| Golden Sun | |
|---|---|
 Golden Sun's logo as ofGolden Sun: Dark Dawn | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing video game |
| Developer(s) | Camelot Software Planning |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Creator(s) | Hiroyuki Takahashi Shugo Takahashi |
| Artist(s) | Shin Yamanouchi |
| Composer(s) | Motoi Sakuraba |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance,Nintendo DS |
| First release | Golden Sun August 1, 2001 |
| Latest release | Golden Sun: Dark Dawn November 29, 2010 |
Golden Sun[a] is a series of fantasyrole-playing video games developed byCamelot Software Planning and published byNintendo. It follows the story of a group of magically-attuned "adepts" who are charged with preventing the potentially destructive power ofalchemy from being released as it was in the past. Players navigate characters through the game's world by defeating enemies, solving puzzles, and completing assigned missions to complete the storyline.
The original two games,Golden Sun andGolden Sun: The Lost Age, were released in 2001 and 2002, respectively, for theGame Boy Advance. A third game,Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, was released for theNintendo DS in 2010. InGolden Sun, the player controls protagonist Isaac and his companions as they journey through the world of Weyard to prevent a group ofanti-heroes from releasing a mysterious power called "Alchemy" to the world.Golden Sun: The Lost Age follows the surviving members from the previous game's antagonists as they continue to pursue the release of Alchemy by lighting fourelemental lighthouses.Golden Sun: Dark Dawn takes place thirty years later and follows the descendants of the previous two games' heroes as they navigate a world adapting to the presence of Alchemy.
The series has received generally favorable reception from critics. The firstGolden Sun game has been widely lauded as among the best games for the Game Boy Advance, with the first game receivingNintendo Power's Best GBA Game of 2001 and ranking inIGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever, as number 94.The Lost Age performed even better than its predecessor, ranking 78 onIGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever.Dark Dawn, while still scoring highly onMetacritic's aggregation of critic scores, was less well received. Sales figures for the first twoGolden Sun games exceeded one million in the United States and Japan, a figure thatDark Dawn failed to exceed.
| 2001 | Golden Sun |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Golden Sun: The Lost Age |
| 2003–2009 | |
| 2010 | Golden Sun: Dark Dawn |
Games in theGolden Sun series are set in the fictional world of Weyard, a flat and vaguely circular plane whose oceans perpetually spill off the edge of the world into what is seemingly an endless abyss.[1][2] The first two installments,Golden Sun andThe Lost Age, center around two groups of magically-attuned "adepts" who are alternately charged with achieving and preventing the release of the potentially destructive power ofAlchemy on the world. The force of Alchemy was prevalent in Weyard's ancient past, allowing for the development of great civilizations, but this eventually caused worldwide conflict that subsided only after it was sealed away.[3] The keys to unlocking Alchemy, four magic jewels called the Elemental Stars, have been hidden within the mountain shrine, Mt. Aleph, guarded by the town of Vale at the mountain's base over time.[4] The third installment,Dark Dawn, chronicles the events of Weyard thirty years following the return of Alchemy and the struggles the world's inhabitants face while adapting to their new reality.[5]
In theGolden Sun games, players control a cast of characters as they journey through a fantasy world, interact with other characters, battle monsters, acquiremagic spells and equipment, and take part in a narrative.[6] Much of the time spent outside of battle takes place indungeons, caves, and other locales, which generally require the player to find items that grant their bearer new forms of "Psynergy", or magical spells, to solve puzzles. To complete these puzzles, players must either push pillars to construct negotiable paths between elevated areas, climb up and rappel down cliffs, or obtain a special item to progress through the story and game world.[7] Outside of these dungeons and locales, the player traverses through a world map and navigates between forests, rivers, mountain ranges, seas, and oceans.[8]
A key element in in-game exploration is the use of Psynergy spells, which are used both in battle and solving puzzles.[9] Some Psynergy is only used in combat or inoverworld and non-battle scenarios. However, there are Psynergy that can be used in both situations; for example, the "Whirlwind" spell can be used to damage enemies in battle and out of battle to clear away overgrown foliage that blocks the player's path.[10] The player gains more Psynergy spells as the game progresses, both throughleveling up and obtaining special Psynergy-bestowing items. With each "utility" Psynergy spell, the party gains access to more locations and secrets in the game world.[8]
In battle,Golden Sun games contain bothrandom monster encounters, featuring randomly selected enemies, and compulsory battles involving set enemies, which advance the story. When a battle begins, a separate screen is brought up where the player's party and enemy party face off on opposing sides. During a battle, the characters and the background rotate to give a pseudo-3D effect.[11] Players can attack enemies directly using various weapons and offensive Psynergy spells, or by summoningDjinn, powerful otherworldly entities that enhance an attached character's hit points, Psynergy points, and other statistics, as well as determining what Psynergy they can perform.[12] Djinn can be set to standby, where players forfeit stat enhancements to unleash a powerful one-time attack that summons an elemental monster to inflict damage on all enemies.[13]
Three years prior to the start of the game's main story, Saturos and Menardi raid Mt. Aleph intending to steal the Elemental Stars, but fail to solve the riddles guarding them and are driven away by the mountain's trap; a magically generated thunderstorm and rock slide.[14]
Three years later, Isaac, Garet, and Jenna join Kraden on his research trip to Mt. Aleph and manage to solve the shrine's puzzles and retrieve the Elemental Stars.[15] They are ambushed by Saturos and Menardi, along with Felix, a previous resident of Vale who was kidnapped during the storms three years earlier. They kidnap Jenna and Kraden and take three of the four Elemental Stars, then depart to light the four lighthouses and release Alchemy on the world. Isaac's party is joined by two other young Adepts, Ivan and Mia,[16][17] and together they pursue Saturos' party in a journey that spans two continents, culminating in a fierce battle that leads to Saturos and Menardi's death.[18][19]
With Saturos and Menardi dead, Felix convinces Jenna and Kraden to join him in completing Saturos' original objective to activate the two remaining lighthouses that he failed to light. Joined by new companions Sheba and Piers, Felix and his party embark on a new expedition while pursued by Isaac's party.[20] Eventually, Felix's party is able to access the legendary, secluded Atlantis-like society ofLemuria, located far out in the ocean.[21] After convening with Lemuria's ancient king, Hydros, they learn of Alchemy's true nature: it is the sustenance of Weyard's life force, and its absence has caused the world's continents to decrease in size and parts of the world to collapse into the abyss.[22] Armed with this new information, Felix manages to persuade Isaac and his party to join them, and together they fulfill the goal of releasing Alchemy and preventing Weyard's eventual decay.[23]
Thirty years after Isaac and his party of Adepts return the power of Alchemy to Weyard, continents have shifted, new countries have emerged, and new species have appeared. However, Psynergy Vortexes, which suck the elemental Psynergy from both the land and the power-wielding Adepts, are appearing all over Weyard. The original games' heroes' descendants – Matthew, Karis, Rief, and Tyrell – set out to solve the mystery of the vortexes while facing a world adapting to the constant presence of Psynergy.
The game begins with Tyrell accidentally crashing one of Ivan's inventions, a Soarwing, and Isaac sending him out along with Matthew and Karis to retrieve a feather of the mountain roc to build a new one.[24] After meeting up with Kraden, Rief, and Nowell, they are ambushed by Blados, Chalis, and Arcanus, and the party is separated.[25][26] As Matthew's party travels across Weyard to reunite with Kraden and Nowell, they encounter a deadly eclipse heralded by the lighting of Luna Tower, causing suffering and destruction across the world. They manage to activate an ancient machine called the Apollo's Lens to end the eclipse, and return home to discover a large Psynergy Vortex lurking ominously near their home.[27]
TheGolden Sun games were created by the Takahashi Brothers, consisting ofHiroyuki Takahashi and Shugo Takahashi, and produced byCamelot Software Planning.[28] According to co-creator Shugo Takahashi, the series was conceived as a way for Nintendo to compete against Sony'sPlayStation console, which dominated therole-playing game market at the time.[29] As a handheld title,Golden Sun was originally planned as a single game, but due to both the hardware limitations of putting the entire game on a single Game Boy Advance cartridge and the developers' own desire for what they wanted to do with the game, it was expanded to become two successive games,Golden Sun andGolden Sun: The Lost Age. The Takahashi Brothers had previously designedShining Force III, where the story involved playing through the perspectives of both the "good" side and the "bad" side of the characters. Thinking that it was an effective way of conveying the full story of a fictional game world, they incorporated elements of this storytelling methodology into the two-game setup of theGolden Sun series, having the player control the "good guys" inGolden Sun and members of the antagonistic party inThe Lost Age.[30]
Originally, Camelot planned to create a single title instead of a series, and in the extremely early stages of their project they had created a game design document for the oneGolden Sun game to be on theNintendo 64 console. When it became apparent the N64 was to be superseded by theGameCube, Camelot shifted their focus to making a game on the handheldGame Boy Advance.[29]
Golden Sun games generally have longer development cycles than their peer games on similar consoles due to the series' complex gameplay mechanisms and storylines.[31]Golden Sun, the first game in the series, underwent a development cycle of between twelve and eighteen months by Camelot Software Planning, which is considered a long period of time for the development of a handheld video game,[32] and was described as a "testament" to the positive results a long development cycle can bring to a game.[33] It was shown in early, playable form at theNintendo Space World Expo in Japan in August 2000.[11] North American previewers received the game a few weeks before the release, and IGN noted that the experience of developingShining Force for Sega helped Camelot develop a gripping RPG for the handheld.[34]
The Lost Age was first revealed to Japan in early 2002, with the magazineFamitsu being the first publication to review the game.[35]The Lost Age was highly anticipated; it toppedIGN's list ofGame Boy Advance "Most Wanted" games for 2003.[36] The North American version of the game was playable atElectronic Entertainment Expo 2002,[37] and IGN noted that the opening of the game did away with the slow opening sequence ofGolden Sun, introducing the characters in between the action.[38]GameSpot previewed a localized copy ofThe Lost Age in February 2003, and noted that the game built on its predecessor's graphics engine, with "the environments in the game featuring rich detail with little touches— such as birds that fly off as you approach."[39]
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn was first revealed and introduced at theNintendoE3 2009 conference byNintendo of America president,Reggie Fils-Aimé, as a series that "went dark six years ago" but has since been revisited and polished up for theNintendo DS.[40] The game received a larger development team than previous installments, giving the team luxuries such as visitingUNESCO World Heritage Sites for inspiration.[31]
In an interview with Nintendo Gamer in June 2012, series producer Hiroyuki Takahashi spoke about the possibility of a fourthGolden Sun game; "A big reason for us making RPGs comes from the requests from all the people who have enjoyed our RPGs in the past. Perhaps if there are enough Nintendo users asking for another game in theGolden Sun series, then this will naturally lead to the development of such a game."[41]
On January 11, 2024, it was announced thatGolden Sun andThe Lost Age would be added toNintendo Switch Online on January 17.[42]
The series' original music was composed byMotoi Sakuraba, and his score for the first game in his series was his first attempt at composing music for theGame Boy Advance. The new technology offered by the console encouraged Sakuraba to attempt new styles, resulting in subtlerock influences in the series' music[43] The collection of orchestral[11] pieces that Sakuraba contributed to the series include an overworld theme, several battle themes that play during fight sequences, and a variety of individual themes for the games' various towns and other locales.[9] Sakuraba returned to score bothThe Lost Age andDark Dawn, with the latter released on a new platform with updated hardware. According to Sakuraba, the "sound design" forDark Dawn was different and he preferred the music in the first two games. He has also expressed a desire for an official soundtrack release of the series' music.[44]
Sakuraba also contributed songs to two games in theSuper Smash Bros. franchise, among which two were adapted from his works inThe Lost Age andDark Dawn.[45][46]
The characters from the firstGolden Sun game also appear in a self-publisheddoujinshi manga titled "Golden Sun 4-Koma Gag Battle", drawn by various artists and published byKobunsha. It was released four months after the first game came out and is not officially sanctioned by either Nintendo or Camelot. As a result, the manga was only released in Japan.[47]
Elements from theGolden Sun games have appeared in other games. Isaac, the main protagonist of the original game, is an unlockable "Assist Trophy" inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl. When he is summoned during battle, Isaac uses Psynergy to conjure a large hand three times in succession to shove the player's opponents off the stage. If enemies attempt to evade his attack, Isaac will turn in sync to attack a selected opponent.[48] In addition, a medley of music fromThe Lost Age was selected to be onBrawl's soundtrack.[45] The game's sequel,Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, did not feature Isaac as an Assist Trophy, but its music featuredThe Lost Age medley as well as the world map theme fromDark Dawn.[46]Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brings back Isaac as an Assist Trophy and introduces a costume inspired by him for the Mii Swordfighter. The game also features characters from all three titles as spirits, including the adult Isaac fromDark Dawn.
| Game | GameRankings | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Sun | 89%[50] | 91/100[49] |
| Golden Sun: The Lost Age | 87%[52] | 86/100[51] |
| Golden Sun: Dark Dawn | 81%[54] | 79/100[53] |
The original game sold 740,000 copies in the United States[55] and 338,000 in Japan,[56] whileThe Lost Age sold 437,000 and 249,000 units in the United States and Japan, respectively.[57] In total, both games sold 1.65 million and 1.12 million respectively, with European sales contributing 572,000 and 434,000.[58] By the end of 2012, two years after its release,Dark Dawn only sold 80,000 units in Japan.[59]
The series was met with many positive reviews.[60] Reviewers praised the series' vibrant graphics, high-quality sound, and varied, refined RPG gameplay, with particular optimism on the Djinn-based gameplay system and Battle aspect[61] despite the fact that the original two games were limited to the 32-bit cartridge.[62]GamePro raved thatGolden Sun was "A huge, fantastic, creative, and wickedly fun RPG that doesn't seem to care that it's 'just' on a GBA,"[63] while they praised thatThe Lost Age's eye-popping magic effects are beautiful even by console standards.[64]IGN, meanwhile, praised the plot's intricate structure, saying that it "has been so tightly integrated into every ounce of the adventure... such a rich and deep plot that it's almost easy to get lost if you're not paying attention."[33]1UP praisedDark Dawn as being a huge step forward in terms of pacing and graphics compared to the previous games.[65]
Critics complained that the combat system lacked "smart" combat; if an enemy is killed before other party members attack it, those members switch to defense instead of intelligently attacking the remaining enemies.[64] They also took issue to the long opening sequences in both games that "alienated new players" and "confused them by swamping them with new characters".[66] 1UP faulted Camelot for being unwilling to "trim its fat", and noted that all three games in the series "tend to ramble on anytime dialogue boxes start to show up. Its heroes and villains have an uncanny knack for saying incredibly simple things with about three or four times the words they actually need to convey those ideas."[65]Game Informer noted that the difficulty ofDark Dawn was greatly dumbed down compared to previous installments and complained that "characters level up at blazing speeds" while the Djinn make "even the longest boss battles a cakewalk."[67]
In 2001,Golden Sun won theNintendo Power Award for bestGame Boy Advance game of the year.Golden Sun was ranked 94 andThe Lost Age was ranked 78 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever.[68][69] In 2007,Golden Sun was named 24th best Game Boy Advance game of all time inIGN's feature reflecting on the Game Boy Advance's long lifespan,[70] and its Game of the Month for April 2003 due to its "amazing graphics and sound presentation, as well as a quest that lasts for more than thirty hours."[71]
