I played the first one and thought it stunk. I was so incredibly turned off by the first one that I never even bothered with the sequel (I shouldn't even call it a sequel, I should call it the trick-ripoff second half of the same damn game they make you pay an extra 30$ for)

And hey, that's great and all. Some people like games that span a couple of installments to tell one story. Take Xenosaga. I like Xenosaga. Even though the game is divided into six parts I like it. But what really gets me fired up about Golden Sun is that they never told you it would be only half a game when it came out. I would have loved that little piece of information when I bought the game.

That's fine, I didn't let that sour my mood too much. What did though were the paper thin characters, annoying puzzles, and GOD THE DIALOGUE. The dialogue drags for ever and ever. The characters repeat your next mission over and over again, but when it comes game time you're still absolutely clueless as to what you are supposed to do next. Don't count on seeing many puzzles besides rolling logs and log like objects either.

What I will say is good about this game is the music though. I believe it was done by the same individual who composed for Star Ocean III. Anybody who can come up with a masterpiece like Highbrow is alright in my book.

This isn't saying you shouldn't pick up this game. My standards are a bit different from the norm. I find that the majority of people who pick this game up end up enjoying it, although there are some that really don't like it. Golden Sun is pretty much either a love it or hate it game. You have to decide which type of gamer you are.