Golden Sun, released in Japan as Ōgon no Taiyō Hirakareshi Fūin (黄金の太陽 開かれし封印?, literally "Golden Sun: The Broken Seal"), is the first installment of a series of fantasy role-playing video games developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. It was released in November 2001 for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, followed by a sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, in 2003. The game is notable for certain distinctive game elements, such as the use of special "Djinn" that empower the player and can be used against enemies.
Golden Sun's story follows a band of magic-attuned "adepts" who are sent from their home town into the wide world of Weyard to prevent the potentially destructive power of alchemy from being released as it was in the past. Along the way the adepts gain new abilities, help out the local populations, and learn more about why alchemy was sealed away. The story continues in a sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age.
Upon its release, the game was highly praised; IGN's Craig Harris said that Golden Sun could "arguably be one of the best 2D-based Japanese RPGs created for any system."[1] The game went on to sell over one million copies in Japan and the United States. A second sequel, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, is scheduled for release in 2010.
Golden Sun is a contemporary presentation of the traditional console role-playing game formula, where the player guides a cast of four characters as they journey through a fantasy-themed game world, interact with other characters, battle monsters, acquire increasingly powerful magic spells and equipment, and take part in an ongoing, predefined narrative.[2] While many actions the player takes are compulsory, Golden Sun often allows the player to complete certain objectives out of order, and to visit previous locations, which can advance minor story elements.
Much of the game's time spent outside of battle takes place in dungeons, caves, and other locales that feature puzzles integrated into their layout.[3] Among the various activities one must perform to make progress through the game world and story is pushing logs into rivers to cross them, or shifting the track of a mine cart to allow access to new areas.[3] Many of these puzzles revolve around the usage of the game's form of magic spells, "Psynergy" ("Energy" in the Japanese version).[4] Successful exploration of the game's world and conduction of the game's battles is heavily dependent on the strategic usage of the extensive pool of Psynergy spells available.[5] Whereas many other RPGs limit the usage of their forms of magic to battles as offensive and defensive measures, Psynergy spells can be used outside battle for solving puzzles in the game's locales.[6] For example, the "Whirlwind" spell that can be used to damage enemies in battle is also used out of battle to clear away overgrown foliage that may block the player's path.[7] Psynergy comes in four elements: Venus (manipulation of rocks and plants), Mars (revolving around fire and heat), Jupiter (based on wind and electricity), and Mercury (concerning water and ice).[8] Players can return to previous locations in the game to finish puzzles which they could not solve earlier because of the lack of a specific Psynergy spell.[3]
[edit] Battle and Djinn
Wedding Rings
travel
