Golden Sun/Condensed Walkthrough

This page is a condensed and spoiler-free walkthrough for the original Golden Sun that is less focused on providing step-by-step instructions and more on orienting the player's course through the game using generalized directions. Players may use this to make sure that they collect all important items and complete all worthwhile tasks before proceeding to the next stage of the game.

Also see the Condensed Walkthrough for Golden Sun: The Lost Age.

Also see the Condensed Walkthrough for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

Prologue at Sol Sanctum

 * The game immediately starts off in the village of Vale with you in control of a young version of Isaac, whose lack of a character class leaves him without any Psynergy. After recruiting the young version of Garet up north, you must enter the neighboring screen to the west to get to the village's main square far at the bottom, and random battles with weak monsters introduce the combat system. After a conversation with the mayor has the non-playable Jenna and an adult accompany your party, climb back up through the village until important cutscenes take over. Once you regain control of Isaac, exit the screen back off to the right, and you are forced into a boss battle with two overwhelming opponents that you are meant to lose against. What follows is a lengthy procession of cutscenes that will eventually bring you out of the prologue.
 * In the present-day version of Vale, now controlling a party consisting of older and stronger versions of the Venus (Earth) Adept Isaac and the Mars (Fire) Adepts Garet and Jenna, buy defensive gear at the armor shop at the south end of the town. Enter the west screen with the cottage through the upper-left exit (the one above the exit currently blocked off by puppies), and follow along with the cutscenes to get Kraden to accompany the party. Eventually, head to Sol Sanctum past the north exit of the main town area by running past the Healer as he heads to the right and up into the shadows behind the Sanctum.


 * Sol Sanctum is the game's "introductory dungeon" because it features comparatively simple puzzles and weak monsters. On two separate occasions, you need to collect a Small Jewel and insert it into a wall-mounted minotaur-head statue, the latter of which is hidden behind one of the statues in a narrow, horizontal room you need to use the Move Psynergy to remotely shift off to the side. When cutscenes take place at an area with sun and moon patterns on the floor, head upstairs and find an area with two smaller mirror-holding statues and a wider statue holding a disc-shaped object; use Move to move the smaller statues onto their nearby floor tiles and then drop the wider statue into the hole that appears in the ground. This lets you move the four statues in the adjoining room onto their white floor tiles without incident (though attempting to move these statues first initiates an optional cutscene). Once this is done, enter the Elemental Star Chamber by inspecting the part of the wall that has a narrow beam of light shining onto it; this permanently removes Jenna from the party.
 * In the Elemental Star Chamber, collect the Elemental Stars from the southeast, then northeast, then southwest areas of the cave. After a dramatic cutscene, collect the final Star from the northwest area, which forces more long cutscenes and then makes you have to exit Sol Sanctum (there is no in-game "danger" or "risk" of "running out of time" at this part). Once you exit back out to Vale, more long cutscenes will eventually grant you the Catch Beads, which grants the Catch utility Psynergy to the Adept who has it equipped, and deposit you outside of Vale with a party consisting only of Isaac and Garet.


 * As soon as your two-person party starts to walk south of Vale, you will automatically acquire your first Djinni, the Venus Djinni Flint, who gives a seminar on the game's Djinn, Class, and Summoning systems. (The system, to summarize, allows an Adept to Unleash one of the Djinn currently contributing to their class for an in-battle effect unique to that Djinni, but this will put the Djinni On Standby and not contribute to the class. That Adept can spend a different turn manually switching that Djinni back to Set mode if desired, but while at least one Adept has any number of Djinn On Standby, any of the Adepts can make use of anywhere between one and four On Standby Djinn of the same element to unleash a proportionately strong summon sequence. This will put those Djinn into Recovery Mode, where they will automatically Set themselves back onto their respective Adept(s) after some time passes, but larger summons will force used-up Djinn through longer recovery periods.)
 * In a separate system that the game does not explain to the player, when the killing blow that is used to fell a given enemy comes from a Djinni with an attack-based effect, and that Djinni is aligned with the element that is the lowest of the four Resistance values on that enemy (or at least ties for the lowest), that enemy will flash different colors before dissipating. This will result in 30% increases to their Experience and Coin yields, as well as the drop rates for their sole randomly-dropped items becoming four times as likely.

Kolima and Mercury Lighthouse

 * The first village you come across on your journey, Vault, lies southeast of Vale. The leftmost wooden box in the first floor of the Inn contains the first Mint, one of the game's limited consumable items that permanently increases a statistic on the Adept you feed it to; in its case, it increases Agility. Meet and recruit the Jupiter (Wind) Adept Ivan in the mayor's house at the northwest edge of town, and go upstairs in the Inn to take part in a sequence where Isaac and Ivan must surround a walking NPC between each other. Then, climb into the now-open hole in the Inn's roof and use Move on the wooden crate; interacting with the tied-up NPC initiates the boss battle with the Bandit and Thieves, which will award the Bandit's Sword artifact. After winning the battle, a long cutscene will make Ivan temporarily leave the party. Talk to the town mayor again to receive a free Water of Life (which, at this early point in the game, can be sold for a very useful 2,250 coins).
 * Opening the Artifacts menu at the weapon shopkeeper permanently adds one Magic Rod weapon to the "artifact repository" shared between all of the game's weapon shopkeepers — which means that if an item that counts as an Artifact is either sold or dropped from the party's inventory, it will reappear in this menu, ready to be purchased again. Selling off the Water of Life from the Mayor's house will not "impede" the party in the long term because that counts as an Artifact, which means this individual Water of Life can be bought back much later in the game for 3,000 coins. Always check every shopkeeper's Artifacts menu at least once to populate each vendor type's artifact repositories.


 * There is nothing of value for the player at the blocked-off village of Lunpa besides a Nut that can be retrieved from a tree with Catch, and the nearby West Lunpa Cave cannot be passed yet. Therefore, travel east from Vault and Lunpa's general area of the overworld map to the entrance to Goma Cave; attempting to use Move on the thick stump covered in vines leads to a scene where Ivan permanently rejoins your party (with the Shaman's Rod Important Item in his inventory) and demonstrates the application of his Whirlwind Psynergy. You may backtrack to Vale with Ivan and use Whirlwind on the bushes behind the buildings near the bottom of the village to find a chest containing the first Power Bread, which permanently increases HP. At any rate, as you proceed through Goma Cave toward the settlement on the other side, you can collect a Lucky Medal (which can be redeemed much later in the game in the same town at which you can also redeem your slowly building supply of Game Tickets). You can also fight and collect your first Mars Djinni, Forge; if it runs away mid-battle, leave and reenter the screen to make it reappear.


 * At Bilibin, a lot of powerful but expensive equipment is available at the shops, including a Witch's Wand artifact; the coins gotten from selling the Water of Life from Vault helps to cover some of these costs. There is also a barrel in the house just right of the item shop that contains the first Hard Nut, which permanently boosts Defense. Getting to the bush at the upper left corner of the town's main screen and clearing it away with Whirlwind leads you to the area under the town where moving a gold statue down one space gets you your first Jupiter Djinni, Gust. Finally, talking to the guards at McCoy's Palace initiates an optional cutscene with Lord McCoy.
 * At this point, the game allows you to branch away from your intended path east and complete the much harder northwestern route leading to the Mercury Lighthouse dungeon, where the monsters and boss content are much stronger. Even if you do not intend to play this part of the game out of order, there is still value in briefly heading northwest to Bilibin Cave and using the Growth Psynergy — accessed by giving Venus Djinn to characters other than Isaac or giving Mars Djinn to Isaac — to enter the cave's elevated "secret entrance" and claim the powerful Elven Rapier artifact from the chest. This is slightly stronger than what is sold at Bilibin and does not require money to acquire, so grabbing this light blade for free should probably factor into your purchasing decisions at Bilibin.


 * Proceed east to Bilibin Barricade, which you can pass through by casting Move on the left, tall crate that sticks out. Afterward, as soon as you cross up the bridge just east of it, travel west along the narrow stretch of land above the barricade, and press A inside the forest at the west end to find the Turtle Boots. Entering the village of Kolima to the east will trigger a cutscene that exists in a shortened form if you instead first enter Kolima Forest to the northwest of that. While the village is currently in a state where it lacks working vendors, inns, or sanctums, entering the concealed back door of the southeastern tree house will let you collect your second Venus Djinni, Granite, within its fence. Checking the upper left of the six jars at the upper right of town gives you your first Apple, which permanently increases Attack, and a Lucky Medal lies in the jar at the top floor of the inn.


 * Kolima Forest is presented as an outdoor "dungeon-like area" that leads to another dungeon at its end, Tret Tree, and the one chest in the "outdoor area" leading up to Tret Tree contains the Fur Coat; once you get it, you may find that exiting and entering the screen with the water and dam to perform a puzzle reset will save time setting up the normal solution. Inside Tret Tree itself, one treasure chest contains a Healing Ring, an example of a "Usable" piece of equipment that produces a simulated spell (Cure, in its case) and has a random chance to break with every use, which will make it require repairs at any vendor to allow its Use effect to be cast again. The second Jupiter Djinni, Breeze, lies at the top-right corner of the "exterior branch screen," and you have to fight it to earn it. Eventually, when you reach the topmost room with the web and leaves, crumble and then fall through the leaf in the center to reach the Tret boss battle in the basement. After winning the battle, leave Tret Tree and Kolima Forest (using the Retreat Psynergy when back outside the tree to cut down on time spent getting back out from the forest).


 * Proceed northwest from Bilibin and through Bilibin Cave, picking up the Elven Rapier near the cave's elevated "secret entrance" if you didn't get it earlier, and enter the wintry northern region of the continent. In the village of Imil up north, enter the main house to interact with the old couple, then talk with the children in the sanctum before returning to the main house to see a cutscene with Mia. Be sure to collect the Empty Bottle artifact from the chest in the room before heading to Mercury Lighthouse east of the village. Also, a Lucky Medal is claimed by inspecting the top-left grave in the small cemetery. To enter the frozen waterfall up north, Move the nearby snowman left to drop it to the frozen river below, then slide up the frozen river and into the hole in the sheet with the snowman's help. The cave contains the second Mars Djinni, Fever.
 * There is also the first Lucky Pepper in the stove in the town's Inn, which permanently adds 2 Luck points. (To explain the full relevance of this statistic in simple terms, every 2 points of Luck above 0 on a character results in a 3% subtractive deduction on the base chances of all secondary effects that may be inflicted upon that character by enemy moves, such as the Stun effect's 40% default probability becoming 37% while at 2 or 3 Luck. Other factors affecting these chances include how the attacker and defender's relevant Elemental Levels compare to each other and how far from the center of an area-of-effect move the affected character is.)


 * At Mercury Lighthouse, assist Mia until she permanently joins your party as your resident Mercury (Water) Adept, bringing with her the first Mercury Djinni, Fizz. When you drop in front of the statue that metaphorically describes a swan in a rippling pond, jump onto the statue and cast the Ply Psynergy to activate the tiles that let you hop across the water. Various secrets in this particularly large dungeon are accessed by pressing against the centers of the various waterfalls adorning the walls to enter secret doorways behind them. Among these secrets are the Psynergy Armor in a room behind the room with the Mimic (a series of one-time-only enemies that usually drop relatively worthwhile items), and a hallway full of waterfalls hides the second Mercury Djinni, Sleet. Eventually, when you reach a dead-end room with a rainbow, cast Ply on a small statue to get transported to the aerie of the tower; restore your health and then refresh your PP with the Psynergy Stone, and approach the beacon to initiate cutscenes that force you into a challenging boss battle. Upon winning, you will eventually be returned to the base of the lighthouse, and use the Empty Bottle on the newly restored fountain to get the Hermes' Water.


 * Imil can be returned to if you desire to buy Adept's Clothes and the Blessed Ankh artifact at the reopened shops, and an optional cutscene occurs inside the sanctum. Make the journey all the way back to Bilibin and then to Kolima Forest; along the way, at Bilibin Barricade, step into the shallow water and cast Move to move the left tree to the right. Proceed through Kolima Forest all over again until you return to Tret Tree, and use Hermes' Water while standing in front of the face to trigger a cutscene. This restores Kolima Village as a functioning town with working services and allows you to proceed past Kolima Bridge to the east.
 * Before heading east, if you had moved the tree during your prior visit to Bilibin Barricade, a cutscene triggers upon your return that rewards you with the second Hard Nut. Return to McCoy's Palace at Bilibin, where a cutscene deposits you in front of the palace's vault and lets you open any one of four chests; from left to right, in arguably that order of increasing usefulness, they contain a Vial, a Potion, a Psy Crystal, and a Water of Life. Mia being in your party also technically lets you enter Lunpa through West Lunpa Cave, though there is little benefit in entering that town this early.

The Rest of Angara

 * At Fuchin Temple, at the east end of the overworld, use Mind Read on Master Nyunpa, collect the Unicorn Ring from the pot to the right of him, and talk to the monk in front of the waterfall to get into the optional dungeon called Fuchin Falls Cave. The most noteworthy collectible in this dungeon is the Orb of Force, a utility Psynergy item that bestows the Force Psynergy while equipped, but you can also collect the Arctic Blade long sword and the third Jupiter Djinni, Zephyr, which you must fight to earn. (If you collect an Important Item called the Dragon's Eye along the way, be sure to insert it into a dragon statue in the dungeon, since it will uselessly remain in your inventory and be impossible to get rid of otherwise.) Afterward, talk with Nyunpa again.


 * In Mogall Forest, despite the presence of repeating screens not unlike other games' "Lost Woods"-style locales, it is not explicitly required to use Force on every hollow tree stump you come across to progress, and thorough exploration is needed to collect every treasure along the way. First head south to an area with stumps and logs, then head east to an area with two hollow stumps; to the right of this is a screen with a chest with your second Apple. South of this is a larger area with the third Venus Djinni, Quartz, which must be fought to be earned. West of that is another area with three hollow stumps, to the left of which is a screen with a chest containing the Elven Shirt. The final screen with the lone hollow stump forces you into a boss battle with the Killer Ape, and you win the Douse Drop after the battle that ensures you have access to the Douse Psynergy regardless of your classes.
 * Be forewarned that exiting Mogall Forest into the overworld constitutes sort of a "point of no return" in that the previous screen's log puzzle will reset in a way that prevents you from hopping back north, forcing you to continue your journey for a while before you can reach upper Angara again.


 * In the town of Xian west of the exit from Mogall Forest, the armor shop adds the China Dress artifact, and a pot in the mulberry orchard contains a Lucky Medal. Talk to the working woman in pink so that she spills a puddle on the ground right where it can be turned into a pillar with the Frost Psynergy that lets you hop to and collect your third Mercury Djinni, Mist. Enter the dojo and cast Force on the wooden pillar from the white line to trigger some cutscenes that require you to use Force again.
 * Leave Xian and travel north up to the "island" at the "dead end", and fight until you encounter and defeat the third Mars Djinni, Corona. Then travel northwest from Xian into Alpine Crossing and cast Growth and Frost to reach a chest in the screen's lower-right corner containing the second Power Bread. Travel north from Alpine Crossing to the next town.


 * The town of Altin is currently flooded, but the waters recede every time you defeat a Living Statue inside the mines connecting to the town area, which are collectively named "Altin Peak". The first such statue you defeat in the cave at the southwest corner of the town also bestows the Frost Jewel, which ensures you have access to the Frost Psynergy regardless of your characters' classes. After the first level of the water recedes, an item shop that sells Nuts opens, and the "upper main segment" of Altin Peak becomes available; defeat the Living Statue at the end of the eastern branch, then proceed through and explore the northern branch to collect the Dragon Shield artifact and slay the third Living Statue.
 * Retreat back outside to access the armor and weapon shops, which add the Psynergy Rod to the artifact menu, and play through the "lower main segment" of Altin Peak, collecting a Lucky Medal and the fourth Mercury Djinni, Spritz, along the way. At the end of a long and narrow dead-end, cause a boulder to fall with the Force Psynergy (or rely on Garet to set it off if you didn't collect the Orb of Force), and climb down the hole using the hanging mine cart tracks to fight the Hydros Statue and win both another Lucky Medal and the Lifting Gem, which bestows the Lift Psynergy. This lets you lift the boulder earlier in the "lower main segment" that brings you back out into the overworld.
 * With the Lift Psynergy, before leaving Altin and its connected dungeon, you can backtrack to the east branch of the "upper main segment" to find and get past a boulder that originally blocked the way to a chest with the first Cookie, which permanently increases PP.


 * Right next to Altin Peak's exit in the overworld is Lama Temple, where a cutscene will permanently teach Ivan the Reveal Psynergy — which is very useful for seeing at a glance which barrels and crates in a given town contain items. Before heading southwest into the desert, go back east to enter Alpine Crossing, use Reveal to get to the NPCs, and use Lift on the boulder trapping Hsu to trigger cutscenes that will make Alpine Crossing easier to pass through. The main purpose of doing this is that using this game file for the data transfer function will produce an extra reward for the party in Golden Sun: The Lost Age.


 * The next "dungeon," Lamakan Desert, hides many secrets within its circular patterns, which manifest and can be interacted with while the Reveal Psynergy is exposing them. Several of these are hidden oases that empty your building heat meter, though the worst that happens when the meter reaches the top is that the party suddenly loses a sizeable chunk of their health and the meter empties all the way back down. The first screen contains the Vulcan Axe, and the massive second screen contains the second Lucky Pepper, the second Mint, and the fourth Jupiter Djinni, Smog, which you do not even have to fight. At the large sandfall at the end, use Reveal to be able to initiate the battle with the Manticore boss. Then pass through its cave to leave Lamakan Desert.
 * As soon as you reemerge into the overworld from Lamakan Desert, 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. The lower bridge takes you to the next town.


 * In the town of Kalay in southwestern Angara, the deceptively mandatory task that needs to be completed to progress with the game is to talk with the innkeeper from behind his counter so that you can give an answer of some kind to his question, which will cause a long cutscene to occur the first time you attempt to leave Kalay for the overworld. However, there are many useful things to collect and side-objectives to clear before heading southwest to the docks:
 * The shops at Kalay itself introduce the Frost Wand to the artifacts list. Moving the statue at the northeast corner of the town out of the way to get into the cave entrance behind it lets you collect the fourth Mars Djinni, Scorch, which is the only currently accessible treasure within the segment of Kalay Tunnel that is currently explorable. As soon as you approach Hammet's Palace, a very long cutscene brings you inside, and you can collect the Water Jacket from a chest in its west "wing".
 * Making a return visit to Vale allows for optional cutscenes with the main characters' families. The boulder near Kraden's cottage can now be bypassed with Lift to enable access to the optional Vale Cave dungeon, which is rather short. It contains the Halt Gem, which bestows the Halt Psynergy that you need to use to collect the fifth Jupiter Djinni, Kite.
 * When returning to Vault, talking with the town mayor will result in an extra event and reward for the party in Golden Sun: The Lost Age if this game file is used for data transfer. Before using Reveal at the bottom cemetery to enter the hidden and optional Vault Cave dungeon, ring the bell at the north end of the town to scare the Venus Djinni off to the side, which will make sure that the reward for completing Vault Cave is actually waiting for you when you get to the end of it: the fifth Venus Djinni, Sap. Vault Cave also contains the Vambrace artifact in a chest.
 * There is now a little bit of use in entering the blocked-off town of Lunpa by using the Frost Psynergy to pass through West Lunpa Cave. While the main shops of note will still not be open, casting Reveal while standing immediately underneath the left wooden pole near the top of the screen, casting Frost on the exposed puddle, and hopping across the frost pillar without letting Reveal wear off lets you get to the screen's southwest corner, where you can Reveal another cave entrance for several collectibles including a Lucky Medal and a Water of Life. This is not to mention another Lucky Medal that can be collected from the lone box in the upper-right house.
 * If you consider it worthwhile, you can make the trip all the way back to Bilibin Cave and use Reveal on a cave wall behind the chest that had originally contained the Elven Rapier to access an elevated pathway to a room containing a Psy Crystal and a Water of Life. (Cast Douse on fires to get there.)

Tolbi and Lunpa

 * At Kalay Docks, buy the Boat Ticket for 600 coins and use it to step onto the Tolbi-bound Ship. An extremely drawn-out series of cutscenes occurs, during which you will have to retrieve the Anchor Charm from the top of the mast and give it to the captain in his quarters. Be sure to collect the Lucky Medal in the lower-right barrel of the storage room. When it is time to set off, head down the stairs immediately below the purple tour guide to initiate the voyage. Over the course of the voyage, four battles will occur, ending with a tough boss battle against the Kraken. At the end of each battle, you will have to pick a passenger to fill in for rowing duty; if you would rather just get on with the story and get to Tolbi Docks, it does not matter whom you pick.
 * However, there is a well-hidden method of getting to the game's secret "super dungeon," Crossbone Isle, much earlier than the normal method. It depends on whether your choices for the four oarsmen end up with the two oarsmen on the left being stronger than the two oarsmen on the right by a very specific amount; picking the bald man, then the blonde lady, then the purple tour guide, and finally the old man in that order is one of the possible configurations that will make the ship veer off course and arrive at Crossbone Isle before reaching Tolbi Docks.
 * After you agree to explore the island, you will find that your party's abilities will let you descend as far as the fourth floor of the ten that make up the dungeon. This means that you can fight each of the four scripted "mini-boss encounters" that trigger as you attempt to enter each of the four puzzle rooms (which encompass the Hobgoblin at the first floor, two Grislys and one Succubus at the second floor, two Fiendish Ghouls and one Lich at the third floor, and two Gryphons at the fourth floor); their difficulty is on curve with your party's levels of development by this point. The fourth floor will block you from progressing further because you do not yet have the Psynergy needed for it, but the treasures you can gather prior to this floor include the third Mint at the surface level, the third Hard Nut at the first floor, the third Lucky Pepper and the Mystery Blade weapon at the second floor, and the second Cookie and the Fairy Ring at the third floor. At any time, you can return to the ship and agree to finish the voyage toward Tolbi Docks.


 * The city of Tolbi is the part of the game where you can redeem all of your Lucky Medals and Game Tickets to try to gather a broad array of strong equipment, on top of what is available for purchase at its shops (including the Angelic Ankh and a Water of Life that both get added to the artifact menu). Though the city may seem not to have a functioning Inn service, you can freely use the beds in Babi's Palace. It is worth going out of your way to collect many useful things both inside and outside Tolbi before proceeding with the main plot:
 * The Lucky Medal Fountain provides valuable equipment like the Assassin Blade and Spirit Armor, and three more Lucky Medals are immediately accessible: One lies inside a barrel in the second floor of the shop building; a second lies in the southeast pot left of the vine that can be extended with Growth; and a third is in the barrel in the top floor of the southeast watchtower of Babi's palace.
 * In the second floor of the Inn at the northeast corner of the city, there is a mini-game called Lucky Wheels; the most useful rewards to try to win with your game tickets are Hyper Boots, Quick Boots, Mythril Shirts, and Running Shirts. Ideally, all four Adepts would have one shirt and one pair of boots each.
 * The third Power Bread is hidden in a circle of gravestones in the southwest part of town, requiring Reveal. The fourth Hard Nut is inside a jar in the palace's basement laboratory where all the scholars study.
 * Frost and Growth are needed to get to the fifth Mars Djinni, Ember, at the northeast corner of the main area; getting there involves stepping out of the bottom gate but not so far as to exit into the overworld.
 * If you go east along the bottom of the Karagol Sea, you can enter Gondowan Cave and essentially open it up as the remaining viable route between the two sides of the Karagol for the rest of the game. One screen has chests containing your third Apple and another Lucky Medal.
 * If you go east along the top of the Karagol, you can enter Kalay Docks from its north end to pick up your sixth Venus Djinni, Ground.
 * Northwest of Tolbi is a bridge leading back southwest into a stretch of land with forests at the end; fight here until you randomly fight the fifth Mercury Djinni, Hail.


 * Whether or not you trigger an optional cutscene in Babi's Palace giving context to Altmiller Cave north of Tolbi, go there next, and interact with the white outline on the ground for another cutscene. During this dungeon, you can solve a puzzle to fight and earn the sixth Jupiter Djinni, Squall, and a room after that features a chest containing the third 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 expected to return to Tolbi.
 *  Rare Drop:  If a Dread Hound is felled by an attack delivered by a Mercury Djinni, its chance to drop a Prophet's Hat is quadrupled to 1/16.


 * Back at Tolbi, walking up the stairs to the main gate of the colosseum forces you into a highly involved sequence referred to as the Colosso Finals. In this "mini-game," you need to assign party members to cheer at certain "puzzle stages," where you can have them optionally apply Psynergy to help Isaac cheat his way to the strong gear faster. The objective, ultimately, is for Isaac to win three one-on-one duels with gladiators named Azart, Satrage, and Navampa, the last of which isn't even mandatory to beat — though you get the one-of-a-kind Lure Cap for beating Navampa as well. If you do win all three rounds, not only do you get the Lure Cap as an item that is useful to bring into a Golden Sun: The Lost Age game file, but another event is unlocked in that game with another unique reward for the party. Following Colosso, go to the throne room in Babi's Palace for an important cutscene, then get the Cloak Ball in the room downstairs.
 * Before leaving Tolbi, check the rooms at the Inn to watch a woman hide something in a barrel, which is revealed to be a Lucky Medal once inspected. Another optional cutscene incidentally takes place at Tolbi Docks.


 * The Cloak Psynergy bestowed by the Cloak Ball unlocks a significant sidequest back at Lunpa, so return to Angara using Gondowan Cave and return there via West Lunpa Cave. In front of Lunpa Fortress, use the Cloak Psynergy while standing in the walls' shadows to sneak past the guards. Inside the cave-like complex, always refresh Cloak whenever you enter a new room and stay out of the patrolling brigands' personal light fields, especially the ones with green caps — for they will immediately deposit you back outside the fortress, whereas the brigands with the red caps can be fought safely. Your goal is to collect the Cell Key by casting Catch on it from behind the gate north of it (and a particular gate that you would have to backtrack a fair distance to with the key in hand contains the Mythril Circlet and a Lucky Medal). When you descend into a more cave-like basement level of the complex, grab the fourth and final Power Bread from a chest behind one of three green cell gates. Getting into the final room requires using Reveal, and a cutscene forces you into the optional boss battle with Toadonpa. After winning it, another cutscene leads you back out of Lunpa Fortress safely, thus ensuring that if this game file is used for data transfer, there will be an extra prize given at one point to the party in Golden Sun: The Lost Age.
 * Completing Lunpa Fortress reopens the weapon and armor shops, which add a lot of artifacts to the artifact menu: the Shamshir, Ninja Blade, Dragon Axe, Demonic Staff, Blessed Robe, and War Gloves. The first time you attempt to leave Lunpa through West Lunpa Cave, a cutscene will eventually make you decide whether to stay in Lunpa or return to Kalay. This choice ultimately does not matter because both towns still have significant valuables on offer and can be freely revisited, though choosing to go to Kalay results in a more unique continuation of the current cutscene.
 * Whether or not you chose to leave for Kalay, go back into Lunpa Fortress and sneak through the dungeon all over again, with the purpose of meeting back up with Donpa in his bedroom. He will give you the sixth Mercury Djinni, Tonic.
 * At Kalay, enter the palace's throne room for a cutscene, then explore the rest of the newly unlocked Kalay Tunnels. A cache of chests includes a Lucky Medal, and a statue near them must be pushed to block a waterfall to reach the chest with the Spirit Gloves. Finally, climbing up Kalay Tunnels' northwest set of stairs leads to a chest with the fourth and final Apple.

Gondown and Venus Lighthouse

 * Cross Gondowan Passage south of Tolbi and head southeast into the small village of Suhalla, which does not have any weapon or armor shopkeepers but does add one each of a Potion, Psy Crystal, and Water of Life to the artifact menu at their item shop. A cutscene in the lower-right building describes the desert to the south, and the fifth and final Hard Nut is in a chest at the northwest corner of the village's screen. A Lucky Medal is also in the jar behind the crate to the left of the sanctum.


 * In Suhalla Desert, whenever a tornado appears to block off a pathway, getting caught up in one will send you back to the overworld map near Suhalla — unless you cast Douse while being suspended, which will force you into a battle with a strong Tornado Lizard and allow you to progress. In the first main screen, a chest that lies around the northeast area contains the Virtuous Armlet, which has a Jupiter power boost useful for Ivan. The second main screen contains chests with a Lucky Medal and the fourth and final Cookie. Late in the second screen, casting Reveal can expose a pillar off to the left that lets you fight the sixth Mars Djinni, Flash, in front of a cave entrance; its ability to quickly protect the party against 90% of all damage the party will take that turn makes it extremely useful. Once you step onto the sandy bottom level of the desert, a large tornado aggressively chases you, and casting Douse on that triggers the boss battle with the powerful Storm Lizard. After defeating that, you can leave Suhalla Desert out of the southeast corner.
 * The cave behind where Flash was standing leads to a large, pink tornado, which contains an optional boss named Tempest Lizard — which is essentially a marginally improved version of the Storm Lizard. This is the only boss in the GBA duology that can be endlessly rematched, but it is best to let the pink tornado carry you off to Crossbone Isle; this tornado is the party's "official method" of traveling to that dungeon, and you can ride it again to return to Suhalla from there. Since the Tempest Lizard's tornado respawns in the overworld whenever you enter and exit Crossbone Isle, repeatedly slaying it for EXP and Potions is more conveniently done over there. While you currently have the Psynergy to proceed as far as the seventh floor, the Psynergy that will unlock the remaining floors will be collected shortly, so it is recommended that you hold off on Crossbone Isle for now.
 *  Rare Drop:  If a Magicore is felled by an attack delivered by a Mercury Djinni, its chance to drop Aura Gloves is quadrupled to 1/32.


 * East of the exit from Suhalla Desert is Suhalla Gate. In the first screen past the one with the fallen soldiers, slide down the first cliff slide you see to get to the chest with the fourth and final Mint. In the screen following that, slide down the third cliff slide from the left to land next to the seventh and final Mercury Djinni, Dew, which you must fight to earn. This screen also has an optional cave leading to an optional cutscene near a sunken ship. Leave Suhalla Gate through its east exit.
 *  Rare Drop:  If an Earth Golem is felled by an attack delivered by a Jupiter Djinni, its chance to drop a Giant Axe is quadrupled to 1/32. This is a powerful weapon that is at least as competitive as anything sold at the town coming up.


 * When you reach Venus Lighthouse, you are actually exploring a segment of it that functions as its "one-way exit out," with the true final dungeon of the game being the portion accessed by entering the tower "underground from behind." Casting Reveal on the mural near the entrance reveals stairs to the final utility Psynergy item in the game, the Carry Stone, and using its Carry Psynergy brings you upstairs to a spot where Reveal will expose another stairwell. Interacting with the giant statue in this room makes a fraction of the circular tiles in the room light up, and repeatedly "talking" to the statue makes the room toggle between two arrangements of lit-up circles. This ultimately represents which of two "underground routes" you are leaving open for yourself when you traverse the Tunnel Ruins dungeon coming up. There are useful items on both routes, so once you have explored one of the routes, you may want to return to this chamber in Venus Lighthouse and light up the other set of circles so that you can explore the other route. Regardless of which arrangement of circular tiles you end up leaving lit up, leave Venus Lighthouse and proceed to Lalivero north of it.
 * Though gaining Carry lets you access all of Crossbone Isle, it is recommended to play the rest of the game until right before you reach the final boss battles before backtracking there.


 * Lalivero is the final town in the game, which means it adds powerful artifacts to the artifact menus as you talk to the shopkeepers: the Silver Blade, Swift Sword, Righteous Mace, and Crystal Rod at the weapon shop, and the Magical Cassock, Jeweled Crown, Mirrored Shield, and Spirit Armlet in the armor shop. Entering the lower-left house and climbing its roof lets you hop onto the town's perimeter wall, letting you get to the Warrior's Helm item in its chest at the lower-right corner. The ladder in the weapon and armor shop will let you climb the same wall all the way to the seventh Mars Djinni, Torch. There are also two Lucky Medals to collect: one in a barrel in the second floor of the Inn, and one in a barrel in the residence conjoined with the weapon and armor shop.


 * North of Lalivero is Babi Lighthouse; the fourth and final Lucky Pepper is present in a chest in the road leading to it. Just outside the main structure, the ladders underneath the two pillars should both be entered to eventually drop down onto where the seventh Jupiter Djinni sits inside on its own floating platform, Luff. When you drop into a basement-level cave area, a long cutscene takes place before you can get past the thick red door with the Reveal Psynergy. This leads to the Tunnel Ruins dungeon, where which of the two routes you take south is determined by the state you left the large statue room in Venus Lighthouse's exit portion. The left path, which is about clearing bushes with whirlwinds and moving pillars around, contains a room where a statue is Revealed to be a chest with the Oracle's Robe. The right path, which is about filling pillars with water via Douse and then casting Frost on them, contains a room with a similar statue hiding the Asura's Armor. After solving the puzzle in the final room where you need to read the minds of the differently colored statues to work out where on the five central tiles they should be arranged, you can go upstairs into the true final dungeon of the game.
 *  Rare Drops:  If a Chimera Mage is felled by an attack delivered by a Mercury Djinni, its chance to drop a Spiked Armor is quadrupled to 1/16. If an Orc Lord is felled by an attack delivered by a Jupiter Djinni, its chance to drop a Lucky Medal is quadrupled to 1/32, making this enemy the game's only infinite source of Lucky Medals. Finally, if a Wild Gryphon is felled by an attack delivered by a Jupiter Djinni, its chance to drop a Feathered Robe is quadrupled to 1/32; this is an extremely powerful piece of defensive gear that manages to be one of the best items even for endgame parties to equip in the next game, where endgame-level gear is generally much stronger on average.


 * Having entered Venus Lighthouse ' s "true entrance" from underneath, play through the dungeon by walking through sandfalls in a manner similar to how you walked through waterfall walls in Mercury Lighthouse. Being comprehensive about it lets you find the Dragon Scales, Thunder Crown, and Gaia Blade artifacts, the last of which is clearly Isaac's best weapon. Once you reach a room with a large, black pit and a lone slide, do not slide down it until you are willing to pass the point-of-no-return it represents and be immediately brought to both of the game's final battles.
 *  Rare Drops:  If a Thunder Lizard is felled by an attack delivered by a Venus Djinni, its chance to drop a Blessed Mace is quadrupled to 1/32. If a Grand Golem is felled by an attack delivered by a Jupiter Djinni, its chance to drop a Zodiac Wand is quadrupled to 1/32. Finally, if a Fenrir is felled by an attack delivered by a Mars Djinni, its chance to drop a Kikuichimonji is quadrupled to 1/64. Since the Swift Sword carries a Jupiter power boost, however, it is debatable whether this should be counted as Ivan's "ultimate weapon."


 * Collecting all the aforementioned useful items and Djinn up to the point where the final battles are about to take place would make this the ideal time to backtrack all the way to Crossbone Isle, now that you have the Cloak and Carry Psynergies needed to clear the remaining floors. After casting Retreat to return to the starting point in "inner Venus Lighthouse," go upstairs to the left and take its one-way exit portion out, and then go all the way back to Suhalla Desert and ride the Tempest Lizard's pink tornado to the island. The first three floors and the fourth floor's mini-boss encounter guarding it have already been described, but even if you did not stop at Crossbone Isle during the Tolbi-bound Ship sequence, those enemies should be very easy to clear.
 * Use Cloak to solve the fourth floor of Crossbone Isle and collect the Storm Gear from it, which is easily one of the best armors in the game. Go to floor 5, defeat the Lizard King guarding it, and gain the Ninja Garb and a Lucky Medal while solving its chamber. Go to floor 6, defeat the two Chimeras guarding it, and gain the Venus Djinni Bane and the Demon Axe while clearing your way through that. Go to floor 7, defeat the two Earth Lizards guarding that, and grab the Wicked Mace and Lucky Medal while solving that chamber. Go to floor 8, defeat the Poison Toad in front of that door, and gain the especially important Cleric's Ring while solving that puzzle. Fight the two Cerebuses in front of Floor 9 and solve that room's puzzle in a way that gets you the Muramasa. Finally, at the "Pirate Ship" in the tenth floor at the bottom, going up the left part of the deck suddenly pits you against the game's "optional superboss," Deadbeard, which is generally even harder than the final boss. Your rewards for defeating him are the debatably useful Demon Mail and a bonus cutscene of little import that takes place in The Lost Age when the data transfer function is used.


 * Redo all of Venus Lighthouse if you had already gone through it once in order to fight Deadbeard with all possible items, and slide down the slide at the end to thrust yourself into two challenging battles in a row. The first is against two opponents at once, which becomes easier once one of them has been taken down first, while the second is against the actual final boss. Cutscenes take over until you are eventually deposited back in Lalivero, where you are locked off from leaving the town in either direction; to reach the end of the game, enter the northwest building, stand at the north edge of the wooden plank overlooking the shape of the ship in the water, and use the Black Orb.
 * You will eventually be asked to save a Clear Data File in one of your game's three file slots; since this file cannot be used to return to the game's world, it is recommended you save it in a slot that is different from one where you had saved before initiating the final boss encounters. This is the file that is used by the password-based data transfer function to let the data contained within it "enhance" a new or ongoing game file in a separate game of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. In order to collect all 72 total Djinn by the end of the second game, a Bronze-level password based on this Clear Data File must have no less than six each of the four elemental categories of Djinn, and the party must also have the Orb of Force in their inventory. Of course, taking a completionist approach with the first game is vastly preferable, and there are certain items that should be specifically included in the party's inventory before the Clear Data File is saved: the Lure Cap, the Cleric's Ring, and a preferably high quantity of Lucky Medals. This is because there are no infinitely repeatable sources of Lucky Medals in Golden Sun: The Lost Age.