List of Golden Sun characters
The following is a list of characters from Camelot Software Planning's Golden Sun series of role-playing video games, consisting of 2001's Golden Sun for Game Boy Advance and its 2003 Game Boy Advance follow-up, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, which deals with the efforts of opposing groups of magic-wielding warriors concerning the restoration of the omnipotent force of Alchemy to the fictional world of Weyard. Classified as Adepts of Weyard's four base elements of Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water, these characters possess the ability to employ a chi-like form of magic named Psynergy. Adepts among the common populace are few and far between the settlements of the game's world. The game's characters were created and illustrated by Camelot's Shin Yamanouchi.
Golden Sun playable characters
Isaac
Isaac (ロビン, Robin[1] in Japanese language versions) is the 17-year-old protagonist of the first Golden Sun and may be considered the main character of the Golden Sun series as a whole. Isaac is classified in-game as a Venus Adept, which means he is an individual with the ability to manipulate earth-based forces such as ground and plants through a sorcerous craft called Psynergy.[2] Isaac is thrust into the role of the world's savior when a group of villainous Adepts led by the pair Saturos and Menardi raids the sacred mountain shrine Mt. Aleph and steals from it the elemental jewels necessary to break a seal and unleash the force of Alchemy upon the world of Weyard; he is divinely tasked by the seal's guardian, the Wise One, to pursue Saturos and Menardi across the world and thwart their objective. In Golden Sun, the player controls Isaac as he makes a valiant cross-continental attempt to fulfill his goal, and Isaac is even able to slay Saturos and Menardi in combat at the game's finale, but he must continue to seek out and defeat the remaining members of the antagonistic group as the game's ends. During the game, Isaac plays the role of the silent protagonist, as he never speaks.
Isaac's continued effort through Golden Sun: The Lost Age to prevent the restoration of Alchemy sees his group locked in mortal combat with Karst and Agatio, warriors bent on avenging the deaths of their clanmates Saturos and Menardi, but the game's new playable protagonist Felix saves him. Afterwards, Isaac learns startling truths about Alchemy from Felix about how it is actually necessary for the world to survive, so he makes the decision to defy the Wise One's command and join Felix in restoring Alchemy to Weyard. Isaac and Felix are confronted by the Wise One himself at the game's finale, and the Wise One puts them through an incredible test of emotion and willpower via a battle with a great dragon before they can break the seal. By the game's end, Isaac and Felix's combined party of Adepts has proven itself capable of ensuring that throughout the world the newly released force of Alchemy is not abused. In the game's final scene, he is shown with his mother and father, together for the first time in three years.
30 years later, Isaac has lived in a lookout cabin overlooking the former site of Mount Aleph raising his son Matthew and investigating the Psynergy Vortexes plaguing the area. He appears only in the beginning of the game and can assist Matthew and Karis in battle before Tyrell joins the team.
Isaac is an unlockable "Assist Trophy" character in the Nintendo fighting game Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[3] When he is summoned during battle by an Assist Trophy item, Isaac conjures a large hand three times in succession by using his 'Move' psynergy to shove the player's opponents off the stage. Should enemies attempt to evade, Isaac will turn in sync to attack a selected opponent.
Garet
Garet (ジェラルド Jerarudo, Gerald[1]) is Isaac’s 17-year-old childhood best friend and playable character in the series. He is a Mars Adept, making him an individual who can employ Psynergy to magically manipulate powers of fire, heat, and lava.[2] Garet generally fits the bill of a typical “gung-ho” counterpart to Isaac in the story. He is often brash and hot tempered, oafish, clumsy, and carries a general lack of focus on important matters at hand, and is at times a source of comic relief, the first example being when Garet climbs onto Isaac's roof to meet him and accidentally pokes holes in it with his clumsy footing. Nevertheless, Garet shares complete trust between himself and Isaac as though they are brothers.
Garet is tasked by the Wise One to assist Isaac in his venture to pursue Saturos and Menardi's group of Adepts and prevent them from achieving their goal of releasing the force known as Alchemy. Garet remains a part of Isaac's party in both Golden Sun games, and late in Golden Sun: The Lost Age Garet displays selfless bravery when his party companion Mia falls into a trap and he risks his life to save her, injuring an arm in the process. In the game's final scene, he reunites with his family and is later seen laughing with Ivan and Mia.
In Dark Dawn, Garet has been living near Mount Aleph raising his son Tyrell and helping Isaac. Like Isaac, he only appears at the beginning of the game and will help Matthew and Karis in battle before they rescue Tyrell.
Ivan
Ivan (イワン Iwan)[1] is a 15-year-old boy who joins Isaac's quest early on in Golden Sun and remains a part of his party for the entire series. Ivan, as a Jupiter Adept, can use Psynergy to conjure forces of wind and electricity, and he possesses two inherent Psynergy-based talents: The ability to perceive hidden truths about environments and the ability to read the minds of people and animals alike.[2] He joins Isaac on his quest after Isaac helps him out early on, unaware at first that he is the main subject of a prophecy that predicts Ivan would join Isaac in the latter's endeavors. While Ivan functions alongside Garet and Mia as the "voices" of Isaac during in-game cutscenes in the first game (where Isaac is depicted as a silent protagonist), he does not have much bearing on the core plot itself. He is central to a subplot that spans both games and deals with his personal history and his true hometown, which is visited in The Lost Age. In the game's final scene, Ivan is seen laughing with Garet and Mia, their journey finally over.
In Dark Dawn, Ivan designed a soarwing device to get to Mount Aleph and sent it and his daughter Karis to Isaac's cabin... unknowingly setting Matthew and his friends into their adventure.
Mia
Mia (メアリィ Mearī, Mary[1] in Japanese language versions) is a 17-year-old, serene young woman who joins Isaac's party in Golden Sun as a Mercury Adept, which makes her able to use Water and Ice-based Psynergy spells.[2] She is an adept healer who has long taken care of the residents of her wintry hometown of Imil, and she and Alex, who are among the last known descendants of the ancient Mercury Clan, are responsible for ensuring that the Mercury Lighthouse is never lit as part of the process required to break Alchemy's seal. When Alex goes rogue and assists the Mars Adepts Saturos and Menardi in releasing Alchemy by lighting Mercury Lighthouse for them, Mia in response joins Isaac's party and objective to stop Saturos and Alex's group from activating the rest of the Lighthouses. Mia remains a permanent part of Isaac's group throughout Golden Sun and The Lost Age, and serves the same role as Garet and Ivan in engaging in conversation in the first game's cutscenes while Isaac is depicted as a silent protagonist. In the game's final scene, Mia is seen laughing with Garet and Ivan, their journey finally complete.
In Dark Dawn, she never appears but her children, Nowell and playable character Rief, do.
Golden Sun: The Lost Age playable characters
Felix
Felix (ガルシア Garushia, Garcia[1] in Japanese language versions) is the 18-year-old protagonist of Golden Sun: The Lost Age and may be considered the game's counterpart and rival to the previous game's Isaac because he too is a Venus Adept, possessing the ability to manipulate earth-based forces of nature such as terra and flora through Psynergy. Formerly Isaac's childhood friend, Felix appears in Golden Sun as an anti-hero figure who is indebted to serve and assist Saturos[4] in his objective to restore Alchemy to the world; this sets him and Isaac up as rivals-in-conflict throughout all of Golden Sun and most of The Lost Age. Felix is possessed by a strong conviction to help Saturos achieve his goal of breaking Alchemy's seal, enough that when Isaac's party is able to slay Saturos in battle, Felix declares that he will continue on in Saturos' stead, to Isaac's exasperation.
It is on this note that Felix's journey in The Lost Age begins and progresses, where he becomes the game's new silent protagonist and it becomes the player's objective to activate the remaining Elemental Lighthouses and bring back Alchemy. Leading his party of Jenna, Sheba, Piers, and Kraden on his journey, fate eventually brings Felix to save Isaac from death at the hands of Karst and Agatio. Felix is properly able to explain to Isaac why the breaking of Alchemy's seal is so important both to the world's welfare and that of his captive parents, and Isaac and his party agree to join forces with Felix's group and embark on the rest of Felix's quest all together. In the game's final scene, Felix is celebrating the end of his journey with all his friends, Jenna on his back, the two laughing.
Following the events of The Lost Age Felix left his homeland and has not been seen since.
Jenna
Jenna (ジャスミン Jasumin, Jasmine[1] in Japanese language versions) is one of Isaac and Garet's childhood friends and a playable character in both Golden Sun and The Lost Age, the former as a guest character in the game's outset. She is the 17-year-old younger sister of Felix and is a Mars Adept (able to use Fire-based Psynergy).[5] It is hinted throughout both games that she and Isaac have feelings for one another; in Dark Dawn, she has been said to be Matthew's mother. Jenna is deeply affected by a disaster that occurred at her hometown, Vale, three years before the present when a boulder disaster appeared to kill her entire family. In the present, Jenna is thunderstruck when she sees that her brother is alive but part of Saturos and Menardi's group of Adepts, who invade the Sol Sanctum shrine, steal the Elemental Stars, and take her and Kraden hostage. Jenna becomes a conventional "Damsel in distress" character that Isaac and Garet must try to save from Saturos and Felix as she is forced to accompany the latter's group for the entire game.
Jenna becomes an official party member in Golden Sun: The Lost Age when she, Felix, and Sheba form their own traveling party following the deaths of Saturos and Menardi by Isaac's hands. Jenna willingly accompanies Felix and his objective to restore Alchemy to the world, having learned that their parents are actually alive and well in Saturos' home colony and that they were promised to be freed once Felix completed his objective. After Felix and Isaac's respective parties join forces and resolve to break Alchemy's seal together late in the game, the Wise One forces the Adepts to battle and slay a great dragon, and they all realize afterwards they were cruelly deceived to slay an amalgam of Jenna's parents and Isaac's father, to her grief. She is uplifted when Alchemy's return shortly afterwards revives her parents. In the game's final scene, she is shown on Felix's back, laughing and enjoying the end of their journey.
In "Dark Dawn", it is revealed that Isaac and Jenna have a son named Matthew who is the new main character of that game, though she is mentioned several times, she is never seen.
Sheba
Sheba (シバ Shiba)[1] is a 14-year-old girl who is playable in The Lost Age as the party's first Jupiter Adept, which makes her much like Ivan in that they can both employ Psynergy forces of wind and electricity, as well as read the minds of both people and animals and perceive hidden truths. Her past is intentionally kept an enigmatic secret from both the other characters and the player, with only hints and indications of her origins provided throughout the two games in the series. In Golden Sun as a baby, Sheba is described as having fallen from the sky in the form of a shooting star and landing in the ruins near her would-be hometown of Lalivero, prompting her adoptive family in Lalivero, alongside the rest of the town, to dub Sheba “Child of the Gods” for this and raise her with nearly divine reverence.
In Golden Sun Sheba appears as an NPC who is taken captive by Saturos' party of Adepts because they need her to activate the Jupiter Lighthouse in the future. Isaac's party tries to free her by battling and slaying Saturos and Menardi atop Venus Lighthouse, but an earthquake causes Sheba to fall off the tower and Felix to jump off after her, but both of them survive. Afterwards in The Lost Age, Sheba willingly becomes part of a traveling party led by Felix to restore Alchemy to the world by activating the remaining Elemental Lighthouses, and Sheba explains that she hopes she can unravel her destiny through this quest. Throughout the journey, however, she never finds her true family. In the game's final scene, she is shown standing with Piers, laughing at Felix and Jenna and enjoying the end of their journey.
Piers
Piers (ピカード Pikādo, Picard[1] in Japanese language versions) is introduced in Golden Sun: The Lost Age as a new party member for Felix's group, serving the role of the party's resident Mercury Adept (water- and ice-wielder). Piers hails from the secret Atlantis-like society of Lemuria far out in the ocean, and though he appears to be a young man, the fact he is a Lemurian could mean he is older than all the other characters, since inhabitants of Lemuria live uncannily long lives thanks to the influence of Alchemy over there. Piers is driven out of Lemuria on his personal ship by a giant tidal wave and seeks a way back into Lemuria, and sometime afterwards joins Felix's traveling party so that they can sail the oceans of the world together. When Piers and the others manage to make it back into Lemuria much later on, Piers' report to the Lemurian king Hydros of the world's physical state helps lead everyone to the conclusion that Alchemy's absence has been having a gravely negative effect on the world itself, so Hydros tasks Piers to accompany Felix's group for the rest of the latter's objective to restore Alchemy to the world. In the game's final scene, he is shown standing with Sheba, laughing at Felix and Jenna and enjoying the end of their journey.
During Dark Dawn, Piers has been said to be sailing the world in his ship investigating mysterious phenomenon.
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn playable characters
- Matthew (ムート Muuto) is the biological son of Isaac and Jenna and the leader of the group of playable characters in Dark Dawn. Like his father, he is a Venus Adept, though the game's encyclopedia states he has his mother's "bright and determined spirit" and father's "few words and strong conviction". As with his father in the original Golden Sun, and Felix in the Lost Age, Matthew does not speak, although the player can say yes or no to certain questions and dictate how he feels about certain situations.
- Karis (カリス Karisu) is a Jupiter Adept and the daughter of Ivan. She shares her father's powers of observation (where she notices that the Alchemy Forge has been disconnected), but unlike him, she cannot read minds (she mentions in the Teppe Ruins that her father finds this power a "double-edged sword"), and is somewhat more energetic than her father. Nonetheless, Karis is a responsible young woman who often has to struggle to keep Tyrell from causing trouble for himself and others, as seen at Patcher's Place where she hits Tyrell to stop him from launching a fireball in front of Patcher. She also scolds him for losing his temper, saying that Psynergy should be seen as helpful rather than harmful, even acting insulted in order to communicate her point. This also implies that she can be very bossy and sometimes uncompromising since she does not allow Tyrell to refute her.
- Tyrell (テリー Terii) is a Mars Adept and Garet's son, as well as Matthew's best friend. He is hotheaded, reckless and has a reputation as a troublemaker: in fact, his act of defying Karis and taking Ivan's soarwing (a gliding device meant for Isaac and Garet) for a spin is what sets him and his friends on their adventure, as he is forced to crash the soarwing at an abandoned mine near Isaac's lookout cabin. Upon the crash, the soarwing breaks, and after Matthew and Karis save him from a Psynergy vortex, Garet decides to send him out to obtain the Roc Feather required to repair it. He thinks Karis nags too much and hates it when she takes charge, even if it is to his ultimate benefit. However, Tyrell is also honest and down-to-earth: which is why Matthew is "proud to call him his best friend", as brought up in the encyclopedia, and demonstrated by his rather blunt remark in front of Paithos (who surprisingly doesn't chastise him for this).
- Rief (クラウン Kuraun, Crown[1] in Japanese language versions) is a Mercury Adept, student of Kraden and son of Mia. He also has a sister called Nowell, who is also a student of Kraden. Rief is a well-travelled youth, and according to Tyrell, a bookworm, so people often defer to him in intellectual matters, as well as finding their way around southern Angara, as he has been there in the past. He joins the group after their encounter with Blados and Arcanus in the Konpa Ruins, where he approaches a Psynergy Vortex. He falls unconscious, and is kidnapped by Blados when the party is distracted fighting three "stealthy scouts". He is shown to be a consummate gentleman throughout the adventure (he suggests that the group take Ryu Kou and Hou Ju home and doesn't like to see Sveta approach the switch for the Apollo Lens as she's been exposed to too much light). As with his mother, he exhibits a calm attitude except a rare moment of a deep rage when Arcanus is revealed by Kraden to be Alex, whose nefarious acts may have been told to Rief by his mother or Kraden.
- Amiti (ハルマーニ Harumaani, Harumani[1] in Japanese language versions) is a male Mercury Adept and is a prince of the water kingdom Ayuthay. He joins the party after they obtain the Insight Glass, an item that grants a Psynergy to see what is required (be it Psynergy or items), as he is chosen by the artifact and is thus the only person who can use it. The people of Ayatayu at first believed his mother, Veriti, was a miraculous Water Adept, but this turns out to be a lie, as his uncle Paithos says that his father is a "powerful Adept" who had activated the kingdom's Alchemy Well, a machine that runs on water power. Something of note is that Tret notes an aura similar to Rief's when the party visit him. This may be foreshadowing that Alex is Amiti's father, as Alex and Mia were members of the same clan.
- Sveta (ステラ Sutera, Stella[1] in Japanese language versions) is a female Jupiter Adept of a human beast race that has mutated since the Golden Sun Effect. Excelling in the five senses, she can read the minds of her company (though she'd rather she couldn't do it) and sense unique smells. Sveta is able to use visualized Psynergy; her Track Psynergy can make the aromas she smells visible. She is also the sister of the beastmen king Volechek, who was being manipulated by Alex, Blados and Chalis to fire the Alchemy Dynamo in the core of the Belinsk ruins. Sveta herself is a serene girl who clearly loves her brother (she can't look at the Chaos Hound without wanting to cry), and isn't one to bear grudges.
- Eoleo (レオレオ Reoreo, Leoleo[1] in Japanese language versions) is a character that was briefly introduced in Golden Sun: The Lost Age when he was still a toddler. In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Eoleo has grown up and become the prince of the Champa, as well as a powerful Mars Adept. He is an honorable and free-spirited man who joins the group in order to avenge his father, Briggs, who died ensuring his and his new friends' escape from Belinsk after the Alchemy Dynamo is activated, which causes the Grave Eclipse. As a mariner, Eoleo steers Briggs's ship, which is obtained after he is recruited.
- Himi (ヒミ) is a female Venus Adept who possesses the power of prophecy that she inherited from her mother. Her parents are Queen Kushinada and King Susa, and she is both a priestess and princess of Yamata City, and the sister of Prince Takeru (who Kushinada mentioned as the name she and Susa will would give their son in "The Lost Age"). When the party first meets her, she is unconscious and won't wake up despite her mother's best efforts. As the chosen bearer of the Third Eye, she is able to see the unseen. Himi is the final playable character who is recruited in Dark Dawn.
Antagonists
Saturos and Menardi
Saturos (サテュロス Satyurosu) and Menardi (メナーディ Menādi)[1] are the main antagonists of Golden Sun. They are a pair of immensely powerful and talented warriors aligned with the Mars element and have command of powerful fire-based Psynergy. They are of a humanlike race hailing from Prox, in the world's frozen northlands. Their goal is to collect the four Elemental Stars, gems that hold the pure power of the four elements, and use them to activate the four great towers across the world named the Elemental Lighthouses, in order to break the seal on Alchemy and restore it to the world.
In the prologue to Golden Sun, Saturos and Menardi, along with a group of other Mars Adepts from Prox, attempt to raid the sanctum in Mt. Aleph for the Elemental Stars, but fail. The resulting storm kills Saturos and Menardi′s companions and makes a boulder fall toward the community at the base of the mountain, Vale. The boulder sweeps away some of the inhabitants, and Saturos and Menardi find Felix and save his life so that he may fight for them in the future. Three years later, Saturos and Menardi, who now have also made Alex part of their group, raid Mt. Aleph again and succeed in stealing the Stars, and they set out on their quest to activate the Elemental Lighthouses in haste. They are pursued by Isaac's party, who have been tasked by the guardian of Alchemy's seal, the Wise One, to stop them and prevent Alchemy's release. Saturos and Menardi manage to activate two of the four Lighthouses, both times confronting Isaac's group in combat, but lose their lives at Isaac's hands at the end of Golden Sun. Felix and Alex continue Saturos and Menardi's quest in The Lost Age.
Near the end of Golden Sun: The Lost Age, it is revealed why Saturos and Menardi were on this objective to break Alchemy's seal; it was to save their hometown, Prox, which is in danger of being destroyed by the crumbling abyss at the edge of the world because the absence of Alchemy has been causing the entire world to gradually wane and deteriorate. Because their objective was to effectively save the world with Alchemy's release, Saturos and Menardi are demonstrated to be a postmodern take on their "villain" role.
Alex
Alex (アレクス Arekusu)[1] is a figure allied with Saturos and Menardi in their objective to initiate Alchemy's return to the world. He and Mia are the last of an ancient bloodline of Mercury Adepts and wielders of water-based powers, and Alex in particular possesses a powerful command of the Psynergy arts and is able to do things most others can not, including teleportation and levitation. Formerly upholding along with Mia the Mercury Clan's decree of protecting Mercury Lighthouse from being activated, Alex goes rogue and assists Saturos in activating the Lighthouses. He has a strong desire to see a new age of Alchemy and civilization ushered into the world, and certainly admires the power Alchemy is purported to provide. All throughout Golden Sun Alex travels with Saturos' party, but never joins them in combatting Isaac's pursuing party.
In The Lost Age, after Saturos and Menardi are slain by Isaac and Felix takes up the pair's quest, Alex travels on his own as a neutral party who, in his own words, is on no one's side and is only concerned with the activation of the Elemental Lighthouses. This he proves during the game where in one scene he threatens Felix's party as his form of persuading them to get to activating the remaining Lighthouses faster, while in another later scene he gives Felix some assistance in saving Isaac's party from death. According to a quick mind reading (using Ivan's or Sheba's Mind Read ability), this is because he wanted to save Mia.
The game's finale dramatically reveals the Machiavellian extent of Alex's true motives in assisting the effort to restore Alchemy - being at the top of Mt. Aleph, the site where the restoration would commence, Alex would gain supreme power for himself, and his tactic for self-gain seems to work. However, the Wise One himself appears and reveals that Alex's mastery of the elements is incomplete; Isaac is now in possession of the portion of the power Alex lacks. Alex gets more than he bargained for and experiences his downfall when The Wise One paralyzes him, leaving him laying on the mountain summit unable to do anything as the mountain collapses and is drawn into the ground with him on top of it. His fate is left unknown until Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.
Alex first appears before Matthew's party and Kraden alongside Blados under the alias "Arcanus (エース Eisu, Ace[1] in Japanese language versions)". He kidnaps Rief, forcing Matthew's group south into the Ei-Jei region, in order to rescue the young scholar. Alex reappears later, inside the Lunar lighthouse, where he forces its activation. "Arcanus" makes his final appearance at the end of the game next to the Apollo Lens, seemingly revealing his nature similarly as he did in The Lost Age. He turns on Blados and Chalis, telling Matthew to fire the lens and end the eclipse, foreshadowing that Alex has some greater scheme going on. Kraden exposes his true identity to the party, which causes a fair amount of anger from Rief. After the defeat of Chaos Chimera, Alex mentally speaks to Matthew, telling him to stop trying to activate the Apollo Lens. That is the last that is heard of Alex after the events of the Apollo Lens. His fate is not yet known.
Karst and Agatio
Karst (カースト Kāsuto) and Agatio (アガティオ Agatio)[1] are the main antagonists of Golden Sun: The Lost Age, and are both literal and spiritual counterparts to the previous game's Saturos and Menardi in that they are another pair of powerful fire-conjuring warriors from the colony of Prox. Karst, in fact, is the younger sister of Menardi, and this drives her to seek vengeance on Isaac for the latter's killing her sister in the previous game. Though she and Agatio, along with Alex, are supposed to be Felix's allies in his overall effort to break Alchemy's seal via the Jupiter and Mars Stars, they repeatedly threaten and put pressure on Felix to persuade him to hasten his quest's progress and to not interfere when they seek out and kill Isaac in the future. Felix and Isaac, after all, were once childhood friends in spite of them being at odds during the story.
At Jupiter Lighthouse, Karst and Agatio carry out their plot, but Felix decides to betray them and step in and battle them off to save Isaac's life, even after Felix activates the lighthouse itself using the Jupiter Star. Karst and Agatio, though consumed by rage, are not blinded by it and recognize that revenge against Isaac is not as important as Saturos' original objective to restore Alchemy, so they steal the Mars Star from Isaac and Felix and head to the last Lighthouse, Mars Lighthouse, to activate it themselves.
In Mars Lighthouse, the Wise One appears before the pair, determines they lack the conviction to go any farther, and transforms them into mindless fire dragons, and when Felix and Isaac's combined party enters Mars Lighthouse later near the end of the game they fight and dispatch the dragons, discovering only afterwards that they killed Karst and Agatio. Before Karst and Agatio die, they realize that they should entrust their objective and that of Saturos to Isaac and Felix's group despite their prior antagonism, and give the party the Mars Star back.
Chalis and Blados
Chalis (ハート Haato, Heart[1] in Japanese language versions) and Blados (スペード Supeedo, Spade[1] in Japanese language versions) are the primary antagonists of Dark Dawn and commanders from the military country of Tuaparang. Together, they push Matthew and his friends toward their goal of acquiring the Apollo Lens. Blados is a master swordsman eager to fight, while Chalis is a level-headed woman with alluring charm. Blados is first encountered accompanying Arcanus, while Chalis appears when she aides a warlord in the nearby kingdom of Kaocho. Both seemingly perish after being forcefully fused into the Chaos Hound, a transformed Volechek who has been altered by Dark Psynergy.
Other major characters
The Wise One
The Wise One (ワイズマン Waizuman, Wiseman in Japanese language versions) is the being that oversees and influences the core events in the Golden Sun games. Appearing as a large boulder-like entity with one single eye as his only organic feature, he is the guardian of Alchemy's seal within Mt. Aleph and is in possession of immense power. When the antagonists of Golden Sun led by Saturos and Menardi steal the Elemental Stars from Mt. Aleph and set out to activate the Elemental Lighthouses across Weyard to break the seal, the Wise One chooses Isaac and Garet to set out on a global pursuit of Saturos' party and prevent their objective. The Wise One explains that Alchemy is a power that can be dangerous if misused, so it should be kept sealed.[6] With the Wise One's warning in mind, Isaac and Garet's party valiantly pursue their quest all throughout Golden Sun, and they manage to defeat Saturos and Menardi themselves, but not before two of the four Lighthouses are activated.
Isaac's former childhood friend Felix, part of Saturos' original party, continues Saturos' quest and becomes the target of Isaac's group throughout The Lost Age. But after a dramatic series of events at Jupiter Lighthouse that causes its eventual activation as well, Felix is able to convey to Isaac the reason why Alchemy must be returned: it is the lifeblood of the world, and without it the world will eventually erode away. Isaac joins forces with Felix and heads to the last Lighthouse to activate it against the Wise One's command. The Wise One confronts the Adepts at the top of the Mars Lighthouse aerie, admonishing Isaac for his decision and describing how mankind may very well destroy the world with Alchemy should it be released, and then plays a seemingly cruel trick on the Adepts by forcing them to battle a three-headed dragon who is actually an amalgam of Isaac's father and Jenna and Felix's parents. The Adepts are emotionally crushed when they find out who they've slain, but resolve to activate the Mars Lighthouse afterwards and restore Alchemy to the world.
When Alchemy's seal is broken, energy let loose by the Mars Lighthouse suddenly miraculously revives the parents. After this event, Kraden later on discerns why the Wise One originally deceived Isaac and put all of the Adepts through the trauma at Mars Lighthouse if the Wise One knew the parents would be revived anyway: it was to test their emotional strength and willingness to accept sacrifices for the greater good. The Wise One wanted Alchemy to be returned by those who are proven capable of the great responsibility of ensuring that Alchemy is not abused by the populace across the world like it was in Weyard's ancient past.
Kraden
Kraden (スクレータ Sukurēta, Sclater in Japanese language versions) is an NPC featured prominently in both games. An elderly, bespectacled scholar with a natural curiosity, Kraden fulfills the Wise Old Man archetype. He studies Alchemy by order of lord Babi, and up until Golden Sun's outset he acts as a tutor of sorts of Isaac, Garet, and Jenna in their studies of Psynergy. He leads the three Adepts on a research expedition into Mt. Aleph[7] which coincides with a raid for its Elemental Stars by Saturos, Menardi, Alex and Felix, and as the volcano erupts Saturos takes Kraden and Jenna as their hostages and forces them to accompany their party on their objective to restore alchemy to the world. From that point, Kraden travels with Felix's group even after Isaac's party defeats Saturos and Menardi at the end of Golden Sun.
Throughout all of Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Kraden accompanies the travelling party of Felix, Jenna, and Sheba as essentially the party's "guide". He does not take part in any battles, but he is very enthusiastic about discovering and reaching the hidden society of Lemuria and is part of the reason why the Lemurian Piers joins Felix and Kraden on their journey. Even after he is notified by Alex at a later point that Babi has died, Kraden continues his involvement in Felix's quest because he begins to suspect that the sealed status of Alchemy is involved in the world's state of affairs; indeed, once in Lemuria itself with Felix, Kraden finds from the Lemurians that the world has been shrinking and deteriorating because Alchemy has been sealed away for the past many ages.
Kraden returns in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn in the same capacity he had in The Lost Age and as Rief's mentor, though he only joins the party after the Alchemy Dynamo is activated. He has also aged very little since The Lost Age since he absorbed a lot of Psynergy from Mars Lighthouse in a similar manner to Isaac and Felix's parties.
Kraden's Japanese name, Sclater, and his enthusiasm about visiting Weyard's fictional version of Lemuria, is a possible reference to Philip Sclater, who in 1864 developed the theory of the real-world Lemuria.
Babi
Lord Babi is an NPC that appears in Golden Sun as a character Isaac's party promises to help out. When Isaac's journey brings him to the city of Tolbi which Babi is the ruler of, and Isaac uses his Psynergy powers to save Babi's life within a nearby cave, Babi enters Isaac in a tournament of warriors named Colosso so that he may see more of Isaac's Psynergy powers in action. Then Babi reveals that he is 150 years old because he stole a quantity of life-extending draught from the hidden society of Lemuria long ago, and with his draught stockpile running out he has been seeking ways to further extend his life. To this end he had tasked his pupil Kraden to study Alchemy, but now he must rely on Isaac to find Lemuria and retrieve more draught for him. Isaac and his group promise to save Babi from eventual death, and Babi entrusts Isaac his personal sailing ship with which Isaac can use to explore the oceans of Weyard and attempt to enter Lemuria in the future. In Golden Sun: The Lost Age, however, Babi is reported to have died despite Isaac's best attempt to keep to his promise. While Felix's party is in Lemuria, one of its citizens mentions that Babi had stolen their entire stockpile of the draught.
Mars Clan
The Mars Clan is a tribe of Mars Adepts consisting of a race of imposing, scale-skinned humans situated in the colony of Prox in the farthest reaches of Weyard’s northern wastes, rather close to the edge of the world. They have lived in a harsh climate over the ages, tempering them into a hardy folk. But then the abyss up north gradually grows in size and creeps closer to the settlement, which could potentially mean doom for the town in the future. The elders of Prox know that this is the result of the absence of Alchemy over the ages, so to save their colony they instigate the effort to return Alchemy to Weyard by sending their most capable and cunning warriors, Saturos and Menardi, to raid Sol Sanctum for its Elemental stars and embark on the quest to restore Alchemy. This action ends up saving all of Weyard from eventual collapse, in spite of the conflict that ensues between their warriors and the main characters.
Volechek
Volechek is the ruler of the beastman nation of Morgal, located in the northeastern area of Angara, and the older brother of Sveta. Unlike Sveta, he is proud and not willing to forgive a slight against himself or beastmen in general: he remembers the Sanan conquest of his home several years ago while Emperor Ko was in power there. This causes him to lead a rebellion after Unan becomes Sana's new emperor. It also leads him to pursue the Alchemy Dynamo due to Blados and Chalis's meddling in the affairs of state (they tell him that the Alchemy Dynamo powers a weapon that can be used against Sana and Bilibin rather than the disaster of the Grave Eclipse; the latter is what occurs). He realises the consequences of his duplicity too late to stop the Grave Eclipse, and that the Tuaparang were using him in their quest to gain control of the Apollo Lens. Upon this, he becomes determined to stay behind so that Sveta and the gang can escape from an eclipse shrouded Belinsk, giving them an item used to power the Apollo Lens so they can repair the damage his carelessness had caused. However, Blados and Chalis do not let him die, instead using Dark Psynergy to make him undergo hyper evolutionary changes: he emerges as the Chaos Hound, a monster of shadow which attacks the gang in the climax at the Apollo Sanctum. In the end, he overcomes the damage done to his mind (due mainly to Sveta and Matthew being in mortal peril) and activates the Apollo Lens, using it to end the Grave Eclipse once and for all. After this event, he finally dies.
Minor characters
The following characters either did not have long-lived roles but remained important to the plot or were essential to the sidequests. Only the English names are given.
- Tret is an ancient tree with a spirit that gained powers from Psynergy stones. He is seen in the first Golden Sun game, and resides in Kolima Forest with fellow an ancient named Laurel. The mayor of Bilibin orders the people of Kolima to cut down Kolima Forest. Tret, being controlled by his anger after exposure to a Psynergy Stone, retaliates by turning Kolima's citizens into trees. Both he and Laurel return in Dark Dawn, and this time are powerless to prevent the attack of a lizard like monster named Sludge on the forest due to injuries they had sustained. They do, however, tell Matthew's party about the Roc feather and the Belinsk ruins.
- Hama is the older sister of Ivan and leader of the Lama Temple monks. A powerful Jupiter Adept in her own right, Hama is implied to be quite a bit older than her little brother. She has the gift of foresight, as demonstrated by her correct prophesies in Contigo regarding the fate of Karst and Agatio. She gives Ivan the ability of Reveal and, in The Lost Age, gives Piers' ship wings powered by the recently obtained Hover Psynergy.
- Hammet is the merchant leader of Kalay, as well as the man who raised Ivan. Hammet was traveling in Atteka when he met disaster and nearly died. A group of Adepts (assumed to be the last of the Anemos) rescued him. Upon his departure, he was given the baby Ivan, the Shaman's Rod, some doubloons from Anemos Sanctum, and the business advice that helped propel him to the title of Weyard's richest merchant. A sidequest involves freeing him from Dodonpa's fortress in Lunpa. His wife Layana is the one who receives Ivan and the others in his stead upon their arrival in Kalay.
- Dodonpa is the grandson of the Righteous Thief Lunpa. He has forgotten his family's values, and leads a group of evil thieves who kidnap and imprison Hammet. The Hammet sidequest culminates with a battle against his "pet frog", a giant monster called Toadonpa (a rather obvious play on its master's name).
- Iodem is Babi's right-hand man. He leads Isaac to Lalivero in the first Golden Sun. Iodem is also a "Vice President" of sorts, taking the power over Tolbi when Babi is unable to. Apparently, he has his own personal group of warriors to boot (When Jenna encounters a trio of soldiers in the Idejima Cave, one of them refers to Iodem as "Master"). Whether he took over Tolbi upon Babi's death was never revealed.
- Faran is the adoptive father of Sheba. He and Iodem wait for Isaac to return from Venus Lighthouse together. Little is known about him, other than he is a loving man who raised Sheba as if she were his own and did everything in his power to keep Tolbi from taking over Lalivero.
- Mayor of Madra. This helpful young man (who is never named) leads a search party looking for Briggs at the beginning of The Lost Age. Later, he gives Felix the Cyclone Chip item, which bestows the Cyclone Psynergy. A cheerful fellow, the Mayor is well loved by the townspeople of Madra. He is the polar opposite of Alhafra's mayor, a greedy "bag of hot air", as Sheba defines him.
- Briggs is the leader of the Champan pirates, and plays quite an important role in the first half of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Felix first meets him in Alhafra, where Briggs fights and loses to Felix. He escapes to Champa using the recently repaired ship after Felix and his crew clear off the last of the rubble on the boat. Briggs only resorted to piracy to save the people of Champa from starvation (the soil is too rocky to farm on, and the fish populations, the primary source of food in Champa, have decreased rapidly), and is regarded as a hero in his hometown. He returns in Dark Dawn, as his son has been captured and he intends to save him. After the Alchemy Dynamo's activation, he does just that by mooring the ship at Belinsk's pier, although he sacrifices his life in order to do so.
- Akafubu, the Witch Doctor of Kibombo, sent the Kibomban warriors to Madra, where they stole Piers' Black Orb. This event triggers the entire "Journey to Gondowan" section. Akafubu is an impatient, self-absorbed, and sometimes overzealous individual, but he feels deeply honored to have been selected as the new witch doctor.
- Susa is a warrior of Izumo and a Venus Adept. He is the one who tries to kill the Serpent and ultimately does the job by dealing the final blow. Originally hated for his wild nature, Susa matured over time, and after rescuing Kushinada, became a hero to the townsfolk. He is part of a reference to one of Japan's greatest Shinto myths-Susanoo, the wild storm god who calms down after being banished to earth for offending his elder sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu. The homage is furthered by Susa fighting the dragon, drugging it with dragonsbane; according to the tale, Susanoo helped an old couple save their last daughter which the eight-tailed dragon was coming for while he was on earth, and used wine to weaken it. Finally, the Storm god pulled out a sword from the serpent's last tail, which is even today supposedly kept as one of three religious artifacts at the Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya, Japan.
- Kushinada is the young girl whom Susa was attempting to rescue by slaying the Serpent. She was to be its next sacrifice. Kushinada is a rather intelligent young girl, as stated by Kraden. She is said to have bad luck at games. Like Susa, she can perform the Move technique and she is a Venus Adept.
- Obaba is the grandmother of Briggs. She reforges the Trident once all the pieces have been collected and Briggs has returned to Champa. Upon Briggs' return, she initially protects him by summoning her pet, Avimander (a giant spike-tailed lizard like creature), but begins to chase and threaten Briggs after learning about the piracy. The word "obaba" is a crude way of referring to an old woman in Japanese.
- Lunpa is the righteous thief who was traveling with Babi when they found themselves in Lemuria. He founded the village of Lunpa, which was run by his son Donpa until he was succeeded by his son Dodonpa. Unlike Babi, however, Lunpa stayed on the island. He became King Hydros' close friend and advisor of sorts. Lunpa is a good natured, energetic man, but is not above insulting people (In a conversation with Kraden, he calls Conservato a fool) to get his point across.
- King Hydros is the ruler of Lemuria. Together with Lunpa, he gives Felix and the others information regarding the "death" of Weyard. Hydros is constantly being nagged by the Senate's leader, Conservato, for approving of the seal of Alchemy to be removed, and actually goes as far as to give Felix and the others his blessing upon their departure, against the popular opinion of Lemuria's citizens.
- Moapa is the leader of the Shaman Village tribesmen and the guardian of the Hover Jade. By defeating Moapa in battle atop Trial Road, Felix earns the Hover Jade. Initially, Moapa refuses to relinquish the Jade, first on the premise that none of the group is Contigo, then on the grounds that Sheba (who at this point has demonstrated her Wind Psynergy powers) is a girl. Moapa is the only Shaman villager willing to speak with Felix upon their arrival.
- Puelle is a mayor figure to the Mars Adept colony of Prox. He is noticeably warmer-hearted than the Proxean warriors Saturos, Menardi, Karst, and Agatio. He is the first to notice that the edge of the world is gradually creeping closer to the settlement. He and the Elder of Prox conclude that it is the absence of Alchemy that has caused this, so together they send out Saturos and Menardi to restore the omnipotent force and save Prox and the rest of the world as well.
- Sunshine is a blacksmith who forges many valuable weapons for Felix and his friends. Initially sad because of the loss of his friend and lack of rain, he is happy to work with what the player brings to him.
- Patcher is a Vale refugee in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn who runs a general store somewhere near Isaac and Garet's lookout cabin, and the Psynergy Training Grounds on his premises. He is said to have a long memory.
- Bogho is the elder of Passaj, the mountain town where the Alchemy Forge is found. He is very temperamental, but devoted to his people. He allows the gang to speak with the village sages after realising that they have nothing to do with Kaocho's king.
- Baghi is the grandson of the elder of Passaj. He is a good friend of Amiti's, and a great help in getting the Alchemy Forge to create a cloud passage to Craggy Peak.
- King Wo is the warlike ruler of Kaocho, a kingdom in central Ei-Jei. He had been named as Emperor Ko's successor, but was defeated by Emperor Unan. His desire to retake Sana leads him to allow Chalis to manipulate him, but he seems oblivious to this, so his fate after leaving Kaocho (which happens after Amiti is recruited) is unknown. Kaocho can be visited during the eclipse, but it is mostly in ruins during this time, with dark monsters on the streets.
- Ryu Kou is a young man that Matthew's party meet in Te Rya Village. He attempts to rescue his sister in a single minded way, which the Tuaparang take advantage of.
- Hou Ju is Ryu Kou's sister, who had recently been kidnapped by Volechek. She is well liked by the refugees of Te Rya Village.
- Emperor Unan is the current emperor of Sana, a nation that arose after the Golden Sun event, and Ryu Kou and Hou Ju's uncle. He is a more universally trusted ruler than his predecessor Emperor Ko due to his kindness and leadership through wisdom rather than force, yet it is shown that he has some understanding of military matters since he was able to defeat King Wo of Kaocho in a war of succession. It is said that Emperor Ko had a military interest in the Endless Wall: this implies that he had been seeking the Apollo Lens for some time.
- Deadbeard is the remains of an old pirate captain who used Crossbone Isle to store the many treasures of his exploits throughout the land. In a sidequest in the first Golden Sun game, his hideout may be found. At the end of a ten-floor dungeon that greatly tests the player's puzzle-solving ability, he may be battled for a very powerful plate armor, but it is also cursed and it dramatically lowers a stat. It is important for adventurous players to consider that Deadbeard is stronger than the game's final boss and has all the strongest leveled Psynergy attacks.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 Staff. "Golden Sun - Characters". RPGPlanet; Golden Sun Realms. Archived from the original on 2008-04-05. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Camelot, ed. (2002). Golden Sun Instruction Manual: Djinn. Nintendo. p. 16.
- ↑ Nintendo (2008-03-14). "Latecomer Assist Trophies". SmashBros.com. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ↑ Felix: I know I’ve caused you much grief, Jenna. It was a miracle that I survived that day… / Saturos: We are the ones who saved him. / Menardi: We saw him floating unconscious in the river as we passed. / Felix: I’ve been with them ever since… I’ve experienced a lot. Camelot Software Planning (2001-11-11). "Golden Sun". Game Boy Advance. Nintendo.
- ↑ Camelot, ed. (2002). Golden Sun Instruction Manua: The Adepts. Nintendo. pp. 14–15.
- ↑ The Wise One: The world will be exposed to the threat of Alchemy. / Garet: Alchemy? A threat? / The Wise One: It can be a dangerous power if it is misused… If the Elemental Stars ignite the flames of the four lighthouses, that power will be released. As long as the four lighthouses remain unlit… Camelot Software Planning (2001-11-11). "Golden Sun". Game Boy Advance. Nintendo.
- ↑ Dora: Where do you all plan to go today? / Garet: We're going to Mt. Aleph with Kraden. / Dora: Mountain climbing with Kraden, eh? Kids and their games... / Jenna: No! It's part of our studies... / Dora: Ah, yes... Alchemy. Camelot Software Planning (2001-11-11). "Golden Sun". Game Boy Advance. Nintendo.
External links
- The official Nintendo Golden Sun website
- The official Camelot Golden Sun website (Japanese)
- Golden Sun Universe - A Wiki devoted to Golden Sun
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