Golden Sun (video game)

Golden Sun's form of magic, Psynergy, can be used in and out of combat. Here, an ice spell is used to create a navigable path of frozen ice pillars from puddles of water.

Golden Sun is a role-playing video game. The primary game mode is single-player and story-based, in which the player controls a cast of four characters as they embark on a quest, interact with other characters, battle monsters, and acquire new abilities and equipment.[2]^: 3 The game also contains a two-person player versus player battle mode, which requires each player to have a copy of the game and a Game Link Cable.[3]^: 8 Although many of the player's actions are compulsory, Golden Sun often allows the player to visit previous locations and complete certain objectives out of order.

The overworld of Golden Sun is filled with towns, caves, and dungeons. Players explore from a top-down perspective.[4] Environments often have puzzles integrated into their layout. These puzzles require the player to perform actions such as creating makeshift bridges by pushing logs into rivers or shifting the track of a mine cart to gain access to new areas.[2]^: 50–53 Many of these puzzles require use of the game's form of magic spells, called "Psynergy";[5] this is in contrast to many RPGs, which often restrict magic to within battles and post-combat healing.[6] Psynergy, however, is used for both purposes; for example, the "Whirlwind" spell that damages enemies in battle is also used out of battle to remove overgrown foliage blocking the player's path.[2]^: 51 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).[2]^: 16 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.[2]^: 50–53

Battles in Golden Sun have many special effects. Here, a weapon-specific attack is unleashed by the sword Gaia Blade.

Golden Sun contains both random monster encounters, featuring randomly selected enemies,[7] and compulsory boss battles that advance the story. During combat, the camera shifts to a pseudo-3D view, and spins and zooms during the battle depending on the attacks and items used.[4][8][9] In each battle, players must defeat the enemies while keeping their own party alive through items and Psynergy that restore life and supplement defense.[2]^: 34 The player receives a "Game Over" if each character's hit points are reduced to zero; if this happens, the player will incur a monetary penalty and the party will be returned to the sanctum in the last visited town. After winning a battle, players receive experience points, coins, and occasionally items.[10]

Players can change their characters' class and powers using Djinn. There are 28 Djinn in Golden Sun, seven each of the four elements.[3]^: 10 Once encountered in the overworld or in dungeons, they may either join the player willingly, or need to be defeated in combat.[9] Assigning Djinn to different characters changes their character class, enabling them to use different psynergy, as well as statistics such as hit points or defense.[9][2]^: 19 Djinn can either be "Set" to a player or put on "Standby". Each Set Djinni has a special ability which can be invoked during combat by the character it is attached to, which can include enhanced elemental attacks, buffing/debuffing spells, healing/restoration spells, and other effects. After being used, the Djinni shifts to "Standby" mode until it is "Set" on the character again.[2]^: 44 In Standby mode, Djinn do not contribute to character statistics, but can be used for powerful elemental summon spells; after being used for summoning, they return to the Set position after a cooldown period.[2]

Golden Sun also features an optional battling mode accessible from the menu screen. In this mode, players can enter a team from their saved game files into an arena environment where they battle increasingly difficult CPU-controlled enemies. Additionally, players can select three of their four characters to fight another player's three-character team. The player does not receive any reward or punishment for participating in these battles.[2]^: 52–54

Camelot Software Planning spent between twelve and eighteen months developing Golden Sun, considered a long time for a handheld video game;[11] IGN described the finished product as a testament to the positive results a long development cycle can bring.[12] Camelot was no stranger to role-playing games, having previously developed Shining Force for Sega, and Mario Golf and Mario Tennis for Nintendo—sports games with role-playing elements.[13][9]

Camelot originally planned to create a single game instead of a series, and in the early stages of the project created a game design document for Golden Sun on the Nintendo 64 console. When it became apparent the Nintendo 64 was being replaced by the GameCube, Camelot shifted their focus to making a game on the handheld Game Boy Advance.[14] Due to the developer's ambitions for the scope of the game and the hardware limitations of a single Game Boy Advance cartridge, the single game was expanded to become two. 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" and "bad" characters. They incorporated elements of this storytelling methodology into the two-game setup of the Golden Sun series, having the player control the protagonists in Golden Sun and the antagonists in the followup.[15]

A major goal with Golden Sun was to make the game's magic usable outside battle for puzzles, and offer players a high level of freedom in how to approach events, rather than a linear story that could only be experienced one way. Camelot's President Hiroyuki Takahashi asserted that players would be unable to experience all story paths in a single playthrough, and that this combined with the game's multiplayer mode would add to Golden Sun's replay value.[16]

In August 2000, Camelot showed an early but playable version at the Nintendo Space World Expo in Japan.[8] The game was intended to launch alongside the Game Boy Advance, but slipped to the summer and released in Japan in August 2001. While it was eagerly anticipated in the west, players had to make do with Japanese-language imports until the game was localized and released in North America in November, and Europe in February 2002.[8]

Golden Sun received "universal acclaim" from critics according to review aggregator Metacritic.[17] Many reviewers praised the game's graphics, sound, and varied yet refined RPG gameplay, with particular emphasis on the Battle Mode and Djinn system. Certain critics felt that, despite the technical limitations of its 32-bit cartridge, the game's graphical quality was still extremely high; Ricardo Torres of GameSpot wrote that "Golden Sun is a throwback to some of the SNES's best."[23] Complaints generally focused on a perceived overuse of text dialogue in the game's cutscenes—particularly during the prologue section.[12]

Craig Harris of IGN said that Golden Sun could "arguably be one of the best 2D-based Japanese RPGs created for any system".[12] Miguel Concepcion of G4 TV stated, "It's the best original (nonport) GBA RPG to date",[20] while Star Dingo of GamePro called it a "huge, fantastic, creative, and wickedly fun RPG that doesn't seem to care that it's 'just' on a GBA".[22] Andy McNamara of Game Informer called Golden Sun "a visual treat", and said that its graphics "would have amazed Super Nintendo owners back in the day". Noting the game's similarity to previous Japanese role-playing games, the reviewers believed that it was "easily the best original RPG on the GBA", and the "new ruler in the GBA RPG realm".[21] Rick Moulton of GamesRadar+ compared the game to the Pokémon series, and considered its graphics "luscious" and sound "incredible [and] cinematic". Despite describing its plot as "Cliche City", Moulton hailed the game as "the best handheld role-player ever".[25]

In 2001, Golden Sun was a nominee in GameSpot's annual "Best Game Boy Advance Game" and, among console games, "Best Role-Playing Game" award categories.[28] Golden Sun was ranked 94 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever.[29] In 2007, it was named 24th best Game Boy Advance game in IGN's feature reflecting on the Game Boy Advance's long lifespan;[30] the website also named it 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."[31] During the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Golden Sun for the "Hand-Held Game of the Year" and "Console Role-Playing" awards.[32] It was rated the 31st best game made on a Nintendo system in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.[33] In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their "Best JRPGs of All Time" list.[34]

Golden Sun sold 740,000 copies in the United States and 338,000 in Japan.[35][36] It was followed by Golden Sun: The Lost Age in 2002, and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn in 2010. Golden Sun was re-released for the Virtual Console via the Wii U eShop in April 2014, and will be released on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack in 2023.

• The official Nintendo Golden Sun website (in Japanese)
• The official Camelot Golden Sun website (in Japanese)