The Epic Under The Radar
Title: Golden Sun
Platform: Gameboy Advance Developer: Camelot
Publisher: Nintendo
NA Release Date: November 11 2001
Gameboy Advance?
Not the first console that comes to mind when you think on the great epics of gaming history. Come to think of it, I'd be hard pressed to think of another game/series specifically for GBA that will live in my heart as a classic (All Pokemon games omitted of course). But I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one of the best games i have ever played, Golden Sun. The first of a 3 part series that has all of the RPG elements I love, and is unique enough in style and story to solidify itself as an epic and classic. It held up well over the years, I have downloaded emulators just to play it again, and i love it as much as i did 16 years ago.
RPG Classic
Golden sun lays the base early for your classic RPG. A young protagonist living a quiet life, suddenly and violently thrown into a world of magic and mystery, chasing the antagonists across the world with the help of a rag-tag party made up of lovable characters.
The game comes equipped with a classic RPG style item system: Potions, cures, swords, staves, armor. All the classics are there, you can find magic equipment to give your characters an edge in battle, poisoning enemies with demonic axes, or casting unique critical hit moves specific to the weapon you are using.
The map is a semi-open world with plenty to explore with exotic places to visit and lots hidden items to find. The town to town base has a very classic feel as well, shops specific to the type of items you can purchase there, Inns to rest and recover, Monastery's to revive your characters and remove status effects, You've played a game like it, and you loved it (Classic!). But don't sell the game short just yet, if it sounds like just another generic Final Fantasy clone because we're not done yet. The elements that make this truly great are unique to Golden Sun and are well worth several play throughs.
In a class all of its own
Golden sun's core mechanics and battle system truly set the game apart. As you travel the world of Weyard trying to unlock the secrets of Alchemy (The games magic system, and base plot), Each party member is an "Adept" of one of the four elemental magic"Psyenergies" of Alchemy; Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water.Each party member can use different skills specific to their element.
Eventually your party encounters magical creatures called "Djinn". The Djinn are elemental sprites that house immense magical power. Each Djinn you collect is unique and equipable to any party member and this, is where the game truly sets itself apart. Each Djinn effects the equipped character in multiple ways.
The first and easiest to way to explain their effects is stat changes, each Djinn effects the stats of characters in different ways, some boosting attack and lowering magic abilities, and so on (you get the picture).
The Djinn also add a one of a kind class system to the world of Golden Sun, as you equip more Djinn to a single character that characters class will change accordingly. You can either equip all of the same element Djinn for a massive stat boost and new psyenergy powers as your class changes, or you can mix and match the Djinn on different characters exploring all new classes and psyenergy that not only effect battles, but the world of Weyard as you explore and progress through the story.
As i just mentioned you can use some of your psyenergy outside of battles to effect the world around you. They can be used to grow vines to reach previously unreachable places, Move boulders with magic hands, and freeze water to walk across or bridge impassible terrain. The Djinn you choose tomix and match can change these powers for any individual party member.
Each unique Djinn also has its own power that you can use in battle, some may launch a fierce attack while some may put a protective barrier. Using the Djinn like this in battle puts them into a dormant state, while in the dormant state it is almost like un-equipping the Djinn, as you lose their status effects and it can even change your class while dormant, resulting in you losing some powers during the battle. Its a two sided coin tho, as you use more Djinn and they end up in their dormant state you can call upon them again! Summoning them as differing deities depending on how many you have dormant at one time.
Eventually after summoning the Djinn, they will "Set" and you will gain their bonuses again, or use them once again to rain terror upon your enemies! Conversely you can also manually "Set" a Djinn a few turns after using it, forcing it out of its dormant state, re-quipping them, and regaining their benefits. The best part about all of this customization and maneuverability? You can test it against your friends in multiplayer arena style combat!
Yeah, you like the game, so what?
Likes not a strong enough word, my young Padawan. I LOVE this game, and i will continue to play it any way i can. But don't take my word for it;
Upon its intial release in 2001 IGN rated Golden sun a 9.7 out of 10
16 years later it holds a community rating on IGN of 9.8 out of 12
Game rankings has Golden Sun at an astonishing 89.10% rating. Averaging out all of the critic's reviews from all of the major sites.
And we, here at The Forge, we give this one a 9.8 out 10. A cult classic that flew right under the main stream radar.
The Forge Verdict 9.8/10