I Finally Understand Golden Sun

[@Lemubaby8]

Golden Sun has one line in the beginning that sticks with me: "This world is ours to save or to destroy. Our inaction may bring about its destruction."

[@hortchester1255]

Better get to destroying

[@neosho3953]

I remember my first JRPG.

[@gjallarhorn456]

@@hortchester1255 well it is earths last few years. Dont take the mark of the beast. Remember me of you come to realize whats going on. I've been at war with demons the last few months since they realized I'm an earth angel.

[@hortchester1255]

@@gjallarhorn456 Is that a side quest? Its been awhile since i played this but that sounds like a different game

[@zachwise476]

I love Golden Sun! I beat it and went onto write fantasy novels. Then I went to Full Sail for a Bachelor’s in making modern games!

[@duckgoduckgo]

That's beautiful

[@tinainaz3830]

The music and story were what hooked me from the beginning. 20 years later, I am still waiting for the 4th installment

[@bagzhansadvakassov1093]

this

[@Mnemoniforma9.00]

I'd argue this is an equally painful cliffhanger as Mega Man Legends 2.

[@blackdragoncyrus]

The games are written like shit.

[@Mnemoniforma9.00]

@@blackdragoncyrusNobody asked you. Shoo.

[@purinsesunatsumi2649]

I want a full remake of the first 2 in full 3D. I want to see Felix and Alex in alllllllll their glory.

[@gjallarhorn456]

Man so many people don't even know all the real anciety history study that went into creating this masterpiece

[@TheDecatonkeil]

I appreciate JRPGs with "completely original made up settings", but this and Terranigma made me look at our world and ancient history with renewed interest as a teenager.

[@gjallarhorn456]

@@TheDecatonkeil right...man I learned so much because of this game. All the places mentioned are references to earth's ancient past and its amazing

[@blackdragoncyrus]

"Masterpiece". The games are written like dog shit.

[@gjallarhorn456]

@@blackdragoncyrus its okay if you don't know anything about whats good.

[@gjallarhorn456]

@@blackdragoncyrus i guess thats why its rated 9.7/10

[@billieeyelash7015]

The "Golden Sun Dog" intermission was a masterclass in editing. Thank you queen.

[@armand4116]

Overall I consider that Golden Sun games are very well designed Jrpgs, and one of my favorite things about these games Is the Psyenergy, unlike many others Jrpgs here the "magic" It Is not just limited for the combat and can be used to solve some situations and puzzles . And this take me to another thing that I like a lot about this games , the dungeons . In Golden sun dungeons are fun because the challenge It Is not just limited to the combats but also the puzzles or situations when you have to interact with some objects using your Psyenergy. The dungeons kind of have this Zelda style design , wich Is funnier than many others jrpgs .

[@Baker1000NxD]

YES. This is exactly what I love most about these games. Lots of people comment on the Djinn class system, but this is the greatest strength of the franchise. Dungeons in most RPGs are just mazes full of dead ends or chests dotted around designed to make you explore (and therefore battle more) but in these games they're complex labyrinths filled with puzzles. It's surprising to me no one else has ultilised the obvious RPG trope of characters having magic abilities and using them outside of battle. It's an ingenious move to use them in conjunction with Zelda-like puzzles to make exploring much more interesting. Really I think developers of modern RPGs have missed in trick in not filling the void Golden Sun's absence has left by creating a new series that has a similar feature.

[@tjsvanaria]

I wish Camelot would remake Golden Sun & The Lost Age from the ground up. A full remake as one huge title the way it was intended to be

[@katharinamarschall5662]

The big deal about GS is that the graphics were good, but also not so good to still read more into the world. The story had a lot of stuff unsaid - also free real estate to use your own imagination. In a time when people weren’t used to crazy good graphics - we kids who grew up with GS saw so much more in this game than what is actually there. It was like reading a book and seeing the world before your inner eye. Actually it’s sad that graphics of the games today don’t allow for that because every detail is already thought through until the end.

[@neosho3953]

Dude you a projecting so hard right now. I get you played this game as a kid but get over yourself holy shit.

[@GoldenSunAlex]

Still going through the video, but 1) Seeing you at mercury Lighthouse with only 3/8 Djinni is painful. Regarding the naming thing, at the time this was released, cheat codes being printed in magazines and the like was common. I still have my 'A-Z of GBA cheat codes' book on my bookshelf back home. TLDR: People were expected to buy those. Edit #1: A little further, and yeah, you do NOT want to use anything other than a D-pad. Using a D-pad controls are very crisp. Edit #2: Weird that you don't like the endgame. The two Bonus Dungeons (Crossbone Isle and Lunpa Fortress) and the Venus Lighthouse are generally considered one of the series highlights. It sounds like you missed most of the Djinni, endgame equipment, and were under levelled though, which might be a thing which affected your enjoyment.

[@thenonexistinghero]

There's a few extremely important elements in the game that she pretty much ignored in her review. Which are the puzzles and the exploration (which go hand in hand together). Tons of people enjoyed the puzzling and finding djinni's in every nook & cranny, but I don't think she even mentioned them. Really, I don't think this is the type of game for her. She seems to prefer a more linear experience with an exciting story and good combat. But exploring and puzzling with a plot moving along at a leisurely pace? Doesn't seem to be her thing. Not that Golden Sun's plot is amazing. It's pretty decent putting 1 and 2 together. Main issue with the plot is how slow it is in terms of characters talking. They do all kinds of cute animations and expressions in between, so even on a replay it takes ages to get through the plot. Still, overal I do think Golden Sun 1 & 2 are great despite some issues because the gameplay & music more than make up for whatever downsides it has. Can't say the same for Dark Dawn. Feels like kiddified the tone of the plot for most part... and the same for the difficulty of both the combat and the puzzles. The only boss in the game that even remotely gives any sort of challenge is the extra superboss, every other fight in the game is a complete joke. And the puzzles are made for like 3 year olds. They're pretty much around the same level as the puzzles in the tutorial area of GS1. Complete garbage. Dark Dawn was easily one of the biggest disappointments in my 35+ years of gaming. Other than great visuals it really has nothing of substance to offer. It also pretty much killed the franchise.

[@GoldenSunAlex]

@@thenonexistinghero Agreed.

[@KristallFire]

​@@thenonexistinghero totally agree

[@neosho3953]

Comments like this show how completely unhinged the fanbase is for these games. You played them a lot as a kid and have all the cheat codes and guidebooks. Congratulations. Newer people to the series aren't going to have the same experience as a child back in the early 2000's. It is literally baby's first RPG.

[@chichibooxd4793]

I had my first playthrough of golden sun recently and I accidentally skipped the whole tret stuff and went directly to mercury lighthouse with just 2 djinn. I gave up with how hard the boss is and went to find djinns. I beat it and was lost on where to go for a while before i realized i skipped a plot point

[@MathGeekQ]

Ah, I love seeing Golden Sun videos still popping up today. Great job on this video!

[@flare9612]

Most people worship this game not because of what it is NOW, but rather what it was back then. The music, battle gameplay, mini puzzles, and most importantly, I'm not sure if you notice, no game breaking missable secrets and backtracking. It may be an overworld RPG but you're not asked to go A then to B then back to A again. It's new places after new places. Most likely GS won't continue, given how low dark dawn's rating was (even though it's well justified, i.e. it's a half baked shit game).

[@vladimirfruitin3118]

The past is a place to remember, not live in

[@theFado96]

While in the making of my own "Golden Sun and Golden Sun The Lost Age" KZbin let's play, I asked myself a similar question: Why the heck to I still keep coming back to these games years after having played them for the first time? Nowadays, if I want to find a RPG to play, I try to look for something out of the ordinary. After many "traditional" RPGs I want to play games that are a little different. I'm tired of games using a simple "MP pool" for example because I've dealt with it so many times... If you think about it Golden Sun is as "traditional" as it can be: battles are turn based, it has a simple MP system, random fights are quite repetitive, you go from town to town, buy new things and sell the old things, go through the dungeons and keep doing that for around 40+ hours across both games. And yet...I still want to play more Golden Sun. And I can't put my finger on just why. It must be one of those "the sum is greater of its parts" thing, I honestly can't tell. Is it because of the djinn system where you can dynamically change your class in battle in exchange for powerful attacks and even set it up in a way so you can purposely use a djinni to switch class and obtain a psynergy you need for that moment, before switching back again? Is it because of the enormous world map that I though was already huge as I left Vale in the first game and pressed the R button, and then blew my mind in The Lost Age where the world is three times the size? Is it because of the general "sense of adventure" that I believe Golden Sun manages to convey a lot better than many other RPGs? It might be. Anyway, if you're looking to play The Lost Age get ready because it's going to be a wild ride. Consider to play Dark Dawn as well, while not as good as the previous two (mainly because you can PERMANENTLY miss djinni in that game, seriously get a guide for it) it's still a fun game and more Golden Sun gameplay is more Golden Sun gameplay. And also that game has my favorite character in the series: Sveta.

[@neosho3953]

They resonated with you because you played them at a young age. Mystery solved. Get over yourself.

[@arty533]

Love this comment - I can definitely relate to this ! When I was younger I was gifted Golden Sun TLA without having played the first opus - and being lost in this world for hours, having half the story but trying to make sense of the whole was such a fantasy dream I had. Just finished playing fully the first one this week

[@alenscevis1569]

Ι wasn't playing Golden Sun, i was living it!

[@davidpicard5376]

Venus lighthouse and the corresponding Babi back track was the biggest anticlimactic part of the game IMO!! It's still a remarkable game despite its shortcomings. I actually enjoyed it more than ff7!!!!! I love the interaction with the environment in golden sun and unlike ff7 I'm not feeling like just an audience clicking buttons. It's really an amazing achievement.

[@Maco777111]

Golden sun isn’t just one of the best GBA games…it’s one of the best games ever made, period. A near-flawless masterpiece.

[@sweepjk5258]

For the last part: Skill issue

[@laylaalder2251]

"Say psychic." "Psychic" "Now say Energy" "Energy" "Now Psychic Energy, just like Kraden explained" "Psychic Energy" "Now combine it. Psynergy" "Sin-ergy!"

[@JaxonElzinga]

Sin Orgy :trollface:

[@jacoboniaplay]

Super interesting that the Vale sequence was the low point for you! It made me really invested in the characters, and having that attachment to them made the journey more exciting to me. Totally agree about the battles--it took me forever to figure out the Djinn system, but it's so creative and opened up so many strategy options. The sprite art is another part of the experience to me. The cute little faces with the emoji reactions. 🤗

[@TheSoulBlade]

The lighthouse lights in Venus change the path you can take in Babi. They both lead to the same place. They both have an armour artifact. Also i have no clue how you got to the end with less than 200 HP. I beat the game in 16 hours, with all Djinni, beating Deadbeard (superboss), and being around lvl 26. So you had to have rushed through the game in terms of battles, or used Avoid or Sacred Wings to reduce the encounter rate. Anyways, good video! Edit: figured i would also mention, that getting 1-2 shot by enemies in Suhalla shows how underleveled you are and how few Djinni you have. I typically would take 5-6 attacks to kill Isaac or Garet and 3-4 to kill Ivan and Mia. Which the vast majority of battles can be won in 1-2 turns with Psynergy or even weapon unleashes.

[@elsannin14121]

Right. This was a rush. And I don't see how grinding is something to look down upon, like it is cheating or something. It's literally training to he stronger. I guess this is a youngling perspective.

[@crysosisback7115]

@@elsannin14121 It's not that it is cheating But if you grind your ass past level 30, you're literally on autopilot, and making the gamee easier for yourself, combat wise, likee in any rpgs with, random encounters. Playing on an emulator, and not grinding much at all, i got to lvl 26 as mentioned above, so you don't have to grind at all, just kill mobs you encounter when you do, tbh

[@neosho3953]

Congratulations you are really good at a 20 year GBA game. This video is really bringing out the Golden Sun spergs.

[@Coyoda]

There is one piece of hidden dialogue I found that only comes up if you say yes or no to the opposite of what Garet expects from you until…I think around after Ivan joins the party. It happens sometime after that but I don’t remember when. Essentially, if you keep alternating, Garet will take a moment to actually call you out on your odd behavior questioning why you do that to him. It caught me off guard since I wanted to change up my 3rd or 4th playthrough.

[@spikebrokenheart]

My favorite traditional RPG, you're right when you say that it's kinda slow at the beginning, but once you start to explore the world, oh man, i fell in love with this game, his characters, THE MUSIC, the battles, the puzzles, exploring every corner of the map and discovering new things was so fun and kept me addicted when i first played it, even got a Garoh tattoo recently, if you haven't played The Lost Age yet, you definetely should!, great job, it's always good to see Golden Sun videos c:

[@StepCrow]

Also, would love to see your thoughts on Lost Age, Dark Dawn… I grew up with Dark Dawn, but I’m experiencing the first game right now, almost at the final boss. It’s been a surreal experience.

[@mistery8363]

5:30 "without any consequence" my butt, your character gets reset to a lower grade class and loses stats AND spells when you summon

[@SimplyMosh]

I gotta say I came across this video and was blown away by how good it was. You had me laughing out loud several times. You made a new fan with this one!

[@darkisatari]

Glad you discovered this one, and I look forward to seeing your video on the sequel! I love this one and TLA even more. Regarding the story, I wouldn’t say it’s amazing but i do find the characters likeable and think it has some intriguing works and plot elements I think about to this day - maybe moreso in the sequel.

[@njwcagle]

Always excited to see people still talking about Golden Sun. It's my favorite game series, and was foundational for certain things I look for in games. I liked your perspective on it as a new player. You're definitely not wrong in your criticisms. And I appreciated how well you hyped the cool parts! I hope you get to play The Lost Age; it's my favorite of the two originals. But go ahead and have a walkthrough ready because you will get lost. Take the entire game map from the first game and multiply it by 4. I loved the open world aspect and exploring, but you can easily get lost. There's so much more content than the first game! If you do make a video on it, I look forward to hearing about your pain dealing with the elemental rock dungeons.

[@rinomander]

i defo plan on playing the lost age at some point! if making this video has shown me anything, it's that a lot of people still hold golden sun very near and dear to their hearts. i think there would be some interest in me talking about the lost age! holy crap, that sounds a ginormous map for a gba game. i don't remember all of this video at this point, if i already made this clear, but I'll defo keep that in mind whenever i get around to the lost age. the ambition of the developers is truly impressive, and the fact that what they wanted to make came out as good as it did, with the pressure that they were under... camelot cares A Lot. anyway, thank you very much for your comment ❤ my take on the game is... well, most ppl will not agree with it, but as of now i still stand by it. i do appreciate you being respectful and simply sharing in your love for the game!

[@Noxmare]

That tune at 10:05 sounds so familiar!! What is it from? Could it be Pokemon Mystery Dungeon?

[@GGgiuseppe]

If I am to choose Felix still is the best boy, but I understand the hype for Isaac.

[@cfewLW74]

What "best boy"? Felix is the biggest simp I've ever seen, jumping after Sheba. I mean... what the hell? 🤯

[@GGgiuseppe]

@@cfewLW74 I see, so you're one of those people who thinks Sheba and Felix are a thing. 😂

[@softkitty2887]

Note - I only played it on the GBA and GBA SP but i don't remember the interact button being the same as the menu button >^.^< there might have been a 2nd menu button i used if i was by something that could be interacted with, like select

[@flatfish-d9o]

your terranigma vid made me pick up the game again for the first time in years, i think this one will make me give goldensun another shot 🙂 hope you keep making these banger old rpg vids

[@rinomander]

omg thank you so much!! I feel like that's the highest praise, for someone to actually check out the games I make videos about 🥺 I'm very glad you picked up Terranigma and hope you're having fun with it, and I hope you enjoy Golden Sun as well! And yes, I'll absolutely keep making videos on older RPGs ;)

[@saturos5068]

You can actually name the other party members, but you have to input a secret code while naming isaac, depending on which one you use, you can name only isaac and garet, or all party members

[@StepCrow]

Excellent video, well spoken, great to see a new perspective to golden sun. Definitely subbed.

[@FasterthanLight11]

The controller is to blame. D-pads work fine. And it uses interact to bring the menu up for the east use of psynergy cause the natural instict when seeing an interactable object is to press the interact button.

[@JanosAudren09]

Loved this video, can't get enough Golden Sun talk and I appreciate the honesty of how it did have flaws, no matter how much we tend to ignore them when talking about it to others. If the game did sadly make you decide against playing The Lost Age, the only thing I ask is that you listen to one of its songs: 'A Full Moon in Garoh'. It's the one part of that game that as a child I would have a dedicated save to just so I could load it up, stick in headphones and just let it play. It would be nothing short of a shame to not let people who take the time to mention the music know of that song. 10/10 would let that song hit me right in the emotions again.

[@rinomander]

thank you thank you! im glad u can get behind me on that ohhh my, though. I did just go and listen to "A Full Moon in Garoh", and what a melancholic track. heck, I want to say it reminds me of a sad Undertale track? not any one in particular, just seems like it could fit in. I have no idea where it plays in the game, but I believe your saying it's emotionally powerful. I am interested in playing The Lost Age! not for a while, but eventually :)

[@TabbyChocobo]

I kinda feel like Golden Sun and The Lost Age shouldn't be considered separate games; the story is pretty clearly Part One and Part Two. So much stuff gets explained and recontextualised through TLA that it genuinely changes a lot of the story beats - and I don't even mean the plot twist. But then Golden Sun would be like a 70-hour game and getting people on board for that would be even harder than it is now :p My favourite part of the game is that when you queue up actions in the battle menu, actions that will happen first change what you can do for actions that will happen later (e.g. unleashing a Djinni with a faster character and summoning with a slower one). I haven't seen that in any other game with that I-Go-U-Go style - and I've played quite a few!

[@TheLordOfTheLore]

As the #1 self proclaimed Golden Sun fan I have to say this is a very well constructed video. You are definitely going places, and I can tell poured hours of research and heart into this video. keep the content coming!!

[@dmanjames1347]

Also on the GBA controlers the activate was A.PS controllers have a weird glitch that makes nintendo think one button is the same as the other.

[@fastracksdigitalplayground2619]

I'm playing it again now in my 30's. I've never beat this game and I am having fun playing it in my Analogue Pocket. This game rocks! I played it before in 2001 and never got passed the Mercury Lighthouse. Now it's about time!

[@Puckaboo]

Thank you for making a video on Golden Sun! I liked hearing your perspective. I also liked your editing. Personally, I am really hoping on a Golden Sun 1/2 (or combined as it was intended) Remaster. Hopefully it would give nostalgia to old fans, and will gain some new fans, enough to expand the lore and the series :D

[@AdeptCharon]

"idk if it's me playing with a stick rather than a d-pad" YEAH, DON'T 😅😅

[@Ghennesph]

Oriental Blue is the underrated GBA JRPG gem. You should probably give it a another slower go and less rush, if you haven't already. The story isn't super aggressively interesting so that you don't feel compelled to rush ahead, because a large meat of golden sun is exploring various areas for interesting secrets and puzzles. The game also gets super easy when you realize how broken djinn can be. Really, there's so many little details and things to find.

[@AdeptCharon]

I just did another playthrough now that it's on the NSO thing, and funnily, I enjoy the dialogues so much, I went out of my way to backtrack to towns about 5 times to check if all of the NPCs in them had a new set of dialogues (and thoughts), and I adore that I STILL came across lore, foreshadowing or just fun lil interactions/scenes that I had not seen the previous dozen times playing through the game over the past 23 years. ...like, you'll have one lumberjack in Kolima, who is literally a tree, thinking about missing his wife and daughter from Imil, and then you get to Imil and there's a wife and daughter who are just blissfully imagining that the father is just out there at work as usual... of course once you lift the curse and revisit the father, he's thinking about returning to his family (I swear there's like 30 other examples of similar insignificance that I could've picked here lol) ...Or how if you revisit Vale a third time after some major plotpoints, multiple NPCs in it talk about how there's lava rivers on the other side of Mt Aleph and how the continent of Hesperia is literally breaking off and drifting away from Angara. There's a ton of very optional worldbuilding like that, it's incredible.

[@neosho3953]

I know all the dialogue is so great. My favorite part is in the beginning of the game when Isaac is fixing the roof and the other characters decide to join him for a powwow. But whoops! Garret is so clumsy and breaks Isaac's repairs! Then whoops! Isaac's mom almost falls off but she's okay! I'm so glad Camelot took the time to show all of these meaningfull interactions.

[@XANSEM]

My favorite game, and favorite storyline and favorite lore across all titles across all consoles. Golden Sun should get an anime or movie or something!

[@Holy_simply]

once again a great video amazing work as always i really liked every point you made. except the art style in the fights haha. i never enjoyed the crayon look. but oh god the music! i was really surprised on how good it is. definitely need to check out the OST this is your shortest video as of yet. but it still retained the great way you did all the other videos. anyway. GOLDEN SUN DOG

[@rinomander]

Thank you Holy!!! It's actually not my shortest video ;) but I appreciate all you've said! And yeah, some of the OST is surprisingly good. Saturos's battle theme is by far my favorite, though the boss theme is also pretty good. GOLDEN SUN DOG

[@Holy_simply]

​@@rinomander I legit forgot how short your El-Shaddai video is xD it feels so much longer when watching it. in a good way!

[@iTzTiMeToJuMp]

The "Crayon look" was an unfortunate side-effect of the last-minute decision to release the game on GBA (Nintendo's newest upcoming device) vs N64. They had to convert 3D models to sprites which leaves the game with this look. It's not my favorite either, but it's got its unique type of charm to it as well. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn goes back to the 3D models if you're still interested in the music and themes.

[@b00ts93]

I was lucky to get this game when I was 10. It's one of my most treasured memories and games

[@jordanlv]

golden sun dog golden sun dog

[@rinomander]

you couldn't ask for a more perfect dog pre-render. on the same level as the Harvest Moon cow ❤️

[@Beriorn]

There's something funny about the ultimate summons. Isaac gets an angelic knight that drops a magical nuke, Ivan gets to call the Mighty Thor, Mia gets the personification of the chilling north wind, and Garet gets... _rock._ Oh sure, it's a world ender in FF7, but still a rock does not really match up to the god of thunder.

[@InkyEzrox]

This was a really good video! I've never played Golden Sun, but I've been interested in it, and your video convinced me to try it myself. Also, your editing and music choices are top notch! The segment with the dog dancing to the Balue's Tower music made my day. You've earned a sub! ^~^

[@juanrodriguez9971]

Golden Sun is one of my favorite series ever for many reasons, for starters, it was the first thing for me in a few things, it was my first proper introduction to turn based RPGs (no pokemon, fuckyou), it was the first game in which I cared about the plot, and most importantly, it was the first game I did pick up to learn English. Now, on the game itself, it was clearly made by people who understood the genre and focused on the little details other games just ignore, for example I did never pay attention to how the text midbattle works in GS until you mentioned it, then I remembered how in many games it is there but it goes so fast you can't even read it, which is ironic, it's the details man, like how the shop allows you to buy special items and even buy back those special items you would feel bad of selling but here you can buy them back for the same price everywhere, or how the tutorials teach you what you need without overwhelming you (I love you Xenoblade, but your tutorials are the worst), the complexity yet fluidity of the djinn system and it's amazing possibilities are mind blowing yet easy to understand, the double critical attacks one being the normal one and the other being the special weapon unique attack, etc. In summary, it's peak turn-based RPG, even as an adult I go back and everything just feels correct, like nothing is wrong with it besides some dumb design choices (random wild djinns in random-ass spot), and not many modern RPGs are learning from it as they should.

[@juanrodriguez9971]

And I'm not even touching on the music and the art style, those things speak by themselves even without playing it, or stuff like the lore being about psychic powers rather than generic magic, it's another small detail, but one that makes it stand out for me in a special place.

[@accounterror5517]

i came across this video and it sums up how golden sun was back in my childhood days! good job on making this video!! i really do wanna replay golden sun again tho, but this time ill make sure to tri-element my classes this time

[@umadbro4493]

2:38 what is this psysnergy that allows isaac to hop over water?

[@garygourley5957]

That is something that is only in the mercury lighthouse. Once activated, certain stones allow you to hop over water three times before you fall in

[@SamuraiSam]

This game blew my mind when I first got it back in the day. There was nothing for portable systems like this at that time!!

[@EricN73158]

I am a bit late to watching this but I remember when golden sun was coming out. I got a nintendo power in the mail and saw it on one of the pages, did not really think much about it and never gave it a shot. I kinda regret that. I still have never played it my self but I have seen a few videos about it. Looks good and some good music too.

[@MysticMountainNebula]

I found it neat that the Djinn are called djinn, as in the djinn described in the Qur’an. Also, the mountain in the beginning is called Mount Aleph; aleph is the transliteration of the pronunciation of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. Just a couple of things I’ve noticed. The game honestly feels modern playing it in 2024. Very ahead of its time in so many aspects.

[@AnimusPrime87]

Been engrossed with this game and content about it for 20 years and this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone that didn’t love it. Interesting take- I disagree with you assessments but you were thoughtful and insightful and entertaining enough that I still watched the whole video.

[@neosho3953]

Not everyone got to experience the game around the time it was released. What's more is that is was on the GBA, a console primarily designed for children. There is a lot of nostalgia surrounding this series which makes it difficult to talk about critically without people getting emotional.

[@darkalicornkingdoom3572]

I remeber i beat the hidden boss and the final bosses by spaming the hell out of revives to prevent a party wipe out.

[@thunderhead9338]

Fun fact about GS:TLA During the obstacle race, Felix speaks A SINGULAR LINE OF DIALOGUE And that's it. That is the ONLY voiceline he has in the entire game

[@ClarkKentai]

If there's ever a remaster, all I really want is for the combat's difficulty to be increased, but the encounter rate reduced. A full remake to true 3D would demand a rewrite of the script to un-silence the protagonist. I always balked at people calling it a "hidden gem" though. It was well-marketed early in the console's lifespan (I rememer as a kid, the commercial that sold it to me featured a crystal chandelier being turned into a dragon), I don't know anyone who had a GBA and *didn't* own a copy of GS at some point. I'd rather give the top hidden gem spot to Summon Night: Swordcraft Story or Car Battler Joe.

[@-LorDDawi-]

11:17 I need this dog meme clipped immediately

[@rinomander]

ive got u covered: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXushJh4pdZ8qKc

[@Docnomania]

Idc if it has short comings or not, its always been my favorite handheld rpg and always will be

[@TKnightcrawler]

I wouldn't say that Isaac is a good character for Smash, but I think Golden Sun is a game series that should have been represented. I'd go for the only likeable character in Golden Sun 3, Svetta/Stella. Felix also would be a good choice. If you don't summon rush, the battle system is a lot of fun, and the game is challenging. I'm a completionist, so I did a bit of grinding to get the artifact drops near the end of the game. And of course, I did Skull Island. So I didn't find the last section to be impossible; it just required good tactics from me. But then, my party was probably more powerful than yours was. Yeah, running from all your battles is not usually a good idea in RPGs. ;-)

[@FasterthanLight11]

I cant imagine being frustrated by a game whose ending is designed to utilize the stuff you've been learning and skipping battles and then wondering why things are hard...

[@HandheldGamer1991]

I think that the world/lore was super interesting. The second game fills in a bunch of gaps and the thirds as well. So if we ever get nr4 i wish for them to expand on the whole story.

[@cirnobyl9158]

Didn't realize Sakuraba did music for Golden Sun too!

[@TheAlmightyAIR]

I've come from the future to let you know that The Game Awards 2024 might have an announcement you will absolutely love..

[@MattarKevinCosenza]

can't believe you are such a small channel, you are great!!

[@Feesh322]

Golden Sun spoiled me. It was my first serious RPG and I didn't know most RPGs didn't naturally recover your magic/PP, so when I played classics like FF6 or Chrono Trigger I was more annoyed with them and couldn't appreciate them as much as they deserved.

[@Docnomania]

If you cant find the jinn naturally, youre probably not cut out for classic rpgs. Go everywhere and try everything, never run from a battle, seak out secret bosses.

[@neosho3953]

Dude Golden Sun is literally baby's first RPG. Just because she didn't find the Djinn doesn't mean she isn't cut out for the genre. The Golden Sun fanbase is a bunch of babies that get mad when people don't play the game the way that they did as a kid.

[@neosho3953]

What a digusting comment. This game is literally baby's first RPG. Awe is the baby sad that they didn't like how someone criticized their favorite game?

[@Docnomania]

@@neosho3953 😂😂😂 upgrade your troll game noob Dont be too offended by a comment now

[@kevinvallejokawaii]

yes , golden sun dog from vault is the best character and best read mind "give me a bone and i tell you a secret"

[@connorhummel6922]

It makes me infitnely so sad we don't get more golden sun media

[@patgray5402]

If you want to recomend someone an example of the world of 2d JRPGs, Golden Sun is the answer. It doesn't do anything radically different, but it does take everything great about the genre and packages it into a complete and polished little gem.

[@acheronXcomplex]

Alternative title - Tails from Sonic The Hedgehog reviews Golden Sun for GBA.

[@nahamaha5576]

Take my sub and my like I shall watch this all the way through when im off work and actually able to hear it I enjoyed this

[@low-polyprincessarchives1874]

new rinomander vid just dropped 👀 no but jokes aside, this video is really, REALLY solid. excellent mix of engaging personal input and auditory humor mixed with facts about development made this one a SUPER solid watch all the way through, i tend to have issues focusing on video essays regardless of how much i like them and having to watch them over a span of time, but both times i've watched this one i watched it all in one go. thanks for making great content about games i would've never personally thought about again if not for seeing them here! you've got a really special series on your hands and im looking forward to seeing what you cook up in the future :)

[@rinomander]

i basically said everything i could over discord but GOD THANK YOU 😭💖💖

[@nathansfreedwell982]

👥it reminds me when how people said they loved me better when I didn't speak back in my childhood days.

[@macro617]

Really good video, not just the analysis but the editing and the quality of the recording are very polished. Genuinely surprised to see so few subs on your channel. Hope eventually you get the amount of attention you deserve. I'm looking forward to see your opinion once you've played the lost age, the two together are a great game and if you liked (kind of... xD) the first part I think your gonna love the second one.

[@rinomander]

Aw thank you so much!! Yeah I only started making vids 9 months ago now so it'll take a while to get off the ground. Very excited to keep making stuff though! Hope that The Lost Age is good too, I've heard it's a bit more open than Golden Sun and people seem to praise it as much as the first game so. We will see 👀 (also hell yeah, the Heartless emblem. Not sure when I will talk about KH but I would like to!)

[@macro617]

Well if you do talk about KH I have one more thing to look forward to :)

[@ForeignWerewolf]

Great Video!!!

[@EteamProductions]

Please please PLEASE do Lunpa solely because I'd really like to hear your take on that particular quest line

[@Malthinae]

I'm very amused that some of the points you raised about the plot are indeed solved in The Lost Age, which has honestly no right to be as good as it is (yet I'm absolutely thankful that it _is_ that good). If you thought the world was huge in Golden Sun, tLA's is even larger. If you think the Djinn were too numerous and the classes a bit on the complex side in the Broken Seal, wait 'til you see all the amazing _hidden_ invocations requiring a large number of Djinni in the sequel! I'm not going to tamper your points about the characters being kind of insubstantial, because, yeah, there's a lot of talk for not that much characterization or personal story arcs (though honestly this is _way worse_ in Dark Dawn, which doesn't even get the excuse of "the game was too big so we had to split it in two"). But for the time it was amazing, and I am yet to find a combat system as intricate yet lovingly crafted as the one in this series. Despite Dark Dawn's shortcoming (and they were numerous), it was an absolute blast playing around with Djinni again. Or interacting with the world with magic like that. Honestly, it's probably an unhealthy amount of nostalgia talking, or I may not look for these mechanics in the right spot, but... these systems made the Golden Sun series so unique. I have definitively left a piece of my soul in Weyard, and let me tell you, it beckons me back every so often. The music, the sights, the world at large, hell, even the somewhat-cookie-cutter quality of the story or the enemies still holds an important place in my mind. 'tis a great and quite frankly underrated series, undermined by its very creators. I'm still holding hope that we may see a remaster some day. Even just a port to the Switch e-shop would do. (Nintendo, Camelot, plz.)

[@jessewarren817]

FF8 rules, you take that back!! Lol

[@BitZapple]

Golden Sun ftw I want a sequel

[@mecklejay7587]

I'm only partway into the video, and I'm enjoying it a lot and will finish, but I had to pop down to the comments for a sec. Every time you say "synergy" my brain flashes to a corporate middle-manager. It's psynergy like PSYchic enERGY, "sai-nurr-jee". 😅

[@azzo3449]

Nice…imagine not understanding a game of this magnitude

[@Funymoney010]

Great video! Damn though endgame is my absolute favorite, sorry you didn’t like it. I’d love to see a video on golden sun the lost age

[@ericpeters6345]

This was and still is literally my favorite game of all time.

[@imaginableAudio]

Golden sun was AMAZING

[@davidkazarossian7654]

You can't criticize the story without having played the lost age since they were meant to be 1 game on the N64 but because of hardware limitations on the GBA they had to split it in 2. Come back and tell me the story isn't noteworthy after you've played the lost age. I dare you.

[@neosho3953]

You can absolutely critize the story. It should still hold up on its own without having to play a second game. There is so much monotanous dialogue in this game that could've been cut to make room for the second game. The fanbase for this game is so sensitive lol.

[@greensmurf221]

Shining Force is also as good series to check out. 1 is good, 2 is better. Then you're good.

[@Blighted_Ashes]

This was awesome. Your issue was kind of the thumbstick. There are problems where characters can't properly face an object to interact though. ❤

[@johntracy72]

Golden Sun is a spiritual successor to Beyond the Beyond.

[@rinomander]

I actually found this out from another video, and while I'm not entirely sure if those games would be up my alley, it does make me have a little more respect for how these games are designed

[@jok86er]

I still dont know how i got the alternate ending the first time i played it

[@Guffyisfluffy]

Another amazing review video! I hope you blow up soon and get the recognition you deserve. I love your love for retro games. Your editing skills are unparalleled.

[@Karimyo99]

Although a master piece (both parts), it has its flaws. The xp system needs to be reviewed. Even with xp cheats (50000xp per enemy), you wont be getting to level 99 easily. All Lighthouses should be complex like mars Lighthouse. Mercury lighthouse could be separated into two parts to fit tue story. And, for last, the game needs double or triple speed...

[@emerystheimmortal417]

Lol you had less Djinni than 11 year old me without any walk through. I feel like you have to go out of your way to miss so many.

[@Mnemoniforma9.00]

GS needs a comeback, and anybody who uses the (overblown) flaws of Dark Dawn to argue against that is a fake gamer and high off their own farts, triply so if they're a part of the Splatoon community.

[@Everythingwillsurelybealright]

Wow I’ve only just discovered your content through this video and I love your style! Your editing and sense of humour really shine through and make it all a really enjoyable experience. (And I would absolutely watch a video about why FF8 wasn’t good even if just for the drama)

[@clindberg1]

amazing vid. smashed that sub button

[@kostalking9747]

Isaac is NOT a highly requested character for smash Geno and Waluigi is

[@link776]

I wonder if this reviewer is young. It's interesting seeing the view points of the newer generation. The strong points of the game now has become a commen idea. You got to remember the age of this game. ridding on the bus to grade school with a rpg with this level of depth, story and music was completely uncommen and why it was praised so much. Same idea with pokemon

[@hortchester1255]

Golden Sun characters should be in Smash