Matthew

Matthew (ムート Mut) is the main playable character of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. He is the son of Isaac and Jennaand is a Venus Adept like his father. He was first revealed for the game alongside his party members Karis and Tyrell.

As a playable character
Matthew is the main character the player controls in the overworld of Dark Dawn, and he uses a similar collection of Psynergy as Isaac did in Golden Sun, indicating his element as Venus. The E3 2010 floor demo footage shows him in a battle using a thorny plant Psynergy that looks like a 3D rendition of the Thorn Psynergy series. Matthew has the innate Growth, Move and Retreat Psynergies, the latter two being shared with his father in the past.

In the battle mode at the E3 2010 floor demo, Matthew has the Venus Djinn Flint and Steel Set onto him, and his Psynergy consists of Ragnarok, Quake and Earthquake, Spire, Cure and Cure Well, and Growth.

Matthew starts at level 1 along with Karis and will have a Short sword, Cotton shirt, Padded gloves and Leather cap as starting equipment.

Biography
As the son of the previous games' Isaac, he has a nearly identical appearance and the same yellow scarf (apparently it has been passed down by his father). Briggs states that Matthew has inherited Jenna's eyes and spirit.

In the E3 2010 trailer, he and Karis are at a town watching a Psynergy Vortex pulsating next to them, and screenshots show a 47 year old Isaac speaking to Matthew.

In one scene at a floor demo in E3 2010, a Mercury Djinni addresses Matthew as "a Warrior of Vale," which carries interesting implications, as Vale had been annihilated at the end of The Lost Age thirty years before.

Translation of a brief article on Dark Dawn in Japanese-language magazine Jump describes Matthew as a Venus Adept, the protagonist of the story, and a trained warrior. Tyrell is his close friend.

Encyclopedia Entry: ''This young man is a promising Earth Adept, just like his father was when he started his adventures 30 years ago. And just like Isaac, who led the famous Warriors of Vale, Matthew is a person of few words but strong convictions.''

Personality
Even though he has almost no dialogue, it is implied in multiple cases that he does in fact talk, and his absence of word bubbles merely helps the player see the game from his perspective, by leaving his personality ambiguous. This way, his personality can adopt that of the players and it can seem like he really is the player. This is further aided with the introduction of Emotion Icons into Dark Dawn. These allow the player to choose Matthew's reaction to certain situations, allowing him to show a positive, optimistic, negative or angry expression.

Even though the player has control over Matthew's reactions, it can still be assumed that he is a kind person, as it is never implied that he says anything that truly upsets anyone.

Statistical comparison
Matthew can be easily considered Isaac's clone in terms of statistics. He has high HP, above-average attack power, average defense, good agility (ranking him as the third-fastest character in Dark Dawn behind Himi and Karis), and three Luck points, but he shares a below-average PP pool with his fellow warrior Venus Adepts.

Also, like his father and Felix, Matthew becomes the parties' primary powerhouse fighter because of one thing: the ability to handle the Sol Blade.

Classes
Matthew has the following classes available to him:


 * Mono-Elemental: Squire class series
 * Dual-Elemental (Full): Brute class series, Apprentice class series, Swordsman (Venus) class series
 * Dual-Elemental (Partial): Seer (Jupiter) class series, Seer (Mercury) class series
 * Tri-Elemental (Full): Dragoon class series, Ninja class series, Samurai class series
 * Tri-Elemental (Partial): Medium class series

Quotes

 * In Ayuthay:
 * Karis: (If Matthew responds with sadness to Paithos' question on whether he retrieved the Insight Glass from Barai Temple, something all of his friends already responded with cheer to) "Oh, Matthew is probably just trying to keep it under wraps! He's so mischievous sometimes!"


 * In Kolima Village:
 * Rief: (While Matthew's group is all lying down at the base of the Dream Tree, attempting to sleep so that they can investigate the tree's illness) "How did we arrive in this situation, exactly?"
 * Tyrell: "Matthew can be talked into anything-that's how."


 * In Kolima Forest:
 * Tret: "You. You are Isaac's son. What is your name?"
 * Matthew: "..."
 * Tret: "What was that? You'll have to speak up. I didn't catch your name."
 * Karis: "He's kind of quiet. His name is Matthew."


 * On Talon Peak:
 * Karis: (After Ryu Kou left) "I can't believe we lost the Slap Glove and the Magma Orb all at once... Makes it hard to figure out what our next move is, huh?" (If Matthew responds with anger) "Wow...graphic. But you're right-we can probably find Ryu Kou in Belinsk and get some payback."


 * Out at sea:
 * Kraden: "You've led well to this point, Matthew, so I see no reason to change that arrangement."
 * Tyrell: "Yeah, Matthew's gotten the job done so far!"
 * Rief: "I'll keep following you."
 * Amiti: "I would follow no other."
 * Eoleo: "You've got a good head on your shoulders, kid."


 * At the Apollo Lens:
 * Arcanus: (After Matthew's group finishes setting up the Apollo Lens, they exit out the door to find Arcanus waiting for them.) "Ah, good. Have you finished with the preparations?"
 * Matthew: "#*@%!"

In Fan Circles
Matthew is popular to pair up with both of the Jupiter Adepts, Karis or Sveta, but mainly Sveta, dubbed SpiritShipping. This happens because of the scene at the Apollo Lens when Matthew tried to climb to the controls without the Umbra Gear, passes out, and becomes a spirit to guide Sveta there. He also caught her when she is flung back by her brother.

Extended Gallery