00:03The Nostalgia surrounding Golden Sun is
00:06undeniably fervent if you were there for
00:08the Game Boy Advance this was likely one
00:10of the most influential games of your
00:12childhood and that love has developed
00:14into a longing as fans are still hoping
00:17that someday the series could continue
00:19whether that actually happens or not is
00:22up in the air but how did Camelot a
00:24developer still mainly known for sports
00:26titles come to create this RPG Trilogy
00:29well it's because RPGs were where they
00:32got their start it all begins with
00:35hiroyuki Takahashi who began his career
00:37in television production before joining
00:39Enix with Dragon Quest 3. there he
00:42mainly focused on the promotion and
00:43advertising of the game at least
00:45officially like many he had grown to
00:48love the series and with this unique
00:50opportunity to work on Dragon Quest he
00:52decided to create an extremely detailed
00:54notebook of every line of dialogue
00:56within Dragon Quest 3. he even went so
00:59far as to annotate them into a flowchart
01:01to show how everything was connected and
01:03easily see whether there was enough
01:05hints and clues on how to complete each
01:07Quest this not only ended up being a
01:09significant Aid to the development team
01:11but gave him the opportunity to more
01:13directly work on Dragon Quest 4 as an
01:15assistant producer when development on
01:17Dragon Quest 4 finished hiroyuki and his
01:20brother Shugo decided to leave Enix and
01:22approach Sega to create their own
01:23development Studio thus Sega consumer
01:26development Studio Number Four was
01:27founded in 1990 with hiroyuki and Shugo
01:30serving as President and Vice President
01:32respectively it wasn't long until their
01:35name was changed to Sonic software
01:36planning and work began on their first
01:38game but the budget Sega allocated was
01:41extremely tight meaning that hiroyuki in
01:43addition to writing the story ended up
01:45doing the bulk of the work outside of
01:47programming and Graphics that was
01:49handled by another small developer that
01:51helped co-develop the project climax
01:53entertainment together they created
01:55their own RPG shining in the darkness
01:57one of the first RPGs released for
01:59sega's Genesis console the game became a
02:02critical and Commercial success and
02:04kickstarted The Shining series which
02:06would be their main output until 1995
02:09totaling eight games up until that point
02:11that was when the Takahashi Brothers
02:13decided to separate from Sega and change
02:16their name once again to Camelot
02:18software planning and while they were
02:20free agents they had agreed to continue
02:22developing shiny games on the condition
02:24that they wouldn't release any games on
02:26Rival systems that would threaten the
02:28success of the franchise to that end
02:30they developed beyond the beyond the
02:32first traditional jrpg released for the
02:34original PlayStation however the game
02:37was met with a tepid response as many
02:39found the story dull the combat on
02:41interesting and the graphics dated
02:43combat did feature timing attacks like
02:46those in Paper Mario but it wasn't
02:48enough to salvage it for critics however
02:50the music was composed by motui sakuraba
02:53who had previously worked on Tales of
02:55Fantasia and the original Star Ocean he
02:57would stay associated with those series
02:59and continue to compose for many of
03:01camelot's games including Golden Sun and
03:03the the Mario Sports titles before Mario
03:06though Camelot developed one more game
03:08for the PlayStation everybody's golf or
03:11as it's known in North America Hot Shots
03:13Golf while it kicked off the franchise
03:15thanks to its surprisingly addictive
03:16gameplay this first game would be the
03:18only one developed by Camelot instead
03:21after the release of Shining Force 3 in
03:231998 Camelot decided to break ties with
03:25Sega completely and approach Nintendo as
03:28a developer and thanks to their
03:29experience with everybody's golf they
03:31ended up developing Mario Golf for the
03:33Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color in 1999
03:36with Mario Tennis coming to the same
03:38systems a year later to this day Camelot
03:41has developed every entry in both series
03:43which is why they have become mainly
03:45known as Sports developers while working
03:47on all these games The Takahashi
03:49Brothers had also been planning an RPG
03:51for roughly five years the game that
03:54would become Golden Sun one of
03:56hiroyuki's goals was to allow players to
03:58use their special abilities both in and
04:00out of battle as ups at this point most
04:02RPGs had character characters that could
04:04perform amazing feats but only in a
04:07fight although it's been said that this
04:08RPG was originally intended as a
04:10Nintendo 64 game a developer interview
04:13with the brothers declared that
04:14completely untrue they were making an
04:17RPG for the system but shelved it when
04:19were the next system began to surface
04:21that's why they decided to make the
04:23sports games as it would be a less
04:24intensive investment and they've
04:26clarified that none of that N64 RPG
04:29ended up in Golden Sun the Game Boy
04:31Advance was chosen because it had become
04:33ready for development proposals while
04:35they worked on Mario Golf and Mario
04:37Tennis seeing an opportunity to stand
04:39out on a new system The Takahashi is
04:41began solidifying their ideas for Golden
04:43Sun and prototyping what was possible on
04:45the handheld that took roughly six
04:47months while development itself lasted
04:49around a year a massive amount of time
04:51for handheld games of that era and
04:54that's because the planned story was
04:55likely to reach a hundred hours too long
04:58for a handheld game and too ambitious
05:00for the GBA cart but it was always their
05:02plan to shift the character Viewpoint in
05:04the second half so it made for a
05:06convenient place to end the first game
05:08so what was this idea the brothers had
05:10for so long actually like
05:24golden sun takes place in the world of
05:26wayward where the power of alchemy once
05:28allowed Nations to thrive before they'd
05:30evolved into a World War it was decided
05:32to sail Alchemy away with the keys to
05:34restoring it hidden deep within Mount
05:35aleph and yet there were rare examples
05:38of people still being able to use
05:39alchemy and the four elements it
05:41governed earth water air and fire these
05:45special few are known as adepts hundreds
05:48of years later two adepts attempt to
05:49infiltrate Mount aleph and instead
05:51trigger traps that unleash a powerful
05:53thunderstorm upon the village of vale
05:55who sought to protect the mountain it's
05:57here that the main character Isaac
05:59becomes involved as he and his friend
06:00Garrett spot the adepts and are
06:02powerless to stop them despite having
06:04powers of their own in the chaos many in
06:07the village die including the friend
06:08Jenna's parents and brother Felix three
06:11years later the two adepts try again and
06:13this time succeed revealing that Felix
06:16is still alive and actually working with
06:18them they then steal three of the Four
06:20Keys kidnap Jenna and leave to use the
06:22keys on the four lighthouses found
06:24through are outweared now Isaac and
06:26Garrett along with two more depths they
06:28find along the way must give Chase
06:30before these villains can bring Alchemy
06:32back for good it's a solid if well-worn
06:34setup but the gameplay is what captured
06:36players imaginations specifically the
06:39implementation of synergy golden Sun's
06:41magic system each party member is
06:43affiliated with one of the elements and
06:45each allows for specific spells and
06:48these spells are highly encouraged to be
06:50used as a character's MP refills when
06:52walking around Camelot didn't want
06:54players to feel like they had to be
06:55conservative and hold back from their
06:57more powerful abilities like in other
06:58RPGs it also ties into the goal of
07:01having players use Synergy outside of
07:03battle While most are dedicated solely
07:05to utility there are some that can be
07:07used in battle as well in general the
07:10utility Synergy ranges from moving rocks
07:12lifting objects turning invisible
07:14growing vines and reading Minds some are
07:17naturally learned by certain characters
07:18While others are granted with special
07:20items then there are those who have to
07:22be discovered by equipping gen the the
07:24Jinn are creatures that can increase the
07:26power of an Adept when set to them there
07:28are seven gen for each element though
07:30they must be found by exploring the
07:31world as they were scattered by the
07:33eruption of Mount aleph some join
07:35automatically While others must be
07:37defeated before they become part of the
07:39team by setting them to a character they
07:41increase that character's stats and
07:42unlock even more powerful Synergy to use
07:45in battle generally it's a good idea to
07:47equip the Earth Jinn to in Earth Adept
07:49as it simply makes them more powerful
07:51but it is possible to mix and match the
07:53Gen to create entirely different classes
07:56they may not be as strong but unique
07:58utility Synergy becomes available along
08:00with different strategies in battle
08:02however the Gen go beyond boosting
08:04abilities as they each have a power that
08:06can help the party whether that's
08:08dealing extra damage boosting defense or
08:10impeding the enemy Jin costs no NP to
08:13use but they do go into standby where
08:15their stat boosts no longer help that
08:17character while it may seem like a
08:19detriment this is the next step in
08:21unleashing a summon that does massive
08:23damage to the enemy the Moore's gen of
08:25the same element are in standby the more
08:27powerful the summon up to four in total
08:29after being used as a summon the Gen
08:31will go into recovery mode for a short
08:33time before being automatically set to
08:35their character again allowing the
08:37process to restart this often makes
08:40battles Dynamic and flashy but the
08:42Overworld is just as emphasized thanks
08:43to Synergy many of the dungeons require
08:46quite a bit of puzzle solving and even
08:48the main story requires Synergy at
08:50points it helps give Golden Sun a
08:52different feel to many other RPGs of the
08:54time and with the world completely open
08:56to explore it's possible to return to
08:58past locations with new Synergy in order
09:01to open paths that were inaccessible
09:03before of course that also means dealing
09:05with more of the random battles the game
09:08became a solid success selling 740 000
09:11copies in the United States Alone by
09:132008 and another 340 000 in Japan
09:16critics effused their prices as well
09:19specifically citing its graphical style
09:20and particle effects in battle the
09:23sweeping camera and flashy spell gave it
09:25a cinematic look that impressed many
09:26likewise the music and battle system
09:28were seen as entertaining and fun
09:30starting simple and showing their depth
09:32as time went on some did complain that
09:35the story was unoriginal with far too
09:37much text repeating much of the same
09:38information others dislike that party
09:40members would go into a defensive
09:42position if the enemy they were
09:43attacking was defeated before their turn
09:45still it was seen as the best original
09:47RPG for the Game Boy Advance at the time
09:49and continues to rank highly on RPG
09:52lists and even the best Nintendo games
09:54of all time and then one year later in
09:572002 the sequel was released to finish
10:13I like The Takahashi Brothers promised
10:15the perspective of Golden Sun the Lost
10:17age shifted from Isaac to his friend
10:19Jenna's brother Felix while Isaac had
10:22succeeded installing Felix's group they
10:25were still determined to bring back
10:26Alchemy by igniting all the lighthouses
10:28but this time players learn their
10:30reasons for doing so because the Lost
10:33age is more of a continuation than a
10:34sequel not much has changed between the
10:37two games the basic idea of using
10:39Synergy to both battle and solve puzzles
10:41as present but the systems have been
10:43expanded 11 New Gen for each element are
10:46available to find and each summon from
10:48the first game returns however there are
10:50also 13 new summons that can become
10:52available after finding special stone
10:54tablets these are accomplished by mixing
10:57and matching the amount of different gen
10:58elements finally it is possible to
11:01connect the two games if the player has
11:03a clear data save on the cartridge by
11:05using a Link cable or password the
11:07character levels gen cyanogy items stats
11:11gold equipment and even story elements
11:13are remembered for certain points in the
11:15lost age's story however if a Link cable
11:17is not available the password system is
11:20notoriously long if the player wants to
11:22transfer everything requiring 260
11:26characters fortunately there are shorter
11:28options that bring over less data
11:30overall the Lost age sold and reviewed
11:33slightly less well than the original
11:34with many reviewers citing that few of
11:36the criticisms of the first game were
11:38changed but there were some improvements
11:40with this continuation having slightly
11:42upgraded graphics and more complex
11:44puzzles the story was again seen as
11:47mostly unoriginal but many found that
11:49the game was still one of the best RPGs
11:51on the Game Boy Advance it was
11:53undoubtedly a fan favorite with many
11:55hoping that a third game would come in
11:58instead it took nearly seven years for
12:00any sign of a sequel to appear rumors
12:03were naturally persistent with only
12:04Snippets of information coming out in
12:06the intervening time in 2003 Camelot
12:09stated that the status of a third game
12:11was up in the air while a 2004 Interview
12:13With The Takahashi Brothers said that
12:15the first two games were merely a
12:17prologue to the true Crux of the story
12:19and then a 2007 interview with the
12:21brothers revealed that Nintendo had
12:23asked them to make another game so
12:26finally at E3 2009 Golden Sun DS was
12:29revealed with a 2010 release window but
12:32why did it take so long well the team
12:34was simply burnt out after the marathon
12:36that was the first two games development
12:38Golden Sun always had long development
12:40Cycles despite being handheld releases
12:42and the third game was no exception but
12:45with a larger Team Planning went
12:47smoother and they were even able to
12:49visit certain parts of the world for
12:50inspiration in its development
12:52unfortunately little has been said about
12:54what else went into the development but
12:56the game did meet its plan 2010 release
12:58date coming out in Japan in October and
13:01the rest of the World by December Golden
13:03Sun dark Dawn picks up 30 years after
13:05the events of the Lost age with the
13:07world still adapting to that game's
13:09conclusion not everything is at peace
13:11though as strange Synergy vortexes have
13:13been appearing across the world sucking
13:15the elemental energy from both the land
13:17and adepts the story focuses on Isaac's
13:20son Matthew and his encounter with three
13:22mysterious adepts who may know more
13:24about the vortexes he sets out with his
13:26friends the children of the previous
13:27game's protagonists to pursue these
13:30adapts and learn the origin of the
13:31vortexes naturally something far grander
13:34awaits them in their travels the
13:36gameplay of Dark Dawn is mostly the same
13:38as its predecessors with each character
13:40affiliated with an element and gaining
13:42access to new Synergy as time goes on
13:44but there are some quality of life
13:46improvements such as stylus control for
13:48puzzles making them much easier to
13:50manipulate the party mostly plays the
13:52same as before with one exception as the
13:55new character uses a new class that
13:57allows them to shift between forms
13:58changing their commands in battle the
14:00returning classes have seen a few tweaks
14:02and shifts while there are four new
14:04single element classes and two new dual
14:06element classes the Gen return as well
14:09with 72 available in total 18 for each
14:11class and while some are the same as the
14:14original games there are brand new ones
14:16as well the Jin system remains unchanged
14:19though there are cosmetic differences as
14:21each gen has a different design even
14:23within the same element the 29 possible
14:25Summons of the Lost age are all back
14:27with some seeing a redesign and a brand
14:29new one introduced to bring the total to
14:31an even 30. otherwise equipment has been
14:34tweaked and revised to trim the fat of
14:35the previous games and make certain
14:37types more useful battles remain the
14:40same except Dark Dawn introduces a smart
14:42targeting system so that characters no
14:44longer default to defend if the monster
14:45they're attacking is defeated before
14:47their turn finally there's an
14:49encyclopedia that provides background
14:51details on characters terms and history
14:53from the previous games while it can be
14:55brought up at any time certain text is
14:57highlighted during conversations that
14:59indicate when an encyclopedia entry
15:01could elaborate if it's already been
15:03read then the Highlight will be dulled
15:04while critics praise the new 3D Graphics
15:07the returning gen system and the puzzles
15:09Dark Dawn still reviewed lower than its
15:11predecessors many felt the game was
15:13dated with too little change in the long
15:15gap between games in the same way the
15:18dialogue was overly long and the battles
15:20were far too easy making it all feel a
15:22little dull to some North American Sales
15:25data was never officially released but
15:27Dark Dawn failed to make an impact in
15:29most territories ranking 5th in sales
15:31for its first week in Japan and 23rd
15:33amongst DS games in the UK as of 2012 it
15:37only sold 80 000 copies in Japan and
15:40outside of some cameos from Isaac and
15:42Super Smash Brothers there's been no
15:44word of anything related to Golden Sun
15:46it's a shame too as dark Dawn does wrap
15:49up its story but ends with a hook for a
15:51sequel indicating that there's still
15:53plenty more to see of this world Camelot
15:55has only released Mario Sports title
15:57since this game with many fans still
15:59hoping for a sequel whether that
16:01actually happens is anyone's guess but
16:03golden sun stands as one of the most
16:05prominent entry-level RPGs it's why it's
16:08so beloved to so many and why the first
16:10two games have been re-released when
16:12possible with the original even planned
16:13for the nso's Game Boy Advance service
16:15and yet Dark Dawn was never released on
16:18the DS virtual console that was made
16:20available for the Wii U and it's always
16:23possible that the games could see a
16:24Renaissance and a new game could come
16:25eventually but for now we have to make
16:28do with the re-releases and the hope
16:30that a new generation takes to the
16:32series Golden Sun could still shine
16:34bright thank you all for joining me for
16:36this shorter retrospective I hope to
16:38supplement the longer series with looks
16:40at the development of smaller franchises
16:42as there are so many fascinating stories
16:44to reveal but as always I'd love to hear
16:47more from you what's your history with
16:49Golden Sun have you played all the games
16:51or will the coming re-release be your
16:53first time and if you enjoyed this
16:55retrospective I also released one on the
16:58entire shimagami tensei franchise as
17:00well as the Zeno series of games there's
17:02plenty more planned for the future so if
17:04you enjoyed these let me know what other
17:06series you'd like to see covered and
17:08make sure not to miss them by
17:09subscribing to Good Vibes gaming hitting
17:11the like button and ringing that Bell we
17:13also have a patreon over at patreon.com
17:15tvgaming with plenty of extra perks
