Golden Sun and its sequel The Lost Age were easily the most iconic RPGs for the Game Boy Advance and now, with their release via Nintendo Switch Online, it poses the question: does the series have a future?
Why is Golden Sun Beloved?
The games were released in 2001 and 2002, effectively forming one huge and brilliant game. Initially taking the role of Isaac, a young adept (effectively a magic wielder) this showed off a well-written, cohesive story with a clever perspective shift in the second title.
For its time and the platform it was on, these graphics were remarkable. The gameplay saw a mix of Zelda-style puzzles with a clever take on a turn-based battle system that saw class changes mid-battle depending on your decisions. Factor in Final Fantasy-rivalling summons, and you had a very good couple of games.
They have been remembered fondly, with the fanbase clamouring for Super Smash Bros inclusion years later, with them having to settle for an assist trophy appearance from Isaac.
Dark Dawn Disappoints
A third game, Dark Dawn, was made in 2010 but a generational skip alongside the main characters from the first two games rarely appearing and scarce developments in the battle system made for a middling experience. Not a bad game, but one with too many points of no return and other similar basic mistakes.
Will there Be a New Golden Sun Game?
The odds for a new Golden Sun title do not look good. The first two titles have recently arrived in a very accessible format via the Nintendo Switch Online service, which should see gamers exposed to them again. However, Camelot Software Planning, the developer of Golden Sun, have only made Mario sports titles since Dark Dawn. Barring Golden Sun, you have to go back 26 years to find a title they developed that wasn’t a Nintendo sports game.
Although, recent history could suggest that silence is a promising thing for those with hopes of more Golden Sun. The company are approaching their biggest gap between releases since 2009 when New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis was released, but that notably had Dark Dawn out the year after. With their next project not yet announced they will surpass the gap between Mario Tennis Aces and Mario Golf: Super Rush at the start of July so, at the very least, if hopes are going to be punctured then it’ll be soon.
Advance Wars Treatment May Hold Clues
The series is not without parallels either: Advance Wars was similarly a Game Boy Advance darling that came to quietly die on the DS but that had its Reboot Camp remaster eventually released last year.
Golden Sun and Advance Wars were in very similar places: both were a jewel in the Advance crown, but both were similarly superseded by the likes of Fire Emblem and Xenoblade Chronicles, respectively. Smash Bros might seem like a silly indicator, but the votes the series received in the two new character polls have allowed fans to voice where their nostalgic hearts are still beating.
The original game was a financial success, with 740,000 copies flying off the shelves in the United States with 338,000 selling in Japan.
Yet even the sales figures are a bit of a poor argument as Camelot’s last title, Mario Golf: Super Rush, sold 2.48 million.
Is Nostalgia Enough of a Draw?
Yes, Sea of Stars might have run enough parallels to the series to get some more nostalgia back, but will it be enough? Camelot as a developer has a good relationship making a huge franchise with Mario sports titles, will they want to sacrifice development time being put into something with far more risk?
You really can’t blame them if their answer is no.
Being people who are into gaming, we all know that nostalgia is one hard thing to kill. If there is another Golden Sun title or a fully-focused remaster or remake, a lot of people in their 30s will be very happy.
Regardless it feels inevitable that by the end of the next Nintendo Direct, we’ll have an answer as to what the studio is up to. For this writer though, it’ll be hope, not expectation.