WHAT IS GOLDEN SUN?
Golden Sun is a series of fantasy RPGs created by Camelot Software Planning. The first two games, Golden Sun (subtitled The Broken Seal in Japanese), and Golden Sun: The Lost Age were released in 2001 and 2002 on the Gameboy Advance. Originally planned as one game, the duology forms two halves of a complete story. In 2010, a third game, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn was released for the Nintendo DS.
The games cover the adventures of groups of adepts, those with the ability to control the elements. Magic (known as psynergy) plays a large role in both the narrative and gameplay. All playable characters have access to a wide variety of spells, which can be changed by changing their current class. Psynergy can be used both in and out of battle, with many spells having utility purposes in the overworld, such as removing barriers with wind or fire, moving objects with telekinesis, or obtaining information via mind reading.
Most of the game is spent exploring various locations and dungeons, which require the player to solve puzzles to progress, often by utilizing various psynergy spells. Dungeons and the world map also contain random encounters, which are cleared by defeating enemies in turn-based combat.
Did you know? The Lost Age allowed for the transfer of cleared game data from the first game. Transfers could be done either by using a Game Link Cable, or by inputting a 260 character password. This is widely regarded as a lot of characters to type into a GBA.
THE WORLD OF WEYARD
All three Golden Sun games take place on Weyard, a flat planet. At the far edges of Weyard, the oceans seemingly pour into an endless abyss, and the ground drops off into nothingness. Do not question the physics of this too much.
Other than being flat, Weyard strongly resembles Earth, with each of its fictional continents and countries being more or less analogous to a real-life one. For example, the continent of Angara, where most of the first and third games take place, is heavily based on Eurasia. Pictured here is the world map of Weyard as it appears in The Lost Age. Angara can be seen in the top center.
Note: The decision to base Weyard's geography and cultures so strongly on real-life ones means the world is much more realistically diverse than many other fantasy RPGs. However, it also leads to some insensitive and racist depictions, as well as whitewashing. It is worth noting that the main cast is made up entirely of pale-skinned characters, most of whom originate from Angara.
Despite taking place in the same world, the geography of Weyard changes significantly in the 30 years between The Lost Age and Dark Dawn, after the events of TLA lead to major geographical and political changes. Don't question this too much, either.
ELEMENTAL ADEPTS
Weyard is powered by the four elements: Venus (earth), Jupiter (wind), Mercury (water), and Mars (fire). The combined power of all four elements is known as Alchemy, and was sealed away during Weyard's ancient past to prevent it from being misused.
Venus (earth),
Jupiter (wind),
Mercury (water), and
Mars (fire). The combined power of all four elements
is known as Alchemy, and was sealed away during Weyard's ancient past
to prevent it from being misused.
Even with Alchemy sealed, there still exist adepts, those who can magically control the elements via psynergy. Every playable character in the Golden Sun series is an adept, each aligned with one of the four elements.
CLASS SYSTEM
A character's class depends on the djinn that character has equipped. Djinn are creatures tied to one of the four elements that can be found and captured throughout each of the games. Characters can unlock different classes and psynergy, depending on the number and type of djinn they have "set" to them. Djinn let you try out many different classes easily! Also, they're cute little guys:
Each djinni has its own unique battle ability, and they can also be used for summoning powerful (and extremely flashy!) spirits to aid the party. Below is a partial list of classes and summons from Golden Sun.
LINKS & MORE
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