Camelot takes a break from making Mario Tennis games and creates their own RPG series.

Debug Mode

Golden Sun contains a debug mode that can be enabled by changing the value at 3001F54 to 01 . This enables several hidden features:

In the File Select screen, all saved games display the text "Continue from a Sanctum," and when loaded, the player will start out from the sanctum they last visited before saving the game.

Three new options appear in the Start menu, none of which do anything when selected. All of them have an otherwise-unused trashcan icon.

Holding L allows the player to walk through anything.

allows the player to walk through anything. Pressing Start + Select pauses the game. In this state, you can press any button to advance frame by frame. Pressing Start returns the game to normal.

pauses the game. In this state, you can press any button to advance frame by frame. Pressing returns the game to normal. Pressing L + R during a cutscene skips all dialogues.

Extra options.

Walking through everything.

Skipping dialogues until a yes/no choice.

Warp Menu

Press B + Start to open the warp menu, which allows you to warp instantly to any map in the game. Press Up and Down on the D-Pad to switch between selecting the map or the destination point, and Left and Right to increment/decrement the currently-selected one. The menu displays the selected map's name, internal codename, and number. Pressing A warps you to the currently-selected map and destination point, and B closes the menu.

The two debug rooms, "Increase item and level" (id 199) and "Menu test" (id 200) can be reached from this menu.

Flag Menu

Press B + Select to open the flag editing menu. In this menu, you can use the D-Pad to select a flag, press A to toggle it between 1 and 0, and R and L to move through the different "pages" of flags. Pressing B closes the menu.

Turn on flag 16D in the Flag menu, go in battle, and during the Attack Sequence (or during fleeing) you can do the following:

Press R to destroy the enemy's team.

to destroy the enemy's team. Press Select + R to destroy your own team.

Flag menu.

Killing the enemies by pressing R.

Palette Debug

Press L + Start to open the palette editing menu. The menu displays the RGB values of the selected palette. Use the D-Pad to select a value, A and B to increment/decrement it, and R and L to switch palettes. Holding Start makes the currently selected color flash, and pressing Select closes the menu.

Hidden Menus

Psynergy Menu

This menu cannot be accessed by the debug mode mentioned above, so you should replace the pause menu by doing 08015374:0801C49D . Most of these text strings don't make sense, but there are two options in this list that you can set. The top one is for setting the Psynergy Shortcut of the L button. The bottom one is for the R button. All psynergies that your characters have are listed, not just the ones used on the field. When this menu is accessed, some basic abilities are given to you, but note that the character must be in your party to see them in the list.

Isaac: Move Garet: Move Ivan: Move, Mind Read, and Whirlwind Mia: Ply Jenna: Move

The sequel has a different version of this menu that lists all the field psynergy in the game.

Music Menu

To do:

Explain the menu.

This menu lacks a GUI. The Lost Age has this menu too, as well as a GUI version that this game might lack, so use it as a reference.

Replace the Pause menu with 08015374:080F9051 to access.

Debug Rooms

Access these debug rooms through the Warp menu, or enter the following master code and one of the debug room codes, then walk through a door to enter the debug room.

Action Replay

V1 Action Replay

V3 GameShark

(Codebreaker) Must Be On [M] 72CB4343 F0C15E4F 6F5E501F 7FE05A78 D06E067F 8055B26F E0CE785B D8990E3E 00009B1A 000A 100036E6 0007 Room 199: Increase item and level DCAC7712 58F48E11 FB09392F 3A30CC7D 60FF6450 D96B96FB 4553DE0F 0913E722 32000400 00C7 32000408 00C7 Room 200: Menu test 32D269FA 3ED79985 19CB68FA 1D7923F2 92B5130F 1B7FA51A 0DFA4AD9 3B7A93E7 32000400 00C8 32000408 00C8

Room 199: Increase item and level

Debug room 199.

Gives any item in the game.

Level-up menu, A gives 1 level, Start gives 5.

Consult every Psynergy's data in the game.

The Japanese, Spanish, Italian, and French versions of the game don't have the Psynergy data NPC.

Displays a speech bubble and some text.

Menardi's feet display a portrait viewer.

The Spanish, Italian, French, and German versions show random texts which distort the screen and even crash the game in the German version.

The English version shows different names for characters, such as calling Jenna by her Japanese name. Some other names don't match the portrait, and this happens in the Japanese version too.

Room 200: Menu test

In this Debug Room, you control a full party of Adepts, with them all level 30, except for Isaac, who is level 50.

Debug room 200.

You went up 10 levels, actually.

Jenna gives some of the best equipment...

... Including unused weapons.

Ivan gives some consumable items...

... Including a lot of stat-enhancing items.

Mia on the bottom-left lets you rename Isaac.

Kraden lists your items and their selling price.

Dora gives everyone 7 Djinn, except Ivan who gets 6.

Menardi gives quest items and Psynergy items.

Saturos is evil, he injures your Adepts...

... and gives them status ailments.

A shop which gives you 200 000 gold.

It equips a broken Muramasa to Isaac.

Standard Healer menu, works as intended.

Saturos is worried about the Boulder.

The bush displays an icon viewer.

It can be blown away using Whirlwind.

Felix talks a lot. You can stop it by pressing B .

That's an annoying chatterbox.

Unused Items

There are a few unused items in this game, obtainable only through GameShark codes or the debug rooms. All of them became proper, fully-coded items in the second game.

No. Name Type Description Effect Buy price Sell price GS:TLA equivalent 7 Masamune Long sword artifact weapon Long Sword Attack+115 (no unleash) 13400 10050 Fire Brand 10 Sol Blade Long sword artifact weapon ? Attack+138 (no unleash) 19000 14250 Sol Blade 26 Kusanagi Light blade artifact weapon ??? Attack+135 (no unleash) 19000 14250 Masamune 111 Mysterious Robe Artifact robe Robe Defense+40 11000 8250 Mysterious Robe

Unused Psynergy

There are several unused Psynergy attacks left in the game. Some of them are fully-coded status-inflicting moves that were never assigned to any class's moveset, while others indicate scrapped status effects that were never implemented. You can access them with the code 82000558 0xxx (replace xxx with the Psynergy's hex number), which hacks them into the first slot of Isaac's moveset.

No. Hex Name Description Element PP cost Target Effect Animation 114 072 Taint ? Venus 4 1 enemy May inflict poison. 115 073 Poison ? Venus 6 1 enemy May inflict venom. 117 075 Confuse ? Jupiter 6 3 enemies May inflict confusion (unused condition; has no effect on enemies, but will disable action/turn input when used against player characters; unfinished effect).

118 076 Charm ? Jupiter 9 1 enemy May steal an enemy's heart (unused condition; has no effect on enemies, but will disable action/turn input when used against player characters; unfinished effect). 119 077 Paralyze ? Jupiter 7 1 enemy May inflict stun. 128 080 Regenerate ? Mercury 6 1 ally Inflicts ~60 damage on ally, then regenerates 60% of HP for 5 turns. 129 081 Reflect ? Mercury 5 1 ally Target "feels the effects of Reflect" (does nothing).

Unused Characters

Dummied-out character positions for Felix and Sheba are in the first game, though never playable. They are in the sequel, though. There's also a dummied-out character position named "PC07". They can be put in a party by editing the savefile. All of them have zeroed stats for everything and have "NPC" as their class. Felix and PC07 have no small sprite, but Sheba does (although she's looking sideways). Only Felix and Sheba have a portrait in the Status menu; PC07 will show the last portrait seen. During battle, PC07's portrait is visible in the Status menu: it's an otherwise unused Alex portrait. In battle, they all use the Vermin battle sprite and will be unable of fighting even if given positive stats.

Unused Music

Within the ROM lies an earlier version of The Lost Age's title screen music. Besides the instruments (which are slightly different between GS and GS:TLA), it seems the volume for some tracks is different from the final. Both songs are in the same position, since GBA Mus Riper names them both as "song040".

Unused track (GS):



Used track (GS:TLA):



Unused Graphics

This portrait of child Felix goes unused, since he has no speaking lines during the prologue. The portrait can be seen in the debug room's portrait viewer, though, as portrait No. 51.

This portrait of Alex goes unused too. It's somewhat different to his actual used portrait. It's absent from the debug portrait viewer and it can only be seen under specific conditions (read the Unused Characters section). Evidence suggests that Alex was planned to be a playable character earlier in development.

Dummy Items

Among the 269 items in the game, there are 78 dummy ones, which use the coin icon and have the "?" name. Some of them become actual items in The Lost Age. Item No. 0 is a placeholder named "???".

Dummy item in GS Becomes this in GS:TLA No. 190 "?" Mist Potion No. 198 "?" Lash Pebble No. 199 "?" Pound Cube No. 208 "?" Tremor Bit No. 209 "?" Scoop Gem No. 210 "?" Cyclone Chip No. 213 "?" Burst Brooch No. 214 "?" Grindstone No. 215 "?" Hover Jade No. 217 "?" Teleport Lapis No. 245 "?" Mythril Bag No. 246 "?" Jupiter Star No. 247 "?" Mars Star

Dummy Abilities

Abilities encompass everything a player or enemy can do in battle: from normal attacks, Psynergy, unleashes, unique enemy attacks, and even doing nothing (ability No. 0). Among the 519 abilities programmed in the game, there are 128 dummy slots (named "?"), as well as some repeated abilities. Some of those dummy slots become actual, used abilities in The Lost Age. Other 52 dummy abilities (named "=") are linked to dummy Djinni (discussed below), and some of them become actual programmed abilities linked to the new programmed Djinni in The Lost Age. Dummy abilities and those which are only used by enemies are represented with an "X" icon when hacked into a player's Psynergy list.

Dummy ability in GS Becomes this in GS:TLA No. 39 "?" Cool No. 40 "?" Supercool No. 41 "?" Megacool No. 60 "?" Fume No. 61 "?" Serpent Fume No. 62 "?" Dragon Fume No. 63 "?" Beam No. 64 "?" Cycle Beam No. 65 "?" Searing Beam No. 87 "?" Aura No. 88 "?" Healing Aura No. 89 "?" Cool Aura No. 133 "?" Lash No. 134 "?" Pound No. 135 "?" Tremor No. 136 "?" Scoop No. 137 "?" Cyclone No. 138 "?" Parch No. 139 "?" Sand No. 151 "?" Burst No. 152 "?" Grind No. 153 "?" Hover No. 154 "?" Blaze No. 155 "?" Ma???? No. 156 "?" Teleport No. 157 "?" A?? No. 197 "?" Diamond Dust No. 198 "?" Odyssey No. 199 "?" Liquifier No. 200 "?" Plume Edge No. 201 "?" Thunder Mine No. 202 "?" Planetary No. 203 "?" Diamond Berg No. 204 "?" Death Leap No. 205 "?" Epicenter No. 206 "?" Thorny Grave No. 207 "?" Skull Splitter No. 259 "?" Mist Potion No. 298 "?" Aurora Field No. 299 "?" Djinn Counter No. 307 "=" Echo No. 308 "=" Iron No. 309 "=" Steel No. 310 "=" Mud No. 311 "=" Flower No. 312 "=" Meld No. 313 "=" Petra No. 314 "=" Salt No. 315 "=" Geode No. 316 "=" Mold No. 317 "=" Crystal No. 318 "=" Earth18 No. 319 "=" Earth19 No. 327 "=" Fog No. 328 "=" Sour No. 329 "=" Spring No. 330 "=" Shade No. 331 "=" Chill No. 332 "=" Steam No. 333 "=" Rime No. 334 "=" Gel No. 335 "=" Eddy No. 336 "=" Balm No. 337 "=" Serac No. 338 "=" Water18 No. 339 "=" Water19 No. 347 "=" Cannon No. 348 "=" Spark No. 349 "=" Kindle No. 350 "=" Char No. 351 "=" Coal No. 352 "=" Reflux No. 353 "=" Core No. 354 "=" Tinder No. 355 "=" Shine No. 356 "=" Fury No. 357 "=" Fugue No. 358 "=" Fire18 No. 359 "=" Fire19 No. 367 "=" Breath No. 368 "=" Blitz No. 369 "=" Ether No. 370 "=" Waft No. 371 "=" Haze No. 372 "=" Wheeze No. 373 "=" Aroma No. 374 "=" Whorl No. 375 "=" Gasp No. 376 "=" Lull No. 377 "=" Gale No. 378 "=" Wind18 No. 379 "=" Wind19 No. 384 "?" Zagan No. 385 "?" Haures No. 390 "?" Neptune* No. 391 "?" Boreas* No. 396 "?" Mars* No. 397 "?" Kirin* No. 402 "?" Daedalus No. 403 "?" Daedalus No. 404 "?" Iris No. 406 "?" Jupiter* No. 407 "?" Atalanta* No. 408 "?" Procne* No. 409 "?" Thor* No. 410 "?" Flora No. 411 "?" Eclipse No. 412 "?" Catastrophe

Note: Abilities in italics are unused/dummy abilities in GS:TLA. Abilities marked with an asterisk are Djinni summons present in GS that were assigned different slots in GS:TLA to accommodate the new summons.

Unused and Dummy Character Classes

The game contains 203 slots for character classes, of which 113 are dummy (named "?"). There's a placeholder class named "NPC" (class No. 0), which is only used by the unused characters (discussed above). The final classes from The Lost Age are almost fully coded here too, but they can't be obtained because they need more Djinn than you can acquire, and they don't grant any new Psynergy.

Unused classes

No. Class Base class Stat boosts 5 Slayer Squire 170% HP

130% PP

140% Attack

140% Defense

130% Agility

120% Luck 14 Hero Guard 190% HP

120% PP

140% Attack

150% Defense

110% Agility

100% Luck 24 Sorcerer Wind Seer 150% HP

180% PP

120% Attack

130% Defense

170% Agility

110% Luck 34 Angel Water Seer 160% HP

170% PP

130% Attack

140% Defense

120% Agility

130% Luck 44 Protector Swordsman (Mercury/Venus) 190% HP

140% PP

150% Attack

150% Defense

140% Agility

120% Luck 54 Radiant Swordsman (Mercury/Venus) 190% HP

140% PP

150% Attack

150% Defense

140% Agility

120% Luck 61 Templar Dragoon 180% HP

140% PP

150% Attack

150% Defense

120% Agility

130% Luck 62 Paladin Dragoon 200% HP

150% PP

160% Attack

160% Defense

130% Agility

130% Luck 74 War Adept (Venus/Jupiter) Apprentice 190% HP

170% PP

150% Attack

140% Defense

170% Agility

90% Luck 84 War Adept (Mars/Jupiter) Apprentice 190% HP

170% PP

150% Attack

140% Defense

170% Agility

90% Luck 91 Disciple Ninja 180% HP

150% PP

160% Attack

130% Defense

180% Agility

80% Luck 92 Master Ninja 200% HP

160% PP

170% Attack

140% Defense

190% Agility

80% Luck 104 Oracle (Mercury/Venus) Seer (Mercury/Venus) 170% HP

180% PP

140% Attack

140% Defense

160% Agility

100% Luck 114 Oracle (Venus/Jupiter) Seer (Venus/Jupiter) 170% HP

180% PP

140% Attack

140% Defense

160% Agility

100% Luck 121 Dark Mage (becomes Conjurer in GS:TLA) Medium 150% HP

180% PP

130% Attack

130% Defense

160% Agility

90% Luck 122 Death Mage (becomes Dark Mage in GS:TLA) Medium 170% HP

190% PP

140% Attack

140% Defense

170% Agility

90% Luck 134 Guru (Mercury/Mars) Pilgrim (Mercury/Mars) 170% HP

170% PP

140% Attack

150% Defense

170% Agility

120% Luck 144 Guru (Mars/Jupiter) Pilgrim (Mars/Jupiter) 170% HP

170% PP

140% Attack

150% Defense

170% Agility

120% Luck 151 Bard Ranger 150% HP

170% PP

130% Attack

130% Defense

170% Agility

120% Luck 152 Warlock Ranger 170% HP

180% PP

140% Attack

140% Defense

180% Agility

120% Luck 165 Chaos Lord Brute 200% HP

120% PP

170% Attack

140% Defense

160% Agility

70% Luck 171 Ronin Samurai 210% HP

140% PP

160% Attack

150% Defense

150% Agility

90% Luck 185 Wizard Hermit 170% HP

190% PP

130% Attack

140% Defense

180% Agility

120% Luck 191 Pure Mage White Mage 170% HP

190% PP

140% Attack

140% Defense

160% Agility

130% Luck

Dummy classes that become functional ones in GS:TLA

No. Class GS:TLA equivalent 200 ? Flame User* 201 ? Witch

Note: In GS, Flame User is class No. 202, the final class in the list. GS:TLA moves it to 200, and then expands the list further to add newer classes.

Dummy Enemies

The game contains 164 slots for enemies. Some of them are multiple instances of a same character (for example, Saturos appears three times, since you battle him that amount of times, and he has different stats each time), 3 are dummy (named "?"), 1 is a placeholder (enemy No. 0, "???"), and 2 are partially programmed enemies with proper sprites (also named "?").

Enemy No. 104



A palette swap of the Chimera monster. This palette would be used later for the Grand Chimera monster in The Lost Age.

Enemy No. 135



A palette swap of the Toadonpa monster. This palette would be used later for the Devil Frog monster in The Lost Age.

Dummy Djinn

The game contains 80 slots for Djinn, but only 28 are programmed and used in the game. The other 52 are dummy Djinn (named "="), several of which became programmed, usable Djinn in The Lost Age.

Dummy Djinn that become functional in GS:TLA

No. Name GS:TLA equivalent 7 = Echo 8 = Iron 9 = Steel 10 = Mud 11 = Flower 12 = Meld 13 = Petra 14 = Salt 15 = Geode 16 = Mold 17 = Crystal 27 = Fog 28 = Sour 29 = Spring 30 = Shade 31 = Chill 32 = Steam 33 = Rime 34 = Gel 35 = Eddy 36 = Balm 37 = Serac 47 = Cannon 48 = Spark 49 = Kindle 50 = Char 51 = Coal 52 = Reflux 53 = Core 54 = Tinder 55 = Shine 56 = Fury 57 = Fugue 67 = Breath 68 = Blitz 69 = Ether 70 = Waft 71 = Haze 72 = Wheeze 73 = Aroma 74 = Whorl 75 = Gasp 76 = Lull 77 = Gale

Dummy Djinn that change name in GS:TLA, but remain dummy

No. Name GS:TLA equivalent 18 = Earth18 19 = Earth19 38 = Water18 39 = Water19 58 = Fire18 59 = Fire19 78 = Wind18 79 = Wind19

Translation Errors

Breath/Bless



Certain breath-related abilities were mistranslated from Japanese into English. The English localisation team interpreted ブレス as "bless" instead of "breath". The mistake carried over to the Spanish, German, and Italian localisations, which were based on the English version (the Spanish localisation got quite creative with them, though). The errors were corrected in the English version of the sequel, but the other localisations kept the wrong translations.

Japanese English (GS, incorrect) English (GS:TLA, correct) Spanish (incorrect) French (correct) Italian (incorrect) German (incorrect) ファイアブレス Fire Blessing Fire Breath Fuego sagrado Pyrosouffle Fuoco sacro Feuersegen ウォーターブレス Water Blessing Water Breath Agua bendita Hydrosouffle Acqua sacra Wassersegen ブリザードブレス Ice Blessing Ice Breath Nieve eterna Cryosouffle Gelo sacro Eissegen ブラックブレス Dark Blessing Dark Breath Fosco sacro Nécrosouffle Buio sacro Dunkelsegen アシッドブレス Acid Blessing Acid Breath Anatema ácido Corrosouffle Acido sacro Säuresegen サンダーブレス Storm Blessing Storm Breath Cellisca divina Electrosouffle Tuono sacro Sturmsegen

Cerberus



The enemy found in floor 9 of Crossbone Island is incorrectly named "Cerebus" instead of "Cerberus". The sequel corrected the error, although the enemy went unused.