Hard Mode

Hard Mode is one of two special gameplay options unique to Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Hard Mode exists only for optional challenge value, as there are no extra rewards for playing through or completing it.

Mechanics
Hard Mode can be accessed when a player begins a new game while having at least one Clear Data file. When starting a new game, Hard Mode will be offered as an option alongside Easy Mode and standard gameplay. Hard Mode can be considered the opposite of Easy Mode. While the statistics of the player's party are the same as any normal game, enemy statistics are much higher. Specifically, enemies will have their normal HP stat multiplied by 1.5 and their Attack and Defense multiplied by 1.25. This results in a more challenging game than is typical.

When starting a game in Hard Mode, it is advised that the player be extremely knowledable about gameplay. Due to the stronger Monsters, one mistake can result in the defeat of an entire party of Adepts. Secondly, the player is strongly advised to use a Password, to ensure that Isaac's party is at high power, and so that the player has access to all possible Djinn.

Boss battles, in particular, will be sharply more challenging. Interestingly enough, the only enemies that do NOT get as significant a challenge boost as others in Hard Mode are Dullahan and, to a lesser extent, Valukar, both of which are optional end-game bosses. The maximum amount of HP the game's code allows any enemy to have is 16,383 and, because Dulluhan ordinarily has 16,000 HP, this restriction keeps his HP from being increased as dramatically as it is for other monsters. Like Dullahan, Valukar's 13,000 HP prevents him from receiving the full HP increase, although he does receive a greater increase than Dullahan does. It is also worth noting that any monster spawned mid-battle (such as the balls Star Magician summons) will retain their original normal-mode stats, and thus will be significantly easier than their Hard Mode counterparts.