Golden Sun: The Lost Age is a role-playing video game released in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance. It was created by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. This game is the second in the Golden Sun series. It was first released in Japan on June 28, 2002, and later in North America and Europe in 2003.
The story takes place after the events of the first game. Players control the main characters from the first game, who are now the opposing characters. The game focuses on Felix, a character who can use magic, and his friends as they try to bring back the power of alchemy in the world of Weyard. During the game, players use Psynergy, a type of magic, to fight enemies, explore new places, help people, and find elemental djinn, which help strengthen the characters. Players can move their characters and items from the first game to The Lost Age using a password system or a Game Link Cable. Completing both games fully gives players special rewards.
When it was first released, The Lost Age was well received by critics and players. IGN listed it as the eighth-best Game Boy Advance game of 2003 and the 22nd-best overall GBA game. The game sold more than 680,000 copies. A third game in the series, called Dark Dawn, was released in 2010 and takes place thirty years after the events of the first two games.
Like the first game, The Lost Age was released again for the Wii U’s Virtual Console through the Nintendo eShop. It became available in Japan on July 23, 2014, and later in North America and PAL regions. Both Golden Sun and The Lost Age were also released on the Nintendo Classics service on January 17, 2024.
Gameplay
The Lost Age follows the same traditional role-playing video game structure as Golden Sun. Players control a group of characters as they travel through a fantasy-themed world, interact with other characters, fight monsters, learn magic spells, collect equipment, and follow a set story. While many actions are required to move the story forward, players can complete many tasks in the order they choose. Visiting earlier locations to advance the story and complete goals is more important in The Lost Age than in the previous game.
Most gameplay outside of battles happens in the game’s overworld or inside dungeons, caves, and other areas with puzzles built into their design. Unlike the original game, where players walked across the overworld except for a short boat ride, much of The Lost Age’s gameplay involves sailing a magical ship across a large sea to reach different continents and islands. To solve puzzles, players must push pillars to create paths between high areas, climb or descend cliffs, or find special items to progress. Many puzzles rely on Psynergy, a type of magic that requires players to find items that give new abilities. Learning new Psynergy spells allows players to access new areas and uncover hidden secrets in the game world.
Besides battles, Psynergy is also used in puzzles and exploration. Some Psynergy can only be used in battles or in the overworld, while others work in both. For example, the “Frost” spell can harm enemies in battle or turn water into ice pillars for puzzles. Players gain more Psynergy spells as the game progresses by leveling up or using special items. Each new Psynergy spell helps players reach more locations and discover hidden parts of the game. Players often need to return to earlier areas to solve puzzles they couldn’t complete before due to lacking specific Psynergy abilities.
The Lost Age includes both random monster battles and required fights that move the story forward. When a battle starts, a separate screen appears with the enemy team on one side and the player’s team on the other. During battles, characters and the background move around in a 3D-like visual effect.
In battle, players must defeat enemies using weapons, offensive Psynergy spells, or other ways to cause damage, while keeping their team alive with items and supportive Psynergy that heal or strengthen defenses. If all players’ characters lose all their health, the team is sent back to the last village they visited and loses money. Winning a battle gives experience points, coins, and sometimes rare items. A competitive battling mode is also available from the menu, where players can fight CPU-controlled enemies or other players.
A key feature of the Golden Sun series is elemental creatures called Djinn (singular: Djinni), which appear throughout the game. The Lost Age adds new types of Djinn. Excluding those only found in the original Golden Sun, there are eleven Djinn for each of the four elements that can be assigned to each character. Djinn improve a character’s abilities, increasing maximum health, Psynergy points, and other stats, and changing the Psynergy spells they can use. Djinni can also be used to attack enemies directly by summoning powerful elemental spirits. Once used, Djinni no longer boost a character’s stats but can be used to attack. This is the strongest but riskiest attack method, as it leaves the Djinni unavailable to support the character’s abilities. After being used in a summon, a Djinni must rest for several turns before returning to the character. However, using a Djinni in this way temporarily increases the character’s strength in the summon’s element during the battle.
Synopsis
In most of the game, the player controls four characters. The main character is Felix, an eighteen-year-old Venus Adept from the village of Vale. Felix was an anti-hero in the previous game, Golden Sun. His younger sister, Jenna, is a seventeen-year-old Mars Adept from Vale. Sheba is a fourteen-year-old Jupiter Adept, and Kraden is an elderly scholar known for his wisdom. These four characters were forced to accompany Felix by his former masters, Saturos and Menardi, who were Mars Adepts and the main villains in Golden Sun. Saturos and Menardi are now deceased. In the game, Felix tries to complete the mission that Saturos and Menardi originally planned: to restore Alchemy to the world of Weyard. Early in the game, Felix and his group meet Piers, a Mercury Adept who owns a ship that helps them travel across Weyard.
In The Lost Age, several groups of characters oppose Felix. He is in conflict with Isaac, the leader of the heroes from Golden Sun. Isaac and his team believe that restoring Alchemy could harm Weyard. One of Saturos’ former allies, Alex, a powerful Mercury Adept, teams up with Karst and Agatio, two strong Mars Adepts. Karst is Menardi’s younger sister.
Like Golden Sun, The Lost Age takes place in the world of Weyard. Isaac’s group killed Saturos and Menardi, but they managed to activate two of the four Elemental Lighthouses across Weyard. Felix and his group continue Saturos’ mission to activate the remaining two lighthouses, which will restore Alchemy. Felix is joined by Jenna, Sheba, and Kraden. The group searches for a ship to travel to the western part of Weyard and learns about Piers, a man wrongly accused of piracy. After proving Piers’ innocence, he joins their journey. Meanwhile, Isaac’s group continues to chase Felix’s team. The group also learns that Alex has allied with Karst and Agatio to stop Felix.
Felix’s group reaches Piers’ home, a hidden society called Lemuria, which is located far out at sea. There, they meet Hydros, the ancient king of Lemuria. Hydros explains that Alchemy is essential to Weyard’s life force. Without it, parts of the world have collapsed. Felix travels to activate the Jupiter Lighthouse. However, Isaac’s group is trapped by Karst and Agatio, who steal the Mars Star from Isaac. Felix saves Isaac, but Karst and Agatio escape with the Mars Star.
Felix explains to Isaac that restoring Alchemy is necessary to save Weyard. Saturos and Menardi wanted to do this to help their home colony, Prox, which is near the Mars Lighthouse. Felix also reveals that his parents and Isaac’s father are alive and being held hostage in Prox to force him to cooperate. Isaac agrees to help Felix, and the group travels north to activate the Mars Lighthouse.
The group discovers that Karst and Agatio have turned into mindless dragons and must defeat them. Before dying, Karst and Agatio return the Mars Star. At the top of the Mars Lighthouse, the Wise One, a being who originally asked Isaac to stop Alchemy’s release, appears. He warns that humans might destroy Weyard if they gain such power. When Isaac insists on breaking the seal, the Wise One summons a giant, three-headed dragon. The dragon is revealed to be Isaac’s father and the parents of Felix and Jenna, combined by the Wise One to test the group’s determination. After defeating the dragon, the group activates the Mars Lighthouse.
After all four lighthouses are activated, the process to restore Alchemy begins at Mt. Aleph. Alex appears and admits he used the lighthouses to gain power from the Golden Sun, a form of Alchemy. However, the Wise One prevented him from succeeding, and Alex dies as the mountain collapses. Meanwhile, Isaac’s father and Felix and Jenna’s parents are brought back to life by the light from the Mars Lighthouse. They join the group on their journey back to Vale. When they arrive, they find that Vale and most of Mt. Aleph have sunk into the ground. However, the Wise One had telepathically told the villagers to evacuate, including Isaac’s mother. The group reunites with their loved ones, ending the game.
Development and release
The Lost Age was first introduced to Japan in early 2002, with the magazine Famitsu being the first to review the game. Many people were excited about the game, and it was the top game on IGN's list of Game Boy Advance "Most Wanted" games for 2003. The North American version was playable at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2002. GameSpot previewed a version of The Lost Age adapted for different regions in February 2003, and noted that the game improved upon its predecessor's graphics system, with "the environments in the game featuring rich detail with small additions—such as birds that fly away as you approach." The game was released in Japan on June 28, 2002, and the following year in North America on April 14, in Australia on April 17, and in Europe on September 19.
Reception
The Lost Age generally received positive reviews, but critics had different opinions about whether it was better than the original Golden Sun. On Metacritic, The Lost Age has an 86% average score, compared to Golden Sun's 91%. Similarly, GameRankings gave The Lost Age an 87% overall score, slightly lower than Golden Sun's 90%. However, The Lost Age was ranked 78th on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games list, which is higher than its predecessor. It was also listed as the 69th best game made for a Nintendo system in Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list.
IGN praised the sequel, noting that while most game mechanics stayed the same, the addition of more complex puzzles was a welcome change. The Lost Age became IGN's "Game of the Month" in April 2003. Shane Bettenhausen of Electronic Gaming Monthly said that although The Lost Age is "not going to win any originality contests (it looks, sounds, and feels nearly identical to its predecessor), when more of the same means more high-quality roleplaying, I can't complain." Other publications highlighted the game's strong graphics and audio. Later, the publication named The Lost Age the best Game Boy Advance game of April 2003.
Some publications pointed out issues with problems that remained from the original game, such as the combat system. IGN and GamePro criticized the lack of "smart" combat, explaining that if an enemy is killed before other party members attack it, those members switch to defense instead of attacking the remaining enemies. Ethan Einhorn of GameNOW said the only features that made the fighting system better than typical RPGs were the graphics. GameSpy believed Camelot could have added more features to the game.
The Lost Age sold 96,000 copies in its first week in Japan, making it the best-selling game of that period. By November 21, 2004, the game had sold 249,000 copies in Japan and 437,000 copies in North America.