Golden Sun | |
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North American box art
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Developer(s) | Camelot Software Planning |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Director(s) | Shugo Takahashi |
Producer(s) | Shinji Hatano Hiroyuki Takahashi Shugo Takahashi |
Artist(s) | Fumihide Aoki |
Writer(s) | Hiroyuki Takahashi |
Composer(s) | Motoi Sakuraba |
Series | Golden Sun |
Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance Virtual Console |
Release | Game Boy Advance Wii U Virtual Console |
Genre(s) | Role-playing video game |
Mode(s) | Single player, 2 players via Game Link Cable |
Aggregate scores | |
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Aggregator | Score |
GameRankings | 89.1% (48 Reviews) |
Metacritic | 91/100 (29 Reviews) |
Review scores | |
Publication | Score |
Famitsu | 34/40 |
G4 | |
Game Informer | 8.5, 9.0 |
GamePro | |
GameSpot | 8.6/10 |
IGN | 9.7/10 |
Thunderbolt | 9/10 |
Advance | 94% |
Award | |
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Publication | Award |
Nintendo Power | Best GBA Game of the Year |
Golden Sun is the first installment in a series of fantasy role-playing video games developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. It was released in August 2001 for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and was followed by a sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, in 2002. 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" whose purpose, as it is revealed early on, is to protect the world of Weyard from alchemy, a potentially destructive power that was sealed away long ago. During their quest, the Adepts gain new abilities (called Psynergy), assist others, and learn more about why alchemy was sealed away. The story continues in The Lost Age, this time from the perspective of the antagonists.
The game was highly praised by critics; IGN's Craig Harris said that Golden Sun could "arguably be one of the best 2D-based Japanese RPGs created for any system." The game has sold more than one million copies in Japan and the United States. A third game in the series, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, was released in 2010. Golden Sun was re-released for the Virtual Console via the Wii U eShop in April 2014.
Golden Sun is a contemporary presentation of the traditional role-playing video game formula, in which the player controls a cast of four characters as they journey through a fantasy-themed world, interact with other characters, battle monsters, acquire increasingly powerful abilities and equipment, and take part in an ongoing narrative. Although many of the player's actions are compulsory, Golden Sun often allows the player to visit previous locations and complete certain objectives out of order.