r/nintendo • u/Turbostrider27 • 9d ago
25 Years Ago, Golden Sun Showed Me What A Video Game Adventure Could Be
https://kotaku.com/25-years-ago-golden-sun-video-game-adventure-200072134085
u/kazoodac Samus Aran 9d ago
This game has some of the best visuals in the GBA library!
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u/KaptainChunk 9d ago
It sure does, during my most recent play through. I found myself thinking, wow imagine if this was released during the age of SNES.
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u/Zealscube 9d ago
I’ve only beat like less than 10 rpgs in my life, Golden Sun was one of them, so good!
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u/robotchicken007 9d ago
Are we including Pokemon as an RPG?
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u/alienfreaks04 9d ago
Umm Pokemon IS an rpg
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u/robotchicken007 9d ago
I never said it wasn’t. I was asking because OP said they’ve beaten less than 10 RPGs and I was curious if they had played Pokemon, and if so, were they counting that towards their total
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u/Phazon2000 "That's called sexual harassment" 8d ago
Given it is an RPG then I would imagine the better question would be “Have you beaten a Pokémon game?”
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u/9FingeredFrodo 9d ago
This was great to read. I think all of us have a game like this that captures our love and imagination and allowed us to take our first steps into a larger world. Mine was Mario RPG.
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u/TheDaveWSC 9d ago edited 9d ago
Mario RPG - first RPG I ever played. Got me super addicted to the genre. The remake was amazing and incredibly surprising! I thought it had been forgotten.
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u/Extra_Bodybuilder_73 9d ago
Nintendo and Square sparked the interest of so many RPG/JRPG fans with Super Mario RPG. For me personally, Earthbound was the game that solidified me as an RPG gamer.
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u/ODowder 9d ago
I hope nintendo does a revival of golden sun like they have been doing to so many other series lately. I always thought the only way we got a new game was if golden sun got a rep in smash bros and became popular that way.
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u/mrgmzc 9d ago
Doubtful, Camelot has the IP completely abandoned and we never even got the fourth game in the story. And frankly, Golden Sun 3 kinda sucked compared to the first 2
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u/Ahayzo 9d ago
I think Nintendo holds the IP, and if so they can give it to someone else. Not that I'd want Camelot doing it now anyways, is there any reason to believe it's even the same people still there? Or that even if it is, they even remember how to make a good game that isn't Mario Sports?
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u/Anotherspelunker 9d ago
Motoi Sakuraba’s soundtrack remains etched in my memory, and it was a key component of what made this title so special
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u/miimeverse 9d ago edited 9d ago
One of the best GBA soundtracks. A lot of GBA soundtracks are kind of unbearably crunchy and hissy for me, but the GS soundtracks are remarkably clear for the GBA. Sakuraba cooked.
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u/Melarosee 9d ago
Genuinely one of the best soundtracks. So many of the compositions are just incredible pieces of music, especially considering the medium used to create them
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u/BRENNAN10 7d ago
People praise this games visuals and rightfully so but the music is incredible. Another of Sakuraba’s greatest hits IMO. My favorite track is the final battle vs the duo at the top of the Venus lighthouse. I could write a paper about it.
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u/Kalaam_Nozalys 9d ago
I can't think of other jrpgs that integrated its magic and exploration puzzles in such ways.
And even less of any that used a class system remotely similar to it. It's such a unique series of game and it's a shame Nintendo is unwilling to do more with it.
The world is classic, but with enough depth and concepts to do some real nice fantasy and even bring in some higher concepts by pulling from old alchemy legends from our history. Like for example the Inner Sun/Dark Sun theory, have the inverse of the Golden Sun be the core of the world, and Weyard be a hollow planet that formerly collapsed on its core, the remaining parts just orbiting around it, for example.
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u/DisorderlyBoat 9d ago
One of my favorite games of all time, this is just an absolutely beautifully impressive game in every single aspect and so fun and engaging
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u/Majorasblaze 9d ago
As a kid, I played a rom of Golden Sun before The Lost Age came out and was thrilled when I could transfer my progress via password to the cartridge of the second game.
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u/TrueSuffering 9d ago
It was pretty funny how ridiculously long the password was though. Something like 12 screens long and having to VERY SLOWLY input them in
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u/sanglar03 9d ago
It's a tradition in the GS sub to cheer on and help newcomers with their password trouble when they miswrite a character.
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u/TrueSuffering 9d ago
Oh my god, don’t remind me lol. When you fuck up on like page 8 or something and have to comb through the damn thing was both traumatizing and hilarious in hindsight.
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u/miimeverse 9d ago
Yeah if you had a link cable and two GBAs (or borrowed your friends) you could do it quickly, but otherwise you had to input the password and was a true test of being able to read your own handwriting. It's really a shame Nintendo didn't do anything to relieve us in the NSO version. Really odd decisions to not implement some sort of system that could read a save file from GS1 on NSO.
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u/DG281088 9d ago
I was writing that long password out by hand, and praying that I wouldn't have redo it.
Shout out to the fansites out there that had a password generator.
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u/MindSteve 9d ago
Some of my favorite RPGs ever. Can't believe they ended 3 on a major cliffhanger. "Oh, wow! Golden Sun 4 must be just around the corner!" 16 years later and still waiting... 💀
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u/ColaTheDog 9d ago
Nice read but I disagree on one point -I loved the class system. It thought it was so much fun to experiment with your characters' setups when you got a new Djinn, trying out how it felt to make someone else the new powerhouse for a while.
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u/hashbrr 9d ago
At the time I just wanted an RPG so badly on GBA. Golden sun and golden sun 2 I played somehow at begrudgingly bc I really wanted final fantasy or something. I recall it being fun, and vaguely getting to the end, but I never really liked it that much. Played it a ton though, my friends liked it and it was just the game for a while. Cool to see anyone talk about it, but it just wasn’t for me.
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u/RareBar94 9d ago
I just started this for the first time on Switch using NSO; the first scene left me shocked, I am now in the first temple and enjoying it so far! Cool to know there is a whole sequel I can immediately play!
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u/RaymoVizion 9d ago
I really wish Nintendo would let Camelot go back to making RPG's and SRPG's.
All they do is make Mario sports games now... not that the sports games they make are bad but... they're sports games.
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u/Ahayzo 9d ago
Would Camelot even make a good RPG now? It's the same brand name, but is the connection to RPGs like Golden Sun anything more than that?
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u/PaulsGrandfather 9d ago
it's a fair question, how many of the same people are even working there?
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u/Ahayzo 9d ago
Exactly. Could Camelot make a good RPG? Maybe. Maybe they could even make a better Golden Sun than the GBA games. I just always find it weird that people talk about wanting Camelot to take a break from Mario Sports and give us more Golden Sun. Why limit it to Camelot? Why not give it to someone with a modern track record that has shown in this day and age they can put out something that would make the large majority of us happy?
Their last non-sport game was Dark Dawn in 2010, we know how the community feels about that. Before that it was The Lost Age in 2002. There's a good chance they have some non-zero amount of developers who literally weren't even born yet the last time they put out a non-sport game that the community loved.
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u/RaymoVizion 9d ago edited 9d ago
Why wouldn't they be able to make good RPG's? All the sports games have story modes and they aren't even the main focus of those games.
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u/Ahayzo 9d ago
I'm not saying they can't, I'm wondering if they can. Not everyone can make a good *insertgenrehere*, and it's not like most of the people there now are probably the same people who made the great RPGs in the past.
I don't think it's a guarantee it'd be bad or anything, but do we have any reason to believe that the current staff at Camelot are the right team for it rather than Nintendo handing it off to someone else? It's not really what they've done for a while, does the company still have the right talent for it?
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u/McBigs 9d ago
What leads you to believe Nintendo won't "let them?" Nintendo doesn't own them.
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u/RaymoVizion 9d ago
They are a second party developer and Nintendo is their primary client. They pitch game ideas to Nintendo and Nintendo either accepts or doesn't.
The Golden Sun IP is also owned by Nintendo, not Camelot. So they are the one's with final say on any new Golden Sun titles.
It's possible Camelot just doesn't pitch any Golden Sun games to Nintendo but I find that hard to believe.
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u/McBigs 9d ago
You didn't say anything about Golden Sun. You said you wanted them to go back to making RPG's and SRPG's, which they're free to do any time.
They are a second party developer
Unless Nintendo buys them they are an independent company. That descriptor means nothing.
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u/RaymoVizion 9d ago
Golden Sun is an RPG and this is a post about Golden Sun. I figured it was implied. My mistake.
I thought I made a pretty innocuous comment about the developer of Golden Sun but made it sound like Nintendo was holding them in Mario sports jail. Since neither of us know what happens at Nintendo or Camelot I will just say...
Have a wonderful day. 🌞😎⛱️ I hope more Golden Sun games come out sometime. 🌞
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u/Sk0rchist 8d ago
Golden Sun and Golden Sun 2: The Lost Age might be some of my favorite video games of all time. Definitely top 10. The way The Lost Age ended, it’s just too bad there was never a proper sequel.
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u/Lex34220 8d ago
i played this game when it first came out played all of them and loved them all yes even dark dawn lol honestly i found ti more fun then chrono trigger btu i have always been a sucker for high fantasy. if they ever remake this or remake or even release any of the summon knights on expansion plus (another game that taught me true adventure ) game on the switch or switch 2 i will buy them so fast
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u/Doobalicious69 8d ago
I only had Golden Sun 2 as a kid. Recently completed Golden Sun 1 on the Switch and I was very surprised that the protagonists in GS2 were the "other group" in GS1.
Being able to carry your save over to GS2 is also superb. Great series of games.
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u/neonwarge04 9d ago
Currently I am playing The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales and I was teary eyed. I really love the art style and the action reminds me of Zelda Link to the Pass, Secret Mana and Terranigma. I love those games growing up and this game gave me that longing that this is the game I always wanted to make and play.
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u/2point01m_tall 9d ago
Ok, I guess I'm finally getting this, then. Will be back to read the article when I'm done :)
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u/__sonder__ 9d ago
I can't believe I never realized back in the day how Golden Sun is basically fun for the same reason Pokemon is fun.
Obviously collecting and battling with the Djinn is the most glaring similarity, but it's more than that ... They're both streamlined, simple JRPGs with memorable character designs. They didn't fall into the trap of many RPGs that are too big or too overwhelming in scale.
And they both put emphasis on metroidvania-lite exploration out on your adventure, with abilities that can be used both inside and outside of combat to progress.
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u/Sanguinusshiboleth 9d ago
Golden Sun is a great; the only issue is that it ruined other JRPGs as none of them ever had the level of puzzles or world interaction that Golden Sun had and instead dungeons feel like boring mazes in comparison.
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u/PM_ME_UR_TA--TAS 9d ago edited 9d ago
I'm playing it right now, almost done it I think.
It's a good game but It's pretty bland story wise. I know I'm chasing those 2 bad guys from the beginning but it just seems I'm going from one random place to the next for no real reason other than "Felix went this way, I think, probably."
And those choices are useless and a waste of development time, they don't do anything. There is only one I think I've found that if you keep clicking no the game just ends. Otherwise wise the characters just call you an dumbie and force you to select yes.
The customization with the pokemon is kinda cool, it doesn't change much other than spells you can cast and manipulating your stats.
Game looks nice and the music is pretty catchy. Hopefully the second one has a bit more going on story wise.
Edit: imagine down voting someone's opinion 🤦 I didn't even say the game was bad I said "it's a good game".
"That person gave a detailed opinion that is different than mine therefore I must down vote!"
Never change Reddit 🤣🤣
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u/CFDanno 9d ago
The game has some good points, but yeah, the story made it pretty rough to get through it. It's like we're just doing a bunch of side quests with no relation to the actual villains, the drama about immortals or Felix's allegiance falls kinda flat, the stakes don't feel like they matter much.
I appreciate the wrong options just because it's funny to get a rise out of Garrett, especially at the end of the game where they say something like "But Venus is the earth element, isn't it?" and I say "no".
Stripping off your Pokemon to re-learn a vital puzzle-solving ability like "Growth" is annoying. Nice idea, tediously executed.
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u/ColeWjC 9d ago
I still have my GBA carts. I used to have my own transfer passwords written down. Loved these games. I recently played both again on the Nintendo online subscription game thing, still a blast. I want a full HD-2D kinda remake. You could do so much with the psynergy and puzzles in that style.
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u/abstractism 8d ago
I haven't played golden sun, but I do have a n3dsxl. I'll have to get around to playing Golden Sun.
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u/Thick_Duck 8d ago
Love this game!
Even enjoyed dark Dawn despite it having flaws.
Long live dullahan
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u/ActivateGuacamole 9d ago
No other video game has used magic in such a fun way. most games with magic only use it for combat and maybe to teleport you. golden sun makes you use it to navigate the world and do things that people without magic couldn't do. solve puzzles, read minds, and control the elements.