Golden Sun (series)

Golden Sun (黄金の太陽) is a series of fantasy role-playing video games developed by Camelot Software Planning and produced by Nintendo. Golden Sun 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. It later focuses on the descendants of the original heroes. In this strain, Golden Sun follows the traditional RPG theme of wandering around and fighting.

The original two games, Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, were released in 2001 and 2003, respectively, for the Game Boy Advance platform. Following a six-year hiatus, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn was announced at the Nintendo E3 2009 conference on June 2, 2009, for release in 2010 for the Nintendo DS platform. In Golden Sun, the player plays as Isaac and his friends as they set off into the world of Weyard to prevent a group of anti-heroes from releasing alchemy to the world. Golden Sun: The Lost Age, however, follows the plight of the surviving members from the previous game's antagonists as they continue to pursue the release of alchemy into the world by means of lighting four elemental lighthouses. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn follows the path of the descendants of the previous two game's heroes.

Golden Sun has been widely lauded as among the best games for the Game Boy, with the first game receiving Nintendo Power's Best GBA Game of 2001 and ranking in IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever. The Lost Age performed even better than its predecessor, ranking 78 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever.

Common gameplay elements
The Golden Sun series follows a contemporary presentation of the traditional console role-playing game formula. Players guide a cast of characters as they journey through a fantasy-themed world, interact with other characters, battle monsters, acquire increasingly powerful magic spells and equipment, and take part in a building, predefined narrative. Much of the game's time spent outside of battle takes place in dungeons, caves, and other locales, which generally require the player to find items that grant the bearer new forms of Psynergy in order to solve the puzzles integrated into their layout. 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 must traverse through a large world map as they navigate between forests, rivers, mountain ranges, and in The Lost Age, the ocean.

Successful exploration of the game's world and conduction of the game's battles is heavily dependent on the strategic usage of the extensive pool of Psynergy spells available. Whereas many other RPGs limit the usage of their forms of magic to battles as offensive and defensive measures, Psynergy spells can be used both for battle, and for solving puzzles in the game's locales. A portion of the game's Psynergy can only be used in combat; conversely, many spells are only used in the game's overworld and non-battle scenarios. At the same time, there are Psynergy spells can be used in both situations; for example, the "Whirlwind" spell that can be used to damage enemies in battle is also used out of battle to clear away overgrown foliage that may block the player's path. Psynergy comes in four elements: Venus (manipulation of rocks and plants), Mars (revolving around fire and heat), Jupiter (based on wind and electricity), and Mercury (concerning water and ice). The player gains more Psynergy spells as the game progresses, both through leveling up and the acquisition of special Psynergy-bestowing items, and with each "utility" Psynergy spell the party gains access to more locations and secrets hidden in the game world. Players can return to previous locations in the game to finish puzzles which they could not solve earlier because of the lack of a specific Psynergy spell.

Battle
Golden Sun contains 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 a battle, the characters and the background rotate to give a pseudo-3D effect.

Additional gameplay during battle is similar to that of traditional console RPGs by defeating enemies in a variety of measures, including the afore-mentioned psynergy skill, summoning other-worldly entities by use of Djinn, or direct combat through various forms of weaponry. In addition, there are various measures to keep one's own party alive through supportive psynergy and healing items—as well as calling upon Djinn to revive a downed player. If the player's entire party is downed by reducing their hit points to zero, it is considered "Game Over", and the party is returned to the last Sanctum that the player visited and suffers a monetary penalty. The successful completion of a battle yields experience points, coins, and sometimes items.

In addition to the main game itself, there is also a competitive battling mode accessible from the menu screen. In this mode, players can enter their currently-developed team from their saved game files into an arena environment where they can either battle increasingly difficult CPU-controlled enemies with their full parties, or select three of their four party members to do battle against another player's three-character team. In neither case is there a reward or penalty for winning or losing.

Djinn system
One of the most distinctive features of Golden Sun is the collecting and manipulation of magical creatures called Djinn (Singular: Djinni). Djinn, based on each of the four classical elements, can be found scattered in hiding throughout the game and are allocated to each character. The Djinn form the basis of the game's statistic enhancement, as well as the system that dictates the character's Psynergy capabilities. Attaching different Djinn to different characters modifies that character's character class, subsequently modifying hit points, Psynergy points, and other statistics, as well as determining what Psynergy the character is able to perform.

In Golden Sun, Djinn can either be "turned on" ("Set") or "turned off" ("On Standby"). When a Djinni is "Set" to a character, that Djinni exerts influence on that character's class (and therefore, his or her statistics and Psynergy collection) relative to both the character's innate element and that of the Djinni. As there are twenty-eight Djinn encompassing the four elements that can be mixed and matched to the four characters, a large array of possible class setups for all four characters are potentially available, allowing a variety of combat options.

In combat, a Djinni has several primary uses. Each Djinni has its own special ability which can be invoked during combat by the character it is attached to, which can include enhanced elemental attacks, buffing or debuffing spells, healing/restoration spells, and other effects. After a successful invoke, the Djinni shifts to "Standby" mode until it is "Set" on the character again. While in standby, the Djinn do not contribute to character classes or statistics, but can be used for summon sequences, which are attacks where the player summons a powerful elemental monster to inflict damage on every enemy. This is the game's most powerful method of attack, and also the riskiest, as it requires Djinn to be on Standby and therefore not be available to bolster the statistics of whatever character the Djinn are on. Once a Djinni on Standby has been used for a Summon Sequence, it must rest a number of turns before it restores itself to Set position on a character. There are sixteen Summon Sequences in Golden Sun, four for each element, and each summon sequence takes between one and four Djinn of the same element on Standby.

Recurring characters
The player controls a total of four players in Golden Sun and up to eight characters in The Lost Age, once a specific plot advancer has been passed. In the original game, Isaac is portrayed a soon to be seventeen-year-old Venus Adept from the village of Vale, who serves as the game's silent protagonist, though his classification as the game's silent protagonist is replaced in subsequent release with their respective main protagonists. Garet, a seventeen-year-old Mars Adept also from Vale, is big and strong but slightly oafish and unfocused; nonetheless he is Isaac's closest companion. Ivan is a fifteen-year-old Jupiter Adept who has lived with a famous merchant in the town of Kalay all his life, but whose real hometown is actually Contigo, a town on the continent of Atteka; he is a somewhat quiet, insightful boy. Mia, a seventeen-year-old Mercury Adept from the wintry town of Imil, is a gentle healer from a heritage of Mercury Adept clansmen. Felix serves as Golden Sun's anti-hero and is the Lost Age's main protagonist. His younger sister, Jenna, a seventeen-year-old Mars Adept also from Vale, and a fourteen-year-old girl and Jupiter Adept named Sheba, as well as a sharp-witted elderly scholar named Kraden were all captives of the original game's antagonist: Saturos and Menardi. This position would later be replaced by Karst & Agatio. In addition, a large, floating eyeball named "The Wise One" is likely to be the orchestrator of the events in both Golden Sun and The Lost Age, helping the heroes herald in a new era of alchemy.

In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, one of the main protagonists was revealed as former protagonist Isaac's son according to Nintendo Power magazine while other protagonists and antagonists are speculated to be the original series' descendants, however no other identities have yet been released.

Golden Sun
The force of Alchemy was prevalent in Weyard's ancient past, allowing for the development of great civilizations, but this eventually gave way to worldwide conflict that had subsided only with the sealing away of Alchemy. The keys to unlocking Alchemy, four magic jewels named the Elemental Stars, have been hidden within the mountain shrine, Mt. Aleph, which in turn has been guarded by the town of Vale at the mountain's base over the ages. Three years prior to the start of the game in the game's prologue, however, Saturos and Menardi, along with a raiding party, raid Mt. Aleph with the intent to take the Elemental Stars for themselves, but fail to solve the riddles guarding them and are driven away by the mountain's trap, a magically generated thunderstorm and rock slide. Yet, as teenaged adepts from Vale, Isaac, Garet, and Jenna, join Kraden in his research of Mt. Aleph, Saturos and Menardi manage arrive with Felix and Alex, and they coerce Isaac into giving them three of the four stars, all the while escaping with Jenna and Kraden as hostages.

Isaac and Garet valiantly pursue Saturos' group to the first Lighthouse, Mercury Lighthouse, and along the way they are joined by other young adepts named Ivan and Mia. But in spite of their best efforts, they fail to prevent Saturos from activating Mercury Lighthouse with the Mercury Star. Saturos' group immediately leaves for the next Lighthouse while Isaac's party immediately resumes its pursuit, and the lengthy chase and journey that follows eventually spans two continents, during which Isaac finds that Saturos has taken another adept hostage as well: the female Jupiter adept, Sheba. Golden Sun climaxes at Venus Lighthouse; Saturos and Menardi activate the lighthouse with the Venus Star, but are again confronted by Isaac's party. Attempting to annihilate their opponents, Saturos and Menardi magically merge to form a gigantic two-headed dragon, but the fierce battle ultimately ends in victory for Isaac's party as they slay Saturos and Menardi for good. Their victory is a hollow one, though, as they come to the conclusion that the remnants of Saturos' group, headed by Felix and Alex, are still on its quest to light the remaining two Lighthouses, while Jenna, Sheba, and Kraden are still with them. The game ends as Isaac's party boards a ship entrusted to them previously and sail out into Weyard's open seas in search of their continued objectives.

The Lost Age
The antagonists of the previous game, Saturos and Menardi, have been slain in battle by the game's protagonists led by Isaac, but not before the pair succeeded in activating two of four great lighthouses situated across the world of Weyard, the Elemental Lighthouses. But now Saturos' remaining travelling companion, Felix, has taken the rest of Saturos' group and now sets out on a journey of his own to complete Saturos' original objective to activate the remaining two Lighthouses, for lighting all four will achieve the restoration of the powerful force of Alchemy to Weyard. Sailing the oceans of Weyard on a ship with their new companion Piers, Felix and his party embark on an epic expedition while pursued by Isaac's party. Eventually, Felix's party is able to achieve entrance into a legendary, secluded Atlantis-like society named Lemuria far out in the ocean. When they convene with Lemuria's ancient king, Hydros, they learn about Alchemy's true nature; it has always been the sustenance of Weyard's very life force, and its absence over the past ages has caused the world's continents to decrease in size and parts of the world to collapse into the abyss. Knowing that restoring Alchemy is what must be done to actually save the world, Felix sets out to climb and activate Jupiter Lighthouse. But when Isaac's pursuing party enters the lighthouse, they are trapped and ambushed by the vengeful Mars Adept Warriors, Karst and Agatio. Felix comes to assist Isaac to defeat Karst and Agatio.

Felix is finally able to explain to Isaac why Alchemy's release is a necessary thing for everyone, and that Saturos and Menardi were aiming for this goal merely for the sake of the survival of their home colony of Prox to the far north, located near the Mars Lighthouse. Felix and Isaac's two traveling parties join forces to form one unified group that sets out north to activate Mars Lighthouse; however, when they reach the tower's top, the Wise One, the entity responsible for originally tasking Isaac to prevent the breaking of Alchemy's seal, confronts them. He warns them that mankind could very well destroy Weyard themselves if they had possession of such a power, and when Isaac insists on breaking the seal regardless the Wise One summons a giant, three-headed dragon for the party to battle in the final struggle.

When the party of Adepts have slain the dragon, they discover that the Wise One had transformed Isaac and Felix's parents into the now-dead beast." After a short period of mourning, they gather the resolve to finish their objective and activate Mars Lighthouse; with all four towers across Weyard lit, the process that heralds the return of the force of Alchemy to Weyard ensues at the mountain sanctum Mt. Aleph. Alex is there, however; he took advantage of everyone else's quests so that he would gain immense magic power for himself when Alchemy is unleashed. Unfortunately for him, though, the mountain collapses and sinks into the ground with him still on it, just as the Wise One originally planned. The heroes, meanwhile are able to recognize that the reason the Wise One appeared to play that cruel trick on them before was to test their resolve as Adepts, and therefore test their ability to handle a great new responsibility: To ensure that throughout the world the newly released force of Alchemy is not abused by Weyard's populace like it was in the ancient past.

Dark Dawn
The story of Dark Dawn begins thirty years after the conclusion of The Lost Age. Due to Isaac and the others bringing the power of the Golden Sun 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 children of the previous games' heroes - Matthew, Karis, and Tyrell - set out to solve the mystery of the vortexes, and cross a world that is succumbing to a new evil.

History
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 one Golden Sun game to be on the Nintendo 64 console. When it became apparent the N64 was to be superseded by the Nintendo GameCube, Camelot shifted their focus to making a game on the handheld Game Boy Advance.

Golden Sun 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, and was described as a "testament" to the positive results a long development cycle can bring to a game. It was shown in early, playable form at the Nintendo Spaceworld Expo in Japan on August 2000. North American previewers received the game a few weeks before the release, and IGN noted that the experience of developing Shining Force for Sega helped Camelot develop a gripping RPG for the handheld.

The Lost Age was first revealed to Japan in early 2002, with the magazine Famitsu being the first publication to review the game. The Lost Age was highly anticipated; it topped IGN's list of Game Boy Advance "Most Wanted" games for 2003. The North American version of the game was playable at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2002, and IGN noted that the opening of the game did away with the notoriously boring opening sequence of Golden Sun, introducing the characters in between the action. GameSpot previewed a localized copy of The 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."

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn was first revealed and introduced at the Nintendo E3 2009 conference by Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aime, as a series that "went dark six years ago" but has since been revisited and polished up for the Nintendo DS.

Conception
As a handheld title, Golden Sun was originally going to be a single game, but due to both the hardware limitations of putting the 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 and Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Scenario writer Hiroyuki Takahashi and director Shugo Takahashi had previously designed Shining 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 the Golden Sun series, having the player control the "good guys" in Golden Sun and members of the antagonistic party in The Lost Age.

In other media
Isaac, the main protagonist of Golden Sun, is an unlockable "Assist Trophy" character in the Nintendo fighting game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. When he is summoned during battle by an Assist Trophy item, Isaac conjures a large hand three times in succession by using his 'Move' psynergy to shove the player's opponents off the stage. Should enemies attempt to evade, Isaac will turn in sync to attack a selected opponent. In addition, a medley of music from The Lost Age was also selected to be on Brawl's soundtrack.

Reception
The series was met with many positive reviews. 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 despite the fact that the original two games were limited to the 32-bit cartridge. GamePro raved that Golden Sun was "A huge, fantastic, creative, and wickedly fun RPG that doesn't seem to care that it's 'just' on a GBA," while they praised that The Lost Age's eye-popping magic effects are beautiful even by console standards. 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."

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. 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". In addition, some faulted Golden Sun for still relying on the traditional "wander around, get into a random battle, win battle, wander around, random battle, etc." theme evident in many role-playing games.

In 2001, Golden Sun won the Nintendo Power Award for best Game Boy Advance game of the year. Golden Sun was ranked 94 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever. In 2007, it was named 24th best Game Boy Advance game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the Game Boy Advance's long lifespan, as well as it's Game of the Month for April 2003 because it had "amazing graphics and sound presentation, as well as a quest that lasts for more than thirty hours." Both Golden Sun and The Lost Age sold an average of just slightly less than a million each.