I’ve been pretty dang bored, lately. I’ve got many, many games, but my problem is, I’ve played them all too many times. Needing a break from the usual, more recent stuff, I decided to pull out my old GBA stash of games, as I haven’t touched that handheld system in years. That’s when I decided to replay Golden Sun (GS). I have fond memories of playing this game nearly 20 years ago, and I was curious to see if it could withstand the test of time. The answer, I found, was a bit of a mixed bag.
GS is a very traditional RPG, you wander a fantasy world, visit towns and villages, buy equipment, talk to townsfolk, explore dungeons, fight monsters in turn-based combat, etc. Even the narrative is traditional RPG fare, in the sense that you play as a kid (Isaac) who is suddenly thrust out from his normal quaint life, and set on a journey to save the entire world, along with three other friends that he meets along the way. Of course, Isaac and company aren’t just any normal kids, they have special abilities called “psynergy.” Psynergy is the ability to control the elements by using one’s mind. In layman’s terms, it’s this game’s form of magic.
Psynergy plays a very crucial element in GS, however, as it is constantly used in the game, both in and out of combat.
In combat, Psynergy works like any other RPG’s magic/mana system. In addition to using the equipped weapon for a melee attack, each character has their own unique psynergy move sets, which are often more powerful and diverse, but cost “psynergy points” or PP to use. Seeing as psynergy is tied to the four elements of the game (earth, fire, wind, and water), that also means each character is attuned to one of those four elements, making their psynergy powers unique to each character. Isaac, an earth adept, can cast earth based psynergy (a mix of earth based AOE attacks, and some healing), Garet, the fire adept, casts powerful offensive fire based attacks. Ivan, the wind adept, casts wind psynergy (which ranges greatly from offense, defense, enemy debuffs, and party boons). And finally, the water adept Mia casts water and ice psynergy which ranges from AOE offense to massive healing abilities.
Again, in combat, it’s nothing too amazing. It’s all part and parcel to a good RPG. It’s the out of combat psynergy abilities or “utility psynergy” that make the game something special.
GS sets itself apart from the hundreds of other RPG’s out there by making puzzle solving just as critical as combat. The puzzles in GS are almost always related to the utility psynergy you have on hand, which can vary greatly. Some puzzles might be simple, and just make use of the common “move” psynergy, which allows a player to move a distant object a short distance. Such as pushing a box out of the way to make a jump to a nearby platform. Other puzzles might force the player to create pillars of ice out of puddles of water with “frost,” in order to crate a new passageway. And of course, others might be far more complex, requiring multiple powers at multiple angles.
I found these environmental puzzles (which can be found in both dungeons and towns) to be a lot of fun. They were somewhat reminiscent of the Legend of Zelda and Star Tropics, but with their own unique spin due to the special pynergy power solutions.
Of course, there are a couple drawbacks to using Psynergy outside of combat. For one, it’s a hassle. With the exception of being able to set two psynergy powers to L and R, the player needs to constantly open menus to select the power before being able to activate it. It sort of reminded me of the old Mega Man games, needing to constantly open the menu to select your weapon of choice. I understand, of course, that there are far more powers than there are buttons (especially on a GBA), but it’s a bit of a pain none the less.
Another drawback, is the fact that any use of pysnergy, in or out of combat, will deplete a character’s PP. Each psynergy power costs a certain amount of PP, and without PP, a character cannot use psynergy. This is only a real problem if there’s a puzzle that requires extensive use of a single power, unique to one character. Keep using that power while trying to solve a puzzle, especially incorrectly, and their PP will deplete before you know it. Luckily, the game is merciful, and will allow all PP to replenish simply by walking. Of course, walking in a dungeon isn’t exactly safe, as the game uses that most hated of RPG mechanics, random encounters.
Going back to combat for a bit. There is one aspect of GS’s combat (and overall game) that makes it a little more unique than your standard RPG. In addition to such obvious options as weapon attack, magic attack, item use, and defend, there is one more option available to players: Djinn. Djinn are elemental spirits who provide great support to the players team. Finding a djinni (either through combat or by solving a special environmental puzzle in a town or dungeon) will let the player “set” it to a single character. Doing so will affect that character’s stats in small and large ways, and sometimes even provide new psynergy powers as well.
This is not all the djinn do, however. Using a djinni in combat can have varied effects. Some djinn will attack the enemy, with the added bonus of causing some sort of status ailment (like poison or sleep). Some djinn will give the part some kind of boon (like granting high defense for the turn, or boosting the party’s attack power for a number of turns). And some can heal or even revive party members. There is a downside to using the djinn, though. In using them, you lose the bonus stats your character gained when setting it. Once used, the djinni will be in standby. The character no longer has the stat bonuses nor the new psynergy powers, however, the player can now use the “summon” option in combat. Djinn on standby can be used to cast powerful summons (which usually take the form of some ludicrous, screen covering anime creature that doesn’t fit the rest of the game’s art atyle in any way). The power and type of summon is dependent on the number of djinn on standby. For example, one earth djinn will summon the relatively weak Venus summon, while four earth djinn on standby can summon the world destroying Judgement summon. Once a summon has been cast, the djinn then enter “recovery” mode. A djinni will recover after one turn, returning to the set position. However, if multiple djinn were used in the summon, it will take that many turns to recover all the djinn (one per turn).
It’s an interesting concept, and makes combat and djinn use a bit of a gamble. Do you keep all your djinn set, and preserve your high stat bonuses and psynergy powers? Or do you use your djinn and unleash the full force of their abilities? Or do you set your djinn to standby before entering combat, so you can cast your most powerful summons right out the gate? It adds a unique strategy to the game.
Another interesting aspect of the djinn is their typing and effect on the characters. The djinn come in four types: earth, fire, wind, and water (obviously). Setting each type of djinn to their respective adepts will increase their natural abilities. But setting a different type to a different adept, will change that adept’s class and sometimes completely overhaul their psynergy abilities.
For example, setting a Mars (fire) type djinni to Isaac (an earth adept) will cause him to lose a number of psynergy powers, but it will also let him gain a number of new powers, including the utility psynergy “growth” which is necessary to complete certain environmental puzzles. This adds even more strategy and customization to adventurous players. to figure out just what combination of djinn works the best.
GS is a pretty great game in these regards, and is still fun today. However, as I said in the beginning, it is a bit of a mixed bag, as there are a number of archaic design elements that definitely shows the game’s age.
For one, GS is pretty big (especially for a GBA game), and the player is often tasked with retreading old areas, and even entire dungeons. This is annoying, in and of itself, but the complete lack of any sort of quick travel is a huge problem. Having to walk halfway across the game’s world, just to get to an area I’d already been to was a pain. Especially when I was constantly harassed by low level random encounters that just served to waste my time. Having some sort of quick travel option to go to area’s you’d already been to would have been fantastic, especially if you needed to go back to find a djinni that you missed on your first time through an area (like I did).
The game also isn’t very direct sometimes in letting you know just what the heck you’re supposed to do next. I don’t expect complete hand holding, but a little guidance can go a long way. There were times where I would just wander on the overworld map, hoping I’d find where I was supposed to be heading. Checking the overworld map was pointless, as it was too zoomed out and too blurry to be of any practical use.
Inventory is also a big problem. Inventory space is very limited. And it is made worse by the fact that you are forced to carry around a couple of plot items that don’t even come into play in the game. They just take up space. Some sort of inventory storage option, like the Escargo Express from Earthbound, would have been great. Even better would have been just more space. I realize this is a GBA game, and it was probably limited in what it could do, but it’s an issue nonetheless.
Another puzzling and annoying issue can be found in the combat. When in combat, you choose your attacks, and who you’re going to attack, with each character. If all characters focus their attack on a single enemy (with other enemies to be fought), and that enemy dies before all characters can use their turn, the remaining characters just defend. This is a very irritating way to handle this scenario. A better option would have been to let the remaining characters with turns, simply attack the other enemies, instead of just wasting a turn.
And finally, the last issue I had with the game is that it sometimes would go on too long during “cut scenes.” These dialogue heavy scenarios were there to get the narrative across, and most of the time, it was done well. But other times, the people just wouldn’t shut up! An example of one of these pointless scenes is near the end of the game. A group of idiots are trying to open a door, but can’t because they are not adepts. So, the player is tasked with opening it. And the dialogue that comes with this scene is painfully redundant, and goes on way too long. “We can’t open the door… you’re going to open the door?… I don’t believe you can open this door… you opened the door!… how did you open the door?… why can’t we open the door?… I still don’t believe you opened the door…” And on and on and on! I’m all for a good narrative, but there are times when this game just needed to get to the point and shut up so I can play.
Overall, Golden Sun is still a great game. It’s a solid turn based RPG with a surprising amount of depth and strategy, albeit a bit dated in some parts. The fun puzzle solving and unique combat, not to mention the secret, optional dungeons, all make this a surprisingly deep GBA gem of a game.
BONUS ANALYSIS!!!
The original Golden Sun ends on a rather huge cliffhanger (almost literally). Luckily, Camelot Software Planning followed through with a sequel a short time later. Golden Sun: The Lost Age (GSTLA) picks up right where the first game ends, except it is told through the perspective of Felix, and old childhood friend of Isaac’s who was thought to be one of the first game’s antagonists. It’s an interesting way to finish tell the game’s story, by seeing it from the other side. And it works well.
On the whole, GSTLA is very much just more Golden Sun. With the exception of a much larger world map with plenty of new towns and dungeons, many more unique and interesting psynergy powers, new djinn, new summons, and new characters; it is mechanically almost the same game. So there’s no need to do a whole, separate analysis on it. Although, I will mention that GSTLA finally adds in a quick travel option, fixing that issue. But it is acquired so late in the game that it is practically worthless.
If you enjoyed Golden Sun, though, you’re pretty much guaranteed to enjoy GSTLA. The same cannot be said, however, for the third (and final) game in the series. But, the less said about that one, the better…