Information AboutGolden Sun |
is the first installment of an '', in 2003 . Though the English version of Golden Sun does not have a subtitle, the Japanese version does: (commonly translated as "The Broken Seal" by the game's Fanbase ). GAMEPLAY ''Golden Sun'' is a contemporary presentation of the classical-style RPG formula, where the player guides a cast of four characters as they interact with the game world in a building, pre-defined narrative. The game is constructed of two primary modes of play: Exploration of a multi-sectioned world and conduction of battles on a separate screen where the player’s party must successfully conquer an enemy party through fantasy-themed battle. Exploration To progress through the game world in terms of exploration, the player must talk to various NPCs (non-playable characters) found in the game’s towns and learn of the destination where the next plot development takes place, all the while collecting items and accomplishing various events while fighting increasingly powerful enemies that are encountered randomly. In ''Golden Sun'' in particular, heavily embedded in this mode of play is the solving of puzzles of many types, most of which involve finding one’s way through a location by taking various actions to achieve effects that allow the player to progress, and many of these in turn involve the usage of the game’s resident form of magic spells, “Psynergy.” Psynergy (Rock and plant manipulation), Mars (Fire and heat manipulation), Jupiter (Wind and Electricity manipulation), and Mercury (Water and Ice manipulation). The player gains more and more Psynergy spells as the game progresses (either through Levelling or acquiring and equipping special items), opening more and more locations and secrets hidden within the game world. Players may even find themselves going back to previous locations to finish off puzzles which they could not solve earlier because of the lack of a specific psynergy spell. Battle The majority of the action in ''Golden Sun'' takes place in its fast-paced battles. Battles can either take place in a specific location with specific enemy in a scripted event, or via Random Encounter at anytime in the field. During battle a separate screen is brought up, and the enemy party is on the opposing side (the background) and the player’s party is on the battling side (in the foreground, with only the character’s backs visible). As per the traditional RPG formula, in each battle the player is required to defeat all the enemies through direct attacks with weapons, offensive Psynergy spells and effects, while keeping the player’s party alive through items and supportive Psynergy that restores life and supplements defense. During attacking phases, the characters and the background swirl around and change positions in a pseudo-3D effect. In the beginning of each battle round, the party also has the option to attempt to flee the battle. As in most, if not all, other RPGs, the completion of a battle yields the expected rewards of experience points and coins, where the accumulation of experience leads to the building of "levels", increasing a character’s base statistics and occasionally mastering a new Psynergy spell, and coins can be redeemed for equipment that augment a character’s stats. By buying and earning equipment and gaining enough experience points as per the formula, the player’s party eventually becomes strong enough to successfully defeat the game’s final boss, the most powerful enemy at the end of the game. Djinn system By far the most important element in ''Golden Sun'' to differentiate it from other RPGs is the collecting and manipulation of magical creatures called Djinn. 28 Djinn can be found scattered in hiding throughout the game, seven for each of the four elements and likewise for allocation to each character. The Djinn form the basis of the game’s statistic enhancement, as well as the system that dictates the character’s Psynergy capabilities. Djinn on SET mode Djinn can be “turned on” (“Set”) or “turned off” (“On Standby”). When a Djinni is Set to a character, that Djinni exerts influence on that character’s statistics and Psynergy collection relative to the character’s innate element. With Djinn of several different elements Set onto a character, all sorts of different statistic and Psynergy enhancements are available for that character, and it is up to the player to arrange all available Djinn among the four characters to create a balanced, maximized team. Moreover, each Djinn set on the character has its own special ability which can be invoked during combat. These abilities can either be an enhanced elemental attack, a Buffing or debuffing spell, or a healing and restoration spell. After a successful invoke, the Djinn is "unset" and remain as "Standby" mode until it is "set" on the character again. Djinn on STANDBY mode When a Djinni in a character’s inventory is on Standby, however, it does not affect any aspect of the character’s stats, but in return that Djinni can be used by the party as “fuel” for a Summon Sequence, an animated sequence in battle where it can be “offered” to summon a powerful elemental monster that attacks the enemy party before disappearing. This is the game’s most powerful class of attack. Once a Djinni on Standby has been used for a Summon Sequence, it must take any number of turns before it restores itself to Set position on a character. There are 16 Summon Sequences in the game, four for each element, and each Summon Sequence takes between 1 and 4 Djinn of the same element on Standby. This is the base operation to the Djinn system, a system which involves other ways of manipulating Djinn and their effects. The manipulation of Djinn to subsequently manipulate character status is part of what defines ''Golden Sun''’s gameplay system as a whole. With weapons (some of which have a chance to produce additional magical attacks known as "unleashes" upon a successful hit), Psynergy, and Djinn and their summons all available simultaneously, the player is allowed a great deal of flexibility in approaching and conducting a battle and finding the best approach for victory. A player can take a direct route to a battle, with all 28 Djinn set to the characters to make them powerhouse warriors that can effectively trade blows with opponents and sustain themselves healthwise throughout a fight, or a player can take more of a gambling route by entering a battle with all Djinn on Standby so that in the first turn all four characters can activate the strongest Summon Sequences and attempt to obliterate the opposition all at once, but the party will be left weak afterwards due to the lack of Set Djinn. With boss battles, the most effective route is a blend of both camps. Two-player mode In addition to the main game itself, there is also a competitive battling mode accessible from the menu screen, where players can enter their currently-developed team from their saved game files into an arena environment where they can battle increasingly difficult CPU-controlled enemies or other players head-to-head to see which of their team setups are stronger. In both cases there are no experience points or coins to be earned. STORY ''For information on each specific character, see List Of Characters In Golden Sun .'' ''Golden Sun'', in both background and chain of events, takes place in a fairly typical classical-style Fantasy setting. Background Ages ago, in the world of Weyard , the omnipotent force of Alchemy provided all manner of culture and power to its people. When harnessed, Alchemy could achieve fantastic effects of any scale, examples of which were the transmution of lead into solid gold and the ability to thwart death itself. Civilizations and technology developed to great levels, but eventually, the ambitions and aspirations of some individuals developed the same way, leading up to power struggles and eventually a world war, where Alchemy was increasingly abused as a military weapon, and the prize for the victor was dominion over Weyard with control over Alchemy’s powers. Weyard was nearly demolished. Eventually, a group of wise men known as the Sages convened and made a vital decision for Weyard’s welfare: They sealed Alchemy away for what would undoubtedly be many ages, within a giant stone slab, the Stone of Sages, hidden in the darkest depths of Mt. Aleph, site of a shrine to Sol and Luna. The world was deprived of a giant resource, but it was saved from the destructive tendencies of its inhabitants. The Sages, though, did not believe in permanent withdrawal of the force, so they decreed the construction of an intricate system of locks and keys situated throughout Weyard, and this system would comprise of four great towers as the locks (called Lighthouses) and four jewel-like crystals (called Stars) as the keys, and each respective pairing of Star and Lighthouse would represent one of the four elements of the world: Venus , Mars , Jupiter , and Mercury . With the elemental stars hidden away within Sol Sanctum, Weyard remained inactive and Alchemy remained dormant underneath Mt.Aleph for ages. As the ages passed, a town called Vale would develop at the foot of Mt. Aleph. The inhabitants soon made it a point to be the guardians of Sol Sanctum and Mt. Aleph. Due to the town’s proximity with Sol Sanctum's secret, the inhabitants developed an adeptness to Psynergy , the art of channeling the energies of the four elements into a form of magic. Psynergy came in the forms of the four elements, as Venus (control of the earth's plantlife and rock formations), Mars (manipulation of heat and fire), Jupiter (projection of wind and electricity), and Mercury (chilling and freezing). The Adepts, as these resident users of Psynergy would consider themselves, knew never to reveal their craft to any outsiders who might pass through the village, and also to refrain from entering Sol Sanctum freely, so as to preserve the sanctity of the shrine. This was their duty for a long period of time, until the present, where the story of the game begins. The Process of Alchemy Three years before the present, a pair of menacing, scale-skinned Mars Adepts named Saturos and Menardi arrive from a Mars Adept colony in the far north, attempting a raiding expedition upon Mt. Aleph. Their aim was apparently to steal the Elemental Stars inside for a plot of theirs. However, they failed to solve the riddle blocking their way and triggered a trap, causing a defense mechanism to project a terrible thunderstorm around Mt. Aleph that in turn caused a giant boulder to be dislodged and crash through the town below, seemingly killing several of its inhabitants. The pair knew that though they failed for now, they would attempt Sol Sanctum again in the future. Three years to the present day, Isaac, a young Venus Adept, has lived in in relative tranquility in Vale with his friends Garet and Jenna, both young Mars Adepts, and Kraden, an elderly scholar researching the ancient art of Alchemy. Isaac’s father and all of Jenna’s immediate family—her parents and her brother Felix—had died in the boulder tragedy three years prior. Isaac and his friends agree one day to assist in Kraden’s ambitious research venture to explore Sol Sanctum and study the Stars inside, despite the fact that it is off limits by the town legislature. But the four enter the Sanctum and explore its sacred corridors, eventually finding the chamber where the four Stars await on pedestals. Kraden has Isaac and Garet fetch the four stars for him to study. Fate suddenly plays a major twist in the lives of all involved. Saturos and Menardi appear and apprehend Jenna and Kraden, demanding that Isaac hand over the Elemental Stars. Saturos is accompanied by two other accomplices: Alex, a debonair Mercury Adept with apparently strong Psynergy talents, and none other than Felix, Jenna’s long-lost brother, who Saturos explains was saved by him after the boulder disaster three years ago, and is now part of their quest to activate the Lighthouses and restore Alchemy to the world. Isaac and Garet are understandably as shocked as Kraden and especially Jenna, but they have no choice but to comply with this group’s orders and give them the Elemental Stars. Suddenly, due to the removal of the Elemental Stars from their pedestals, the entire area starts trembling under the influence of a volcanic eruption, and Saturos’ group is forced to flee with only three of the Stars, leaving Isaac behind with the fourth star, and to this end they take Jenna and Kraden as their hostages. Isaac and Garet soon come face-to-eye with the monolithic guardian of Mt.Aleph, the Wise One, who declares that the effort to restore Alchemy can only bring about terrible misfortune for the world, so thus he tasks Isaac and Garet to prevent Saturos from activating the Elemental Ligthouses, and he returns the two boys to Vale as Mt. Aleph erupts, saving them. Later, Isaac and Garet explain everything that transpired in Sol Sanctum at a town meeting in Vale, relating the command of the Wise One to chase Saturos’ band and prevent him from unleashing the apparently deadly consequences of Alchemy’s return. After measuring all circumstances involved, including the capture of Kraden and Jenna by apparently her own brother Felix, the townspeople agree that the responsibility falls on Isaac and Garet to set out on this urgent quest and save all of Weyard. Thus do Isaac and Garet depart from their hometown and embark on the adventure of a lifetime. The Mercury Lighthouse Early in their hasty journey, Isaac and Garet pass through the first town on their pursuit of Saturos: The quaint Vault. Here, they meet the young Jupiter Adept Ivan, a mysterious person who holds the Jupiter-affiliated Psynergy skill to read minds. They help him battle some local bandits and retrieve for him a mysterious possession of his, the Shaman’s Rod, entrusted to him by his adoptive father figure, the merchant Hammet. Afterwards, Ivan agrees to join Isaac and Garet on their quest, believing that traveling with them to stop Alchemy’s return will help him uncover his destiny. The nearest Lighthouse is the Mercury Lighthouse, located in the snow-capped north of the continent, meaning that that would be Saturos’ first target. So Isaac and his party travel north to the village of Imil, located in front of Mercury Lighthouse, and here Isaac meets Mia, a young female healer who is revealed to be a Mercury Adept and one in charge of guarding the Mercury Lighthouse. Suddenly, the two notice the Mercury Lighthouse undergoing a certain strange process, and Mia joins Isaac and his party as they enter the towering structure and climb to its top, the Mercury Lighthouse Aerie. There, they find that Saturos has successfully activated Mercury Lighthouse, having cast the Mercury Star down the tower’s gullet. Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia all engage in battle with Saturos, who proves to be a menacingly powerful adversary. However, because they are battling in the vicinity of the newly activated water-elemental Lighthouse beacon, Saturos’ fire-based powers are suppressed enough for Isaac to defeat him. However, Alex appears and reveals to Mia that he is in league with Saturos, and Mia is instantly horrified because Alex once shared her objective to prevent the Mercury Lighthouse's activation as a fellow Mercury tribesman, but he now seems to have undergone a revelation, having betrayed his charge of duty. As Alex explains, he decided that the return of Alchemy is Weyard’s one chance to regain a glorious era of power and culture, so therefore he has joined Saturos’ quest to assist this process. After Alex helps Saturos up and they both depart, Mia, drained by Alex’s betrayal, decides to join Isaac’s quest to prevent Saturos and Alex from lighting the remaining three Lighthouses, and Isaac’s complete party now departs from Imil in his continuing quest to stop Saturos. The Venus Lighthouse For the next great period of time, Isaac’s party travels around the entire mainland continent of Angara, helping the troubled villages they encounter along the way. Soon they take a ferry service to the neighboring southern continent of Gondowan, a voyage that proves none too pleasant due to sea monsters such as the Kraken on the attack. They then arrive in the bustling metropolis of Tolbi, under rulership of the mysterious Lord Babi. After competing in and winning this year’s annual tournament of warriors, Colosso, Isaac proves himself capable of embarking on an additional quest to help Babi, and Babi grants him eligibility to use his personal sailing ship for this quest in the near future. The ship in question is hidden within the town of Lalivero, near the Venus Lighthouse, which is Isaac’s next destination at any rate. However, after traveling east through a desert to reach Lalivero, Isaac finds that Saturos’ band has captured a young Laliveran girl, Sheba, hostage as well, for reasons Isaac does not yet know. But Isaac plans to thwart whatever Saturos is scheming, so he enters Venus Lighthouse and climbs it in haste, soon reaching the Venus Lighthouse Aerie where, to his relief, it has not been lit yet. Isaac finds Saturos and Menardi criticizing Felix for his objections to their kidnapping Sheba, who is up there with him, and it is revealed to Isaac that Sheba is actually a Jupiter Adept just like Ivan. Isaac comes over to confront Saturos, and the cunning Mars Adept sees an opportunity and orders Ivan to hand over his Shaman’s Rod. Saturos explains that both Sheba as a Jupiter Adept and the Shaman’s Rod are required for him to climb and light Jupiter Lighthouse in the future. Ivan reluctantly gives Felix the Shaman’s Rod to ensure Sheba’s safety. Saturos then decides that it is time for Isaac’s meddling party to die and he and Menardi launch a fierce offensive against them, but the combined swordplay and Psynergy teamwork among Isaac and his friends, which they developed over the course of their journey, eventually proves enough to defeat the two Mars Adepts. But in an underhanded tactic, Saturos drops the Venus star into the Venus Lighthouse’s gullet, instantly failing Isaac’s quest a second time. As the Venus beacon is activated, Saturos and Menardi are restored, and as a last stand against Isaac they execute their ultimate power: The merging of their bodies into a tremendous, two-headed Fusion Dragon. Isaac wages his fiercest battle yet, and soon he manages to slay the Fusion Dragon in an amazing victory over superior opponents. Defeated, Saturos and Menardi seemingly die as they fall into the abyss of the gullet. Felix and Sheba watch stunned on the sidelines, and suddenly the energy of the newly lit Venus beacon causes an earthquake, causing Sheba to fall off the lighthouse and into the sea below, and Felix jumps after her in what can be described as affection-driven furor. To Isaac and his party, their victory at Venus Lighthouse is empty because they failed to prevent the firing up of the second Lighthouse Beacon, so they return to the ground level. Back in Lalivero, Isaac convenes with Sheba’s adoptive family, and they conclude that Felix and Sheba are still alive and are with Alex, Jenna, and Kraden, all continuing to be part of the effort to light the remaining two Lighthouses, Jupiter and Mars. Isaac, of course, can’t understand why his old friend Felix would have such a strong desire to release, according to the Wise One, a force that could devastate all of Weyard, but as far as Isaac can tell Saturos and Menardi were under the belief that Alchemy would reinvigorate and change the world, somehow. But Isaac and his party know from their encounter with the Wise One that they must prevent it from happening, lest the world be subjected to destruction. Isaac soon finds the sailing ship that Babi hid in Lalivero, the ship that Babi wanted Isaac to find and commandeer for himself on his subquest for Babi. With this ship, Isaac can continue his quest on a new front, exploring the oceans of Weyard and searching for Felix and Alex’s band, so as to thwart their plan for unleashing Alchemy, set them straight, and save Weyard. The story continues in the sequel, . EXTERNAL LINKS
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