Data transfer



The Send function in the Golden Sun games is a way to transfer game data from the first game to the second game, using either a Password or Game Link Cable. The Password is obtained from the first game's Send menu, which is made accessible on the game's main menu by holding left on the D-pad and the R shoulder button simultaneously, and then pressing either Start or B. A Golden Sun save file must be registered as Clear Data on the game's Continue menu in order for the Send option to appear. In The Lost Age, players will be prompted to transfer save data when starting a new file if they so choose; however, data can still be transferred to a The Lost Age save file at any time before the Reunion.

The Send menu provides two transfer methods:


 * Password - allows viewing of a chosen Clear Data file's data in password form.
 * Cable - allows direct data transfer from a chosen Clear Data file to The Lost Age via Game Link Cable.

The earliest point in the game in which the player can tell that the password had an effect is in Madra; if Isaac had won the Colosso Finals, then two Colosso Gladiators will be present in the second floor of the Inn.

Password Grades
There are three grades of passwords available: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Bronze
The Bronze password transfers the characters' names, levels, Djinn collection, utility Psynergy items such as the Orb of Force, and the status of certain Golden Sun story events so as to add and influence story events in The Lost Age, such as Feizhi giving Felix the Golden Ring if Isaac rescued Hsu in the previous game. It's possible to access every dungeon and cutscene in The Lost Age with just the Bronze password. The Bronze password is only 16 characters long.

Silver
The Silver password transfers all of the above, plus the exact stats of the original characters, so that stat boosts from items like the Power Bread are not lost. This is useful if the player would like to get a head start on maxing out all stats/levels for Isaac's party, particularly if the transferred stats have been amassed through level-grinding in the first game. The Silver password is 61 characters long.

Gold
The Gold password transfers all of the above plus the total amount of coins Isaac's party has amassed at the end of Golden Sun and every item in the four characters' inventories. The Gold password is notoriously long, weighing in at 260 characters, over four times the length of the Silver password.. Because most equipment from Golden Sun will be quickly outclassed by equipment found later in The Lost Age, some players may opt for the shorter passwords. However, valuable Golden Sun-exclusive artifacts such as the Cleric's Ring, Lure Cap, Elven Shirt, and Storm Gear for example may attract players to the Gold password.

Password Tips

 * The capital "I" ("eye"), the small "l" ("el"), and the number "1" are NOT used. If you're trying to find one of those three characters, you copied something down wrong.
 * The last letter on every row of a password does not contribute to the final result of a password (except for the very last row of the password). For instance, if a row of a password contains the letters sVEUU w#4yX the final X can be replaced with any letter, symbol or number without impacting the password.

Cable
The Game Link Cable transfers all of the above, plus Pause menu settings. In addition, while the Gold password transfers equipment unequipped and Djinn shuffled, the Game Link Cable transfers equipment and Djinn organized among the characters exactly as they were at the end of Golden Sun. However, an advantage to the Gold password is that it unequips cursed items for free.

Update
This option, available in the top main menu, allows a game file in progress to have different passwords reapplied to it so long as it is not post-Reunion data.

Exclusive Items
It's just barely possible to transfer all Golden Sun-exclusive items that the player is allowed to retain to the end of that game to The Lost Age, though there's no additional reward for doing so.

Trivia

 * The player may find that the Colosso Gladiators are missing from the second floor of Madra's Inn on account of either no password being used at all or a password being currently in use that did not involve Isaac winning Colosso previously. In that case, it is possible to save in that room, then Update the file with data in which Colosso was won, then reload the save; the Colosso Gladiators will still not spawn in the second floor until the player leaves and reenters the room.