is a series of fantasy role-playing video games developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. It follows the story of a group of magically attuned "adepts" who are charged with preventing the potentially destructive power of alchemy 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 and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, were released in 2001 and 2002, respectively, for the Game Boy Advance. A third game, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, was released for the Nintendo DS in 2010. In Golden Sun, the player controls protagonist Isaac and his companions as they journey through the world of Weyard to prevent a group of anti-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 four elemental 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 first Golden Sun game has been widely lauded as among the best games for the Game Boy Advance, with the first game receiving Nintendo Power's Best GBA Game of 2001 and ranking in IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever, as number 94. The Lost Age performed even better than its predecessor, ranking 78 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever. Dark Dawn, while still scoring highly on Metacritic's aggregation of critic scores, was less well received. Sales figures for the first two Golden Sun games exceeded one million in the United States and Japan, a figure that Dark Dawn failed to exceed.
Common elements
Setting Games in the Golden 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."Male villager: The huge waterfall at the edge of the world is known as Gaia Falls".—"Old male villager: Well, at least Gaia Falls will put an end to a few silly arguments. After all, if it's got an edge and you can fall off it, the world is clearly FLAT!"— The first two installments, Golden Sun and The 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 of Alchemy 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.In-game text: "Ages ago, or so the stories tell, the power of Alchemy ruled over the world of Weyard. Alchemy wrought the base elements of humanity into thriving civilizations, like lead into gold. But in time, man's dreams gave birth to untold strife. Dreams of endless riches, of eternal life, of dominion over all that lived... Dreams of conquest and war". The keys to unlocking Alchemy, four magic jewels called the Elemental Stars, had been hidden within the mountain shrine, Mt. Aleph, guarded by the town of Vale at the mountain's base over time."The Wise One: The world will be exposed to the threat of Alchemy. / Garet: Alchemy? A threat? / The Wise One: It can be a dangerous power if it is misused... If the Elemental Stars ignite the flames of the four lighthouses, that power will be released. As long as the four lighthouses remain unlit..."— 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.
Gameplay
In the Golden Sun games, players control a cast of characters as they journey through a fantasy world, interact with other characters, battle monsters, acquire magic spells and equipment, and take part in a narrative. Much of the time spent outside of battle takes place in dungeons, caves, and other locales, which generally require the player to find items that grant their bearer new forms of "Psynergy", the series' version of magic, 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.. Outside of these dungeons and locales, the player traverses through a world map and navigates between forests, rivers, mountain ranges, seas, and oceans.
A key element of in-game exploration is the use of Psynergy spells, which are used both in battle and solving puzzles. Some Psynergy is only used in combat or in the overworld and non-battle scenarios. However, there is 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 overgrown foliage that blocks the player's path. The player gains more Psynergy spells as the game progresses, both through leveling 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.
In battle, Golden Sun games contain both random 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 battles in the first two games, the characters and the background rotate to give a pseudo-3D effect. Players can attack enemies directly using various weapons and offensive Psynergy spells, or by summoning Djinn, 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. 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.
Plot
Golden Sun and The Lost Age
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.Menardi: How could we have anticipated Sol Sanctum would unleash such fury? / Saturos: It's a miracle that even the two of us were spared. / Menardi: That switch... It must have been a trap. / Saturos: But to think it could conjure up a storm this powerful! / Menardi:...Another demonstration of the awesome powers of Alchemy. / Saturos: Regardless, we must not fail the next time we challenge Sol Sanctum.
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.Dora: Where do you all plan to go today? / Garet: We're going to Mt. Aleph with Kraden. / Dora: Mountain climbing with Kraden, eh? Kids and their games... / Jenna: No! It's part of our studies... / Dora: Ah, yes... Alchemy. 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,Ivan: Your quest has been on my mind ever since I left Vault. Remember? I read everything that happened in your minds. I couldn't just leave, not with all these terrible things happening. If I can't rescue Master Hammet, then I want to help you... Please, allow me to join your quest. Mia: Well, I... Uh... I... I'll be joining Isaac on his quest. 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.Saturos: I hope you don't think you've finished us off. / Mia: You may not be finished, but you can barely stand. / Menardi: Right now, yes... But we'll be back on our feet... as soon as we do THIS! / Saturos: (Throws the Venus Star into the Venus Lighthouse well) / Ivan: Oh, no! He threw the Elemental Star into the lighthouse! / Mia: How could this happen... We couldn't keep them from lighting the beacon! / Saturos: That's not all... The energy of the beacon will restore our power. Saturos: How... How... did we lose? / Menardi: We are superior in every way, but still we were defeated...
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.Jenna: Believe me, I'd love to see Isaac again, but we just don't have the time to look for him. Plus... / Kraden: Even if we did find them, there's a good chance we'd end up fighting them. / Piers: Why? / Kraden: What we are trying to achieve, they are trying to prevent... And they will fight to stop us. Eventually, Felix's party is able to access the legendary, secluded Atlantis-like society of Lemuria, located far out in the ocean.Kraden: Ooo! Ooo! Finally! What could be waiting for me in Lemuria? I can't wait another moment! / Piers: Oh, hush. I'll keep a close eye on them. You have nothing to fear. / Lemurian soldier: Very well, Piers. We place our faith in you. Enter freely and peacably. 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.Piers: However, the world seems even smaller now than it appears on Lunpa's map... / Consevato: What are you saying? / Kraden: Time itself has stopped... Think of Weyard as a living, breathing being, possessing its own life force... The four elements are the nourishment needed to sustain this being. / Lunpa: Kraden... This is exactly what King Hydros himself has said to me! / King Hydros: Ever since Alchemy was sealed away, the world has been cut off from its nourishment. It has gone into a state akin to hibernation. 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.Mia: I'm just relieved we've sorted out our differences. / Piers" Me too, Mia... We could not have stood divided against a common foe. / Garet: Yeah, I guess I'm a little happy that we're not going to have to beat Felix up. / Isaac: Listen, this is Felix's quest now... We're just doing what we can to help out...
Dark Dawn
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.