant elemental being to do massive damage to all enemies. Djinni on standby can stack; one Venus Djinni grants you the Venus summon, while four grants you the ability to summon Judgment, a giant angelic warrior with the head of a lion for a hand, who fires a burst of light that destroys the world. Summons are the coolest ways to dispatch enemies in Golden Sun, and are absolutely gorgeous to behold. However, using this method of combat is always a gamble, as standby Djinn no longer grant you stat bonuses, weakening you significantly. It’s a high-risk, high-reward kind of fighting that makes for some intense battles should you choose to make use of it.

So that's that. After winning a battle, the happy little fanfare plays, you get experience and possibly level-ups and/or items, and you are thrust back onto the overworld. That's one little niggle I have with the game; I'd like to see my enemies on-screen so I can run away if possible, but overall a satisfying and old-school take. Also I like cheese, just to make sure you're still paying attention. Long post is long.

Any questions will have to remain for tommorrow; it's 12:30 here and tommorow I have to pack for going away to college.