Hey folks! Sorry for the wait, a lot has been going on over in Clemps land but I'm really happy to be back and posting content! :) Golden Sun was a game I never had the chance to play as a kid, so playing it now was a really interesting experience. Lemme know your thoughts, and hope you're all doing well!
This is definitely a game I enjoyed a lot as a kid, but when I replayed it as an adult, found it lost a lot of luster. Mechanically it's a very basic JRPG and the story was about as basic as the mechanics were. It's not like... bad, but at the end of the day it's just nothing special beyond being a really pretty game on the GBA.
Fun fact Golden Sun and Golden Sun the Lost Age were actually supposed to be one single full game. However due to hardware limitations and the grand scope they wanted to make the game be they decided to split it into two game cartridges so that they could fit all of it onto a playable form for the gameboy advanced
@@shawnjavery not forgot. Nintendo had their hands on it to tip the topic. TL;DR It didn't sell great, Nintendo gave them apparently alot of money for trips to certain locations to gather information to be used for GS3 and also took quite some money to develop the game as Camelot isn't having alot of money on their own as a company (sadly) and because the development "took too long" the money crane was stopped which resulted in the rushed near the end stuff with a big story moment I won't spoil in case people not having experienced GS3 will read here. And basically Camelot had to repay Nintendo for some years after that to compensate for the money they "basically flushed down the toilet". Also from what I got many people didnt even know GS3 was a thing and I can kinda see why (I got my call when GS3 was announced in 2009's E3) due to the lack of advertisement and also, and that is more speculation, cuz the 3DS was around the corner (and I think Super Mario galaxy 2?) so.. it happened to be born under an illfated star one could say.
@@GameTimeWhy It's not a bad game. Looks and plays like the other 2 except with 3D and you're the kids of those Adepts of old. Just uhhh... don't try to follow along with It's story because it hurts XD
Fun fact! On the ship segment, you can actually choose specific set ups of replacement rowers to give you early access to a literal pirate treasure island, where you can properly go back to later to fight the first game's super boss
Can't wait for The Lost Age review. This is a series I'd love to see return.... if only to lessen the slap in the face that was the ending of Dark Dawn.
I'm just sitting here patiently waiting Nintendo to add a Golden Sun + Golden Sun the Lost Age bundle on the switch. A game where I don't have to spend 20 minutes typing in a code to transfer data from one game to the other? Yes please!
@@steampowered6883 You're not wrong. Sveta/Stella (depending on region) was about the only part I genuinely enjoyed if only because it felt good to bitchslap enemies around in her beast form.
I love Golden Sun. It still has one of the best uses of in-game powers. That you can use Psynergy in and out of battle, the latter of which to solve puzzles, was mind-blowing as a kid, and oddly enough, has never really been utilized to its full potential since.
rather overshadowed, as the series is seen quite highly by those who played it aka it's got its positive ratings. Tho GS3 is a bit trashtalked too hardly online (at least form my circles) so I see it as an underrated atmospheric and visually pleasing attempt, even if it has some rough edges and painful points of no returns like twice in the game.
Golden sun was *such* a fun game to play on the Gameboy, especially since it's definitely a breath of fresh air from most people playing Pokemon, myself included, lol. The atmosphere and plot, along with the characters, made it for a very interesting game to play, one I hope to get back into eventually
As for me, I loved the graphics and music. The soundtrack had a lasting impression on me, and every one of those portraits is such a treat to look at. I don't know if I've found a game where the character designer put so much love into their portraits. The puzzles were mostly a lot of fun too. This game really was quite the experience.
God I remember the final boss fight taking so long, I had to leave my Gameboy plugged in overnight and bring it to school the next day to finish the fight between classes. It felt so literally epic lmao The environmental puzzles were such a treat. GS is one of the few JRPGs where it feels like you still have your powers outside battle. In the decades before BotW, this was the game that made you feel clever for using your magic to manipulate the environment, even if all the interactions were planned. It felt so alive and convincing.
Golden Sun Reloaded mods fix the class, attack and item balancing while making the enemies and bosses harder without being ridiculous. Highly recommended. In its vanilla form, the mono-elemental classes are much neater if you plan to use summons.
Golden Sun was definitely a huge part of my childhood. I got into Final Fantasy a bit later, but Golden Sun brought me back to rpgs. The dialogue and story aren't the best, but the world building, the combat, and the puzzles are what really tickled my pickle. Don't remember if this was more implemented in the other games, but special or unique weapons also had their own special ability that you can rank up and trigger through critical hits, adding to the combat depth. Certain pieces of equipment also grant you specific synergy. It's all really cool. It's sad we haven't gotten a new golden sun since Dark Dawn. The octopath engine i think would be great for a new one.
Yes, the graphical style for some sprites are indeed pre-rendered 3D models turned into 2D sprites. Camelot software used to be Sega's "Sonic! Software Planning" team, and the art style and techniques used in Golden Sun are pretty much lifted 1:1 from their earlier title Shining The Holy Ark on Sega Saturn, right on up to character sprite design, musical composition, speech sound effects, and emote bubbles. So, if you want a good example of this art style on a more "powerful" system with higher resolution, check it out.
Oof, sorry you had to run all the way back to Imil twice. You can actually complete the Mercury Lighthouse first if you just skip Kolima and go northwest from the jump. That way you can have Mia and the Water of Healing before you even set foot in the forest. It's a little harder but it's a huge time save. Looking forward to your next video! Golden Sun was one of my favorite games growing up so it's great to see people still getting into it in 2022!
Clemps out here playing one of my favorite RPGs! GS has a lot of elements that didn't age too well (random battles, characters like Sheba not being introduced too well), but the battle system and puzzle solving are great and I wish more rpgs had a good mix like the way these games do. For as wordy as the dialogue can get (especially Dark Dawn...), I still find it charming, makes the characters a bit more lively.
It does have random battles, yes, but those can be mitigated via Avoid or Sacred Feather. Although it still doesn't work well at a low level (unlike say Mrbl3 in Breath Of Fire).
Yes, as far as I know they did make 3D models for the enemies and then rendered them in 2D. I love the aesthetics and graphics of this game. Great review btw!
The dungeons were also top notch. They're not just a corridor that goes from point A to point B. We have to actually change it, create bridges, fix mechanisms in order to advance, go upstairs and push a block to the lower floor to make a path. If we look at Octopath Traveler, an amazing RPG, its dungeons are no more than corridors, with a couple hidden detours with a treasure chest at the end, and that's it.
Loved the video! so, there is one little thing about the Golden Sun/Lost Age duology that should be mentioned. If you have clear data from GS1, you can get a transfer code that allows you to move over a whole bunch of stuff to Lost Age when you start it up (money, djinn, probably other stuff). The thing with that is, the code itself is very long (multiple pages) with some similar looking characters to throw you off. There's also a link cable transfer method, but I didn't have that luxury back in the day.
there is also a code that you can use to have those stuff without playing the 1st sequel.. Ivan's party will have those items that you can swap/share with Felix's party..
Golden Sun is my favorite game of all time. What's interesting is my Dad gave it to me as a kid, even though he knows absolutely nothing about video games. Also, another thing is how it syncs up to The Lost Age.
This game blew my mind as a kid. I remember seeing a few screenshots of the battles and thinking "what? no way this is on a portable. Can't look THAT good." And boyyyy was I wrong... I miss this series, to be honest. I actually don't remember much about it (though the first one sticks with me the most) because I played through each of the games *once* when they came out, which was years ago, but I do remember having a really good time with it. I liked the fact that you had these abilities you could just use out on the field. It was such a simple thing, but being able to telekinetically move a block or platform to solve a puzzle felt good... lol
Fun fact about the boat, if you choose three weak/elderly people to replace the oarsmen you actually go off course and end up getting to an optional dungeon early, although you can’t get all the way through it yet.
I have not seen any of your videos before this today and have to say, I really like the way you include the random but oh so fitting sounds and memes into your video. Also shoutout to the babby meme
i've seen a good chunk of your content over the years so lately i've been rewatching a lot of it when going to bed and it's been cozy background noise, so thank u clemps ❤🐀great vid btw!!
So glad you're giving these games a shot! Golden Sun is funny in that if you said Nintendo was making a JRPG with a brand new IP, Golden Sun is more or less exactly the game I'd picture them making. Many of your standard JRPG conventions are present but it also has a number of uniquely Nintendo things, both good and bad, to give it that special flavor. Oh and I feel you on that early backtracking part. Fortunately, you can do the Mercury Lighthouse sequence before the forest one significantly cutting down on the time spent. Unfortunately, you aren't likely to know that your first time playing...
Hey Clemps, awesome vid! About the sprite style you were wondering about, this is basically the same idea as Camelot's earlier game Shining the Holy Ark for Sega Saturn. Check it out, it's a fun dungeon crawler. I'm guessing the prerendered sprites were a compromise, since Saturn wasn't too great at full 3d stuff.
Ahhhh I’m so excited to see you talk about this series! Like you I didn’t have many games as a kid but this was one of the three that I owned, so I played it to death! The second one really takes the cake though, it unfolds everything in such an amazing way that it all feels so much more complete by the end. That said take as long as you need to get there! Videos are just videos and your well-being is irreplaceable, so take care of yourself most of all!
I love this video, I love you, THANK YOU CLEMPS for providing me with yet another 21 minutes of entertainment that I'll be coming back to again and again to catch all the jokes, little and big, as I go on a nostalgia trip about an old favorite. Patreon here I come!
Awesome. I have so many childhood memories of this game and it feels great to see someone make a video about it after all those years. I'm excited for the sequel.
15:00 yes, pretty much they pulled a DKC/Killer Instinct and took a 3D model, downscaled it, and took a series of images at different poses and angles to create a sprite sheet
I loved this game so much growing up. The puzzles were fun and the combat would literally hand you your own ass sometimes. Still a fave I have played in adulthood.
I'm happy to see you post, you haven't let me down in any way. Glad you're doing some better, even with the wait the excitement is real. Frequently I recall "But why?!" from Drakengard 2 and your bit with the spilled water.
Golden Sun was actually when I fell in love with jrps in general. Played it before any final fantasy or anything like that. Loved the Djinn system and summons, loved the puzzles, loved the graphics and story. It's the main reason I'd love them to bring GBA games to the switch.
This has brightened my day! Though my housemate is probably wondering why I am laughing so dang much (it was "put that thing back where it came from or so help me", by the way)
Golden Sun and it's sequel are some of the best rpgs to play, full stop. Mechanics still better than some games today. Music still good cause it's a genre these days, haha. Only problem (for me) is the "voice's" take a bit to get used too if you restart the game again, that one part is a little dated.
YES! I'm so glad we have another video from you, and it's of one of my favorite JRPGs! I so badly hope we would get a remake or sequel game in the series.
Literally was just thinking about when you would upload another video and then I woke up to this last week. So glad to see you making more content again and for such a great game! Hope you have been doing well!!
Oh my god you have no idea the scream I let out when I saw this video on my feed. I'm so happy you played this and are playing The Lost Age. They are my FAVORITE RPGs of my childhood. From age 8 to 11 I BARELY cared about POKEMON FOR THIS GAME. Great video as always you lovely rat you.
I had a lot of fun watching your review! I loved golden Sun and wanted to finish both of them but I got stuck at some point during lost age and just stopped :( one thing I remember liking about it a lot was the special weapons activating their effects. They were neat to watch and made the magic gear you found even cooler
Ever since I saw you mention that you loved Lost Odyssey in one of your older reviews (Drakengard i think?), I've been waiting for you to decide to make a video on it, so when I saw the teaser you put in I literally yelped out loud in excitement! Can't wait for that video, as Lost Odyssey is a great game that doesn't get enough credit imo. That said, the most important thing is your mental health, so don't overwork yourself just to get out longer videos, I'm plenty happy waiting and seeing you happy and healthy as opposed to burnt out and stressed!
Great review, your writing and editing are top notch as always!! Never knew much about Golden Sun aside from Smash, but wow this game looks REALLY impressive for a GBA title!
i’ve had a Truly Awful february but this video has brought me such joy. so so grateful for the content you put out and will forever patiently wait for more. love and care you so much rat dad ♥️♥️♥️
Honestly man, I hear you. You feel bad for not making content faster. But here's the thing your content is GOOD so like it doesn't really matter to me too much. Daily videos become boring after a while. Your upload rate probably contributes to how much I appreciate your content. It's like a sweet little macaroon for my brain and my nostalgia. You always cover great games from my past and. Even some Ive never played. It is however easier for me to feel like you're videos are a special treat BECAUSE of the rate of release. Do I want more? Absolutely, I could listen to you talk about ffta all day. Do I NEED more for you to saltay relevant in my mind? No, you do not overstay your welcome. You're that pourage that's juuuuust right =u= I love your content and I will be following you loyally for as long as you choose to upload. Great job as usual. I hope this helps vindicate you and helps you realize that even though RUclips is your job. You don't owe anything to us, you owe it to you and your creative process. We love you, you strange little man.
One of my favorite video game series. Like most other fans I know I played it as a kid so it has that nostalgia factor that tends to blind me from it's flaws but it's nice to know even all these years later it still holds up for someone who playing the game fresh. The music in this game has left an indelible mark on me since childhood. Saturos' boss theme is one of my top 10 favorite video game tracks.
Never heard of this game! Glad I have your channel to learn about it! Thanks for the vids, mate! I feel the mental health stuff though. Trust me, it's worth it to blame yourself less for stuff - getting over emotional paralysis is the key to getting the ball rolling!
It does look like they rendered at least some of the characters as 3D objects and then exported them as sprites. That was a pretty popular way of doing sprites sometimes for more complicated characters, instead of having to draw everything by hand. Donkey Kong Country is a very famous example, also Super Mario World. It just hasn't aged super well in general compared to the hand drawn or hand plotted sprites.
Have very fond memories of this game! I had broke my game boy advance at the time and had never play the second one so I'm excited to watch your next video. Would be a dream to see the series come back possibly by the people that made octopath traveler/triangle strategy
Bravo Clemps, your videos are so consistently fun to watch I almost have no words. You continue to be my favourite video game review video editor on RUclips! As for the review itself though I'd want maybe a bit more information about the game, but what's here is still enough to make me want to play it so I guess if that's what you're going for then I'll shut up lol
I remember playing this game back in the day and my friend was like DUDE THERES GOING TO BE A 2ND GAME CALLED SILVER SUN. I was like no way!! Then saw Lost Age months later thinking what the hell is this lmao
Never have I been this thankful for your video Clemps! Golden Sun may no longer be Nintendo's jrpg, but man this game was certainly unique for what rpgs were at the time!
I've known about this game forever now but never played the game. But still missed your reviews regardless. Might have to check it out now. Looking forward to your Lost Odyssey review. It's easily in my top 5 games of all time.
I recently finished this game and currently playing lost age, i really enjoyed this game and love the twist in the combat they made it's truly unique and i hope they make a nother one with today's hardware but keep in mind what people loved
Fun fact: weapons also had their own skills and abilities you can master if you use them enough in combat. Once you master the weapon it will unleashed unique attacks or buffs in combat.
The mastering aspect was unique to the third game. The GBA Duology just had percent chances to proc their "unleash" and certain weapons like Excalibur in the lost age had multiple versions of the unleash and it was all chance which version you'd get
Excited for the lost age video - as a kid, I only had that one and was therefore super confused about what was going on in the story (but still had fun with the gameplay).
Golden Sun is a fantastic RPG, my first RPG in fact and still probably my favorite- when I was a kid, I would hide under the covers at night with a flashlight (GBAs are not backlit!) and play it. I've been waiting for it to get a remake/sequel for a long time now. And good heavens the worldbuilding is fantastic.
So by far the coolest thing to me about Golden Sun that I still to this day have not seen another game really implement to the same extent is the fact that you use the same magic that you use in battle to solve the puzzles in the overworld. So often in RPGs magic feels like a purely offensive tool & gameplay magic that people mention in dialogue, but having you use the magic to solve puzzles really IMO cements just how useful and integral it is/can be in that world. Which also 0lays into the plot of the game because it makes it easy to imagine what the world would be like if everyone could summon giant Master Hands to life boulders for them and such. Also like 85% of the music of Golden Sun is fire.
I remember stumbling across this game new in my local mall's cd store. I knew nothing about it, but something about blurb on the back resonated with me and I knew I had to have it. It took every cent kid me had, plus a small loan from my dad, but it was worth it. I played it to death. I beat the ultimate boss, I learned to manipulate RNG to get the best weapon drops, I fought through all the chain battles in the multiplayer arena, I even played through the game a second time so I could screw up the boat segment badly enough that the boat would end up at the super dungeon. The only thing I never got around to was playing the second game. Fuck that password system.
Aww i missed your videos and edits lmao too funny love it Edit: and dude you mean a lot to me love your stuff and is well worth the wait take care of yourself
I played Golden Sun on the Wii U Virtual Console a few years ago and...while it was definitely really neat, especially considering the time, I really felt a bit let down that it couldn't be a neat and tidy experience. I think designing something with a sequel in mind is really a bit of a gamble. If they had never gotten a sequel, you'd be left with a game with no real closure. And even if people might have enjoyed the first game, they might not be that willing to shell out for the sequel right away. The dream is some kind of remake that would just mash both games together so you could get the complete experience uninterrupted but...yeah I don't see that being in the cards. Still a neat franchise I was happy to try out, and glad you enjoyed it, Clemps!
God I loved golden sun as a kid it was my favorite game for years and replaying it the other day it’s def not as good as I remember but it still has tons of charm and I love the style.
I really don't like turn based rpg combat but still loved this game, the puzzle elements and the mechanics involving the djinns were really fun, glad you discovered the series yourself!
Clemps covering one of my favorite RPGs? Yes daddy please! I look forward to how you mine some of these plot points Also, man the summons in Lost Age are chefs kiss cool
Hey folks!
Sorry for the wait, a lot has been going on over in Clemps land but I'm really happy to be back and posting content! :)
Golden Sun was a game I never had the chance to play as a kid, so playing it now was a really interesting experience. Lemme know your thoughts, and hope you're all doing well!
Hell yeah don’t worry it, lil rat you do things at your own pace
I loved this game looking forward to this review
Glad to hear from you! I got into your channel because nier content. Do you have any videos in the remake?
Loved the video. Don't beat yourself up dawg. Mental health come first. Go at your own pace.
This is definitely a game I enjoyed a lot as a kid, but when I replayed it as an adult, found it lost a lot of luster. Mechanically it's a very basic JRPG and the story was about as basic as the mechanics were. It's not like... bad, but at the end of the day it's just nothing special beyond being a really pretty game on the GBA.
Fun fact Golden Sun and Golden Sun the Lost Age were actually supposed to be one single full game. However due to hardware limitations and the grand scope they wanted to make the game be they decided to split it into two game cartridges so that they could fit all of it onto a playable form for the gameboy advanced
Then they did the same thing with the sequel but forgot to make a second game.
@@shawnjavery not forgot. Nintendo had their hands on it to tip the topic.
TL;DR It didn't sell great, Nintendo gave them apparently alot of money for trips to certain locations to gather information to be used for GS3 and also took quite some money to develop the game as Camelot isn't having alot of money on their own as a company (sadly) and because the development "took too long" the money crane was stopped which resulted in the rushed near the end stuff with a big story moment I won't spoil in case people not having experienced GS3 will read here.
And basically Camelot had to repay Nintendo for some years after that to compensate for the money they "basically flushed down the toilet".
Also from what I got many people didnt even know GS3 was a thing and I can kinda see why (I got my call when GS3 was announced in 2009's E3) due to the lack of advertisement and also, and that is more speculation, cuz the 3DS was around the corner (and I think Super Mario galaxy 2?) so.. it happened to be born under an illfated star one could say.
@@Evilriku13 "TLDR"
>is longer than the rest of the post
Very informative regardless
@@Evilriku13 that is unfortunate. I didn't know a third one existed and I will probably try to imagine they never got the chance to do one now.
@@GameTimeWhy It's not a bad game. Looks and plays like the other 2 except with 3D and you're the kids of those Adepts of old. Just uhhh... don't try to follow along with It's story because it hurts XD
Fun fact! On the ship segment, you can actually choose specific set ups of replacement rowers to give you early access to a literal pirate treasure island, where you can properly go back to later to fight the first game's super boss
One of my favorite super bosses in RPGs.
I found that island on complete accident by getting my ass whooped by a lizard. It was one of my favorite discoveries in this game
@@settingittowumbo1953 same here
Can't wait for The Lost Age review. This is a series I'd love to see return.... if only to lessen the slap in the face that was the ending of Dark Dawn.
The ending would’ve been fine if the sequel was in the works.
I'm just sitting here patiently waiting Nintendo to add a Golden Sun + Golden Sun the Lost Age bundle on the switch. A game where I don't have to spend 20 minutes typing in a code to transfer data from one game to the other? Yes please!
I daresay the whole of Dark Dawn was a slap in the face.
@@steampowered6883 You're not wrong. Sveta/Stella (depending on region) was about the only part I genuinely enjoyed if only because it felt good to bitchslap enemies around in her beast form.
What ending?
I love Golden Sun. It still has one of the best uses of in-game powers. That you can use Psynergy in and out of battle, the latter of which to solve puzzles, was mind-blowing as a kid, and oddly enough, has never really been utilized to its full potential since.
It's so weird, right? There is this unspoken RPG rule that magic can only happen in battle or a menu.
13:02 Oh man, this is every conversation in Tales of Vesperia too. It got maddening when I was playing that. XD
This series is so underrated and absolutely deserves a remaster/remake on modern consoles
rather overshadowed, as the series is seen quite highly by those who played it aka it's got its positive ratings. Tho GS3 is a bit trashtalked too hardly online (at least form my circles) so I see it as an underrated atmospheric and visually pleasing attempt, even if it has some rough edges and painful points of no returns like twice in the game.
Golden sun was *such* a fun game to play on the Gameboy, especially since it's definitely a breath of fresh air from most people playing Pokemon, myself included, lol. The atmosphere and plot, along with the characters, made it for a very interesting game to play, one I hope to get back into eventually
As for me, I loved the graphics and music. The soundtrack had a lasting impression on me, and every one of those portraits is such a treat to look at. I don't know if I've found a game where the character designer put so much love into their portraits. The puzzles were mostly a lot of fun too. This game really was quite the experience.
God I remember the final boss fight taking so long, I had to leave my Gameboy plugged in overnight and bring it to school the next day to finish the fight between classes. It felt so literally epic lmao
The environmental puzzles were such a treat. GS is one of the few JRPGs where it feels like you still have your powers outside battle. In the decades before BotW, this was the game that made you feel clever for using your magic to manipulate the environment, even if all the interactions were planned. It felt so alive and convincing.
Golden Sun Reloaded mods fix the class, attack and item balancing while making the enemies and bosses harder without being ridiculous. Highly recommended. In its vanilla form, the mono-elemental classes are much neater if you plan to use summons.
Dang, where can I find it?
I wouldn't really call it balanced some of the bosses (Poseidon) become literally unbeatable.
I dunno about that... A lot of bosses go full ridiculously hard. Specially if it's your first time playing it
The Soundtrack is composed by Motoi Sakuraba, which you may recognize as the Composer for the Dark Souls franchise
Golden Sun was definitely a huge part of my childhood. I got into Final Fantasy a bit later, but Golden Sun brought me back to rpgs. The dialogue and story aren't the best, but the world building, the combat, and the puzzles are what really tickled my pickle.
Don't remember if this was more implemented in the other games, but special or unique weapons also had their own special ability that you can rank up and trigger through critical hits, adding to the combat depth. Certain pieces of equipment also grant you specific synergy. It's all really cool. It's sad we haven't gotten a new golden sun since Dark Dawn. The octopath engine i think would be great for a new one.
FACTS
I still have my copy of Dark Dawn. Even though it wasn't as good but it's GOLDEN SUN
Right and Nintendo has Golden Suns creator making games like Mario golf rush smh. C'mon Nintendo!
Yes, the graphical style for some sprites are indeed pre-rendered 3D models turned into 2D sprites.
Camelot software used to be Sega's "Sonic! Software Planning" team, and the art style and techniques used in Golden Sun are pretty much lifted 1:1 from their earlier title Shining The Holy Ark on Sega Saturn, right on up to character sprite design, musical composition, speech sound effects, and emote bubbles.
So, if you want a good example of this art style on a more "powerful" system with higher resolution, check it out.
Oof, sorry you had to run all the way back to Imil twice. You can actually complete the Mercury Lighthouse first if you just skip Kolima and go northwest from the jump. That way you can have Mia and the Water of Healing before you even set foot in the forest. It's a little harder but it's a huge time save. Looking forward to your next video! Golden Sun was one of my favorite games growing up so it's great to see people still getting into it in 2022!
"It was designed with a sequel in mind" is a funny way to say "two games were meant to be one but storage limitations happened."
Clemps out here playing one of my favorite RPGs! GS has a lot of elements that didn't age too well (random battles, characters like Sheba not being introduced too well), but the battle system and puzzle solving are great and I wish more rpgs had a good mix like the way these games do. For as wordy as the dialogue can get (especially Dark Dawn...), I still find it charming, makes the characters a bit more lively.
It does have random battles, yes, but those can be mitigated via Avoid or Sacred Feather. Although it still doesn't work well at a low level (unlike say Mrbl3 in Breath Of Fire).
Yes, as far as I know they did make 3D models for the enemies and then rendered them in 2D. I love the aesthetics and graphics of this game. Great review btw!
Once again we have been given a cookie 🍪 thank you for this mental cookie that I really really needed right now 💕
The dungeons were also top notch.
They're not just a corridor that goes from point A to point B.
We have to actually change it, create bridges, fix mechanisms in order to advance, go upstairs and push a block to the lower floor to make a path.
If we look at Octopath Traveler, an amazing RPG, its dungeons are no more than corridors, with a couple hidden detours with a treasure chest at the end, and that's it.
Thank you for blessing this game with your review.
It's one of my favorite JRPGs growing up and it really deserves the recognition.
Loved the video! so, there is one little thing about the Golden Sun/Lost Age duology that should be mentioned. If you have clear data from GS1, you can get a transfer code that allows you to move over a whole bunch of stuff to Lost Age when you start it up (money, djinn, probably other stuff). The thing with that is, the code itself is very long (multiple pages) with some similar looking characters to throw you off. There's also a link cable transfer method, but I didn't have that luxury back in the day.
there is also a code that you can use to have those stuff without playing the 1st sequel.. Ivan's party will have those items that you can swap/share with Felix's party..
Woo! Always a treat to see one of your videos show up in my feed.
Golden Sun is my favorite game of all time. What's interesting is my Dad gave it to me as a kid, even though he knows absolutely nothing about video games.
Also, another thing is how it syncs up to The Lost Age.
Amazing review as always, Clemps! Also, the Selen reference made me choke on my water. LOL
I would love to see this series make a comeback, it was simple but it was a fun experience and the story is nice
Absolutely delighted you're reviewing Golden Sun!! It's one of my all time favs!
I'm very happy you're backing to posting again! Can't wait to watch this review, I've always been curious about this game ^^
This game blew my mind as a kid. I remember seeing a few screenshots of the battles and thinking "what? no way this is on a portable. Can't look THAT good." And boyyyy was I wrong...
I miss this series, to be honest. I actually don't remember much about it (though the first one sticks with me the most) because I played through each of the games *once* when they came out, which was years ago, but I do remember having a really good time with it. I liked the fact that you had these abilities you could just use out on the field. It was such a simple thing, but being able to telekinetically move a block or platform to solve a puzzle felt good... lol
Fun fact about the boat, if you choose three weak/elderly people to replace the oarsmen you actually go off course and end up getting to an optional dungeon early, although you can’t get all the way through it yet.
Yup, great secret and a chance to nab some nice upgrades before Colosso
I have not seen any of your videos before this today and have to say, I really like the way you include the random but oh so fitting sounds and memes into your video. Also shoutout to the babby meme
i've seen a good chunk of your content over the years so lately i've been rewatching a lot of it when going to bed and it's been cozy background noise, so thank u clemps ❤🐀great vid btw!!
Yay! Golden Sun! Can’t wait for Lost Ages. Also, love that hint at Lost Odyssey, I love that game.
So glad you're giving these games a shot! Golden Sun is funny in that if you said Nintendo was making a JRPG with a brand new IP, Golden Sun is more or less exactly the game I'd picture them making. Many of your standard JRPG conventions are present but it also has a number of uniquely Nintendo things, both good and bad, to give it that special flavor.
Oh and I feel you on that early backtracking part. Fortunately, you can do the Mercury Lighthouse sequence before the forest one significantly cutting down on the time spent. Unfortunately, you aren't likely to know that your first time playing...
Hey Clemps, awesome vid! About the sprite style you were wondering about, this is basically the same idea as Camelot's earlier game Shining the Holy Ark for Sega Saturn. Check it out, it's a fun dungeon crawler. I'm guessing the prerendered sprites were a compromise, since Saturn wasn't too great at full 3d stuff.
Ahhhh I’m so excited to see you talk about this series! Like you I didn’t have many games as a kid but this was one of the three that I owned, so I played it to death! The second one really takes the cake though, it unfolds everything in such an amazing way that it all feels so much more complete by the end. That said take as long as you need to get there! Videos are just videos and your well-being is irreplaceable, so take care of yourself most of all!
I love this video, I love you, THANK YOU CLEMPS for providing me with yet another 21 minutes of entertainment that I'll be coming back to again and again to catch all the jokes, little and big, as I go on a nostalgia trip about an old favorite. Patreon here I come!
Ya know, I was just thinking earlier today that it would be a nice time for a new Clemps video.
Awesome. I have so many childhood memories of this game and it feels great to see someone make a video about it after all those years. I'm excited for the sequel.
15:00 yes, pretty much they pulled a DKC/Killer Instinct and took a 3D model, downscaled it, and took a series of images at different poses and angles to create a sprite sheet
I loved this game so much growing up. The puzzles were fun and the combat would literally hand you your own ass sometimes.
Still a fave I have played in adulthood.
Yay! I love Golden Sun and I love Clemps. This brightened up my sick day. Lol
I'm happy to see you post, you haven't let me down in any way. Glad you're doing some better, even with the wait the excitement is real. Frequently I recall "But why?!" from Drakengard 2 and your bit with the spilled water.
Golden Sun was actually when I fell in love with jrps in general. Played it before any final fantasy or anything like that. Loved the Djinn system and summons, loved the puzzles, loved the graphics and story.
It's the main reason I'd love them to bring GBA games to the switch.
You've never let me down with any of your content. I dont care. I'm here for your sense of humor and voice ♡
This has brightened my day! Though my housemate is probably wondering why I am laughing so dang much (it was "put that thing back where it came from or so help me", by the way)
Golden Sun and it's sequel are some of the best rpgs to play, full stop. Mechanics still better than some games today. Music still good cause it's a genre these days, haha.
Only problem (for me) is the "voice's" take a bit to get used too if you restart the game again, that one part is a little dated.
Loved the vid Clemps! So glad you’re back
YES! I'm so glad we have another video from you, and it's of one of my favorite JRPGs! I so badly hope we would get a remake or sequel game in the series.
Ohhh what a surprise, happy to see you make this review 🙌👏
Really happy to see you back making content again. The Golden Sun games were immensely special to me as a kid.
This was my absolute favorite game when I was a kid, so I was excited to see someone making a video about it. I love this review!!
Literally was just thinking about when you would upload another video and then I woke up to this last week. So glad to see you making more content again and for such a great game! Hope you have been doing well!!
Oh my god you have no idea the scream I let out when I saw this video on my feed. I'm so happy you played this and are playing The Lost Age. They are my FAVORITE RPGs of my childhood. From age 8 to 11 I BARELY cared about POKEMON FOR THIS GAME. Great video as always you lovely rat you.
I had a lot of fun watching your review! I loved golden Sun and wanted to finish both of them but I got stuck at some point during lost age and just stopped :( one thing I remember liking about it a lot was the special weapons activating their effects. They were neat to watch and made the magic gear you found even cooler
Always happy to see the fanbase grow. We're few but proud.
that random selen's laugh clip gives me life, ty for that.
So glad you did a review on this. One of the nicest gems I've found for the GBA and a amazing jrpg to boot.
Ever since I saw you mention that you loved Lost Odyssey in one of your older reviews (Drakengard i think?), I've been waiting for you to decide to make a video on it, so when I saw the teaser you put in I literally yelped out loud in excitement! Can't wait for that video, as Lost Odyssey is a great game that doesn't get enough credit imo. That said, the most important thing is your mental health, so don't overwork yourself just to get out longer videos, I'm plenty happy waiting and seeing you happy and healthy as opposed to burnt out and stressed!
The adult in me is contemplating my life's purpose, but the young boy in me is hype af to hear anyone talk about Golden Sun. Great vid
Always fun to see fresh eyes on old vintage JRPG's I grew up with when I was a YA.
Another good Golden Sun video Ryrule, as always.
(Keep it up Clemps~)
Great review, your writing and editing are top notch as always!!
Never knew much about Golden Sun aside from Smash, but wow this game looks REALLY impressive for a GBA title!
I love the sound effects of this game. They sound so satisfying.
i’ve had a Truly Awful february but this video has brought me such joy. so so grateful for the content you put out and will forever patiently wait for more. love and care you so much rat dad ♥️♥️♥️
Honestly man, I hear you. You feel bad for not making content faster. But here's the thing your content is GOOD so like it doesn't really matter to me too much.
Daily videos become boring after a while. Your upload rate probably contributes to how much I appreciate your content. It's like a sweet little macaroon for my brain and my nostalgia. You always cover great games from my past and. Even some Ive never played. It is however easier for me to feel like you're videos are a special treat BECAUSE of the rate of release. Do I want more? Absolutely, I could listen to you talk about ffta all day. Do I NEED more for you to saltay relevant in my mind? No, you do not overstay your welcome. You're that pourage that's juuuuust right =u= I love your content and I will be following you loyally for as long as you choose to upload. Great job as usual.
I hope this helps vindicate you and helps you realize that even though RUclips is your job. You don't owe anything to us, you owe it to you and your creative process. We love you, you strange little man.
Makes me happy to see a fresh video on such an oldie.
One of my favorite video game series. Like most other fans I know I played it as a kid so it has that nostalgia factor that tends to blind me from it's flaws but it's nice to know even all these years later it still holds up for someone who playing the game fresh. The music in this game has left an indelible mark on me since childhood. Saturos' boss theme is one of my top 10 favorite video game tracks.
Never heard of this game! Glad I have your channel to learn about it! Thanks for the vids, mate!
I feel the mental health stuff though. Trust me, it's worth it to blame yourself less for stuff - getting over emotional paralysis is the key to getting the ball rolling!
It does look like they rendered at least some of the characters as 3D objects and then exported them as sprites. That was a pretty popular way of doing sprites sometimes for more complicated characters, instead of having to draw everything by hand. Donkey Kong Country is a very famous example, also Super Mario World. It just hasn't aged super well in general compared to the hand drawn or hand plotted sprites.
Have very fond memories of this game! I had broke my game boy advance at the time and had never play the second one so I'm excited to watch your next video. Would be a dream to see the series come back possibly by the people that made octopath traveler/triangle strategy
I've been so eagerly awaiting this video since the GS art you posted on twitter!
I've a nostalgic sweet spot for this basic little rpg.
Bravo Clemps, your videos are so consistently fun to watch I almost have no words. You continue to be my favourite video game review video editor on RUclips!
As for the review itself though I'd want maybe a bit more information about the game, but what's here is still enough to make me want to play it so I guess if that's what you're going for then I'll shut up lol
I remember playing this game back in the day and my friend was like DUDE THERES GOING TO BE A 2ND GAME CALLED SILVER SUN. I was like no way!! Then saw Lost Age months later thinking what the hell is this lmao
Never have I been this thankful for your video Clemps! Golden Sun may no longer be Nintendo's jrpg, but man this game was certainly unique for what rpgs were at the time!
I've known about this game forever now but never played the game. But still missed your reviews regardless. Might have to check it out now. Looking forward to your Lost Odyssey review. It's easily in my top 5 games of all time.
6:51 That's exactly what they did, Rare did the same thing with DK Country and it gave the games a lot of their charm
I recently finished this game and currently playing lost age, i really enjoyed this game and love the twist in the combat they made it's truly unique and i hope they make a nother one with today's hardware but keep in mind what people loved
2:32 mmm Guts theme
What is that song at 16:52? I hear it in all your videos and I KNOW it from somewhere but I cannot place it.
Aw hell yeah! Looking damn foward to watching this one!
Fun fact: weapons also had their own skills and abilities you can master if you use them enough in combat. Once you master the weapon it will unleashed unique attacks or buffs in combat.
The mastering aspect was unique to the third game. The GBA Duology just had percent chances to proc their "unleash" and certain weapons like Excalibur in the lost age had multiple versions of the unleash and it was all chance which version you'd get
Heeey, the lost age has to be in my top 3 games ever, thanks for talking about these games Clemps!
Excited for the lost age video - as a kid, I only had that one and was therefore super confused about what was going on in the story (but still had fun with the gameplay).
Ty for the review, loved this game growing up!
Golden Sun is a fantastic RPG, my first RPG in fact and still probably my favorite- when I was a kid, I would hide under the covers at night with a flashlight (GBAs are not backlit!) and play it. I've been waiting for it to get a remake/sequel for a long time now.
And good heavens the worldbuilding is fantastic.
So by far the coolest thing to me about Golden Sun that I still to this day have not seen another game really implement to the same extent is the fact that you use the same magic that you use in battle to solve the puzzles in the overworld. So often in RPGs magic feels like a purely offensive tool & gameplay magic that people mention in dialogue, but having you use the magic to solve puzzles really IMO cements just how useful and integral it is/can be in that world. Which also 0lays into the plot of the game because it makes it easy to imagine what the world would be like if everyone could summon giant Master Hands to life boulders for them and such.
Also like 85% of the music of Golden Sun is fire.
Omg I saw the thumbnail and gave this an instant like!!!
Ayyy saw you in Selen's chat. Just wanna say, good taste in vtuber my man.
I always stop what I'm doing whenever I discover there's a new Clemps video out. And on a classic gba RPG? You spoil us, Clemps. :)
I remember stumbling across this game new in my local mall's cd store. I knew nothing about it, but something about blurb on the back resonated with me and I knew I had to have it. It took every cent kid me had, plus a small loan from my dad, but it was worth it. I played it to death. I beat the ultimate boss, I learned to manipulate RNG to get the best weapon drops, I fought through all the chain battles in the multiplayer arena, I even played through the game a second time so I could screw up the boat segment badly enough that the boat would end up at the super dungeon. The only thing I never got around to was playing the second game. Fuck that password system.
I'm happy I'm not the only one who hated that password system
You don't *have* to use the password, so please play the second game and skip the password! It is an amazing game
Aww i missed your videos and edits lmao too funny love it
Edit: and dude you mean a lot to me love your stuff and is well worth the wait take care of yourself
I played Golden Sun on the Wii U Virtual Console a few years ago and...while it was definitely really neat, especially considering the time, I really felt a bit let down that it couldn't be a neat and tidy experience. I think designing something with a sequel in mind is really a bit of a gamble. If they had never gotten a sequel, you'd be left with a game with no real closure. And even if people might have enjoyed the first game, they might not be that willing to shell out for the sequel right away. The dream is some kind of remake that would just mash both games together so you could get the complete experience uninterrupted but...yeah I don't see that being in the cards. Still a neat franchise I was happy to try out, and glad you enjoyed it, Clemps!
Oh wow, didnt expect that. I love Golden Sun, was really epic to play it as a kid. Great memories!
God I loved golden sun as a kid it was my favorite game for years and replaying it the other day it’s def not as good as I remember but it still has tons of charm and I love the style.
What criticisms do you have of the game?
loved the vid, on easily one of my favorite games of all time. cant wait for the Lost Age video as well, if you liked GS1 you're in for a treat
I am so unbelievably stoked to watch this
>Elden RIng comes out
>Time to review Golden Sun
you have the power to make me care about games I'll never play.
Bomb-ass review clemps, it was great revisiting a childhood game of mine.
I really don't like turn based rpg combat but still loved this game, the puzzle elements and the mechanics involving the djinns were really fun, glad you discovered the series yourself!
Clemps covering one of my favorite RPGs?
Yes daddy please! I look forward to how you mine some of these plot points
Also, man the summons in Lost Age are chefs kiss cool