Prerelease:Golden Sun
This page details prerelease information and/or media for Golden Sun.
 | This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes. |
Thanks to some early screenshots published by Camelot before the release of the games, we can see some earlier graphics, music, and perhaps a different story.
Contents
Early Gameplay
This video shows early gameplay, music, and graphics in Altin. Details will be discussed in each section.
Early Music
The gameplay video contains three pieces of early music, which are simplified versions of known tunes.
| Music | Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|---|
| Vale | ||
| Sol Sanctum | ||
| Battle theme |
Early Character Designs
Saturos and Menardi originally had a more "human" appearance.
| Saturos | Menardi | |
|---|---|---|
| Early |  |
|
| Final |  |
|
Mia's Early Role in the Story
Early screenshots and artwork suggest that Jenna's conception as a character was relatively late. Many pre-release screenshots show Mia where Jenna ended up being.
Mia, Isaac, and Garet talking to Saturos and Menardi in Vale.
The final version of the previous scene. Jenna took Mia's place. The ellipsis is gone.
Mia watching Garet training.
The final version has Jenna speaking the same dialog.
Mia and company at the Sol Sanctum.
The final version of the previous scene. The prerelease's Hiragana, いわくちじゃみんな has been rewritten with Kanji, 入り口じゃみんな.
Mia and company after triggering Sol Sanctum's trap.
Final version, again with Hiragana converted to Kanji: 発, 見, 目.
Mia watching Isaac's attempts at roof repair, with only a single pile of hay.
Final version. Notice the different punctuation, a space added for clarity, extra hay, and where Dora's standing.
Mia battling in Sol Sanctum with Isaac and Garet. What is she doing there?
Mia in a Vale-looking house. This scene isn't in the final.
Mia and the guys in front of Mt. Aleph. Where's Jenna? Or Ivan?
Early Graphics
Menu Icons
Inconsistent icons in the A-Button menu. When inactive, options show a simpler icon (like the Yes/No icon we will see below), but they turn into the final versions when active. The Psynergy icon is in the second position, since a different option (しゃべる, Talk) is first. The Djinn submenu seems to be absent. The character status lacks gauges. The house lacks the "INN" sign.
Early
Early (first option しゃべる)
Final
In Battle Icons
The early icons share a resemblance to the ones from early Shining Force games. They were also similar to the Yes/No icons. Character status gauges are absent. The camera location is different. There are more non-graphical differences which will be discussed below.
Early.
Final.
For comparison.
Yes/No Icons
It seems the Yes/No icons were animated, but became static after the icon change. This option was also animated in previous Camelot games.
It seems to be nodding.
The text is different but it says mostly the same thing.
Puddles
They were different.
Early.
Final.
Frozen Stream in Imil
It had a different appearance, more akin to snow rather than frozen water.
Early.
Final.
Different Sprites and Animations
In this screenshot, Mia, Isaac, and Garet have animations not present in the final version. Moreover, what's Mia doing? The absence of battle text gives us no clue. Ivan is absent, too. The comparison screenshot tries to mimic the character positions so the differences are more noticeable.
Early.
Final.
Critical Hit Animation
This seems to be a screenshot of Isaac landing a critical hit on a Golem. The animation seems very basic. Other differences can be seen here, too.
Early.
Final.
Gaia Psynergy Animation
A pre-release screenshot seems to depict Isaac using Gaia with a simpler animation. There are other oddities in this particular screenshot, such as a different sprite for Isaac (who isn't holding a weapon), the rest of the team not disappearing during casting, no battle text, no status gauges above, no Ivan, and monsters in the wrong world location.
Early.
Final.
Unknown Ability
Another pre-release screenshot shows Mia using an ability not present in the final game. It looks like leaves and wind, so it doesn't seem like a Mercury-aligned ability. It's not clear if this is Psynergy, a weapon unleash or a summon.
Early Enemy
Blue Dragon
A screenshot from Camelot's website depicts a dragon enemy which is not present in the final game. Curiously, a very similar enemy got added to the sequel, The Lost Age, and its sprite is the first monster sprite programmed in that game.
Djinn Differences
Sap
A set of screenshots show an early version of the Sap Djinni.
Early.
Early.
Final.
Final.
In the prototype, the Djinn indicator appears even if there are no set Djinn. It doesn't change after a Djinn is used. The battle text is different, too:
| Early | Final |
|---|---|
| [Character]は[Djinn element]のジン [Djinn name]を使った | [Character]は[Djinn name]をときはなった！ |
| [Character] used [Djinn element] Djinn [Djinn name] | [Character] unleashed [Djinn name]! |
Moreover, Sap had a different effect: in the prototype, it lowers the Attack stat of the enemy, while in the final version, it sucks HP from the target, healing the user. The animation was probably changed to reflect that.
There's another difference (or contradiction) regarding those screenshots. Sap is obtained way later in the game than when first visiting Mercury Lighthouse, so it's impossible to use it when Mia isn't present. Perhaps Sap was meant to be found before, or the screenshots were taken with debug functions that allowed getting things earlier. Finally, Hydros Statues are nowhere to be found in Mercury Lighthouse in the final version.
