At the latest Nintendo Direct, it was announced that a selected collection of the Game Boy Advance is coming to the Nintendo Switch. MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski is excited about a role-playing game from her childhood: Golden Sun.
Whenever I excitedly talk about Golden Sun, I am usually greeted with big question marks on my counterpart’s face. However, those who played the J-RPG earlier on the Game Boy Advance instantly have a sparkle in their eyes at its mention – and rightly so!
First and foremost, Golden Sun is a typical J-RPG. I am sure part of my enthusiasm comes from childhood nostalgia. The game was released in 2001 when I was 11 years old. That was my first encounter with a classic J-RPG.
However, I have played it on and off over the years and still believe it is one of the best role-playing games of all time.
What is a J-RPG?
The abbreviation stands for “Japanese role-playing game.” It includes adventure games developed in Japan that focus on story and characters. It is typical that you play with a group of predetermined characters, which you control simultaneously in turn-based battles. However, this is not a requirement for it to be considered a J-RPG.
Golden Sun has everything I wish for in a role-playing game
What makes the game great for me, summed up, are:
- Fast and challenging boss fights that can always be managed with the right strategy.
- An imaginative story with its own world that you can immerse yourself in and simply want to know more.
- Super creative puzzles that even the temples in Zelda could take a page from.
- Mind reading, which gives NPCs more dialogue options, allowing you to discover hidden emotions and secrets.
- Your characters possess abilities that assist in exploring the world, giving it more depth. Exploration is always rewarded in Golden Sun!
- A great soundtrack and the sound design itself is impressive. You remember the tunes and even the sounds when navigating the menu.
- A very special highlight: The Djinns! These are little elemental spirits that help you in battle and thus provide entirely new possibilities for attack combos and classes.
Golden Sun was also released for the Wii U, and you can see a glimpse of the game from its trailer:
What’s Golden Sun about?
Basically, you must defeat evil and restore peace. Your journey begins in the small village of Vale. For centuries, there has been a community here that calls themselves the “Guardians of the Sanctuary of Sol.” They protect a seal containing the science of alchemy.
Whoever masters alchemy can attain wealth and eternal life and has the power to destroy the world. Alchemy is based on control over the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air.
The seal has been broken, and you must now prevent anyone from gaining control over these powers.
On your journey, you will meet three characters who will join your group. You all possess magical powers assigned to the elements.
The centerpiece is the Djinns – Like Pokémon, only more complex
Your magic and class system are linked to the Djinns, and this is where it gets really interesting! You collect the Djinns throughout the game, and it might happen that you miss some and never get them. Exploring the game world is worthwhile since the little spirits are hidden everywhere. Sometimes you have to solve puzzles to obtain them.
This is what the Djinns look like:
You can assign the Djinns to your four characters. This can change the class and abilities of the character. There are a total of 28 Djinns that are assigned to the four elements. By combining different Djinn elements, you create new classes. This way, each character can have more than 10 different classes.
It sounds more complicated than it is in the game, but it gives you so many options to form your team and approach battles.
If any of this resonates with you even slightly, I highly recommend Golden Sun.
Especially if you enjoy games like Octopath Traveler, Xenoblade, or Final Fantasy, you will find here a gem that often flies under the radar.
On GamePro, you will find information on the “Game Boy Advance” expansion pack, of which Golden Sun will be a part. Golden Sun is not yet available in the pack; it will be added later. When that will be exactly is still unknown.
