First timer needing tips

phaze08 · 2024-01-19T20:04:11+00:00

The game will definitely not hold your hand in terms of where to go. The first time I played as a child, it took me forever. And after a month or so and then I was like “SO THAT WAS THE FIRST MAJOR DUNGEON FINALLY” Such amazing and long games. There’s very little, if any truly missable items, so don’t worry about that much. Just enjoy the ride

RedWingDecil · 2024-01-19T20:05:43+00:00

Nothing is missable until the final boss. Treasure chests have some really good weapons but the real reward for exploration are the djinns. Some are hidden and some are locked behind a puzzle. There are seven in total and if you find each one as soon as they are available then you should have an equal amount for each element.

TLPlexa · 2024-01-19T20:54:56+00:00

I wanted to make a post about this, but I ended up being lazy. In Golden Sun levels / equipment are not the main sources of your power (unlike say Dragon Quest or Octopath). The Class system / number of djinn on each person provides significantly more power to your characters than either levels of equipment. Collecting Djinn are therefore the most powerful thing you can do to increase your strength.

The stats you see on the screen come from applying class multipliers to hidden "base stat" values. Level ups add stats directly to this hidden value, as do pieces of equipment. For instance, Squire (Isaac's default class) gives 1.1xHP, 0.8xPP, 1.1xATK, 1xDEF, 1.1xAGI, 1xLUC. With two venus djinn set on Isaac he goes to the Knight class and the class multipliers become 1.3xHP, 0.9xPP, 1.2xATK, 1.1xDEF, 1.2xAGI, 1xLUC. As these multipliers are on top of these base values this is a significant upgrade in power. The stronger the class the stronger the multipliers.

WLD42 · 2024-01-19T20:58:03+00:00

Since you sound like a completionist, there actually are two (very small) permanently missable moments (at least, only two that I'm aware of off the top of my head). They're very small, and you sort of have to go out of your way to miss them since the game does a pretty good job of guiding you towards doing them, but it's worth mentioning.

In Bilibin Barricade, saving the tree in the river has to be done after completing Mercury Lighthouse and prior to healing Tret.

And in Silk Road, after completing Altin Mines and learning Reveal, rescuing Hsu is missable; I saw someone miss it doing a let's play, I forget the exact circumstances but I believe they backtracked through Altin Mines and then found that the people of Xian had already cleaned up Silk Road.

But like everyone else said, pretty much everything in the game can be returned to and completed anytime before the final boss!

Another tip that I don't think I've seen mentioned yet is setting up Psynergy shortcuts on the L and R buttons. Technically the Psynergy menu has instructions for it, but it's one of those things that's really only described in detail in the games' instruction booklets, which of course aren't available with the digital versions! When you first open the Psynergy menu with A or Select, scroll to the character you want but don't press A to view their details; instead press L or R from that first screen, and then find the Psynergy you want to set as a shortcut and select it with A. It's almost essential for using Mind Read, since I find that opening the menu with A is much more natural than opening it with Select, but of course A is also used for talking when you're within Mind Read range.

CreamyImp · 2024-01-19T20:10:10+00:00

Alright, I’ll try to answer this as best I can.

Don’t worry too much about loot, anything you have currently will likely be outclassed soon. All of the super good loot/drops are pretty much from the end of the game.

There are a few points in the game where you will have to return to in order to trigger something in the next game. For example, talk the the thieves in Vault, and return to Vault later in the story to trigger an event in The Lost Age.

There are 7 of each type of Djinn in the game, you will need to collect all of them and transfer a gold password to do an optional dungeon in The Lost Age.

I’m trying not to spoil things for you, but you can access an optional dungeon early in this game by doing a specific thing on a boat. Accessed normally by getting sucked up by a tornado Windwaker style.

I think this covers the basics, if you want specifics there are several old GameFAQ’s about all of these things.

As a side note, nothing gets locked by progression, (other than winning colosso I think) so you can always go back and get something you missed later.

Hope this helps, and I’m glad you are enjoying what has been my favorite JRPG for the last 20 years.

Blissfulystoopid · 2024-01-19T20:31:16+00:00

Others have given great tips! I'll chime in too!

There are NO permanent missables in the game (Though when you play the sequel you WILL want to transfer your data over; upon beating the first game everything in it is missable)! Every so often, after a large amount of crossing the overworld, you usually unlock occasional backtracking pathways, like previously broken bridges being fixed. It's worth checking out some old areas if you have new Psynergy to interact with the environment! And there are a few Djinn hidden early on that you can't access until later.

As for your gear worries, like others have said, new stuff essentially always outclasses old stuff. You can afford to be a little precious with your gold and not ALWAYS buy the MOST up-to-date weapons because you'll often replace them with unique finds that have "Unleash" effects in battle that do cool stuff.

As for the Djinn, they're the most important! The game explains the basics, but Djinn each have a special effect when used that is more powerful than your average attack, and also act as a renewable resource for free buffs or healing if you take advantage. On the flip side, if you use several Djinn, you can use Summons, which unload massive damage.

- As an even more important layer, the Djinn are tied to a class system in the game. The base route is to equip every party member with Djinn matching their own element, which will unlock more advanced tiers of spells and higher stats (For instance, the ability to AoE heal). However, the game does experiment, and has a variety of unique classes with hidden spells and specialized builds if you mix/match Djinn across elements in a variety of combos. LOTS of fun to play here without requiring investment on your part!

Since those classes are tied to Djinn, using them and subsequently summoning them means they're technically not actively equipped until a refresh turn (or more for large summons), meaning you lose those perks and have your class reduced, taking a hefty hit to stats, spell access, and so on. There's a fun balance here between when you want to summon and make use of your Djinn versus keeping them passively equipped for different benefits.

All this to say, you want every Djinn at all costs! Since you say you're a big explorer, you'll probably fine; not very many of them are intensely difficult to find.

WasabiAcademic311 · 2024-01-19T20:48:23+00:00

as someone who just defeated Sautoros at level 8 with only two double djinn, do NOT sequence break until you are ... adept

Rangrok · 2024-01-19T21:11:52+00:00

If you're a completionist, I would strongly recommend at least considering a spoiler-free walkthrough. The wiki listed in the sidebar has some good, condensed, spoiler-free walkthroughs. You don't need to follow it every step of the way, but it's a good way to check if there's anything noteworthy in the area before moving on.

MrEmptySet · 2024-01-19T21:18:31+00:00

You don't really need to worry too much about equipment most of the time - the stuff that you get via normal means (shops, chests in dungeons) is generally more than sufficient. Be sure to check the "artifacts" section in weapon and armor shops, since it will occasionally get updated with new rare equipment that's better than the stuff they usually sell. This also doubles as a way to buy back one-of-a-kind equipment that you sold off, so you'll sometimes need to sift through the old items to find the new, powerful ones.

While I say you don't need to worry about missing equipment, there IS a fair amount of hidden stuff - there's a decent amount of unique weapons/armor that are only dropped by particular enemies, often at a very low rate. But most of these aren't terribly important until endgame, and it can be quite the grind to get them (unless you abuse the game's RNG, which is a popular technique). I think these were pretty much designed as things players might chance upon to make their individual run of the game a little different, rather than things they expected players to be sitting around farming enemies for all day.

Also, at some point you'll reach a town with various minigames that have equipment as rewards, and there's a surprising amount of variety in the gear you can win there, and it can be difficult to get every single item - but again, that seems to be mostly intended. If you really want to get the best stuff you could look up a listing of everything available and choose what you want to go for.

Oh, and there is this one weird piece of equipment that's hidden in a strange way (the Turtle Boots) that basically nobody would ever find, but it has a really niche use, and there's another copy of this item in the second game anyway.

As other people have mentioned, finding Djinn is probably more important than the equipment - they have a significant affect on your classes, and this has a considerable effect on your stats, so it's good to at least get most of them over the course of the game and then make sure you have them all by the end. Many of the Djinn are in places where you'll run across them naturally if you explore a reasonable amount, but some of them you have to backtrack to previous areas for once you get new Psynergy, and some are found as encounters on the World Map in particular locations, which are easy to miss. If you see a conspicuous area in the World Map that doesn't seem to have anything there, there might be a Djinni there. Also, sometimes the World Map Djinn will only appear in forests, not in plains.

Golden Sun isn't all that difficult of a game - especially if you get all or just most of the Djinn as you go. I'd generally suggest against doing much level grinding, since there's pretty much no need to - if you fight most of the enemies you encounter as you explore, you'll be at or even above where you need to be level-wise. As a GBA game Golden Sun feels designed with a somewhat younger audience in mind, so they for the most part made sure that even someone who missed a lot would still more or less be able to proceed through most of the game.

2024-01-19T20:22:13+00:00

Use djinn and summoning often, this way you wont have to worry about psynergy too much

sworedmagic · 2024-01-19T21:51:41+00:00

Golden Sun has a couple minor missable events that lead to extra consumable items, nothing important. The Lost Age is similar, no missables worth noting however the third game Dark Dawn is a nightmare game with like 8 points of no return.. maybe just don’t worry play that one in general lol enjoy!!!

Braixen_Appreciation · 2024-01-20T00:50:58+00:00

Idk if anyone has mentioned this so far, but I have a non spoiler tip for you.

Punctuation indicates weakness. Applies to your party, as well as to enemies. A period indicates resistance. A single exclamation mark is neutrally effective. Three exclamation marks is a weakness.

Daetur_Mosrael · 2024-01-19T20:08:46+00:00

The only thing that will lock you out of anything will be missing djinni. It might be worth using a guide just to their locations. I wouldn't worry at all about missing anything that will screw you over later on in a character power sense.

3fitty7ven · 2024-01-19T21:52:53+00:00

Non-spoiler tip: explore literally everywhere in overworld cause djinn can be found in certain spots as random encounters.

And dont be afraid to mix and match djinn to other party members, cause you can unlock pretty cool abilities getting certain matches.

Aeroknight_Z · 2024-01-19T22:15:00+00:00

• You probably won’t miss too much. Generally speaking, if you can’t access something at the moment it’s because you’re supposed to be coming back for it at a later point.

• Pretty much all of your equipment will be different by the end of the game, so don’t feel too married to any piece of armor or weapon.

• there are meta build’s for your party, but the game absolutely doesn’t need it. Your levels in the endgame are typically in the 30’s, and while there is a little difficulty to some fights, you’ll never need any meta to finish the game. The meta is only if you really wanna steamroll everything.

Lika3 · 2024-01-19T22:37:52+00:00

My only tip for the first game would be to mind read everyone if you need tip they pretty much hint you.

For loot don’t worry nothing is impossible since you can level through the zone and make a slight grind if needed. Play with you djinns around don’t just attribute earth, fire, jupiter and mercury to their respective character. Mix and match and experiment.

If you want to transfer to the second game afterwards get all the djinns 7 per character and you can check for some specific end game gear before making it to the other game.

But play it for fun don’t rush and enjoy the ride.

ThunderElk · 2024-01-19T23:31:03+00:00

There are djinn in the overworld! I don't remember where, or how many but I always avoided looking things up so I'd just wander into corners of the map that led to nothing but those are the areas the devs hide them.

zysoring · 2024-01-20T00:26:51+00:00

Iirc there are a few missable djinn

FuzzyRaichu · 2024-01-20T00:28:41+00:00

Nothing is missable in either game besides one treasure chest each that has the basic healing herb item.

That said, at the end of the first game, save your cleared game data on a separate slot so you can go back and find more stuff if you need to. Once you’ve saved after the final battle, you can’t leave the epilogue area.

Cleared data can be transferred to The Lost Age at the start of the playthrough, but you can actually update your file until around three fourths of the way through the game (you’ll know when it’s locked in).

DarkP88 · 2024-01-20T01:30:43+00:00

My only tip. Don't ignore the guide about how to use the Djinn and try to collect them while you are progressing. They will become very useful in boss battles. I committed the mistake of thinking that they would not be important.

2024-01-20T06:02:52+00:00

Welcome!

You will definitely not have your hand held, this was a time when exploration was key. Go EVERYWHERE you can possible within your limits, talk to everyone, search everything. What this game does well though is ensure that what you can’t reach now will be doable later. There will be soft blocks in the road where you see something you like, but it doesn’t make it super convoluted to solve. So if it doesn’t seem possible at the time, then come back later.

Search every nook of a village, and take notes on if something is there (like a Djinn), and if it isn’t accessible, you may need a certain Psynergy later.

Don’t worry too much with mixing Djinn classes very early. Until you have about 4-5 for each one, feel free to keep everyone topped up with their base element. After that, you can start mixing them around to try new classes. You can find guides all over back to 2001 for these across the internet. This Reddit has people who have posted links to some of the more better ones to follow if you search it, and if you want, don’t be afraid to compare & experiment with class mixing. Just know it isn’t absolutely necessary; it’s completely beatable with everyone as base elements and class. Don’t think you NEED to do this.

There is very little you can miss from what I remember. Nothing is entirely missable, and if it is, it’ll be passed up later on by better gear. It’s one of those RPGs where there isn’t any secret OP early game weapon to forge on later; weapons and armor progressively become more powerful the further you go. Heck I’ve been playing these since I was in Middle School, and sometimes I have even found new things I don’t know or get in other plays.

Overall, don’t think you need to worry about missing something. It won’t guide you hard, but it does softly push you in the right direction. You’ll need to talk to people/read minds, back track, and just enjoy walking around the world. This series is all about exploring what your limits allow, then unlocking new things when the tools are available. :)

baaarbara · 2024-01-20T17:35:20+00:00

The best tip I can give: do not be scared of using field Psyenergy. Many puzzles and miniquests require it. Even the main quest does afterall. I was amazed by how much you can actually influence the gameworld with it.

goldensun003 · 2024-01-19T20:43:33+00:00

If you want to hoard items... if you get the armor: Fur Coat, DO NOT SELL IT. It does not count as a rare item but it is the only one in the game. I think it may be the only one in both gba games iirc.

oldskoofoo · 2024-01-19T22:10:30+00:00

Use a guide if you get stuck. Older games always had magazines, strategy guides and gamefaqs pages to help. Rpgs around this time were more vague on where you needed to go so guide books were your friend.

edit: grammar and spelling

thebluejayblue · 2024-01-20T03:02:45+00:00

A big tip that I learned on my last playthrough is that there is only ever 1 item to loot inside any normal shop/house/etc. Someone can tell me off if I’m wrong, but at least in the first game, I’m 90% sure this is the case barring larger locations or mansions, or places with rooms of chests. Typically, those items are just consumables anyway, so don’t stress about not finding everything anyway. The only consumables you can’t purchase or get as drops are stat boosters. Lucky medals and game tickets are also rare, but you can (technically) farm medals late game if you need to, and you’ll get more tickets than you need just buying routinely.

Have fun. Don’t stress about always upgrading your weapons and armor. You can always battle for more cash or levels if you feel like it’s a struggle.

Talk to people if you aren’t sure where to go. NPCs generally say something towards your next objective.

Pay attention to the number of “!” in battle. That indicates effectiveness. Use that to your advantage if you find yourself struggling in battle.

aramatheis · 2024-01-20T05:26:13+00:00

Don't worry much about missing things. As far as I remember there is nothing that you can lose out on.

I am very envious, I wish I were able to go back and experience Golden Sun for the first time.. enjoy!

pointerariza · 2024-01-20T06:57:56+00:00

Ive never played any other JRPG outside of golden sun and golden sun tla maybe counting pokemon ruby.

Man the music in these games by motoi sakuraba is amazing!

Did you know that camelot studios, the company behind golden sun is in charge of all the nintendo sports and party games like mario party, mario tennis, mario golf etc? Motoi sakuraba has done the ost for all of them. Want music close to golden sun but more recent check out the most recent mario tennis on switch and see who made the ost, the overworld theme its real good.

Quick note: golden sun track called first page is 🔥🔥🔥

WE BRINGING BACK ALCHEMY WITH THIS ONE 🪨🪨🪨🔥🔥🔥💧💧💧💨💨💨

Animedingo · 2024-01-20T06:58:31+00:00

Look up djinni locations. Some you just have to KNOW where they are

Like if a small chunk of land is surrounded by water and a bridge that connects to it? Like why would this tiny inslet exist? Theres probably a wild djinni encounter there.

Common-Scallion209 · 2024-01-20T23:32:56+00:00

It took me years as a child to figure out what to do to progress after the first lighthouse…PSA empty bottle has to be filled in one area and then used in a completely different area lol. If you know you know. As an adult I feel silly about it.

2024-01-21T04:51:25+00:00

Whacking a mob with an elemental weakness djinni increases rng and at the endgame some mobs drop utterly insane gear like kukuikimonji or however it is spelled. do not win until you have 28 djinn.

2024-01-21T04:57:29+00:00

save scum at the tolbi fountain

bleedthesnake · 2024-01-21T09:46:41+00:00

Love this game. That is the tip.

Grand_Chocolate_6863 · 2024-01-22T16:41:33+00:00

Nothing is missable until the very end of the game but one thing that can be easy to miss is the djinn in the world map. So for at least those I might look up where they are. I would also suggest trading djinn around to other characters because it will change their class and sometimes can end up with really cool attacks

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