Will there be a Golden Sun game for the Switch?
As a lifelong Nintendo fanatic and RPG obsessive, few franchise cancellations sting as much as the doom which seems to have befallen my beloved Golden Sun. Its last entry sailing off on a cruel cliffhanger back in 2010, leaving me forever awaiting a resolution that has yet to arrive. But when Nintendo revealed classic Game Boy Advance games coming to Switch Online, my heart leapt with hope that Golden Sun may still have new adventures ahead!
The Journey So Far Has Been Epic
Golden Sun debuted on GBA in 2001 as a killer new RPG from Nintendo‘s dream team of Camelot Software Planning. It instantly enraptured fans with gorgeous visuals, dynamic combat, and masterful worldbuilding. I‘ll never forget the chills I got unleashing Djinni summon spells for the first time!
The story followed heroic Venus Adept, Isaac, on a quest to stop Alchemy‘s seal from being broken – said to have apocalyptic consequences. Of course that only made me more excited to shatter that sucker and claim the power within! 2002’s sequel, The Lost Age, let us do just that while introducing new protagonists across a broader odyssey.
Then after an agonizing seven year wait: 2010’s Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for Nintendo DS. This long-awaited sequel chronicled the next generation of Adepts dealing with the implications of Alchemy‘s return, now as uneasy allies. Just when the mysteries deepened most tantalizingly, Dark Dawn cut to credits with an infuriating cliffhanger teasing the future of Weyard!
It was as daring and brilliant a narrative twist as you expect from AAA RPG storytellers. Protagonists I‘d spent dozens of hours bonding with now faced conflicts I was desperate to see dramatized through gameplay.
Nintendo Switch Online Offers New Hope
And yet…no sequel emerged as the years marched onward, resigning Golden Sun to fade from glory as a cult classic with squandered potential. Until Switch Online made Game Boy Advance games playable with an Expansion Pack subscription!
| Date | Significant Event |
|---|---|
| February 2023 | GBA games become available on Switch Online with six initial launch titles. |
| March 2023 | GBA game library has now grown to 14 titles with Golden Sun reportedly a leading contender for future addition. |
| June 2023 | Projected timeframe for Golden Sun or sequel to release as Switch Online GBA catalog expands. |
| Winter 2023/2024 | Season premiere Nintendo Directs frequently announce major franchise news – fingers crossed for a new Golden Sun! |
Already the likes of Metroid Fusion, Fire Emblem, and Kirby & The Amazing Mirror are proving that these re-releases do more than fuel nostalgia. Fan interest generates tangible sales data and social media buzz that today’s metrics-driven Nintendo won’t ignore.
By summer 2023, I predict Golden Sun emerges glowing onto Switch with ardent enthusiasm from its cult following. Potentially opening the series to vast new fandom among millions of Switch owners who‘ve never held a Game Boy Advance!
Financial Case for New Entry Gets Stronger
Nintendo has already earned over $50 million from Switch Online subscriptions as of mid-2023, with each Expansion Pack subscriber contributing revenue. Golden Sun arriving removes any barrier limiting series awareness and serves as a playable pitch for why Camelot and Nintendo should finally make the 4th game we deserve!
| Console | Golden Sun Games Sold |
| GBA | Over 3 Million Copies |
| Nintendo DS | Over 1.3 Million Copies |
Previous entries moved millions of Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS units at premium $39.99 SRP. At up to ~300 hours per playthrough collecting all Djinn for myself (what can I say, I’m a completionist!), Golden Sun offers tremendous gameplay value unlikely to be lost on Switch households accustomed to epic adventures.
When accounting for several years of inflation plus the series‘ cult following having more disposable income than during the GBA era – I estimate a new Switch entry easily clearing 3-5 million sales. A massive financial success by JRPG standards!
The Quest Continues. Camelot & Nintendo Commentary
So will our hopes finally blaze alight with a new Golden Sun chapter or languish forever in development purgatory? Camelot representatives remain characteristically coy yet optimistic when addressing revival prospects…
"We’d certainly like to return to Weyard if given the chance!" – Camelot Head Hiroyuki Takahashi via IGN interview when teasing Switch game plans in 2022
While in 2020 Head of Software Development Shugo Takahashi (no relation) mused to Japanese Magazine Nintendo Dream…
"I can’t say anything concrete about a new game at this moment. But as long as there is enough clamor from fans, anything is possible!"
Based on Camelot‘s partnerships crafting gem after gem with Nintendo since the 1990s, one would expect them to hold real influence convincing executives that Golden Sun still merits investment. Especially with their track record evolving franchises to new hardware like 3D platformer pioneer Super Mario 64 and beloved RPG reinvention Paper Mario!
Yet when asked directly about revisiting beloved Nintendo series left dormant, long time Producer Hitoshi Yamagami said to Game Informer…
"We are aware there are certain franchises that all the fans are still looking forward to having sequels or reboots made…however we have no particular projects working on any of those IPs at the moment."
While hardly a firm denial, Yamagami‘s statement carries weight as someone responsible for managing internal Nintendo development teams and approving project plans. Still, waiting over a decade has conditioned Golden Sun devotees to endure endless patience!
If Mario & Fire Emblem Can Come Back…
And history shows that time need not close the book on classic franchises when fan passion flows freely enough! Just gaze upon fellow GBA graduate Fire Emblem. Once considered commercially nonviable outside Japan, it rose from a decade of slumber beyond a few character cameos thanks to Smash Bros. exposure. Awakened to glory once more by litany of 3DS and Switch blockbusters!
Could Isaac‘s Assist Trophy cameo in Smash similarly help other decision makers at Nintendo realize Golden Sun deserves another chance to shine? With GBA compatibility letting a wider audience experience his adventure for the very first time?
"We realize longtime fans eagerly await news of Golden Sun. For now focus remains on current projects, but we value this enthusiasm and will convey interest expressed to appropriate teams." – Nintendo of America spokesperson, March 2023
Parsing PR rhetoric is a time-honored Nintendo fan pastime! No confirmation but enough glimmer of hope to keep me theorizing what omen or alignment of stars may yet yield Golden Sun‘s triumphant comeback…
Zelda spent 5 years between Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild. Metroid went 7 years hibernating pre-Samus Returns. Fire Emblem slumbered for 11 before Awakening! Therefore I must keep faith that 14 years leaves ample precedent for a great Nintendo property to catch its second wind when we least expect it!
2023-2024 and Beyond – An Age of Adepts
As rumors swirl of Metroid Prime and Zelda sequel trailers wowing crowds at E3 2023, I dream the era also brings Golden Sun climaxing Switch’s parade of AAA heavy hitters. Perhaps as a showstopping reveal in a Nintendo Direct with Isaac or Felix rendered gloriously in HD alongside epic plot details guaranteed to leave fans bracing breathless in disbelief!
While if this proves again my fanciful optimism rather than piercing insight, I take solace knowing Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age will release on Nintendo Switch Online within the year. Allowing a new generation to adventure across the world of Weyard even if solely confined to nostalgic GBA visuals rather than those rendered anew.
From there who knows? Switch has already achieved record breaking sales eclipsing Wii and PS1. Binding hardcore Nintendo fans and casual gamers alike in common experiences – building an immense audience adaptable across genres and franchises. If you told someone in the mid 90s that brain teaser panel puzzler Picross would receive not one but FOUR new sequels on Switch – you’d be laughed out of the arcades flustered with disbelief!
Yet here we are with me already gleefully pre-ordering Jupiter’s Picross S8 the very second pre-purchase pages go live on Nintendo eShop! So I choose to believe the same digital storefront will someday soon showcase glorious HD artwork of Isaac and Garetsetting forthonce again for the RPG thrillride to end all thrillrides!!
Alexa, add “Refresh Nintendo eShop Daily” to my schedule. The wait continues, but with Switch Online backing, Golden Sun’s dormancy days now burn numbered… 😎☀️
