The following is a miniature, spoiler-free walkthrough for Golden Sun that is for players who don't want to be led by the hand throughout the entire game, but want to make sure that they're not missing anything important or valuable from the previous dungeon before moving on to the next town or dungeon.
Also see the quick spoiler-free walkthrough for Golden Sun: The Lost Age.
Prologue and Vale[]
- When starting the game, in the town of Vale during a storm, you are in control of a young Isaac that does not have any Psynergy. He's soon joined by a young Garet, and you are to go down to the town's bottom base, fighting a few battles with weak monsters along the way. Afterward, when you are directed to go back up the town with young Jenna and a male adult, cutscenes take over, and eventually, you are able to regain control of Isaac. Exit the screen, and soon a scripted battle with a pair of bosses named Mystery Man and Mystery Woman transpires. You are meant to lose.
- After a lengthy series of cutscenes that establishes the story's state in the modern-day, you have control of a three-person party comprised of grown Isaac, Garet, and Jenna. Exploration around Vale triggers important cutscenes, during which Kraden accompanies your party, and the shops at the bottom of town may be used with the +300 coins you start out with. Eventually, enter the dungeon of Sol Sanctum north of town.
- Go through Sol Sanctum, the "introductory dungeon" that has comparatively simple puzzles and easy battles, and follow along with the eventual next series of lengthy story-setting cutscenes. With the Mars Star Important Item in your possession, you eventually have to exit Sol Sanctum, triggering more cutscenes, including one that has you making the decision whether to embark on the quest or not (refusing can lead to the premature end of the game.) At the end of the cutscenes that transpire following your accepting the quest, your party, comprised of Isaac and Garet, receives the Catch Beads that provides the Catch Utility Psynergy, then leaves Vale to start off on the main quest.
Ivan and Kolima[]
- Immediately after exiting Vale, you will automatically acquire your first Djinni, the Venus Djinni Flint. Then head southeast to the town of Vault; the leftmost wooden box on the first floor of the Inn contains a Mint. Meet and join up with Ivan in the mayor's house, investigate the thieves in the inn, then climb into the inn's rooftop from outside to reach a boss battle with the Bandit and Thieves. After winning the battle, Ivan leaves the party through long cutscenes. Talk to the town mayor to receive a free Water of Life (which, at this early point in the game, can be sold for a very high and useful amount of money).
- Go northeast on the overworld map to the entrance to Goma Cave, and when you attempt to move a stump that is trapped within vines, Ivan permanently rejoins your party (with the Shaman's Rod Important Item in his inventory) and demonstrates the usage and function of his Whirlwind Psynergy. Before going through the Goma Cave dungeon to make it to the other side of the mountains, you may return to Vale and use Whirlwind on the bushes behind the base level buildings to find a chest containing a Power Bread. Then as you go through Goma Cave, you can fight and collect your first Mars Djinni, Forge, as well as find a Lucky Medal in a chest. After making it through the cave and back out into the overworld map, enter the town of Bilibin.
- A lot of powerful but expensive equipment is available at the shops in Bilibin, but selling the Water of Life for 2250 coins goes a long way to cover these costs (and that artifact item can always be bought back at a later date for 3000 coins). Also, in the barrel to the upper right in the house just right of the item shop is a Hard Nut, and getting to the bush at the upper left of the town and clearing it away with Whirlwind leads you to the area under town were moving a gold statue down one space gets you your first Jupiter Djinni, Gust. Cutscenes with Lord McCoy can be triggered at his palace.
- At this point your path branches and you may choose to either go east and eventually complete the Kolima Forest/Tret Tree dungeon or go northwest and eventually complete the Mercury Lighthouse dungeon, but the monster difficulty of these areas very strongly encourages you to go east first unless you want much more of an early game challenge. However, you may want to first go northwest, enter Bilibin Cave, and with the help of the Growth Psynergy, enter the cave's elevated "secret entrance" and claim a chest containing the powerful Elven Rapier before returning to Bilibin and proceeding east. Regardless, when you go east and enter the Bilibin Barricade location along the way, you can easily pass through by moving the left crate down with the Move Psynergy. Afterward, as soon as you cross up a bridge in the overworld, go west along the narrow stretch of land above the barricade, stop in a mass of forest at its tip, and press A to find the Turtle Boots. Proceed east of that to enter the town of Kolima.
- Kolima is not a normal town at this point with working vendors, inns, or sanctums, and an extended cutscene that triggers as soon as you enter explains why. Afterward, enter the back door of the treehouse with the fence containing the second Venus Djinni, Granite, and you will be able to get to it and collect it. Then check the upper left of the six jars at the upper right of town for an Apple, then check the jar at the top floor of the inn for a Lucky Medal. Then leave town and go northwest to the location of the next dungeon, Kolima Forest.
- Kolima Forest is a dungeon-esque area that immediately leads to another dungeon at its end, Tret Tree, and the one chest in this area contains the Fur Coat. Tret Tree itself has in one treasure chest a Healing Ring, and in the top right of its "exterior branch" area is the second Jupiter Djinni, Breeze, which you fight to earn. You eventually have to jump across the spider webs in the top floor and fall through the center of the web to reach the Tret boss battle in the basement. After winning the boss battle, leave Kolima Forest and return to Bilibin, and now go northwest to Mercury Lighthouse.
Mia and Mercury Lighthouse[]
- Go northwest from Bilibin and through Bilibin Cave, which leads you through to the wintry northern region of the continent (pick up the Elven Rapier near the cave's elevated "secret entrance" if you didn't get it earlier). Travel north to the town of Imil, where to ultimately progress you should first enter the main house to interact with the old couple, then enter the sanctum to interact with the kids Justin and Megan, then return to the main house to see a cutscene with Mia. Afterward, collect the chest containing the important Empty Bottle item, then grab the Lucky Pepper from the stove in the town's Inn and the Lucky Medal from the top left grave in the small cemetery. Then use Move on the snowman at the top of the town to drop it to the river below, then slide up the frozen river to enter the cave behind the frozen waterfall to collect the second Mars Djinni, Fever. (A Vial, a highly powerful healing item at this point in the game, can also be collected from a chest under a tree at an elevated portion of the town, accessible by the same frozen ice river.)
- Enter Mercury Lighthouse and assist Mia until she permanently joins your party, bringing with her the first Mercury Djinni, Fizz. When you reach the statue that recites a line about a swan in the center of a rippling pond, jump onto the statue and cast the Ply Psynergy. Various secrets of the big Mercury Lighthouse dungeon are accessed by walking/running against the centers of the various waterfall walls, which sometimes conceal secret doorways. Among these secrets are the Psynergy Armor in one chest and the second Mercury Djinni, Sleet. Cast Ply on a small statue at the end of the dungeon where a rainbow is, and a progression of cutscenes will eventually lead you to the challenging boss battle with Saturos on the tower's top. Following this, when you are returned to the tower's base, use the Empty Bottle on the newly restored fountain to get the Hermes' Water.
- Return to Imil to shop and perhaps trigger a cutscene with Mia in the sanctum, then travel all the way back to Kolima Forest; along the way, at Bilibin Barricade, step into the shallow water and cast Move to move the left tree right. When you return to the entrance to Tret Tree, stand in front of the face and use Hermes' Water, which triggers a cutscene. With that accomplished, leave Kolima Forest and return to Kolima, which is now a proper town with working shops. Return to Bilibin Barricade and trigger a cutscene that rewards you with a Hard Nut. Return to Bilibin and McCoy's Palace, where a cutscene brings you to the palace vaults and you may open one of four chests as a reward. Finally, travel east of Kolima and arrive at Kolima Bridge, which you may now cross to enter the continent's eastern/southeastern regions.
Oriental Temples and Mines[]
- Enter Fuchin Temple, converse with Master Nyunpa with the Mind Read Psynergy, collect the Unicorn Ring from the pot to the right of him, and gain admittance to the optional dungeon Fuchin Falls Cave. This moderately-sized dungeon contains as its noteworthy treasures the Orb of Force item that bestows the Force Psynergy, the Arctic Blade weapon, and the third Jupiter Djinni, Zephyr, which you must fight to earn. (If you collect an item named the Dragon's Eye, make use of it on the dragon statue in one room to light it up.) Afterward, converse with Nyunpa again. Then leave and enter the forests below.
- In Mogall Forest, a "Lost Woods"-type of dungeon location, using Force on empty tree stumps so that green apes jump out and flee to lead you through the area's non-repeating exits is not actually required to make it through the location while collecting all the treasures at the same time, so focus on entering and coming back out of all pathways to explore the whole area. One "out of way" screen contains a chest with an Apple while another such screen contains a chest with the Elven Shirt. Lying along one of the main screens you pass through is the third Venus Djinni, Quartz, which you must fight to earn. As you exit Mogall Forest, you engage in the boss battle with the Killer Ape, and automatically earn the Douse Drop that bestows the Douse Psynergy after the battle.
- West of the exit to Mogall Forest, enter the town of Xian, shop, grab the Lucky Medal from a pot in the mulberry orchard, and talk to a pink-garbed working woman to the upper right so that she spills a puddle on the ground, which you then cast Frost on to let you reach and collect the third Mercury Djinni on the right, Mist. Enter the Dojo and use Force on the wooden pillar to trigger some cutscenes that require you to use Force again. Leave Xian and travel north up to the "island" "dead end", and fight until you encounter and defeat the third Mars Djinni, Corona. Then travel down and go northwest of Xian, entering Alpine Crossing, and use Growth and Frost to reach a chest to the lower right containing a Power Bread. Travel up to the flooded mine town of Altin.
- The town of Altin is currently flooded, but de-floods itself over the course of your exploration of the dungeon areas the town connects to, collectively named Altin Peak. You have to defeat Living Statue enemies (the first of which gives you the Frost Jewel that bestows the Frost Psynergy) to lower the water level and make both the town and the dungeon areas more explorable, and eventually open up Altin's shops. Noteworthy treasures during Altin Peak are the Dragon Shield and a Lucky Medal, and the fourth Mercury Djinni, Spritz, is fought and acquired in one screen. After a boss fight with the Hydros Statue, you get the Lifting Gem, which bestows the Lift Psynergy. This lifts boulders that block your way out of the bottom-level mines' "official exit", and can also lift a boulder much earlier in the dungeon blocking a chest containing a Cookie. Taking the mines' official exit deposits you back on the world map from the other side of a mountain range.
- Go to Lama Temple and engage in a cutscene with Master Hama, who teaches Ivan the Reveal Psynergy (a very often used Psynergy that reveals, among other things, which barrels and crates in a town contain items). Then go east to enter Alpine Crossing from the other side, use Reveal to get to Hama and the other characters, and use Lift on a boulder to save Hsu and trigger another series of cutscenes. This will reward you in Golden Sun: The Lost Age if this game file is used for data transfer. On the east side of Lama Temple, there is an inscription on the wall and a suspicious rock. Use Reveal and open the chest containing a Water of Life.
Trip to Gondowan[]
- Go southwest of Lama Temple to enter the next dungeon-style location, Lamakan Desert, which holds many secrets within its circular stones that are perceivable with the Reveal Psynergy, the most valuable of which are the Vulcan Axe, a Lucky Pepper, a Mint, and the fourth Jupiter Djinni, Smog, which is not fought. At the large sandfall at the end, use Reveal to perceive the end boss, the Manticore, and defeat it. Then pass through its cave to leave Lamakan Desert. As soon as you get out onto the overworld, take the upper of the two immediately visible bridges and fight in the enclosed "island" space until you fight and earn the fourth Venus Djinni, Vine. Travel west to the town of Kalay.
- Shop in Kalay, then go into the inn and talk with the innkeeper so that when you next leave the town, a long cutscene involving a tour group transpires. Get to the statue at the upper right corner of the main town area, move it out of the way, and enter Kalay Tunnel, which at this point only lets you collect the nearby fourth Mars Djinni, Scorch. Go back out and go to Kalay's Palace, where a lengthy series of cutscenes ensues. Afterward, find the Water Jacket in one chest in the palace. Technically, your next destination after Kalay would be Kalay Docks to the southwest, but before that, you should travel up north to pay return visits to Vale and Vault.
- Pay a return visit to your hometown, Vale, and engage in cutscenes with the family members of Isaac and Garet. Go to the left screen where Kraden's cottage is, use Lift on the boulder to the left of that, and you can access the optional dungeon Vale Cave. A pretty small dungeon; the only collectibles of note are the Halt Gem that bestows the Halt Psynergy, which you are to use on the Djinni that otherwise eludes you so that you can collect it, your fifth Jupiter Djinni, Kite.
- Pay a return visit to Vault, and talk with the town mayor to learn that the thieves from before fled; this will reward you in Golden Sun: The Lost Age if this game file is used for data transfer. Climb onto the town's wall perimeter counterclockwise to climb up on the wooden tower to the upper right, ring the bell so that a Venus Djinni jumps to an elevated cave exit. Then go down to the cemetery and use Reveal to gain access to the optional dungeon Vault Cave. An average-sized dungeon that has as its only material reward the Vambrace equipment and the Djinni you scared earlier, the fifth Venus Djinni, Sap.
- You can enter the cave to the left of the sealed-off town of Lunpa, using the Frost Psynergy on the puddle under the half-lifted gate to gain entrance into the town itself. While a full town, there is currently not much you can do here because the shops are closed and the dungeon north of town cannot be properly snuck into and explored until a later sidequest. A cache of goodies, including a Lucky Medal, is located in a room in a small cliff face on the lower-left area of town, reachable with the combined usage of the Reveal and Frost Psynergies on the top area of town, and there is another Lucky Medal in the lone box in the upper-right house. Leave the town through the cave. Technically, at this point you can travel all the way back to Bilibin Cave and use Reveal on a cave wall to access an elevated pathway to a room containing a Psy Crystal and Water of Life, but this is not often considered necessary.
- Enter Kalay Docks, buy the Boat Ticket for 600 coins, and use it to gain admittance onto the Tolbi-bound Ship. The storage room below the mast contains a Lucky Medal, located in a barrel at the end of the room. An extremely lengthy procession of cutscenes occur, during which you will have to climb the mast, find the Anchor Charm, and give it to the boat captain. Then going belowdecks to where the oarsmen are will set off the voyage across the Karagol Sea. During this, four scripted battles will occur, with the fourth being a tough boss battle against the Kraken. At the end of each of the four battles, you will have to select one of the passengers to be replacement oarsmen. How you choose your oarsmen determines where the ship ends up in its voyage; ordinarily, the player will likely end up at Tolbi Docks as intended. However, if the rowers on the right are weaker than the rowers on the left (the bald man, then the blonde lady, then the purple merchant/tour guide, and finally the senile old man are one possible configuration that works for this purpose), the ship will veer off course up north and stop at the secret island dungeon Crossbone Isle.
- If you end up at Crossbone Isle during your voyage across the Karagol Sea, agree to explore the island on your own. The first four floors of the ten-floor dungeon are accessible to your party's abilities at this point, thus meaning that the first four of the scripted "mini-boss encounters" at the front doors of each floor can be fought (the Hobgoblin, 2 Grislys and 1 Succubus, 2 Fiendish Ghouls and 1 Lich, and 2 Gryphons, specifically). You won't have the Cloak Psynergy needed to solve the fourth floor, but the treasures you can get up to this point include a Mint, a Hard Nut, a Lucky Pepper, a Cookie, the Mystery Blade weapon, and the Fairy Ring. Return to the ship, and the voyage will resume until you've reached Tolbi Docks on the continent of Gondowan.
Tolbi and Colosso[]
- Tolbi is your place to unload all of your amassed Lucky Medals, Game Tickets, and general wealth to make your party thoroughly upgraded in inventory terms. Use your Lucky Medals on the fountain at the center of town to get all manner of equipment stronger than what you can get at Tolbi's shops, and use your Game Tickets on the Lucky Wheels slot machine mini-game at the second floor of the upper right building to get supplementary equipment with useful boosts to any of your party members such as the Hyper Boots, Quick Boots, Mythril Shirt, and Running Shirt. (Speaking of Lucky Medals, one can be found in the barrel next to the oven on the second floor of the shop building, another one is in the pot to the right of an L-shaped building at the lower right area of town, and a third is in the chest in the top floor of the southeast watchtower of the palace.) A Hard Nut is inside the palace in a jar in the basement laboratory with all the scholars. A Lucky Medal can be found by taking the bottom-right staircase in the palace and searching the box at the top. A Power Bread is in a chest hidden in a circle of gravestones in the lower-left area of town, accessible with Reveal. And the Frost and Growth Psynergies are needed to get to the fifth Mars Djinni, Ember, at the top right corner of the main town area.
- Exploring the palace will trigger a long cutscene that directs you to Altmiller Cave north of Tolbi. Before you enter the cave, however, go southwest down a stretch of land in between differently colored rivers and fight battles until you randomly fight and earn the fifth Mercury Djinni, Hail. Then travel east of Altmiller Cave above the Karagol Sea until you enter Kalay Docks from its top-end; you will be immediately able to pick up the sixth Venus Djinni, Ground, easily.
- Enter Altmiller Cave, and when you come across a white outline on the ground, interact with it to trigger a cutscene. Later in the dungeon, you can solve a puzzle to fight and earn the sixth Jupiter Djinni, Squall, and later after that, there is a chest containing a Cookie. At the end of the dungeon is a visual puzzle that gives you the Mystic Draught Important Item, which you are to give to the white outline from earlier. After another cutscene, you are to return to Tolbi.
- Rare item drop: If you fell a Dread Hound with the attack effect of an offensive Mercury Djinni, there is a 1/16 chance it will drop a Prophet's Hat.
- Return to Tolbi, and go up to the main gate of the Colosso competition. You will be automatically led through an extended "puzzle-and-battle tournament" named the Colosso Finals, comprised of three series of screens where Isaac, playing only as himself, must solve his way to the end to engage in a 1-on-1 battle with a Colosso Gladiator. While the competition has many complexities and ways to make it easier, the ultimate aim is to merely defeat the opponent at the end of each stage series, and you are only required to defeat the first two opponents, Azart and Satrage, to progress with the story. Defeating the third opponent, Navampa, rewards you with the unique Lure Cap (recommended to keep in your inventory even after the end of the game), and will also reward you in Golden Sun: The Lost Age if this game file is used for data transfer. After the Colosso competition, go to Lord Babi's throne room in the palace to engage in an extended cutscene that directs you southwest. Afterward, go to his basement and get the Cloak Ball that bestows the Cloak Psynergy from him. Before leaving Tolbi, go back to the inn and check the rooms for a lady who hides something in a barrel, which is a Lucky Medal that you can grab. You may also want to return to Tolbi Docks just to see an optional cutscene.
Optional Lunpa Sidequest[]
- An involved sidequest back on Angara is open now that you have the Cloak Psynergy. To return to Angara, go east along the bottom of the Karagol Sea, enter the cave location named Gondowan Cave, and the short dungeon-esque area - with chests containing an Apple and a Lucky Medal - functionally becomes the "bridge" between continents you may use from here on out when you're done solving it. Now back on Angara, travel all the way north to access the town of Lunpa through the nearby cave.
- Use the Cloak Psynergy in the shadows of the walls to the left at the guarded entrance to the Lunpa Fortress dungeon to sneak past the guards invisibly, and once inside the cavernous complexes of the fortress, keep using Cloak to remain invisible amongst the shadowy areas to avoid being detected by patrolling brigands (some generate their own light sources representing their line of sight which you must stay out of). While you can be detected by and fight brigands with red caps safely, being detected by brigands with green caps instantly places you back outside Lunpa Fortress, and you'll have to start all over again. You first need to remotely acquire the Cell Key by using Catch on it from above, which opens up green cell doors, and one of the cell doors you'd have to backtrack a good ways to afterward contains a room with a cache that includes the Mythril Circlet equipment and a Lucky Medal. When you go down to a more cavernous basement level of the floor, a Power Bread is in a chest in one of the three rooms behind green cell doors. After using reveal to make it to the last room, a cutscene leads to the boss battle with Toadonpa, and after winning it, another extended cutscene eventually leads you back out of Lunpa Fortress. Completing this sidequest will reward you in Golden Sun: The Lost Age if this game file is used for data transfer.
- Now back in Lunpa outside, the shops have reopened, and several powerful late-game artifacts such as the War Gloves can be bought. When you attempt to leave Lunpa through the cave, an extended cutscene triggers, and eventually you are presented with a choice of whether you want to stay in Lunpa or return to Kalay; it ultimately does not matter at all which you pick, as there are valuable things to get both in Lunpa and in Kalay as rewards for completing Lunpa Fortress. Whether you elect to remain in Lunpa or go to Kalay and return to Lunpa afterward, you will then be able to re-enter and sneak your way through Lunpa Fortress all over again - the point being that when you get to the room of the elderly Donpa and talk with him, he will give you the sixth Mercury Djinni, Tonic.
- Whether you elect to be taken to Kalay or let yourself travel to Kalay later, a cutscene occurs in the throne room of Kalay's palace. As a result of completing Lunpa Fortress, the gates that blocked off certain routes through Kalay Tunnel have been removed, so now you can get to an area where a cache of four chests contains, among other things, a Lucky Medal. With these chests is a statue that you should move up and left to block the waterfall, so that you can get to a chest containing the Spirit Gloves equipment. Finally, you can climb upstairs to a cave-like area with a waterfall and a chest containing an Apple. With all these treasures looted, you may return through Gondowan Cave to Gondowan, and proceed on your main journey.
To Lalivero[]
- Go south of Tolbi, cross Gondowan Passage, and head southeast to the small town of Suhalla, which does not have any armories. A cutscene in the lower right building introduces you to the Suhalla Desert that you'll soon be crossing, and a Hard Nut is in a chest in the upper left-most tip of the town and a Lucky Medal is in the orange jar to the left of the sanctum. Then head south into the desert.
- In Suhalla Desert, various pathways are obstructed by whirlwinds that show themselves when you approach. To get past them, get caught up in them and cast the Douse Psynergy to engage in a battle with a powerful Tornado Lizard. If you don't use Douse in time, you will be returned to the overworld in front of Suhalla. A chest at the upper right of the first main screen contains the useful Virtuous Armlet equipment, and chests in the second main screen contain a Cookie and a Lucky Medal. Casting Reveal can show a pillar to the left in the second screen that can lead you to the sixth Mars Djinni for you to battle and earn, Flash - widely considered the most useful Djinni in the Golden Sun GBA series. DO NOT ENTER the cave behind Flash before reading the below paragraph! At the bottom of the desert is a large tornado that chases you, and casting Douse on triggers the boss battle against the powerful Storm Lizard. After getting that out of the way, you can leave Suhalla Desert.
- Rare item drop: If you fell a Magicore with the attack effect of an offensive Mercury Djinni, there is a 1/32 chance it will drop Aura Gloves.
- The cave behind where Flash is led to a large pink tornado, which contains an optional boss named Tempest Lizard - essentially an even stronger version of the Storm Lizard (though marginally). You shouldn't battle it in the desert, though; rather, when you let yourself get caught up in the whirlwind and be blown away, you will appear not in front of the town but at Crossbone Isle, and the Tempest Lizard's tornado will remain on the nearby beach. If you step in the tornado again, casting Douse will ensue a battle with the Tempest Lizard there, but when you win, enter and exit Crossbone Isle and the tornado will return, and you can fight it again - making the Tempest Lizard the only repeatable boss fight in the Golden Sun GBA series. Otherwise, letting it carry you off will drop you in front of Suhalla. Tempest Lizard's pink tornado in Suhalla Desert is effectively your late-game ticket to Crossbone Isle whenever you wish. Whether you want to go to Crossbone Isle and reach its seventh floor as soon as you can is your choice; however, since the Psynergy needed to reach the optional dungeon's end, Carry, is coming up shortly, and the town of Lalivero is shortly after that, you may want to hold off on Crossbone Isle for now.
- The world map leads you through the location called Suhalla Gate. Here, in the second screen, slide down the leftmost cliff slide to land next to the chest containing a Mint, and in the third screen, slide down the third cliff slide from the left to land next to the seventh Mercury Djinni for you to fight and earn, Dew. As you explore, you may find a cave that leads you back outside to a world map area with a sunken ship, and an optional cutscene triggers here. Exit Suhalla Gate out of its right side.
- Rare item drop: If you fell an Earth Golem with the attack effect of an offensive Jupiter Djinni, there is a 1/32 chance it will drop a Giant Axe, a powerful weapon sure to be an upgrade to whatever your party is holding by this point.
- Continue to follow along the overworld path until you get to the outward overworld location of Venus Lighthouse - while the structure is technically the site of the final dungeon in the game, the area of it you can explore is an easier, less "active" portion that the main dungeon area exits out into but which you can't use to enter the final dungeon. A chest in this part of Venus Lighthouse contains the Lucky Cap. Exploring this part of Venus Lighthouse (with the help of Reveal) is vital, however, leading you to a chest containing the Carry Stone that bestows the Carry Psynergy, and making you use that Psynergy to clear your way past a block and make it into a room with a large statue and an array of circles on the ground. Interacting with the statue repeatedly will show that the tiles light up and alternate between two configurations; what this represents is that you are choosing which of two "dungeon paths" in the upcoming Tunnel Ruins dungeon you will be traversing through on your way to the backdoor "true entrance" into Venus Lighthouse later. Since there is merit to exploring both paths, you may want to return to this room at later points. Once you've lit the tiles up whichever way, leave Venus Lighthouse and proceed north to Lalivero.
- After a cutscene that transpires upon entrance into the town of Lalivero, you may now explore the town and shop for the best equipment. At least two of the buildings in town have ladders to their roofs leading from the inside, and from these buildings, you can hop onto and walk on the yellow wall comprising the town's perimeter at two different spots. The ladder in the lower-left house is your ticket to the very strong and useful Warrior's Helm item in a chest, and the ladder in the armory is your ticket to the seventh Mars Djinni, Torch. There is also a Lucky Medal in a barrel on the second floor of the Inn, another Lucky Medal in a barrel in the house connected to the right of the armory, and a Water of Life on the roof of the item shop. Exiting Lalivero off the top is your road to the game's final three-part dungeon.
Crossbone Isle[]
- Regardless of whether or not you cleared Crossbone Isle down to its fourth floor during the Tolbi-bound Ship segment earlier in the game and/or cleared it down to its seventh floor if you visited it during your first pass through Suhalla Desert without the Carry Psynergy, Crossbone Isle remains to be completed at some point before the end of the game. You may decide to first explore, fight, and solve your way through the upcoming three-part dungeon - Babi Lighthouse, Tunnel Ruins, and the main Venus Lighthouse - and amass strong equipment and the seventh Jupiter Djinni, then before the final boss use Retreat to exit out of Venus Lighthouse's exit portion before going back for Crossbone Isle. For some players, this is the recommended way to go about the endgame. Whenever you decide to, return to Suhalla Desert and use the Tempest Lizard's pink tornado to reenter Crossbone Isle.
- The first three floors have already been described earlier, and the bosses of those and the fourth floor may have been dispatched if you came here via the Tolbi-bound Ship earlier. Now armed with late-game Psynergy and equipment, you may solve your way through at least floors 4, 5, and 6, collecting the Storm Gear, Ninja Garb, and Demon Axe and the seventh Venus Djinni, Bane, throughout those floors, and end up fighting the mini-bosses Lizard King, two Chimeras, and two Earth Lizards. If you have the Carry Psynergy, you can solve your way through floors 7, 8, and 9, collecting the Wicked Mace, Cleric's Ring, Muramasa, and a Lucky Medal throughout those floors, and end up fighting the mini-bosses Poison Toad and two Cerebuses. While equipping "cursed equipment" like the Wicked Mace and Muramasa inflicts equipment curses on its wielders, an Adept also equipped with the Cleric's Ring will not feel any ill effects from those curses in battles.
- The tenth floor of Crossbone Isle is named the "Pirate Ship". When you go up the left flight of stairs on the dilapidated ship, the boss battle with Deadbeard automatically ensues. Deadbeard is this game's resident "super boss" and is stronger, more durable, and more challenging than even the game's normal final boss. Should you defeat Deadbeard, you will find a chest containing the Demon Mail. Incidentally, defeating Deadbeard will trigger a bonus cutscene in Golden Sun: The Lost Age if this game file is used for data transfer, but there is no material reward in or beyond that detail. Leave Crossbone Isle via Tempest Lizard and return to Lalivero.
Venus Lighthouse and Epilogue[]
- Depart north of Lalivero and enter the half-completed structure of Babi Lighthouse. A Lucky Pepper is present in a chest. The ladders underneath the two pillars are your ticket to reaching and fighting the seventh Jupiter Djinni inside the Lighthouse, Luff. You should quickly find yourself in an extended cutscene at the basement of the structure where there is a door that can only be opened with the Reveal Psynergy. Enter that to enter the second dungeon part, the Tunnel Ruins.
- Rare item drops: If you fell a Chimera Mage with the attack effect of an offensive Mercury Djinni, there is a 1/16 chance it will drop a Spiked Armor. If you feel an Orc Lord with the attack effect of an offensive Jupiter Djinni, there is a 1/32 chance it will drop a Lucky Medal, which technically makes it the only unlimited source of Lucky Medals in this game. And if you fell a Wild Gryphon with the attack effect of an offensive Jupiter Djinni, there is a 1/32 chance it will drop a Feathered Robe, a piece of equipment so powerful as to not just be one of the best pieces equipment of this game, but of The Lost Age as well.
- In the Tunnel Ruins, you will be going down one of two "dungeon paths", which was designated by yourself in the statue room down in Venus Lighthouse's exit area. Each path has its own theme - one about blowing away bushes and pushing pillars around, the other using the Douse and Frost Psynergies in conjunction on empty pillars. Each dungeon path contains a room with a statue that, when using Reveal near it, shows it is a chest containing a unique piece of equipment - the Oracle's Robe on the left path and the Asura's Armor on the right path. After solving the last room's puzzle involving the multicolored statues that tell you where the others are placed when you Mind Read them, you climb up the entrance to the interior, main dungeon portion of Venus Lighthouse.
- Now in Venus Lighthouse, the true final dungeon of the game, solve and fight your way through and enter various sandfalls that conceal hidden entrances similar to the waterfalls in Mercury Lighthouse, and you can find the equipment Dragon Scales, Thunder Crown, and the game's "ultimate weapon", the Gaia Blade. There is a "point of no return" in this dungeon that lies at a room where there is a pit in the center with a slide leading into it; sliding down it here leads you to the tower's aerie, where cutscenes that lead to the game's two-stage final boss battle ensue.
- Rare item drops: If you fell a Thunder Lizard with the attack effect of an offensive Venus Djinni, there is a 1/32 chance it will drop a Blessed Mace. If you fell a Grand Golem with the attack effect of an offensive Jupiter Djinni, there is a 1/32 chance it will drop a Zodiac Wand. And if you fell a Fenrir with the attack effect of an offensive Mars Djinni, there is a 1/64 chance it will drop a Kikuichimonji, a weapon compared to the Swift Sword as Ivan's best weapon.
- Upon defeating the final boss, further cutscenes eventually lead you back to Lalivero, where you regain temporary control. To reach the game's end cutscene and credits, enter the top left building, enter the dock, go to the end of the wooden plank above the water, and use the Black Orb important item to trigger the ending scenes and the end credits. You will eventually be asked to save a Clear Data File for the password feature to work with; you can either save it over the game file or in a different slot. It is this file that would be usable for the connection between Golden Sun and The Lost Age, which can include transferring the stats and inventories of this game's playable characters into their appearances in the next game. There are ways you can take advantage of the password data transfer feature for the next game; namely, aside from having all the Djinn and all of this game's best equipment, include the Lure Cap, Cleric's Ring, and an amount of Lucky Medals in the party inventory. Unlike Golden Sun, after all, The Lost Age has only a limited amount of its own Lucky Medals to use.