There's one choice in the game that does actually have an effect: At the beginning of the game, you're asked if you want to take on your adventure. If you repeatedly say No, the game eventually triggers a game over state.
Not just game over but one of the best video game endings where you look Kraden straight in his eyes and tell him, "I rather go home and wait for the apocalypse than go on an adventure with your old wrinkly ass." And then you do.
One thing that you didn't cover with unleashing djinn, and that none of the three games ever inform you about but is nonetheless helpful: If you land the killing blow with an attacking djinn of the element an enemy is weak to (or least resistant), they will flash several colors before dying, and yield more experience, money, and have a higher rare drop rate. Colloquially this is known as a 'rainbow kill'.
@@GuyN0ir Nope, this is true. Also, you can tell what element will trigger this effect on the enemy by looking at the battle text. If the "Hit for x damage!!!" text has 3 exclamation points, that means you're hitting the enemy with the element they're weakest against. If you see one period, you're hitting them with the element they're strongest against. A long time ago this was also called a "black panther" kill, but I have no idea where that name came from.
Back in 2001, when i was a kid in Spain, my father bought me the GBA. The shop owner insisted to not get Super Mario bros2, but instead get Golden Sun. To this day i thank the toy shop owner for his wise recommendation. As an artist this game inspired me so much with it's visuals and animations. I remember rushing to the kitchen to show my mother the Djin invocations animation and how awesome it looked. My sister and mother really liked the ""The Elemental Stars" track that came out of my GBA when i was in the first temple. It's a masterpiece and so it' sequel. The worldbuilding and concepts are beautiful. I really hope Camelot brings this series back on a modern system.
A few notes: - Alex is a water adept. It was mentioned by Mia as she refered to him as her brother/kin member. Saturos' group kidnapped Sheba for her wind powers. - Choices indeed don't matter in most cases but you can indeed get a game over if you refuse the call of adventure and you can refuse to travel back with Hammet after freeing him in Lunpa saving you a long trek back. - You needing to use douse on the twisters is hinted by wounded soldiers in Suhalla. It's easier to use douse by setting the skill to a shoulder button quick trigger. Quick triggers generally are a great idea to quickly cast a skill you'll have to use a lot in an area. - Something I hoped you picked up on is that all regions/settlements are inspired by real life equivalents. Tolbi being based on Rome and Lalivero on Alexandria are some of the most obvious ones. The sequel makes it more obvious as entire continents are closer linked to specific cultures/regions. Sheba is inspired by Cleopatra as well. Considering "Rome" kidnapped her for their own purposes you could see another link. - This is not as obvious, but perhaps important in the sequel. If you kill an enemy with a djinn with the element of it's weakness you not only gain 150% exp but increase the odds of gaining special drops. I hope you'll do the same in depth review of the sequel. It's longer, bigger, has more optional content and it's definately more difficult/challenging.
I wonder how many kids got lost playing the sequel. I loved the game back then, but I never finished it because I couldn't figure out what to do at a certain point.
Also I'd like to mention that since it is a JRPG at heart, people should grind a bit between the cities and quests. If you just rush it, you won't really have a fun game and get decimated by nearly all opponents, as see here...
@@brassknucklehead1083I remember getting notes from someone at school for rng manipulation to get the optimal drops in endgame, including the Kikuichimonji.
@@Morte_n With his playtime and the amount of deaths I figured he'd be underleveled yet he did manage to finish the game at level 29. I usually finish it at 30. Expecting he did some grinding in the latter stages of the game.
Id love if he did dark dawn too. It may be the worst of the 3 games but it gave us some truly great characters like sveta and eoleo (technically from lost age but he was wee babu then), and the final 3rd once the grim eclipse happens is i think the best segment all 3 games has to offer. I replay all 3 games every few years or so and each time i play dark dawn i like it more and more. Lost age will always be my favorite of the 3; but i cant call any of the 3 games bad by any means.
This is the game that led me on the journey to make my own games. I wrote and published 6 books and obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Game Art all because of this game.
Seeing people get into this game even after 20 years fills me with such joy. To this day, I still hold hope that we can see more of this series eventually. By creating this video and introducing Golden Sun to more people, you're helping to keep the dream alive. For that, I thank you.
Like me finding out that others like the game caled Infinite Space (for the ds). A really good story, good-ish gameplay and lore so juicy i am shocked matpat hasn't played it yet
It wasn't just good, it is still holding up incredibly well considering it was a gba game. The soundtrack is also amazing to this day and makes great background music.
It's a shame this video doesn't cover Golden Sun: The Lost Age. It really learns from a lot of the issues that Golden Sun 1 had and the story gets pretty fascinating.
2 hours is barely enough to talk about Golden Sun. That would need a 6 hour video on top of this. You go into TLA thinking ah it's just 2 more lighthouses NO 4 MORE ROCKS.
If by 'fascinating' you mean 'completely nonsensical' and by 'learning a lot' you mean 'doubling down on trial and error maze-like design' then yes, it indeed does.
This game more than any other invokes so many nostalgic feelings. Sitting in the back of my parents mini-van on the way home from a baseball game trying to beat the Kraken boss, trying to catch the light off passing street lights because I was playing on the OG non SP GBA with no back light. Also, sitting in the hotel room after my Aunt's wedding trying and FINALLY succeeding at defeating the Fusion Dragon, I cheered for joy when I managed to beat the game I had been working on all summer.
Looking forward to a Lost Age follow up, the extra djinn give more flexibility in how they're distributed, meaning that you could 3 mono-element characters and 1 tri-element character, the mixed elemental summons are awesome and the puzzle complexity only goes up from here which makes sense because Lost Age is more like a second act rather than a standalone game. Dungeons get longer, there's more freedom in movement and in how you tackle objectives, the world gets more fleshed out and the story really starts to come together.
Don't forget the special equip able stuff that, when the character has 3x3 elements not of his own, gets a special class. One even let's you use a Dullahan Summon. It's a cool class but because of the 3x3 element typing has bad stats.
speaking as someone who only ever had a copy of the lost age it took me untill i was older to learn there was a first game and tbh i think it holds up as a standalone thing it feels like a living world in that way like things were allready goin on before we the player got here to join the characters well turns out i was right in that feeling and tbh i kinda like that start rather than the start in a village thing set off sorta coming of age feel thing umn words kinda rambled there..
I love hearing this story told so well. I had studied English only few years when I first played this, so though I kinda knew what I was doing (and also, I frequented in the forums to get help) the plot and the story in my mind are super hazy. If you enjoy misunderstandings with English, here are few: - There was a Wise One in the first dungeon. I was expecting there to be Wise Two in the second dungeon. - I was 100 % sure that "lit" is a type, as it should be "light" - Werewolves. I honestly thought it was ancient group of wolves who have turned into people - thus they WERE wolves, not anymore. - I only learned in Lost Age what "Agree" and "Disagree" meant.
1:03:05, so fun fact: if you did NOT get the Orb of Force at the Fuchin temple before this point, when you find the log, an amusing cutscene will play where garet gets frustrated and just walks over and kicks the pillar instead Also after transfering your save data to The Lost Age, depending on what side quest things you complete you get unique events and even rewards throughout the TLA! Spoilers ahead - If you reveal the secret passage to get to the boulder pinning Hsu, feihzi will find Felix's party when you first get to Champa and give them a golden ring to give to isaac (use as an item to replicate the "Resist" Psynergy on the party) and hint that she has developed feelings for Isaac. - when leaving Madra after recieving the Cyclone Chip Felix's party gets ambushed by the bandits Isaac and crew fought in Vault near the beginning of the game. after beating them tney back down and give you a pair of Golden boots as an appology (boosts defense and speed a decent ammount) - If you got first place in the Collosso tournament in the first game, after merging Felix and Isaac's partes and returning to the Shaman village cave, the three gladiators you fought will confront you together looking for revenge against isaac for cheating in the tournament (after all, there was no way he could do all that psynergy stuff without rigging the tournament) after defeating them they will acknowledge isaac as having won fair and square and give you a golden shirt (boosting defense and Max HP. basically a better mythril shirt) - If you defeated the secret boss Deadbeard, some pirates will talk about how Isaac has become the new Pirate lord - If you get every djinn in the first game, then proceed to get every djinn in TLA, you unlock a secret mega dungeon that gives you a new summon, Charon (the most powerful Venus summon, dealing massive venus damage, plus deals damage equal to 1/3 of their max HP... with a chance to just outright insta-kill those hit) at the very beginning. this dungeon is filled with tons of difficult enemies and great puzzles and and ends with fighting the hardest boss in the game (harder than Deadbeard): the Dullahan. and defeating the dullahan gives you bragging rights, plus the Powerful Iris summon (deals massive Mars damage, plust 40% of their max hp in damage, plus revives and max heals everyone in the party)
I actually don't remember a lot, but there is one thing you're slightly mistaken on iirc. You can afford to miss up to four Djinn in the first game, and they'd appear in extra locations in TLA.
Regarding the bandits: you forgot to mention that in order to transfer that, you have to return to Vault after the bridge is fixed and talk to the mayor who informs you the bandits have escaped. If you don't do that, you won't meet the bandits in TLA.
I loved how Kraden said the ocean was at the end of the world and it felt as if he was oversimplifying it for Garet, but once you get to the world map you find out Weyard is actually flat and the ocean IS at the end of the world.
I loved Golden Sun. Absolutely got completely lost as a kid in this game. Took ages to figure out some of the puzzles. I wouldnt leave my room for days. Game Boy advanced memories
I can't wait to see your play through of the Lost Age. It's an amazing open world RPG that is insanely technically impressive for being on the GBA. It expands on all the systems and lore introduced in Golden Sun and is generally an absolute joy.
Lost Age is so synergistic that it truly feels incomplete without playing both despite them masterfully allowing you to play without the first game still. To date, I don't think there is any sequel that has matched the original hand in hand so well
@@giggleanthropisticon7061I actually played all the way through Lost Age before ever playing Golden Sun 1, and I was absolutely blown away when I realized it was actually a sequel that had TRANSFER mechanics from it. Played through all the way of both games, following a few guides to not miss any big secrets. What an amazing set of games and definitely set me on my love of JRPGs.
Hah, there is one "yes/no" choice that has an effect, which I was hoping you'd mention. The village elders ask you if you want to risk your life on this quest, and you have the choice to say no. The village elder says he can't blame you, and would probably do the same. If you leave the temple to cement your choice, the game fades to sepia and says "And so the world began drifting toward its fated destruction..."
Which wouldn't even make sense because in game 2 you found out that if you DON'T light the lighthouses then the world will wear away by the infinite waterfall. So what we end with is a situation where: Mars duo wants to light the lighthouses to prevent the world from disappearing, starting with their village because it's near the edge of the waterfall. Ancient One wants you to stop them from lighting the lighthouse. Which would mean let the world keeps dying, starting with Mars duo's village. If you agree to stop them. Game continues where you fail to stop them anyway in game 2 and proceed to light the lighthouses anyway, basically betraying the Ancient One and he sends Doom Dragon after you which is fucked up. If you say no. meaning you don't stop them from lighting the lighthouse and just go home. "And so the world began drifting toward its fated destruction..." ?????????????????
@@LightBrandI mean big spoilers to be putting in the replies to a video on just GS1 but in reply. Isaac's party are essential to Felix and co surviving the events of Mars lighthouse. The Wise one was aware of Alex and his schemes all along hence his plan to imbue a fraction of the Golden Sun's true power within Isaac and the Mars star he carried. He also told the village elder of Vale that Felox carried a heavy fate, something Ivan's sister alludes to. That fate being fighting the Doom Dragon and murdering his own family, a fate his party would die to of not for the aid of the GS1 party.
@@CC-df3pn So should the Wise One send Issac off or should they just kept the Mars Stars and sit tight because Felix an co. will have to eventually crawl back to get it after they light the first 3 and get stuck right?
@@LightBrand the wise one knew Alchemy needed to return to Weyard. It's an embodiment of the philosopher stone essentially, guardian of alchemy in the world. But it also knew man needed to be tested in this new age, that's the whole purpose of the broken seal and lost age story. Whilst the Mars adepts of Prox are villainous in their actions they do so out of desperation to save their people and the world, the people of Vale and Imil stick to their ancient duties also out of misplaced wants to protect the world. Then Alex schemes to take the power for himself like the Adepts of old who nearly destroyed the world. The wise one lets all of it happen putting it's faith in both Isaac and Felix, that together they can lead man to a new Golden age of alchemy
@@CC-df3pn So if Issac declined the quest the world will be sent to ruins in what way? The failure to light the last lighthouse because Mars Star is still in Vale? Or Felix and co. come back to retrieve it and still couldn't light it because they can't get past Wise One's Doom Dragon while Issac and co. are goofing in Vale this entire time? Or Felix and co manages to light it without Issac ever leaving Vale but Alex wins? Or they light it but because Issac didn't go on the quest mankind is not worthy of alchemy and they doom themselves in the near future by their own hands even though the world is saved?
The absolute awe on my face when I heard “… there is another system” after listening to the coolest, most complex class system I’ve ever heard. I’m playing this game the second i get home
Enjoy! The series is great. I replay all 3 every few years. A couple things he didn't explain about the magic system though. 1st thing is your e-level, or elemental level. Each adept starts at level 1 in every element except their native one, which starts at level 5. Setting djinn increases the elevel of its psynergy by 1 and those combined levels are what dictate your class. For instance if you gave isaac 6 fire djinn you'd see his class degrade because he is now primarily fire and his earth psynergy is lower. So at a certain point in dual element classes you need to strike a balance between your native level and djinn levels. Secondly despite the heavy magic system in the game there is no magic attack or magic defense stat. Instead those are also governed by your elevels; with no other way to increase them except for buffing from summons and certain equipment. For instance, isaac using quake at level 7 and isaac using quake at level 50 will do the exact same damage if you dont give him any earth djinn and have him in basic equipment. So if you want to focus more on magic than melee plan accordingly. Thirdly, single target psynergy abilities, like ragnarok, heat wave, cutting edge, and astral blast, are exceptions to this rule. They are known as epa's; or elemental physical attacks. They deal physical damage augmented by your elevels and actually get stronger in tandem with your attack stat. The ninja class makes exceptional use of this as their shuriken psynergy is the only aoe epa in the game. Finally you can generally divide classes based on how many elements you have between mono, dual, and triple elemebt classes. Mono elements will of course give you the highest elevels as you are focusing on 1 sole element so their psynergy, with the exception of epas, will hit the hardest. But dual elements will often get bigger stat boosts to compensate for the weaker magic, and triple elements even more so. So if you want to rely on summons, djinn unleashes, and magic stick with mono elements and if you want to rely on your base characters abilities and a wider range of psynergy that is a little less effective go dual or triple elements. The triple elements in particular are extremely powerful classes that boost your stats by insane margins. Its all about your preferred playstyle and balance.
I mean to be fair when Isaac and Ivan lost the 2 vs 2 in the cutscene both Agatio and Karst noted how the tough the fight had been and how it might have gone differently if Isaac hadn't been distracted about Ivan going down. they then take time to note several times that the injuries they received from fighting the two had weakened them heavily and was a big reason why Felix's party was able to take them down at the top of the Juptier Lighthouse. The OG party likely would've destroyed them if they hadn't set the trap to split them up. @@AB-ln2py
@@AB-ln2py they are not weak. If you transfer your save over they are where you left them. But they are also introduced at around level 40 if you don't transfer. And by the time you get them in your party if you grinded you would be around lvl 60. My normal end party is Felix, Piers, Isaac, and Garret. (Yes I favor the melee boys) and they are most certainly not weak if you built them properly.
Well, I just discovered your channel because of this video. Im so glad to see someone cover something on Golden Sun in 2023. This was, and still is, one of my all time favorite JRPGs ever. I usually replay at least the first 2 once every couple of years or so. Thank you for showing some love to one of the greatest games out there. #TeamFlash
Another fun fact: Golden Sun's composer, Motoi Sakuraba, also did the music for the Tales Of series, Star Ocean, and even Dark Souls. He's also got a progressive rock album called Gikyokuonsou where you can really hear the similarities to Golden Sun.
Golden Sun, Tales of, and Star Ocean were massive parts of my childhood. Sakuraba is almost like a god to me. Same with Uematsu and the Final Fantasy series.
Really glad of how you covered Golden Sun in your format. From the Djinn system to the extra content you show us, it always amazes me how much content this game had all under a GBA Cartridge. And when you add the Sequel into the whole thing, it's a masterpiece.
Fun facts: The composer for Golden Sun worked on Dark Souls. You can make it through the evil forest with no force attack, and Garet will kick the wall at the end of the mines, triggering the boulder. You can grind the tornado boss that takes you to Crossbone Isle, you use douse on it while there, kill it, heal up, go in and out of the map location, and fight it again. I beat this whole game while never going out of mono colors by mashing the a button to attack once, and it wasn't all that hard 😅
Another fun thing about Kolima in the game is, that if you go out of your way and sequence break a bit to recruit Miia before clearing the forest, she too, has unique dialogue related to that location. Which is a nice touch.
Another fun thing that I'm surprised wasn't mentioned, is that you can also use mind read on the tree people if I remember correctly. It's a nice little touch, though I can understand some people not knowing about it because most people don't go spamming mind read on everything they can find.
In Altin, if you get to the supporting log that you need to use force on before you have the force psynergy, you get a cutscene where Garet gets angry and accidentally knocks it over
@@Gamer3427 "most people don't go spamming mind read on everything they can find." Me and my friends sure did, after all, it's VERY rare that games let you do this.
I will warn you that Golden Sun 1 and 2 aren’t nearly as tight as Chrono Trigger, in terms of how things interact and your choices don’t have that much of an impact. But boy howdy do I love the game. The art style is amazing, the music is iconic, and the fact that this was a handheld RPG back in the day was downright awesome. It *is* very wordy, however, so just be prepared.
I agree completely with@@johnbuscher. I do find myself always thinking back to this game and the sequel, The Lost Age quite fondly. My only complaint is the amount of words characters say at time. But the art, music, and story have always been quite good to me.
Very minor point of correction regarding the class system - the characters don't have just 1 point of elemental affinity in their innate element, they actually have 5 points. You can see these elemental affinity values (which are called Elemental Levels, or eLevels for short among some fans) on the Status page if you press A on a character to see their detailed stats - they're listed as just "Lv" in the section for elemental stats on the bottom right. If you standby all of a character's Djinn and check the menu, you'll see that they have 5 eLevels in their innate element. Practically speaking this doesn't make that much of a difference at the surface level, but it can be nice to know since it turns out that it explains some of the unusual/unexpected phenomena that can occur with some Djinn combinations. For instance, if you keep setting Jupiter Djinn onto Isaac (with no Venus Djinn set), he'll keep advancing through the Apprentice class line until you set a 6th Jupiter Djinni, which will cause him to switch over to a class in the Seer class line instead of continuing to advance. This is because he'll be at 6 Jupiter eLevels and 5 Venus eLevels, meaning that for the first time his alignment will lean more towards Jupiter than Venus, and this changes his class line. Similar behavior happens with most other character/element combos as well (with a few exceptions for a somewhat more complicated reason I won't go into here). This can potentially be useful to know to help remember what Djinn combinations are needed for the higher tiers of various class lines - you always want to set as many Djinn of the other element as possible without the other element's eLevel rising above your innate eLevel. That's why the highest tier classes in the dual-element lines require 2 Djinn of the innate element and 7 Djinn of the other element - the 2 innate Djinn add to the Adept's 5 baseline eLevels to make 7 total, which balances out the 7 Djinn of the other element.
It's still sucks that it's not very well explained or explored through gameplay. I remember that I didn't understand it that well until towards the end of the game and even now I'm learning new stuff about it. One way they could have done it is that some bosses that must be defeated need you to use different classes. Stuff like that.
I never actually knew that at all, or the thing about the strongest class being 7 and 2. Iirc, in TLA, I would slap on a sorta even number of opposing elements, but I don't recall any of them being innate. It'd get lots of healing moves for the whole party. I don't recall other psynergy being that good by endgame/postgame.
@@brainstormsurge154 I agree that it's a shame that it's not really explained in-game at all. I think one of the main issues is that players aren't given any feedback on how a character's Djinn are contributing to their class, or on how good or 'optimal' a particular class is. To explain what I mean with an example - if you give Isaac 4 Mercury Djinn and 1 Venus Djinni, he'll be in a higher tier and overall much better class in the same class series than if you give him 4 Venus Djinn and 1 Mercury Djinni. But in both cases he has 5 Djinn of the same combo of elements... so it's not obvious or intuitive that one of these options would be much better than the other. The '4 Venus 1 Mercury' combo turns out to be bad because the Venus Djinn aren't contributing to the class at all - that is, you can put them all on standby, and Isaac's class won't change. To get to stronger levels of the Venus/Mercury class series, Isaac needs more Mercury - adding more Venus is redundant. But there's almost nothing in the game to clue you in to any of this.
1:39:22 A little trick for everybody struggling on this boss. Use and Reequip the Jupiter Djinn that locks Psynergy over and over again since it has a 100% success rate resulting in Deadbeard only using Auto Attacks which Mia can easily heal against
Thanks for this one Golden Sun has a special place in my heart. Such a satisfying game to play from beginning to end and the art style always just gives me warm fuzzy feelings !
It's good to see Josh has discovered Weyard, he got so much content just of the first game alone, I can't wait to see how he reacts when he finds out how massive and daring The Lost Age was.
@@ZorotheGallade I know of no Golden Sun game called Dark Dawn. The series ended with The Lost Age. I actually have the Golden Sun games on display by the way.
@@ZorotheGallade Honestly, while Dark Dawn is definitely the weakest of the games, and has issues, I still think it works well as an RPG and a Golden Sun game. It's just that the flaws stand out more because it's a Golden Sun game. I'd still replay it over quite a few RPGs though. EDIT: We absolutely need another game though to finish out the story. I feel like they were planning on pulling the same thing they did with the first two, but sales weren't quite good enough to make a sequel right away.
I'm astonished that the OST wasn't mentioned. You went indepth on the combat and complimented the puzzle design many times, but not a single word on the amazing soundtrack. Absolutely crazy. You have undoubtedly done a great disservice to those who requested this review of you, and to all fans of the game as well. Shame is upon you. Otherwise a great review, and I hope you play and enjoy the sequel too. :)
Golden sun holds a special place in my heart. We had a family friend who was my parents age and loved golden sun. His life started to fall apart, but he always did his best to make others smile. One day he gave me his copy of golden sun and the map. I played it so much, even though I didnt know a single thing. One day, I finally finished it and asked my parents to take me to see the family friend, unfortunately he had taken his own life that same day. I still have the game and map that he gave me. I cherish it dearly.
watching this video made me realize just how much this influenced me and my friend. Not just in gaming, but the perception of fantasy culture going forward. His gamertag still hearkens back to this game. It truly was the best GBA game ever, imo
It doesn't get more nostalgic than Golden Sun. I'm so happy you took the time to review the first game, loved the video as it was a total trip down memory lane. Hope you liked the first one enough to do a review on the sequel!
Yes, the Golden Sun series was good. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CAN WE GET REMAKES/REMASTERS/A FOURTH GAME PLEASE?! It's so disappointing the patents were redone but NOTHING has been announced or done yet! I'll honestly be happy with anything at this point.
@@aduboo29 I absolutely hope they do! Or I also hope Atlus buys it and works their magic. I love most of their games, maybe they'll treat the Golden Sun series like it deserves to be treated!
The 3rd game was just horrible, and also badly received, that I don't think we will get a 4th anytime soon. Chances are it will probably be worse than the 3rd lol
@@TwoWayOrbitalStation I respectfully disagree that it was horrible but will say it was definitely flawed and needed improvements. It was an obvious cash grab and they found out first hand we will only tolerate obvious cash grabs from Pokemon.
The Djinn/Class system is by far one of my favorite RPG systems out of any game. It gives you so much flexibility and options to set your team how you want and do a lot of fun things. The entire time you were explaining it, before getting to even talking about using the Djinn as attacks, I was just smiling remembering how fun it was playing with it as a kid, and knowing that you had only just gotten started. I absolutely understand why most RPGs go with very simple class stuff, but I really wish they'd adopt even a bit of Golden Sun's system because for those of us who like to strategize or customize, it gave a freedom most RPGs are lacking.
100% agree, the djinn system is something I have never quite experienced in any other RPG. I love RPGs where they really go in depth about class/job customization. GS really excelled offering a intense and fun combat where you had access to: Djinn attacks, Summons and Psinergy. It was incredibly diverse and advanced for its time even more being a GBA game. Absolutely goated.
My first playthrough was all about Summons, while my most recent ones was all about exploring the classes, meaning I had two entirely different combat experiences with the same game (And he probably didn't even knows about using Djinns for grinding, because that one is never explained. If you use an offensive Djinns that is effective against the enemy, it flashes and you get bonus Exp. Trying to get it against bosses is an additional fun challenge)
Quite happy you finally got to Golden Sun, the rpg that got me into rpg's as a kid. The music,visuals and combat system are great, especially for the hardware at the time, and I loved the story and personalities. I hope you get to the sequel as well!
It might not have struck you since this was your first playthrough but the masterful score from Motoi Sakuraba, who also composed the music for Dark Souls, is, I think, one of the highlights of the game, as important as the graphics or the mechanics. Golden Sun's music really pushed the GBA to its limits, left a deep imprint in my memory and played a huge part in making it one of my favorite games ever. I literally cannot listen to a boss fight song and not get goosebumps all over my body. A remastered version of the OST with a higher bit rate than original can be found on TH-cam and there's even a small channel named Trilling Dragons which regularly composes orchestral covers of Golden Sun's music still to this day. The video Exploring the Music of Golden Sun from 8-bit Music Theory (Note that it contains spoilers for The Lost Age) is also worth watching to see how Sakuraba's progressive rock influence can be found in all his works. As a lifelong fan, I really hope you play the sequel and let us know what you think of it as well. Your video reminded me I was still missing a few retroachievements on The Lost Age so I guess it's time to play it once more.
This video was phenomenal. The only thing I wish you touched on was the music. The music in this game is still in my favorite soundtracks of all time. It creates so much tension where needed, or the lulls in certain spots. TLA is arguably even better. Loved this game so much as a kid. There are no RPGS's that mix puzzle mechanics like Golden Sun.
This was a real nostalgic revisit! I played this game over and over as a kid, I'm glad I could watch this instead of playing the game again instead of watching all those endless cutscenes. One small thing that you missed: the Mind Read Psynergy can be used through the whole game to give you tons of hints about things going on. Lots of NPCs will hint at secrets, or just have funny dialogue, and you can use it on certain animals or even the tree people in Kolima, which is pretty cool. It was always crazy to me just how much dialog is in this game.
Your explanations of the classes, affinities and djinns was superb! I can see how from the outside it may seem overwhelming and now i don't know how my 8 year old brain was able to understand any of this at all back when I first played it. I want to play this again now, this was one of my first RPGs and actually the one that made me fall in love with the genre! Thank you so much for doing this!
Would love to see Ogre Battle 64 in this series. A great rts/rpg hybrid with tons of player choices (some with dire consequences), secrets, side quests and diverging paths, all wrapped in an incredible soundtrack and some of the system's best graphics. Not only was is the systems few rts or rpg, the game was also aimed for a mature audience (mature for gaming in general, not just the N64). Comon Josh, sometimes you just need a random internet comment to show you the next hidden gem :)
An almost 2 hour video about Golden Sun 1, explaining the combat mechanics clearly, some of the lore and on top it can also work as a complete guide for the game. Awesome.
I beat this game when I was 6 years old. Me... At 6 year old, defeated the Fusion Dragon, Doom Dragon, and all 5 superbosses. Without truly knowing anything about elemental class changes, optimal equipment use, rng manipulation, team placement, djinn locations, tactical psynergy, exp farming and so much more. All I knew was how to summon rush, spam A to attack, Wish Well and Cool Aura. My greatest moment was summon rushing Saturos and Mendardi, only to get immediately jumped by their final form, the Fusion Dragon. Let's not forget the music. When that Elemental Stars theme first hit me, it changed me forever. And.. Oh god... I gambled all my Lucky Medals on the Tolbi fountain... Only to find out I could have ported them to TLA for the Lemuria Fountain. I also saved my game on every crap forged item without knowing about and getting the 2nd best weapon in the game.
A very thorough and in-depth analysis of one of my favorite GBA games. You even addressed my biggest criticisms about the game's needlessly verbose cutscenes and the fact the Djinn system was so poorly explained. I hope to see you tackle the sequel someday.
@@neonprado9989 honestly if it wasn't botched after the lost age it would be up there with Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, or at least with Tales Of, and Star ocean but instead it disappeared and got a rushed open ended ending of a third game 7 years later with little to no payout for story beats brought up in the first two games.
How you can call an RPG with shallow fake non choices "one of the greatest of all time" is beyond me, do you honestly believe what you wrote? Or did you just write it to write it, like an npc would
Nostalgia compelled me to watch the whole two hours worth of this adventure, and I loved every moment of it. Thank you so much! I'm really excited for your next Lost Age coverage since I never got to try that one out
Like others here said, I played this series in my formulative years and it absolutely shaped my love of complex classes and elemental mechanics. I didn't even know about Deadbeard or half of the hidden secrets, but still loved this game regardless! Can't wait to see him cover Lost Age!
I'm 9 minutes in and he has made several bad points already. I may be biased, in that Golden Sun is among the greatest RPGs ever made. Excuse me, dialogue is tedious and adolescent? The dialogue and writing in this game are *incredible*, especially if you understand story structure. I'm tempted to stop watching at this point, why would I value the opinion of someone who cant understand the most basic concepts of story structure and character dialogue.
Dialogue is acceptable. Pacing is good. But are we really kidding ourselves that golden sun is worthy of that kind of praise when games like planescape torment or baldurs gate 1 and 2 exist and weve been playing them for years? Its mediocre compared to other rpgs of the time. @uli11
SAME HERE! I did play Final Fantasy 1 as a kid though so that's what got me interested but fell in love with this game instantly. The ending was tough but rewarding
I love that game so much. I got my GBA with Golden Sun for Christmas in 2002. It was crazy expensive (I live in Poland and Poland from 21 years ago was a different place). I spent whole days and nights playing the shit out this game. One of my fondest gaming memories. Still it’s my 2nd favorite RPG. Chrono Trigger won’t be beaten anytime soon. Great video!
Golden sun is an absolute masterpiece, the graphics are incredible for the gba, the rotating camera adds dynamism to turn based combats, the music is unforgettable and the story is honestly pretty great too, a bit cliché at times but very original at others. It still plays remarkably well even today, especially if you use retroachievements.
I played so long ago that i didn't remember most of the story, but it still holds a special place in my heart. Awesome episode, I was so happy to see Golden Sun covered. Please do Golden Sun 2 as well! many thanks Josh
It was this game that made me an RPG lover when I was a kid. Not only that, but joining the tiny but passionate fandom back in the early 2010s is how I met my boyfriend of now a year and a half. We still have a special place in our hearts for this game and display our Japanese copies in their box in our living room.
I was a small child (like 9) with a GBA and this was the one game my mom let me bring on our one month trip to Asia to visit family. Imagine trying to play this game as a 9yr old with no internet in a foreign country. To this day I still don't know how I beat it, it took me like 80hrs I was backtracking and guessing like crazy what to do next every time I got stuck.
This is still the game i have the weirdest memories of. I found a french GBA copy of this game in a gutter outside my school and played it all the way through, despite not speaking a word of french. I vividly remember asking my dad what "psy" meant because some giant statue in a water temple needed it i think. Turned out psy wasn't even a french word.
Finally! I've been waiting for this ever since the Was it Good? series began! 🤩 Edit: Kinda disappointed that you didn't even mention the awesome music.
Fun fact: I played this game a couple of years after having played FF VII and FFX. I only realized after getting to a zone in which you had to pass through an area on the map that damaged you that... I had played it without pressing the run button. Walked the whole damn game. I remember telling two of my best friends and laughing so much about it. It's such a silly memory I always remember.
@@Maityist Even those side games were pretty good, but I wouldve loved to see Shining Force recognized as one of the cornerstones of tactical RPGs alongside Fire emblem :/
I remember my first playthrough when I was like 10 years old, and I didn't understand anything about the affinity system, and played the entire game without using the psynergy "Growth" which can unlock many secrets. It was only when I took my second playthrough when I wanted all secrets that I realized how much I missed, and especially how powerful non-standard-classline setups can be! Also, I definitely encourage you to make a video on the second opus because it really fills ALL the plot holes of the story, it is wayyyy longer than 35 hours, with a lot of additional quests and secrets, but also, it really gives a completely different view of the world, alchemy, lighthouses and the elemental gems. It's like realizing the Jedi in Star Wars have a really really specific point of view and there's so much to learn when you leave their narrow beliefs. It's a pure delight. And by the way, the pseudo I've been having for 22 years now comes from Piers, one of the characters from the Golden Sun 2 game :) I just discovered your channel, and I love that kind of content: nostalgy-driven for the audience, but really objective and detailed comments and critiques, I'm gonna watch more!
Golden Sun was probably the earliest game and fandom I REALLY got into. Raced a friend to the end of the game, participating on GameFAQs boards, reading and creating art and fanfic, waiting and waiting for the sequel which I nearly imported a Japanese copy of but didn't have the $50+ to do so, so instead decided to emulate it - and no, I couldn't read any Japanese at the time, so I bumbled through about 1/3 of the sequel based on guides from others. The Lost Age came out in English nearly a year after the Japanese version, over my Easter break, and a friend and I raced yet again to the end taking three days to get to the last dungeon, and being so underleveled that he won by sheer luck and I had to spend three days grinding. I don't think it was until I played the Suikoden series that I was again so attached to a game, its world, and the characters. Damn shame about the third Golden Sun game...
This game was a core part of my childhood and my first JRPG. After playing it I went and played as many other retro JRPGs as I could get my hands on. There's something special about this style of game and it makes me happy when I see newer games emulating this old style in interesting ways, like Octopath.
Superb coverage Josh. This is, to this day, one of my all-time favourite games ever. I would be happy to see you cover the second part as well in this depth just for nostalgia's sake. Thanks and take care.
My cousin let me borrow this game and as a kid the experience was up there with the likes of A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Pokemon Red, and Pokemon Silver. And it still holds up pretty damn well. Find myself going back to it every now and then even 20 some years later.
I absolutely LOVED this video. You are honestly a fantastic story teller, and the only video I've seen yet to accurately detail the in-game story of Golden Sun, while most talk about its development history and company. I sincerely hope you continue with at least the 2nd game, though would love to hear about all 3.
Golden sun was my first video game and to this day is still one of my favorite. The soundtrack they managed to create with only the gba soundchip is phenomenal.
This game oozed with personality at the time. The musical instruments, the vibe, all of it was great. I loved this game. I do know though that it was particularly bad in the random encounters element of the game at the time, but that's going to be a thing with classic RPGs more often than not. Chrono Trigger was very unique in its different approach.
Yah, most JRPGs had some really annoying encounter rates for the sake of inflating the completion time, thankfully by the PS2 era devs got the idea that unless your name is SMT 3 (one of the few games whose random encounters can nuke you even at early game, so your ass is always clenched), random encounters get irritating if spammed, so they chilled out. Mostly
@@jackmesrel4933 I seem to recall FF10 was really bad for it too, but FF12 simmered with a different style. I liked that in the DS games, Bravely Default/Second, you could outright change the encounter rate to 0%, 50%, 100%, 150%, or 200%. To make grinding easier, or if you just wanted to get where you were going, turn them off entirely.
At least the GS games lower encounter rates or even remove encounters entirely from puzzle rooms. There's exceptions like Altin mines but yeah. You also can alter encounter rates with the avoid psynergy which you can only get through using multi element classes in GS1 whereas it is learned naturally in GS2 in the mono mercury class line. Also if you win Colosso you get the Lure cap which when equipped increases encounter rates for people wanting to grind more
Golden Sun is one of those games I played as a kid but was too young to fully understand it or know how to play RPGs correctly. I was kind of stupid with RPGs and I still am to an extent. I do remember adoring the soundtrack of the game. I really want to pick this up again.
My grandma (may she rest in peace) bought me Golden Sun in a small game shop back then and I remember how unique and valuable the package and the artstyle looked like when I first hold it in my hands. I had no clue about all the adventures I was about to experience! So here I am, a fan till this day! Yeah, these were the days! Everything felt much more satisfying as a child and I had no clue about all those problems going on in the world. Just played solo or with friends during school trips and forgot about everything around you. Sometimes I wish to relive these golden times but I guess the only constant in life is change... and all that remains are memories 🥲
This was one of my favorite RPG's as a kid and I'm glad to know it was actually this complicated sometimes and while I was a dumb kid, it wasn't that I was just a dumb kid, Thanks for covering this gem!
Please do a /was it good/ episode on golden sun : the lost age as well please!!! I loved this video and watched literally every second of it with extreme patience and was NOT disappointed at all. You covered 99% of the game along with the storyline and gameplay mechanics.. just certain minor mechanics were missed. Iloved it and i am waiting for the sequel episode as well.
It was a lovely experience just you telling the story in this video, I honestly just want to hear you talk about the sequel. I'm really curious what happens next in the story.
I absolutely loved golden sun! I was about 9yo when my older cousin gifted it to me because he couldn't figure it out. I enjoyed it so much, I enjoyed the adventures, puzzles, and battles. Golden Sun and the Golden Sun: TLA definitely left an impact on me and the way I think.
So glad that you do what you do. I'm young enough to have not experienced any of the classic games like this and absolutely love seeing these glimpses into the foundations of gaming. Keep up the good work!
I loved this game on the GBA. For how complete your entire review of it is, it's surprising you didn't touch onto the soundtrack even once, when it's by most people held (mine too) in such high regard. Still, it was fun to see you go through everything in such detail, and appreciating its strengths.
I really like the pacing of GS1, as you mention the "side quests" weave nicely into advancing the main story, while fleshing out each area and character you visit. This ties into my main criticism of TLA. At some point in the game (after Lemuria, once you discover the western ocean), the pacing suddenly changes for the worse. The two western continents are very sparse, the settlements there are simple with minimal side quests (probably Shaman Village is the largest one), and the game is interspersed with very large segments of just traversing the world map. I feel like TLA was meant to be two games, one up to around Lemuria, and one after Lemuria, taking place in the western ocean.
To see a reviewer ive come to respect and enjoy as an entertainer cover one of my favorite games of all time is absolutely amazing. Thank you for reviewing this game in so much depth and bringing more attention to this old gem of a game.
I remember playing this as a kid and just being "wowed" on how much fun it was. Spent so many weeks playing Golden Sun and The Lost Age with my brother. Learning how to use Psynergy, learning the classes and the intricate story-lore of the world. It was an amazing time for me. This review made me remember those good days. I wish could turn back time and re-experience that feeling again. Thank you so much. I hope you'll enjoy The Lost Age just as much as the first one!
On the class system: I typically play mono-element in Golden Sun because you receive Djinns somewhat evenly. But The Lost Age throws you for loops from the very beginning. And gives you multi-element Summons very quickly as well. Not mentioning the items that give you tri-element classes. That's how the series teaches you about these mechanics. It takes 35 hours until you get there, but you do get there. And I love that, to be honest. Because while GS itself does not overload you with multi-elements, TLA expects you to be familiar with the general mechanics already, so it expands the system that was always like this. And in all honesty, if you want to avoid grinding, mono-element is the way to go. Since you typically get the better Psynergies earlier in the higher mono-classes. Which I, again, love. The first two games really build upon each other. A luxury that Dark Dawn does not have. Which probably hurts it way more than it helps. The most egregious example of this are the enemies right before the final story boss. They give hilarious amounts of exp. If you just want to stomp the boss and the post-game with numbers, stay there for not even an hour.
So fun bit of trivia. If you make it to the end of the Altin Mines and don't have the Force Orb item and its psynergy, the game actually has an alternate cutscene. Instead, you have Garet kick at the wall which triggers the boulder anyway.
Slightly disappointed that this review didn't talk about the music, because the soundtrack for this game is awesome! Imo both the graphics and the music really pushed the boundaries of what the Gameboy Advance could achieve. On a side note, I don't think this was mentioned in the video, but while the game tells you that all enemies have a corresponding elemental strength or weakness like Pokemon, it is not immediately obvious which element they are weak or resistant to. However, by looking at the game's punctuation, you can figure out their weaknesses. If the game says an enemy took "xyz damage!!!" (three exclamation marks), it means the enemy is weak to that element. If the enemy the enemy took "xyz damage!" (one exclamation mark), it means the enemy is neutral. If the enemy took "xyz damage." (period instead of exclamation mark), it means the enemy is resistant to that element. Nowhere does the game tell you this, despite this information being extremely useful.
I really loved this game as a kid. I played it so many times, I could 100% it in a bit over 8 hours - including time spent running up and down the stairs at crossbone isle so I could regenerate PP and start the Deadbeard fight at full. Never did realize the whole class system though - that was a bit much for my 12 year old attention span to pick up on :P If you do one on Lost Age, I'll be here in a Flash!
Thank you so much for posting your code! I had a GBA when I was a kid, and played this game to full completion but I never finished the second; I’ve always wanted to do it, but have felt discouraged to grind it out again. This video was a perfect recap on what happened and reminder of why I love this game so much, and I think with your code, I’m finally ready to take on the sequel 18 years later. Incredible video, and you get a like and a sub from me; can’t wait to see what you say about the second game if you decide make a video on it so we can compare notes!
A great retrospective on one of my favorite games. I think you may have missed a few cues from the story, but since I don't remember what is from Golden Sun 1 and what is from the lost age, I won't spoil anything. One thing I will say is that golden sun 2 has a much grander scale and more epic level design. The world gets a lot more interesting as you get to explore it fully, I enjoy the sequel a lot more than the first game. Do you have any plans to continue this for the second game as well?
Not only one of my favorite games of my childhood by far, but a game I often see myself going back to over the years and still being amazed at how good it was. A remaster is something I both dream of and dread of due to be fear of getting a remaster that does not live up to what a masterpiece it was considering the limits of the GBA. Thank you very much Josh for giving this game a try and giving it some exposure. If you play the next one and make a review I'm sure I'll thoroughly enjoy it but boi... that's gonna be a *long* edit for you 😂
This game got me through so many long car rides as a kid, and got me in trouble for staying up when i was supposed to be asleep too 😂 i dont think i even knew there were classes back then
![PASULOL รามเกียรติ์ ตอนที่ 4 นนทกพบรัก [Ramakien Ep.4: Nonthok in love]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tMUQgmZzf_A/mqdefault.jpg)
There's one choice in the game that does actually have an effect: At the beginning of the game, you're asked if you want to take on your adventure. If you repeatedly say No, the game eventually triggers a game over state.
If you use a GameShark there is an alternate ending g for beating satu/mena
Not just game over but one of the best video game endings where you look Kraden straight in his eyes and tell him, "I rather go home and wait for the apocalypse than go on an adventure with your old wrinkly ass." And then you do.
@@chipmanly1359"Ok Boomer"
_But in the end the Future refused to change_
I cry everytim
And then you load the old save and sit through the 15 minute cutscene again.
It's also technically a good ending
One thing that you didn't cover with unleashing djinn, and that none of the three games ever inform you about but is nonetheless helpful: If you land the killing blow with an attacking djinn of the element an enemy is weak to (or least resistant), they will flash several colors before dying, and yield more experience, money, and have a higher rare drop rate. Colloquially this is known as a 'rainbow kill'.
*sighs in farming Tisiphone Edges
What!?
WHAT!?
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?!?!?!
Shoutout to my homies Fever, Scorch, and Torch, great allies in searching for the Kikuichimonji without RNG manipulation. o7
You made this up..... you have to have made this up....
@@GuyN0ir Nope, this is true. Also, you can tell what element will trigger this effect on the enemy by looking at the battle text. If the "Hit for x damage!!!" text has 3 exclamation points, that means you're hitting the enemy with the element they're weakest against. If you see one period, you're hitting them with the element they're strongest against.
A long time ago this was also called a "black panther" kill, but I have no idea where that name came from.
Back in 2001, when i was a kid in Spain, my father bought me the GBA. The shop owner insisted to not get Super Mario bros2, but instead get Golden Sun. To this day i thank the toy shop owner for his wise recommendation. As an artist this game inspired me so much with it's visuals and animations. I remember rushing to the kitchen to show my mother the Djin invocations animation and how awesome it looked. My sister and mother really liked the ""The Elemental Stars" track that came out of my GBA when i was in the first temple. It's a masterpiece and so it' sequel. The worldbuilding and concepts are beautiful. I really hope Camelot brings this series back on a modern system.
Good news, you can play this on the Nintendo Switch ina few days with a NSO+ account :)
@@owen4340 You can always emulate ;) thx for the info tho
@@SeniorAdrian and you can even emulate it to play with other people online now
@@ridermalak3291 How? You mean the battle mode or the history mode?
@@SeniorAdrian battle of course. Story mode only available in singleplayer
A few notes:
- Alex is a water adept. It was mentioned by Mia as she refered to him as her brother/kin member. Saturos' group kidnapped Sheba for her wind powers.
- Choices indeed don't matter in most cases but you can indeed get a game over if you refuse the call of adventure and you can refuse to travel back with Hammet after freeing him in Lunpa saving you a long trek back.
- You needing to use douse on the twisters is hinted by wounded soldiers in Suhalla. It's easier to use douse by setting the skill to a shoulder button quick trigger. Quick triggers generally are a great idea to quickly cast a skill you'll have to use a lot in an area.
- Something I hoped you picked up on is that all regions/settlements are inspired by real life equivalents. Tolbi being based on Rome and Lalivero on Alexandria are some of the most obvious ones.
The sequel makes it more obvious as entire continents are closer linked to specific cultures/regions. Sheba is inspired by Cleopatra as well. Considering "Rome" kidnapped her for their own purposes you could see another link.
- This is not as obvious, but perhaps important in the sequel. If you kill an enemy with a djinn with the element of it's weakness you not only gain 150% exp but increase the odds of gaining special drops.
I hope you'll do the same in depth review of the sequel. It's longer, bigger, has more optional content and it's definately more difficult/challenging.
I wonder how many kids got lost playing the sequel. I loved the game back then, but I never finished it because I couldn't figure out what to do at a certain point.
Also I'd like to mention that since it is a JRPG at heart, people should grind a bit between the cities and quests.
If you just rush it, you won't really have a fun game and get decimated by nearly all opponents, as see here...
The amount of time I spent farming enemies in the last lighthouse with Djinn trying to get the kikuichimonji for Ivan was a mood. Took ages
@@brassknucklehead1083I remember getting notes from someone at school for rng manipulation to get the optimal drops in endgame, including the Kikuichimonji.
@@Morte_n With his playtime and the amount of deaths I figured he'd be underleveled yet he did manage to finish the game at level 29. I usually finish it at 30. Expecting he did some grinding in the latter stages of the game.
What an absolutely amazing video! I hope you do a "Was it Good?" of Golden Sun 2, I'd love to watch it
Yes we need it ! 😄
Especially as the next video
*Was it ANY good
@@onomatopoeia7505 this is a case where the title and the thumbnail are different lol
Id love if he did dark dawn too. It may be the worst of the 3 games but it gave us some truly great characters like sveta and eoleo (technically from lost age but he was wee babu then), and the final 3rd once the grim eclipse happens is i think the best segment all 3 games has to offer. I replay all 3 games every few years or so and each time i play dark dawn i like it more and more. Lost age will always be my favorite of the 3; but i cant call any of the 3 games bad by any means.
This is the game that led me on the journey to make my own games. I wrote and published 6 books and obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Game Art all because of this game.
Link to yours games?
hell yah that's an Amazing Story my Friend
''Bachelors degree in game art''
Bro we need links here I can't let this go unanswered!
@@SHlNRlKlARU he is talking out of his rectum, in case u didnt see through it.
Seeing people get into this game even after 20 years fills me with such joy. To this day, I still hold hope that we can see more of this series eventually. By creating this video and introducing Golden Sun to more people, you're helping to keep the dream alive. For that, I thank you.
Like me finding out that others like the game caled Infinite Space (for the ds). A really good story, good-ish gameplay and lore so juicy i am shocked matpat hasn't played it yet
A new gen version of golden sun would be fire
it just guts me how much they fumbled the bag with the third game :/ i was really looking forward to it, and i didn't expect for it to ever be made
It wasn't just good, it is still holding up incredibly well considering it was a gba game. The soundtrack is also amazing to this day and makes great background music.
I haven't played through this game in a long time, definitely well over a decade, but that battle music will still pop into my head at random.
Yes... The story still doesn't make any sense but hey, it never did 😂
I still play this every so often. It's my second favorite rpg on gba. The Lost Age is my favorite.
@@TheOrzhovSyndicate same with ffta
I didn't realize until many years later that the composer, Motoi Sakuraba, has made the music for like 5 of my favourite games.
It's a shame this video doesn't cover Golden Sun: The Lost Age. It really learns from a lot of the issues that Golden Sun 1 had and the story gets pretty fascinating.
2 hours is barely enough to talk about Golden Sun. That would need a 6 hour video on top of this.
You go into TLA thinking ah it's just 2 more lighthouses NO 4 MORE ROCKS.
That's just... not true at all
I agree. Looking at how much sequels learned from the previous games would be an interesting video series.
If by 'fascinating' you mean 'completely nonsensical' and by 'learning a lot' you mean 'doubling down on trial and error maze-like design' then yes, it indeed does.
@@toferkrz946 Everybody's going to have different experiences dood. Some ppl like mazes.
This game more than any other invokes so many nostalgic feelings. Sitting in the back of my parents mini-van on the way home from a baseball game trying to beat the Kraken boss, trying to catch the light off passing street lights because I was playing on the OG non SP GBA with no back light. Also, sitting in the hotel room after my Aunt's wedding trying and FINALLY succeeding at defeating the Fusion Dragon, I cheered for joy when I managed to beat the game I had been working on all summer.
Looking forward to a Lost Age follow up, the extra djinn give more flexibility in how they're distributed, meaning that you could 3 mono-element characters and 1 tri-element character, the mixed elemental summons are awesome and the puzzle complexity only goes up from here which makes sense because Lost Age is more like a second act rather than a standalone game. Dungeons get longer, there's more freedom in movement and in how you tackle objectives, the world gets more fleshed out and the story really starts to come together.
Don't forget the special equip able stuff that, when the character has 3x3 elements not of his own, gets a special class. One even let's you use a Dullahan Summon. It's a cool class but because of the 3x3 element typing has bad stats.
Some dungeons though can get a bit too long and too gimmicky.
(COUGH) Air's Rock (COUGH)
@@ZorotheGallade for me that's Magma Rock xD
@@Neriehem When I was little, Gabomba was the absolute bane of my existence.
speaking as someone who only ever had a copy of the lost age it took me untill i was older to learn there was a first game and tbh i think it holds up as a standalone thing it feels like a living world in that way like things were allready goin on before we the player got here to join the characters well turns out i was right in that feeling and tbh i kinda like that start rather than the start in a village thing set off sorta coming of age feel thing umn words kinda rambled there..
I love hearing this story told so well. I had studied English only few years when I first played this, so though I kinda knew what I was doing (and also, I frequented in the forums to get help) the plot and the story in my mind are super hazy.
If you enjoy misunderstandings with English, here are few:
- There was a Wise One in the first dungeon. I was expecting there to be Wise Two in the second dungeon.
- I was 100 % sure that "lit" is a type, as it should be "light"
- Werewolves. I honestly thought it was ancient group of wolves who have turned into people - thus they WERE wolves, not anymore.
- I only learned in Lost Age what "Agree" and "Disagree" meant.
😂
lol😂
1:03:05, so fun fact: if you did NOT get the Orb of Force at the Fuchin temple before this point, when you find the log, an amusing cutscene will play where garet gets frustrated and just walks over and kicks the pillar instead
Also after transfering your save data to The Lost Age, depending on what side quest things you complete you get unique events and even rewards throughout the TLA! Spoilers ahead
- If you reveal the secret passage to get to the boulder pinning Hsu, feihzi will find Felix's party when you first get to Champa and give them a golden ring to give to isaac (use as an item to replicate the "Resist" Psynergy on the party) and hint that she has developed feelings for Isaac.
- when leaving Madra after recieving the Cyclone Chip Felix's party gets ambushed by the bandits Isaac and crew fought in Vault near the beginning of the game. after beating them tney back down and give you a pair of Golden boots as an appology (boosts defense and speed a decent ammount)
- If you got first place in the Collosso tournament in the first game, after merging Felix and Isaac's partes and returning to the Shaman village cave, the three gladiators you fought will confront you together looking for revenge against isaac for cheating in the tournament (after all, there was no way he could do all that psynergy stuff without rigging the tournament) after defeating them they will acknowledge isaac as having won fair and square and give you a golden shirt (boosting defense and Max HP. basically a better mythril shirt)
- If you defeated the secret boss Deadbeard, some pirates will talk about how Isaac has become the new Pirate lord
- If you get every djinn in the first game, then proceed to get every djinn in TLA, you unlock a secret mega dungeon that gives you a new summon, Charon (the most powerful Venus summon, dealing massive venus damage, plus deals damage equal to 1/3 of their max HP... with a chance to just outright insta-kill those hit) at the very beginning. this dungeon is filled with tons of difficult enemies and great puzzles and and ends with fighting the hardest boss in the game (harder than Deadbeard): the Dullahan. and defeating the dullahan gives you bragging rights, plus the Powerful Iris summon (deals massive Mars damage, plust 40% of their max hp in damage, plus revives and max heals everyone in the party)
I actually don't remember a lot, but there is one thing you're slightly mistaken on iirc. You can afford to miss up to four Djinn in the first game, and they'd appear in extra locations in TLA.
Regarding the bandits: you forgot to mention that in order to transfer that, you have to return to Vault after the bridge is fixed and talk to the mayor who informs you the bandits have escaped. If you don't do that, you won't meet the bandits in TLA.
omg is that true？
@@应宗林
just that part
Iris revives and fully heals not just the active party but the reserve party as well.
I loved how Kraden said the ocean was at the end of the world and it felt as if he was oversimplifying it for Garet, but once you get to the world map you find out Weyard is actually flat and the ocean IS at the end of the world.
I remember in the second part to jump down a cliff to get a chest.
@@adherry8142 Yeah, that part was scary. Even though there is no way to fall off the cliff, hanging around the edge of the world is unnerving.
Reminds me of the End of the World in Grandia and the quote "There is no such thing as the End of the World, Justin". Rpgs are cool sometimes.
@@ZorotheGallade ... okay, so when I replay the game - I'm going to remember that. Younger me didn't risk getting close to the edge.
@@SmogginMog Falling in the abyss never hurt anybody, right? Heck, you might come back a White Wizard or something.
I loved Golden Sun. Absolutely got completely lost as a kid in this game. Took ages to figure out some of the puzzles. I wouldnt leave my room for days. Game Boy advanced memories
Golden Sun was incredibly formative and important to me during my childhood. Thanks so much for taking me down memory lane again.
I can't wait to see your play through of the Lost Age. It's an amazing open world RPG that is insanely technically impressive for being on the GBA. It expands on all the systems and lore introduced in Golden Sun and is generally an absolute joy.
The wizard hidden boss with his bloody orbs was so tough in that one... Still, such a gem of a game!
Lost Age is so synergistic that it truly feels incomplete without playing both despite them masterfully allowing you to play without the first game still.
To date, I don't think there is any sequel that has matched the original hand in hand so well
@@giggleanthropisticon7061 Pretty sure it's supposed to be one game but just didn't fit on a single cartridge.
TLA is good, but the pacing is off, especially after you get the Lemurian ship, it feels like too little content spread over too huge a world.
@@giggleanthropisticon7061I actually played all the way through Lost Age before ever playing Golden Sun 1, and I was absolutely blown away when I realized it was actually a sequel that had TRANSFER mechanics from it. Played through all the way of both games, following a few guides to not miss any big secrets. What an amazing set of games and definitely set me on my love of JRPGs.
the Djinni mechanic is so interesting, it really feels like the Djinni are actual magical beings and not just an alternative to Materia
Hah, there is one "yes/no" choice that has an effect, which I was hoping you'd mention. The village elders ask you if you want to risk your life on this quest, and you have the choice to say no. The village elder says he can't blame you, and would probably do the same. If you leave the temple to cement your choice, the game fades to sepia and says "And so the world began drifting toward its fated destruction..."
Which wouldn't even make sense because in game 2 you found out that if you DON'T light the lighthouses then the world will wear away by the infinite waterfall.
So what we end with is a situation where:
Mars duo wants to light the lighthouses to prevent the world from disappearing, starting with their village because it's near the edge of the waterfall.
Ancient One wants you to stop them from lighting the lighthouse. Which would mean let the world keeps dying, starting with Mars duo's village.
If you agree to stop them. Game continues where you fail to stop them anyway in game 2 and proceed to light the lighthouses anyway, basically betraying the Ancient One and he sends Doom Dragon after you which is fucked up.
If you say no. meaning you don't stop them from lighting the lighthouse and just go home. "And so the world began drifting toward its fated destruction..."
?????????????????
@@LightBrandI mean big spoilers to be putting in the replies to a video on just GS1 but in reply.
Isaac's party are essential to Felix and co surviving the events of Mars lighthouse. The Wise one was aware of Alex and his schemes all along hence his plan to imbue a fraction of the Golden Sun's true power within Isaac and the Mars star he carried.
He also told the village elder of Vale that Felox carried a heavy fate, something Ivan's sister alludes to. That fate being fighting the Doom Dragon and murdering his own family, a fate his party would die to of not for the aid of the GS1 party.
@@CC-df3pn So should the Wise One send Issac off or should they just kept the Mars Stars and sit tight because Felix an co. will have to eventually crawl back to get it after they light the first 3 and get stuck right?
@@LightBrand the wise one knew Alchemy needed to return to Weyard. It's an embodiment of the philosopher stone essentially, guardian of alchemy in the world. But it also knew man needed to be tested in this new age, that's the whole purpose of the broken seal and lost age story. Whilst the Mars adepts of Prox are villainous in their actions they do so out of desperation to save their people and the world, the people of Vale and Imil stick to their ancient duties also out of misplaced wants to protect the world. Then Alex schemes to take the power for himself like the Adepts of old who nearly destroyed the world.
The wise one lets all of it happen putting it's faith in both Isaac and Felix, that together they can lead man to a new Golden age of alchemy
@@CC-df3pn So if Issac declined the quest the world will be sent to ruins in what way?
The failure to light the last lighthouse because Mars Star is still in Vale?
Or Felix and co. come back to retrieve it and still couldn't light it because they can't get past Wise One's Doom Dragon while Issac and co. are goofing in Vale this entire time?
Or Felix and co manages to light it without Issac ever leaving Vale but Alex wins?
Or they light it but because Issac didn't go on the quest mankind is not worthy of alchemy and they doom themselves in the near future by their own hands even though the world is saved?
golden sun and tactics advance is a hell of a power combo to grow up with
Agreed
bro tactics on ps1 was better fr
@@TheOnlyDTM bro you couldnt take that sony crap ps1 on a backseat of your parents car back in the days....
@@raedchen1 war of lions on psp. Yes you could. Lol
Now we need a lost age video. These games are incredible and I’m glad you enjoyed it.
The absolute awe on my face when I heard “… there is another system” after listening to the coolest, most complex class system I’ve ever heard. I’m playing this game the second i get home
Did you start It? Want any tips?
@@juanjotur114 yeah I did! i stopped the video and plan on finishing it later
@@FoxGamingWoah Hope you're having fun. :D
Enjoy! The series is great. I replay all 3 every few years. A couple things he didn't explain about the magic system though.
1st thing is your e-level, or elemental level. Each adept starts at level 1 in every element except their native one, which starts at level 5. Setting djinn increases the elevel of its psynergy by 1 and those combined levels are what dictate your class. For instance if you gave isaac 6 fire djinn you'd see his class degrade because he is now primarily fire and his earth psynergy is lower. So at a certain point in dual element classes you need to strike a balance between your native level and djinn levels.
Secondly despite the heavy magic system in the game there is no magic attack or magic defense stat. Instead those are also governed by your elevels; with no other way to increase them except for buffing from summons and certain equipment. For instance, isaac using quake at level 7 and isaac using quake at level 50 will do the exact same damage if you dont give him any earth djinn and have him in basic equipment. So if you want to focus more on magic than melee plan accordingly.
Thirdly, single target psynergy abilities, like ragnarok, heat wave, cutting edge, and astral blast, are exceptions to this rule. They are known as epa's; or elemental physical attacks. They deal physical damage augmented by your elevels and actually get stronger in tandem with your attack stat. The ninja class makes exceptional use of this as their shuriken psynergy is the only aoe epa in the game.
Finally you can generally divide classes based on how many elements you have between mono, dual, and triple elemebt classes. Mono elements will of course give you the highest elevels as you are focusing on 1 sole element so their psynergy, with the exception of epas, will hit the hardest. But dual elements will often get bigger stat boosts to compensate for the weaker magic, and triple elements even more so. So if you want to rely on summons, djinn unleashes, and magic stick with mono elements and if you want to rely on your base characters abilities and a wider range of psynergy that is a little less effective go dual or triple elements. The triple elements in particular are extremely powerful classes that boost your stats by insane margins. Its all about your preferred playstyle and balance.
Hope you enjoyed the game
If only I could experience Golden Sun 1 and 2 for the first time again.
GS2 was meh... i highly disliked how they made the OG characters weak -_-
I mean to be fair when Isaac and Ivan lost the 2 vs 2 in the cutscene both Agatio and Karst noted how the tough the fight had been and how it might have gone differently if Isaac hadn't been distracted about Ivan going down. they then take time to note several times that the injuries they received from fighting the two had weakened them heavily and was a big reason why Felix's party was able to take them down at the top of the Juptier Lighthouse.
The OG party likely would've destroyed them if they hadn't set the trap to split them up.
@@AB-ln2py
just replay them on your PC with the biggest screen you can find. Was an amazing experience to play them again like this
Emulate, it's still so good
@@AB-ln2py they are not weak. If you transfer your save over they are where you left them. But they are also introduced at around level 40 if you don't transfer. And by the time you get them in your party if you grinded you would be around lvl 60. My normal end party is Felix, Piers, Isaac, and Garret. (Yes I favor the melee boys) and they are most certainly not weak if you built them properly.
Well, I just discovered your channel because of this video. Im so glad to see someone cover something on Golden Sun in 2023. This was, and still is, one of my all time favorite JRPGs ever. I usually replay at least the first 2 once every couple of years or so. Thank you for showing some love to one of the greatest games out there. #TeamFlash
Another fun fact: Golden Sun's composer, Motoi Sakuraba, also did the music for the Tales Of series, Star Ocean, and even Dark Souls. He's also got a progressive rock album called Gikyokuonsou where you can really hear the similarities to Golden Sun.
Thanks for mentioning that, sick album!
Omg I had to idea Sakuraba composed golden sun!! Gonna check this game out
Golden Sun, Tales of, and Star Ocean were massive parts of my childhood. Sakuraba is almost like a god to me. Same with Uematsu and the Final Fantasy series.
I still listen to songs from golden sun to this day, as well as darksouls.
And now et another reason for me to play Golden Sun, I adore the Tales Of games :)
Really glad of how you covered Golden Sun in your format.
From the Djinn system to the extra content you show us, it always amazes me how much content this game had all under a GBA Cartridge.
And when you add the Sequel into the whole thing, it's a masterpiece.
Fun facts:
The composer for Golden Sun worked on Dark Souls.
You can make it through the evil forest with no force attack, and Garet will kick the wall at the end of the mines, triggering the boulder.
You can grind the tornado boss that takes you to Crossbone Isle, you use douse on it while there, kill it, heal up, go in and out of the map location, and fight it again.
I beat this whole game while never going out of mono colors by mashing the a button to attack once, and it wasn't all that hard 😅
I can't express the sheer joy I felt when I saw you did Golden Sun.
Same. It's my favourite RPG ever
Me too!
@@IAmSeanFleming It's THE rpg lol
@ItsReiza Heck yeah it is! 😁
Another fun thing about Kolima in the game is, that if you go out of your way and sequence break a bit to recruit Miia before clearing the forest, she too, has unique dialogue related to that location. Which is a nice touch.
Another fun thing that I'm surprised wasn't mentioned, is that you can also use mind read on the tree people if I remember correctly. It's a nice little touch, though I can understand some people not knowing about it because most people don't go spamming mind read on everything they can find.
In Altin, if you get to the supporting log that you need to use force on before you have the force psynergy, you get a cutscene where Garet gets angry and accidentally knocks it over
@@Gamer3427 "most people don't go spamming mind read on everything they can find." Me and my friends sure did, after all, it's VERY rare that games let you do this.
@@Gamer3427 I admit, i used mind-read on anything that looked remotely suspicious. :D
@@Nerobyrne Same. I always had Mind read on shortcut to spam it nonstop at anything you could talk to.
Your djinn system explanation is better than dedicated youtube videos. Back in the day, I had trouble understanding it, no easy online forums access.
No gamefaqs?
Oh gosh. Next to Chrono Trigger, I have never been so happy to see a "Was it Good?" game pop up from Josh!
Just finished crono trigger. This might be my next rpg.
I will warn you that Golden Sun 1 and 2 aren’t nearly as tight as Chrono Trigger, in terms of how things interact and your choices don’t have that much of an impact. But boy howdy do I love the game. The art style is amazing, the music is iconic, and the fact that this was a handheld RPG back in the day was downright awesome. It *is* very wordy, however, so just be prepared.
I agree completely with@@johnbuscher. I do find myself always thinking back to this game and the sequel, The Lost Age quite fondly. My only complaint is the amount of words characters say at time. But the art, music, and story have always been quite good to me.
He already did Chrono Trigger.
Very minor point of correction regarding the class system - the characters don't have just 1 point of elemental affinity in their innate element, they actually have 5 points. You can see these elemental affinity values (which are called Elemental Levels, or eLevels for short among some fans) on the Status page if you press A on a character to see their detailed stats - they're listed as just "Lv" in the section for elemental stats on the bottom right. If you standby all of a character's Djinn and check the menu, you'll see that they have 5 eLevels in their innate element.
Practically speaking this doesn't make that much of a difference at the surface level, but it can be nice to know since it turns out that it explains some of the unusual/unexpected phenomena that can occur with some Djinn combinations. For instance, if you keep setting Jupiter Djinn onto Isaac (with no Venus Djinn set), he'll keep advancing through the Apprentice class line until you set a 6th Jupiter Djinni, which will cause him to switch over to a class in the Seer class line instead of continuing to advance. This is because he'll be at 6 Jupiter eLevels and 5 Venus eLevels, meaning that for the first time his alignment will lean more towards Jupiter than Venus, and this changes his class line. Similar behavior happens with most other character/element combos as well (with a few exceptions for a somewhat more complicated reason I won't go into here).
This can potentially be useful to know to help remember what Djinn combinations are needed for the higher tiers of various class lines - you always want to set as many Djinn of the other element as possible without the other element's eLevel rising above your innate eLevel. That's why the highest tier classes in the dual-element lines require 2 Djinn of the innate element and 7 Djinn of the other element - the 2 innate Djinn add to the Adept's 5 baseline eLevels to make 7 total, which balances out the 7 Djinn of the other element.
It's still sucks that it's not very well explained or explored through gameplay. I remember that I didn't understand it that well until towards the end of the game and even now I'm learning new stuff about it.
One way they could have done it is that some bosses that must be defeated need you to use different classes. Stuff like that.
I never actually knew that at all, or the thing about the strongest class being 7 and 2. Iirc, in TLA, I would slap on a sorta even number of opposing elements, but I don't recall any of them being innate. It'd get lots of healing moves for the whole party. I don't recall other psynergy being that good by endgame/postgame.
@@brainstormsurge154 I agree that it's a shame that it's not really explained in-game at all. I think one of the main issues is that players aren't given any feedback on how a character's Djinn are contributing to their class, or on how good or 'optimal' a particular class is. To explain what I mean with an example - if you give Isaac 4 Mercury Djinn and 1 Venus Djinni, he'll be in a higher tier and overall much better class in the same class series than if you give him 4 Venus Djinn and 1 Mercury Djinni. But in both cases he has 5 Djinn of the same combo of elements... so it's not obvious or intuitive that one of these options would be much better than the other. The '4 Venus 1 Mercury' combo turns out to be bad because the Venus Djinn aren't contributing to the class at all - that is, you can put them all on standby, and Isaac's class won't change. To get to stronger levels of the Venus/Mercury class series, Isaac needs more Mercury - adding more Venus is redundant. But there's almost nothing in the game to clue you in to any of this.
1:39:22 A little trick for everybody struggling on this boss. Use and Reequip the Jupiter Djinn that locks Psynergy over and over again since it has a 100% success rate resulting in Deadbeard only using Auto Attacks which Mia can easily heal against
Thanks for this one Golden Sun has a special place in my heart. Such a satisfying game to play from beginning to end and the art style always just gives me warm fuzzy feelings !
The music too! I still remember the music so fondly. The only time I ever used headphones to listen.
It's good to see Josh has discovered Weyard, he got so much content just of the first game alone, I can't wait to see how he reacts when he finds out how massive and daring The Lost Age was.
AMEN!
And then be disappointed and left hanging forever from Dark Dawn.
@@ZorotheGallade🥲
@@ZorotheGallade I know of no Golden Sun game called Dark Dawn. The series ended with The Lost Age.
I actually have the Golden Sun games on display by the way.
@@ZorotheGallade Honestly, while Dark Dawn is definitely the weakest of the games, and has issues, I still think it works well as an RPG and a Golden Sun game. It's just that the flaws stand out more because it's a Golden Sun game. I'd still replay it over quite a few RPGs though.
EDIT: We absolutely need another game though to finish out the story. I feel like they were planning on pulling the same thing they did with the first two, but sales weren't quite good enough to make a sequel right away.
I'm astonished that the OST wasn't mentioned. You went indepth on the combat and complimented the puzzle design many times, but not a single word on the amazing soundtrack. Absolutely crazy. You have undoubtedly done a great disservice to those who requested this review of you, and to all fans of the game as well. Shame is upon you. Otherwise a great review, and I hope you play and enjoy the sequel too. :)
Golden sun holds a special place in my heart.
We had a family friend who was my parents age and loved golden sun.
His life started to fall apart, but he always did his best to make others smile.
One day he gave me his copy of golden sun and the map.
I played it so much, even though I didnt know a single thing.
One day, I finally finished it and asked my parents to take me to see the family friend, unfortunately he had taken his own life that same day.
I still have the game and map that he gave me. I cherish it dearly.
Damn
Such a special story from such a crazy place
Things that did not happen.
watching this video made me realize just how much this influenced me and my friend.
Not just in gaming, but the perception of fantasy culture going forward.
His gamertag still hearkens back to this game. It truly was the best GBA game ever, imo
@@yama6767 Ruhe, Versager.
It doesn't get more nostalgic than Golden Sun. I'm so happy you took the time to review the first game, loved the video as it was a total trip down memory lane. Hope you liked the first one enough to do a review on the sequel!
A PS1 remaster would be awesome. Also a NES version too
Yes, the Golden Sun series was good. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CAN WE GET REMAKES/REMASTERS/A FOURTH GAME PLEASE?! It's so disappointing the patents were redone but NOTHING has been announced or done yet! I'll honestly be happy with anything at this point.
Well, Camelot haven't released a game in 2 years and they're still an active studio, sooooooo... hope?
@@aduboo29 I absolutely hope they do!
Or I also hope Atlus buys it and works their magic. I love most of their games, maybe they'll treat the Golden Sun series like it deserves to be treated!
The 3rd game was just horrible, and also badly received, that I don't think we will get a 4th anytime soon. Chances are it will probably be worse than the 3rd lol
@@TwoWayOrbitalStation I respectfully disagree that it was horrible but will say it was definitely flawed and needed improvements. It was an obvious cash grab and they found out first hand we will only tolerate obvious cash grabs from Pokemon.
It's been 13 years. Forget it.
The Djinn/Class system is by far one of my favorite RPG systems out of any game. It gives you so much flexibility and options to set your team how you want and do a lot of fun things. The entire time you were explaining it, before getting to even talking about using the Djinn as attacks, I was just smiling remembering how fun it was playing with it as a kid, and knowing that you had only just gotten started. I absolutely understand why most RPGs go with very simple class stuff, but I really wish they'd adopt even a bit of Golden Sun's system because for those of us who like to strategize or customize, it gave a freedom most RPGs are lacking.
100% agree, the djinn system is something I have never quite experienced in any other RPG. I love RPGs where they really go in depth about class/job customization. GS really excelled offering a intense and fun combat where you had access to: Djinn attacks, Summons and Psinergy. It was incredibly diverse and advanced for its time even more being a GBA game. Absolutely goated.
My first playthrough was all about Summons, while my most recent ones was all about exploring the classes, meaning I had two entirely different combat experiences with the same game
(And he probably didn't even knows about using Djinns for grinding, because that one is never explained. If you use an offensive Djinns that is effective against the enemy, it flashes and you get bonus Exp. Trying to get it against bosses is an additional fun challenge)
I love Golden Sun. That said, you are only getting like... 20% of the experience if you don't play the sequel IMO. :)
Quite happy you finally got to Golden Sun, the rpg that got me into rpg's as a kid. The music,visuals and combat system are great, especially for the hardware at the time, and I loved the story and personalities. I hope you get to the sequel as well!
It might not have struck you since this was your first playthrough but the masterful score from Motoi Sakuraba, who also composed the music for Dark Souls, is, I think, one of the highlights of the game, as important as the graphics or the mechanics. Golden Sun's music really pushed the GBA to its limits, left a deep imprint in my memory and played a huge part in making it one of my favorite games ever. I literally cannot listen to a boss fight song and not get goosebumps all over my body.
A remastered version of the OST with a higher bit rate than original can be found on TH-cam and there's even a small channel named Trilling Dragons which regularly composes orchestral covers of Golden Sun's music still to this day. The video Exploring the Music of Golden Sun from 8-bit Music Theory (Note that it contains spoilers for The Lost Age) is also worth watching to see how Sakuraba's progressive rock influence can be found in all his works.
As a lifelong fan, I really hope you play the sequel and let us know what you think of it as well.
Your video reminded me I was still missing a few retroachievements on The Lost Age so I guess it's time to play it once more.
Saturos fight theme is still an all time great video game song
This video was phenomenal. The only thing I wish you touched on was the music. The music in this game is still in my favorite soundtracks of all time. It creates so much tension where needed, or the lulls in certain spots. TLA is arguably even better. Loved this game so much as a kid. There are no RPGS's that mix puzzle mechanics like Golden Sun.
This was a real nostalgic revisit! I played this game over and over as a kid, I'm glad I could watch this instead of playing the game again instead of watching all those endless cutscenes.
One small thing that you missed: the Mind Read Psynergy can be used through the whole game to give you tons of hints about things going on. Lots of NPCs will hint at secrets, or just have funny dialogue, and you can use it on certain animals or even the tree people in Kolima, which is pretty cool. It was always crazy to me just how much dialog is in this game.
Mind Reading was always my favorite Psynergy! I always use it on everyone I can in any new location!
Your explanations of the classes, affinities and djinns was superb! I can see how from the outside it may seem overwhelming and now i don't know how my 8 year old brain was able to understand any of this at all back when I first played it.
I want to play this again now, this was one of my first RPGs and actually the one that made me fall in love with the genre! Thank you so much for doing this!
Would love to see Ogre Battle 64 in this series. A great rts/rpg hybrid with tons of player choices (some with dire consequences), secrets, side quests and diverging paths, all wrapped in an incredible soundtrack and some of the system's best graphics. Not only was is the systems few rts or rpg, the game was also aimed for a mature audience (mature for gaming in general, not just the N64). Comon Josh, sometimes you just need a random internet comment to show you the next hidden gem :)
An almost 2 hour video about Golden Sun 1, explaining the combat mechanics clearly, some of the lore and on top it can also work as a complete guide for the game. Awesome.
I beat this game when I was 6 years old. Me... At 6 year old, defeated the Fusion Dragon, Doom Dragon, and all 5 superbosses.
Without truly knowing anything about elemental class changes, optimal equipment use, rng manipulation, team placement, djinn locations, tactical psynergy, exp farming and so much more.
All I knew was how to summon rush, spam A to attack, Wish Well and Cool Aura.
My greatest moment was summon rushing Saturos and Mendardi, only to get immediately jumped by their final form, the Fusion Dragon.
Let's not forget the music. When that Elemental Stars theme first hit me, it changed me forever.
And.. Oh god... I gambled all my Lucky Medals on the Tolbi fountain... Only to find out I could have ported them to TLA for the Lemuria Fountain. I also saved my game on every crap forged item without knowing about and getting the 2nd best weapon in the game.
A very thorough and in-depth analysis of one of my favorite GBA games. You even addressed my biggest criticisms about the game's needlessly verbose cutscenes and the fact the Djinn system was so poorly explained. I hope to see you tackle the sequel someday.
It was not only one of the best JRPGs on the GBA, it was solid enough to genuinely be one of the best JRPGs of all time.
Eh, as someone whose never played before I think that’s a bit of a stretch. Maybe for the time, but not anymore.
@@neonprado9989 honestly if it wasn't botched after the lost age it would be up there with Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, or at least with Tales Of, and Star ocean but instead it disappeared and got a rushed open ended ending of a third game 7 years later with little to no payout for story beats brought up in the first two games.
@@neonprado9989 It's up there with the greats like Suikoden II, Final Fantasy 6, Legend of the Dragoon and Chrono Trigger
@@neonprado9989 not sure if its just bias, but i dont see what about this indicates that only applies "for the time", its pretty timeless
How you can call an RPG with shallow fake non choices "one of the greatest of all time" is beyond me, do you honestly believe what you wrote? Or did you just write it to write it, like an npc would
Nostalgia compelled me to watch the whole two hours worth of this adventure, and I loved every moment of it.
Thank you so much! I'm really excited for your next Lost Age coverage since I never got to try that one out
Like others here said, I played this series in my formulative years and it absolutely shaped my love of complex classes and elemental mechanics. I didn't even know about Deadbeard or half of the hidden secrets, but still loved this game regardless! Can't wait to see him cover Lost Age!
My only problem with this phenomenal video is that you made no mention of the amazing soundtrack in this game. Most songs in it are incredibly good
I'm 9 minutes in and he has made several bad points already.
I may be biased, in that Golden Sun is among the greatest RPGs ever made.
Excuse me, dialogue is tedious and adolescent? The dialogue and writing in this game are *incredible*, especially if you understand story structure.
I'm tempted to stop watching at this point, why would I value the opinion of someone who cant understand the most basic concepts of story structure and character dialogue.
Dialogue is acceptable. Pacing is good. But are we really kidding ourselves that golden sun is worthy of that kind of praise when games like planescape torment or baldurs gate 1 and 2 exist and weve been playing them for years? Its mediocre compared to other rpgs of the time. @uli11
This was my first JRPG. An absolute classic.
Same here!
SAME HERE! I did play Final Fantasy 1 as a kid though so that's what got me interested but fell in love with this game instantly. The ending was tough but rewarding
Mine too! Had for my Gameboy advance and I loved it. Memorable character design and great music.
Same!
Same. This and Legend of Dragoon were our first. It's actually crazy how long it took us to delve into Final Fantasy at all.
I love that game so much. I got my GBA with Golden Sun for Christmas in 2002. It was crazy expensive (I live in Poland and Poland from 21 years ago was a different place).
I spent whole days and nights playing the shit out this game. One of my fondest gaming memories.
Still it’s my 2nd favorite RPG. Chrono Trigger won’t be beaten anytime soon.
Great video!
Golden sun is an absolute masterpiece, the graphics are incredible for the gba, the rotating camera adds dynamism to turn based combats, the music is unforgettable and the story is honestly pretty great too, a bit cliché at times but very original at others.
It still plays remarkably well even today, especially if you use retroachievements.
During your djinns explanation, you had a mad echo going on, and it was almost like you were on BOTH monitors at the same time. Epic.
I’m glad someone else heard it. I’m wearing headphones and thought I was trippin
I actually paused the video trying to figure out if I was hearing someone else talking outside my house or something.
Plz do sequel. Im invested in the story now, I wanna hear what happens next!
I played so long ago that i didn't remember most of the story, but it still holds a special place in my heart. Awesome episode, I was so happy to see Golden Sun covered. Please do Golden Sun 2 as well! many thanks Josh
It was this game that made me an RPG lover when I was a kid. Not only that, but joining the tiny but passionate fandom back in the early 2010s is how I met my boyfriend of now a year and a half. We still have a special place in our hearts for this game and display our Japanese copies in their box in our living room.
I was a small child (like 9) with a GBA and this was the one game my mom let me bring on our one month trip to Asia to visit family.
Imagine trying to play this game as a 9yr old with no internet in a foreign country. To this day I still don't know how I beat it, it took me like 80hrs I was backtracking and guessing like crazy what to do next every time I got stuck.
This is still the game i have the weirdest memories of.
I found a french GBA copy of this game in a gutter outside my school and played it all the way through, despite not speaking a word of french.
I vividly remember asking my dad what "psy" meant because some giant statue in a water temple needed it i think. Turned out psy wasn't even a french word.
Finally! I've been waiting for this ever since the Was it Good? series began! 🤩
Edit: Kinda disappointed that you didn't even mention the awesome music.
I hope you do the 2nd game as well… this game was my childhood it opened me to the world of videogames and story telling
Fun fact: I played this game a couple of years after having played FF VII and FFX.
I only realized after getting to a zone in which you had to pass through an area on the map that damaged you that...
I had played it without pressing the run button. Walked the whole damn game.
I remember telling two of my best friends and laughing so much about it.
It's such a silly memory I always remember.
Camelot was a awesome developer. They not only made the awesome Golden Sun games, but also the incredibly underrated Shining Force series!
It's sad that their potential has been squandered by Nintendo, developing Mario side games.
@@Maityist Even those side games were pretty good, but I wouldve loved to see Shining Force recognized as one of the cornerstones of tactical RPGs alongside Fire emblem :/
@@ZorotheGalladesame. SF 2 rented from Blockbuster (lol) was my first tactical JRPG and got me into the genre. Give the series its laurels.
I remember my first playthrough when I was like 10 years old, and I didn't understand anything about the affinity system, and played the entire game without using the psynergy "Growth" which can unlock many secrets. It was only when I took my second playthrough when I wanted all secrets that I realized how much I missed, and especially how powerful non-standard-classline setups can be!
Also, I definitely encourage you to make a video on the second opus because it really fills ALL the plot holes of the story, it is wayyyy longer than 35 hours, with a lot of additional quests and secrets, but also, it really gives a completely different view of the world, alchemy, lighthouses and the elemental gems. It's like realizing the Jedi in Star Wars have a really really specific point of view and there's so much to learn when you leave their narrow beliefs. It's a pure delight.
And by the way, the pseudo I've been having for 22 years now comes from Piers, one of the characters from the Golden Sun 2 game :)
I just discovered your channel, and I love that kind of content: nostalgy-driven for the audience, but really objective and detailed comments and critiques, I'm gonna watch more!
Golden Sun was probably the earliest game and fandom I REALLY got into. Raced a friend to the end of the game, participating on GameFAQs boards, reading and creating art and fanfic, waiting and waiting for the sequel which I nearly imported a Japanese copy of but didn't have the $50+ to do so, so instead decided to emulate it - and no, I couldn't read any Japanese at the time, so I bumbled through about 1/3 of the sequel based on guides from others. The Lost Age came out in English nearly a year after the Japanese version, over my Easter break, and a friend and I raced yet again to the end taking three days to get to the last dungeon, and being so underleveled that he won by sheer luck and I had to spend three days grinding. I don't think it was until I played the Suikoden series that I was again so attached to a game, its world, and the characters. Damn shame about the third Golden Sun game...
This game was a core part of my childhood and my first JRPG. After playing it I went and played as many other retro JRPGs as I could get my hands on. There's something special about this style of game and it makes me happy when I see newer games emulating this old style in interesting ways, like Octopath.
wow i have played through this game many times and didn't know you could see felix upstairs in the inn. that's crazy.
Superb coverage Josh. This is, to this day, one of my all-time favourite games ever. I would be happy to see you cover the second part as well in this depth just for nostalgia's sake. Thanks and take care.
My cousin let me borrow this game and as a kid the experience was up there with the likes of A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Pokemon Red, and Pokemon Silver. And it still holds up pretty damn well. Find myself going back to it every now and then even 20 some years later.
I absolutely LOVED this video. You are honestly a fantastic story teller, and the only video I've seen yet to accurately detail the in-game story of Golden Sun, while most talk about its development history and company. I sincerely hope you continue with at least the 2nd game, though would love to hear about all 3.
Golden sun was my first video game and to this day is still one of my favorite. The soundtrack they managed to create with only the gba soundchip is phenomenal.
This game oozed with personality at the time. The musical instruments, the vibe, all of it was great. I loved this game. I do know though that it was particularly bad in the random encounters element of the game at the time, but that's going to be a thing with classic RPGs more often than not. Chrono Trigger was very unique in its different approach.
Yah, most JRPGs had some really annoying encounter rates for the sake of inflating the completion time, thankfully by the PS2 era devs got the idea that unless your name is SMT 3 (one of the few games whose random encounters can nuke you even at early game, so your ass is always clenched), random encounters get irritating if spammed, so they chilled out. Mostly
@@jackmesrel4933 I seem to recall FF10 was really bad for it too, but FF12 simmered with a different style. I liked that in the DS games, Bravely Default/Second, you could outright change the encounter rate to 0%, 50%, 100%, 150%, or 200%. To make grinding easier, or if you just wanted to get where you were going, turn them off entirely.
At least the GS games lower encounter rates or even remove encounters entirely from puzzle rooms. There's exceptions like Altin mines but yeah. You also can alter encounter rates with the avoid psynergy which you can only get through using multi element classes in GS1 whereas it is learned naturally in GS2 in the mono mercury class line.
Also if you win Colosso you get the Lure cap which when equipped increases encounter rates for people wanting to grind more
Eh i've never had issues with random encounters in jrpg's. I always kind of liked it actually, especially when it's all turn based.
Golden Sun is one of those games I played as a kid but was too young to fully understand it or know how to play RPGs correctly. I was kind of stupid with RPGs and I still am to an extent. I do remember adoring the soundtrack of the game. I really want to pick this up again.
cell phone emulator
My grandma (may she rest in peace) bought me Golden Sun in a small game shop back then and I remember how unique and valuable the package and the artstyle looked like when I first hold it in my hands. I had no clue about all the adventures I was about to experience! So here I am, a fan till this day!
Yeah, these were the days! Everything felt much more satisfying as a child and I had no clue about all those problems going on in the world. Just played solo or with friends during school trips and forgot about everything around you. Sometimes I wish to relive these golden times but I guess the only constant in life is change... and all that remains are memories 🥲
This was one of my favorite RPG's as a kid and I'm glad to know it was actually this complicated sometimes and while I was a dumb kid, it wasn't that I was just a dumb kid, Thanks for covering this gem!
I love to hear that it's your first playthrough; this is such an underrated classic
Please do a /was it good/ episode on golden sun : the lost age as well please!!! I loved this video and watched literally every second of it with extreme patience and was NOT disappointed at all. You covered 99% of the game along with the storyline and gameplay mechanics.. just certain minor mechanics were missed. Iloved it and i am waiting for the sequel episode as well.
I played this growing up and I'm so emotionally attached to it. This game is amazing to me. The art, the music, the vibe. I love Golden Sun!
It was a lovely experience just you telling the story in this video, I honestly just want to hear you talk about the sequel. I'm really curious what happens next in the story.
I absolutely loved golden sun! I was about 9yo when my older cousin gifted it to me because he couldn't figure it out. I enjoyed it so much, I enjoyed the adventures, puzzles, and battles. Golden Sun and the Golden Sun: TLA definitely left an impact on me and the way I think.
So glad that you do what you do. I'm young enough to have not experienced any of the classic games like this and absolutely love seeing these glimpses into the foundations of gaming. Keep up the good work!
I loved this game on the GBA. For how complete your entire review of it is, it's surprising you didn't touch onto the soundtrack even once, when it's by most people held (mine too) in such high regard. Still, it was fun to see you go through everything in such detail, and appreciating its strengths.
I really like the pacing of GS1, as you mention the "side quests" weave nicely into advancing the main story, while fleshing out each area and character you visit. This ties into my main criticism of TLA. At some point in the game (after Lemuria, once you discover the western ocean), the pacing suddenly changes for the worse. The two western continents are very sparse, the settlements there are simple with minimal side quests (probably Shaman Village is the largest one), and the game is interspersed with very large segments of just traversing the world map. I feel like TLA was meant to be two games, one up to around Lemuria, and one after Lemuria, taking place in the western ocean.
To see a reviewer ive come to respect and enjoy as an entertainer cover one of my favorite games of all time is absolutely amazing. Thank you for reviewing this game in so much depth and bringing more attention to this old gem of a game.
I remember playing this as a kid and just being "wowed" on how much fun it was. Spent so many weeks playing Golden Sun and The Lost Age with my brother. Learning how to use Psynergy, learning the classes and the intricate story-lore of the world. It was an amazing time for me. This review made me remember those good days. I wish could turn back time and re-experience that feeling again. Thank you so much. I hope you'll enjoy The Lost Age just as much as the first one!
On the class system: I typically play mono-element in Golden Sun because you receive Djinns somewhat evenly. But The Lost Age throws you for loops from the very beginning. And gives you multi-element Summons very quickly as well. Not mentioning the items that give you tri-element classes. That's how the series teaches you about these mechanics. It takes 35 hours until you get there, but you do get there. And I love that, to be honest. Because while GS itself does not overload you with multi-elements, TLA expects you to be familiar with the general mechanics already, so it expands the system that was always like this. And in all honesty, if you want to avoid grinding, mono-element is the way to go. Since you typically get the better Psynergies earlier in the higher mono-classes. Which I, again, love. The first two games really build upon each other. A luxury that Dark Dawn does not have. Which probably hurts it way more than it helps. The most egregious example of this are the enemies right before the final story boss. They give hilarious amounts of exp. If you just want to stomp the boss and the post-game with numbers, stay there for not even an hour.
God I miss this game. So much fun. And the second game with it's summons is so freaking intense with juggling high tier classes and powerful summons
So fun bit of trivia. If you make it to the end of the Altin Mines and don't have the Force Orb item and its psynergy, the game actually has an alternate cutscene. Instead, you have Garet kick at the wall which triggers the boulder anyway.
Slightly disappointed that this review didn't talk about the music, because the soundtrack for this game is awesome! Imo both the graphics and the music really pushed the boundaries of what the Gameboy Advance could achieve.
On a side note, I don't think this was mentioned in the video, but while the game tells you that all enemies have a corresponding elemental strength or weakness like Pokemon, it is not immediately obvious which element they are weak or resistant to. However, by looking at the game's punctuation, you can figure out their weaknesses. If the game says an enemy took "xyz damage!!!" (three exclamation marks), it means the enemy is weak to that element. If the enemy the enemy took "xyz damage!" (one exclamation mark), it means the enemy is neutral. If the enemy took "xyz damage." (period instead of exclamation mark), it means the enemy is resistant to that element.
Nowhere does the game tell you this, despite this information being extremely useful.
I cannot BELIEVE I figured this game out as a kid, i barely figured it out as an adult 😂
I really loved this game as a kid. I played it so many times, I could 100% it in a bit over 8 hours - including time spent running up and down the stairs at crossbone isle so I could regenerate PP and start the Deadbeard fight at full. Never did realize the whole class system though - that was a bit much for my 12 year old attention span to pick up on :P If you do one on Lost Age, I'll be here in a Flash!
Thank you so much for posting your code! I had a GBA when I was a kid, and played this game to full completion but I never finished the second; I’ve always wanted to do it, but have felt discouraged to grind it out again. This video was a perfect recap on what happened and reminder of why I love this game so much, and I think with your code, I’m finally ready to take on the sequel 18 years later. Incredible video, and you get a like and a sub from me; can’t wait to see what you say about the second game if you decide make a video on it so we can compare notes!
Oh god, I remember this game. I loved the hell out of it. Sadly couldnt play the second part.
You should try, preferably with your old cart and a link cable to transfer your stuff onwards.
you cna still with emulators, golden sun3 is also pretty good
Wait, theres a third one?! @@trythis2006
@@MatthewCobalt It used a password system
@@Xettttit also allowed you to bypass the passwords using link cables
A great retrospective on one of my favorite games. I think you may have missed a few cues from the story, but since I don't remember what is from Golden Sun 1 and what is from the lost age, I won't spoil anything. One thing I will say is that golden sun 2 has a much grander scale and more epic level design. The world gets a lot more interesting as you get to explore it fully, I enjoy the sequel a lot more than the first game. Do you have any plans to continue this for the second game as well?
Not only one of my favorite games of my childhood by far, but a game I often see myself going back to over the years and still being amazed at how good it was. A remaster is something I both dream of and dread of due to be fear of getting a remaster that does not live up to what a masterpiece it was considering the limits of the GBA.
Thank you very much Josh for giving this game a try and giving it some exposure. If you play the next one and make a review I'm sure I'll thoroughly enjoy it but boi... that's gonna be a *long* edit for you 😂
This game got me through so many long car rides as a kid, and got me in trouble for staying up when i was supposed to be asleep too 😂 i dont think i even knew there were classes back then