Golden Sun
Developed by Camelot Software and published by Nintendo, Golden Sun stands out as one of the most recognizable RPGs to grace the Game Boy Advance. With its recent addition to the Nintendo Online Service, the Golden Sun franchise is once again on the hearts and minds of Nintendo fans, but are the pair of games still holding up 20 years after their release?
The Dawn of Golden Sun
The original game, Golden Sun, released on August 1, 2001, for the Game Boy Advance was followed by Golden Sun: The Lost Age in 2002 and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn in 2010, released for the Nintendo DS. The Golden Sun series was conceived by the Takahashi Brothers, Hiroyuki and Shugo, who had previously worked on the Sega Saturn RPG, Shining Force III. The Takahashi Brothers wanted to create a role-playing game that could compete with Sony’s PlayStation, which dominated the gaming market at the time. Originally planned as a single game for the Nintendo 64, the project shifted to the Game Boy Advance when it became clear that the GameCube would supersede the 64-bit console. The hardware limitations of the Game Boy Advance and the brothers desire to tell a story from both the protagonists and antagonists points of view led to the game being split into two successive titles.
In order to experience the full story, a playthrough of both games is required. The first Golden Sun runs approximately 20 to 30 hours in length and ends at roughly the halfway point of the full story. The Lost Age picks up where the first ends but this time follows the antagonists of the previous adventure and comes in a bit longer at roughly 35 hours.
Setting the Scene
Set in the fictional world of Weyard, the Golden Sun series revolves around a group of magically-attuned “adepts”. The adepts are charged with preventing the destructive power of alchemy from being released, as it was in the past. In Golden Sun, players control protagonist Isaac and his companions as they journey through Weyard to prevent a group of anti-heroes from releasing the mysterious power called to the world. The Lost Age switches perspectives and follows the surviving members from the previous game’s antagonists as they continue to pursue the release of Alchemy by lighting four elemental lighthouses.
Magical Psynergy and Elemental Djinn
Psynergy, a form of magic within the Golden Sun games, plays a pivotal role in the gameplay. Players use it to solve puzzles, reach new locations, and defeat enemies. Another key element in the gameplay is the use of Djinn, powerful otherworldly entities that enhance an attached character’s hit points, Psynergy points, and other statistics.
Combat System
The combat system in Golden Sun is a blend of direct attacks using various weapons and offensive Psynergy spells. The games feature both random monster encounters and compulsory battles involving set enemies that advance the story. The characters and the background rotate during a battle to give a pseudo-3D effect, providing an immersive gaming experience.
Golden Sun on Nintendo Switch Online
Recently, the first two games of the Golden Sun series, Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, have been added to Nintendo Switch Online. This addition gives Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members access to these classic Game Boy Advance games.
Has Golden Sun Aged Well?
For a more nuanced answer to this question, you’ll have to listen to the podcast episode. But in short, Golden Sun and its sequels have not aged as well as many other classics that have both come before and after. Much of the mythos that surrounds the games came as a result of an RPG-starved fan base that had been craving for more for the genre. The Nintendo 64 only had a handful of RPGs, and none worthy of mentioning to boot, so much of the nostalgia was simply a result of RPG fans finally seeing a resurgence of their beloved genre on a Nintendo device.
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