Topic: It's Time for Golden Sun on Nintendo Switch

Didn't know there was a Golden Sun on the DS! I remember playing the first game back in 2001, but never got to play the GBA sequel. I remember the first one being a fun and gorgeous looking RPG, although I don't remember anything from the story.

If there's enough interest in the series, it would be cool with a new game. But I guess it's not a top priority.

The Lost Age on GBA is an awesome sequel, just as good if not better than the first. Where the first game follows a linear path, The Lost Age is more open world, allowing you to explore the rest of the world map and play as both the protagonists and the "antagonists" from the first game.

The DS sequel Dark Dawn is worth a play as well, despite being a little less magical than the first two. The plot drags and contradicts the first two in some places and there are multiple points of no return preventing exploration, contrary to The Lost Age, which allows you full access to the world and all 18 Djinn of each element.

Honestly, I would love a new golden sun game just as much as a new advance wars game. On that note chucklefish, do something about this. Make a derivative of Golden Sun like you did with Advance Wars.

Chucklefish handing Golden Sun would be interesting! I've thought about this as well once in a while when playing Stardew Valley.

Golden Sun DS is better than some say it is, but it is definitely nowhere close to the original 2. There's way too much boring dialogue, the stakes are fairly low in the first half, and DS 3D graphics can't compete with the really cool looking pseudo-3D, 2d 32 bit sprite look. But those first 2 complaints are also true enough for most of the middle of Ni No Kuni (don't let anyone tell you otherwise) and people seem to love that game.

I mean the problem is that Camelot is too busy making Mario sports games that people only sometimes care about. They could make a Golden Sun if they were allowed to make a game that wasn't Mario sports.

@kkslider5552000 It's a shame Nintendo didn't give them the chance after the Wii U Mario Tennis was substantially not well-received. You'd think it would be time to switch it up, but nope... More Mario Tennis. =/

Golden Sun Dark Dawn, at least to me, did do a lot of things right but it did too many things wrong.
On the good side; The battles were way more fun. Not only did the summons see a massive boost visually but a lot of the psynergy got a great visual boost as well. Also, 1 thing I hated about the 2nd game was if you're like me and you always keep the Djinns in line with their respective element users, Felix ends up being a clone of Isaac and Sheba ends up being a clone of Ivan. This game fixes this by having all characters have their own set of skills to help separate them.
However, sadly that's where my praises end, for the things the game got wrong, I'd say the first main issue was the story. This game's story just felt so lacking when compared to the first, the main 2 villains are an absolute joke compared to even Karst and Agatio and the plot was good on paper but in the end just didn't seem to have any "oomph" to it like the first 2 games did. Also, this is something I don't hear people say a lot but 1 personal issue I had was there was almost zero presence of the original cast. We don't get to meet Felix and we don't even get to find out who is the parents of who! Sure we know Karis is Ivan's daughter but who's her mother? Same goes for Tyler, who is his Mother? For a game that supposed to be all about the next generation, they do not do a good job explaining who is the child of who.
Another major problem was actually making Djinns miss-able, I have no idea who it was at Camelot that
gave this the green light but they are stupid.
And, of course, the big 1 really, that ending...I won't go into it as it is a spoiler but that ending should never have been made and all it does is make me want to declare Golden Sun Dark Dawn as Non-Canon.

@Majora101 I would most like the old games being made available on Switch in some fashion, and then a new game. I always wanted to play these titles and have heard nothing but good things about them but missed out when they were new. I did recently pick up the first one on GBA but going back to the GBA in 2019 is... the nostalgia goggles wear off after about an hour as my neck starts hurting from hunching over looking at that dim, small, screen. Maybe I'm just getting old, or more likely I am just spoiled by modern bright screens at this point, but regardless.

There are a ton of GBA era games I want to see on Switch, either via NSO or released in collections for purchase. Even individually would satisfy me - though others not so much.

I get that. I installed custom firmware on my New 3DS now that its lifetime is just about complete. The New 3DS is the way to play all three Golden Sun games on a big screen (until they finally bring these games to the Switch). Moving with the D-Pad feels just like it does on the GBA. The big LCD display is a huge improvement over the years I spent straining my eyes looking at the GBA screen, especially considering the latter wasn't even backlit. Dark Dawn can be played from the cartridge natively on all 3DS systems, and the first two games can be installed via custom .CIA installations (very easy to do, these essentially dupe the system into playing the ROM as if it were a Virtual Console title. The 3DS has a built-in GBA emulator, so no need for a third-party emulator).

@Majora101 I am always hesitatant to play with modding a system like that, I'd much rather do things legit. But Nintendo seems less willing than it ever has been, to bring old games to new machines.

@ReaderRagfish I'm not even old really, only 27, but my eyes weren't great as a kid, they are worse now. I've worn glasses my whole life, but it used to be that I needed them for things beyond about 50cm from my face - which meant I could comfortably play or read without leaning forward, now that range has decreased to about 20-25. I can play Switch games just find in portable because the screen is much bigger but GBA ends up making me lean forward. And yes, I have the Game Boy Player now, and love it. Combined with the Gamecube HDMI adapter I have, its the best quality GBA image I can get on a big screen with my original games.

@ReaderRagfish I've heard the disc is expensive but I got one with the player at no extra charge, lol. What's GBI?

@ReaderRagfish Interesting. But I'd have to first get a Wii, mod it, and get an original copy of Wind Waker too. I might look into it at some point.

I’m writing my golden sun advocacy letter to Nintendo tonight.

...

As a fan of the rpg genre, I would appreciate another entry in the Golden Sun series. Sadly, Nintendo probably has Camelot working on the next Mario sports game rather than Golden Sun. Whether that's baseball, golf, or futball. Probably golf most likely.

@Magician agreed

Sadly I think, with the Switch, we're less likely than ever to get a Golden Sun sequel. With the power of the system, expectations (and budget) would be high, and it may be too risky a move for Nintendo.

That said, I do hope we get a 1+2 (and possibly 3) collection on the Switch to please the existing fans. And if that does reasonably well? Maybe a sequel is a possibility.

There's no reason why we couldn't get 1 & 2 via NSO if Nintendo were to add GBA games to the subscription service. I believe that's our best bet.

@Magician I just don't think a NSO release would be significant enough. The first two were released on VC for the Wii U, and it just isn't big enough of a deal. I guess NSO reaches everyone who has NSO and that is more significant, but still. I also don't see that happening. It's taken over two years for Nintendo to even say they're "considering" SNES games. NSO is a mess and Nintendo doesn't care about actually making that service good. At this rate we'd be lucky to see N64 games before the Switch's lifespan ends.

Agreed. Even if Nintendo added GBA games to NSO we probably wouldn't see 1 & 2 added to NSO until years later. Still, I feel as though that possibility is much more likely than Nintendo allowing Camelot to develop a new entry or even a compilation pack.