Sunrise, Sunset - Isaac for Smash Ultimate #GoldenSunday

[Pinguino21v]

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There it is. Our last chance. It's now or never. Hope for the best, expect the worst.

Until they change their mind, at least.

Actually, the part where it is said that Nintendo chose the fighters gives me hope. Sakurai is extremelly biased toward NES and SNES content, like if he didn't ever played a GBA game. The supposed fact that Nintendo was surprised by the negative feedback from fans when Isaac appeared in AT gives me hope.

 

[Mav485]

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There it is. Our last chance. It's now or never. Hope for the best, expect the worst.

Until they change their mind, at least.

Actually, the part where it is said that Nintendo chose the fighters gives me hope. Sakurai is extremelly biased toward NES and SNES content, like if he didn't ever played a GBA game. The supposed fact that Nintendo was surprised by the negative feedback from fans when Isaac appeared in AT gives me hope.

My biggest takeaway from this is the no current plans for anything past the second FP. There is obviously a lot of content to come still, but I’d be sad to hear that the content train for this game isn’t going to roll on past this next set of fighters, with or without Sakurai. I’m all for letting the man rest so letting other people take the reigns on content creation is totally fine by me. I’m especially down for this if the next Smash is as far out as people are currently speculating.

 

[Isaac: Venus Adept]

Personally I'm confident Isaac will be in this game or the Smash after this. Just depends on whether Nintendo really wants to throw him a bone now which hopefully they do. Our chances are pretty decent for this

 

[Kalaam]

It will all come down on wether or not we do get a new Golden Sun this year or next year.
It is very likely.
But even then, Nintendo might have wanted to push other characters. If so, i do hope they all are fun character that feel like they are wanted and deserving of their place in smash. Isaac is likely a shill pick if Golden Sun remake/4 is coming.

 

[isaac3000]

I doubt Isaac will be playable but if a new Golden Sun game is actually coming, then knowing Nintendos policy to promote games (Roy, Corrin, Byleth) they will probably pick the new main character (since Nintendo is choosing the characters, this seems more likely imo).

 

[Billybae10K]

I get the sense that this depends solely on if Golden Sun returns in the next two years. If we see nothing about Golden Sun prior to the DLC's end, we're not getting in. So each Direct is going to be quite nervewracking, but I won't give up hope until the last character is announced.

 

[Kalaam]

At least we don't have to worry that a FE character takes a spot (at least not until the very last slot).
So I'm fairly confident that they might make Isaac a shill pick

 

[Cadillac]

If Golden Sun remake/sequel gets announced, we can finally say Isaac might come to Smash because there's a reason for him to join.

 

[Sabrewulf238]

Already figured this fighter pass was the last one. (that extra fighter they added to this pass screamed "we're stretching ourselves")

If they had planned for a third fighter pass there wouldn't have been a need to add an extra fighter to this one.

So I don't think anything has changed. Fingers crossed for that Golden Sun remake/Golden Sun 4 game showing up this year.

 

[Organization XIII]

I still think it's possible we get more characters after pass 2. I know that seems strange when Sakurai seems to be making some pretty final statements but he does stuff like that often and I remember in his book or whatever he even commented on how one of his articles was written before he knew that DLC would be coming so those statements were outdated. I think depending on the performance pass 3 or at least some more additions is very possible. Especially with Nintendo wanting the Switch to last longer than usual. I wouldn't expect anything beyond 3 but for now I say we wait until the tail end of the pass to reserve judgement.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

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There it is. Our last chance. It's now or never. Hope for the best, expect the worst.

Until they change their mind, at least.

Actually, the part where it is said that Nintendo chose the fighters gives me hope. Sakurai is extremelly biased toward NES and SNES content, like if he didn't ever played a GBA game. The supposed fact that Nintendo was surprised by the negative feedback from fans when Isaac appeared in AT gives me hope.

Sakurai has definitely played his fair share of GBA titles over the years. In the Banjo & Kazooie presentation he brought up the GBA titles Grunty's Revenge and Banjo Pilot. No one remembers those games not even most of the hardcore Banjo-Kazooie/Rare fans remembers those games and Sakurai mentioned them not by name, but by their existence by saying "2 GBA titles".

 

[SPEN18]

In the Banjo & Kazooie presentation he brought up the GBA titles Grunty's Revenge and Banjo Pilot. No remembers those games not even most of the hardcore Banjo-Kazooie/Rare fans remembers those games and Sakurai mentioned them not by name, but by their existence by saying "2 GBA titles".

Acknowledging their existence doesn't imply that he actually played them?

I mean, I don't see why he wouldn't have played some GBA games but the perception seems to be that he just doesn't have the same level of nostalgia for them.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Acknowledging their existence doesn't imply that he actually played them?

I mean, I don't see why he wouldn't have played some GBA games but the perception seems to be that he just doesn't have the same level of nostalgia for them.

I didn't say he played them, I just pretty much said his GBA knowledge is great thus: He has probably played a buttload of GBA games.

 

[Pinguino21v]

the perception seems to be that he just doesn't have the same level of nostalgia for them.

That's that. Each gamer has his own nostalgia toward one period, mostly depending on their own age at which they started playing; I get it. For me, it's mostly GBC, GBA and PS2. For Sakurai, who's older, it's indubitably NES, SNES and arcades.

 

[Jibunzo]

It needs to be said that there is a difference of intent between "not currently planning to have a third Fighter Pass" and "currently planning not to have a third Fighter Pass". Colloquially they are similar phrases but it would be wise to avoid sweeping statements, especially when dealing with translations.

 

[Xenigma]

It's also worth remembering the tentative end date for FP2 is almost two years from now, so it's near impossible to say what the state of the Switch will be by the time of FP2's end, nor how popular Ultimate and its DLC will be at that point. My guess is they'll be working on a different project by that point, be it Smash or whatever else, but I doubt even Sakurai knows for sure what will happen next.

 

[SonicLink125]

It's also worth remembering the tentative end date for FP2 is almost two years from now, so it's near impossible to say what the state of the Switch will be by the time of FP2's end, nor how popular Ultimate and its DLC will be at that point. My guess is they'll be working on a different project by that point, be it Smash or whatever else, but I doubt even Sakurai knows for sure what will happen next.

This! When the first pass was introduced, they had no plans whatsoever for a second one. Look where we are now. A third pass COULD happen in the future. Plus, it’d be weird if we didn’t get at least 4 more characters after the 2nd Pass as they would make the roster in a perfect rectangle. Just saying.

 

[Organization XIII]

This! When the first pass was introduced, they had no plans whatsoever for a second one. Look where we are now. A third pass COULD happen in the future. Plus, it’d be weird if we didn’t get at least 4 more characters after the 2nd Pass as they would make the roster in a perfect rectangle. Just saying.

While I do think we should hold off on closing the book on more DLC the last thing you should ever do is use a perfect CSS as evidence in Smash.

 

[Silo777]

I doubt Isaac will be playable but if a new Golden Sun game is actually coming, then knowing Nintendos policy to promote games (Roy, Corrin, Byleth) they will probably pick the new main character (since Nintendo is choosing the characters, this seems more likely imo).

The water gets muddied a bit if it’s a remake/remaster, though. If that’s the case and they want to promote it with Smash, the only option they have is to make Isaac a fighter. Who else? Garet? Unlikely. That’s why I’m so confident that he’s the most likely assist upgrade, because it’s a situation where there’s no real other option. It makes sense that they’d be willing to do it.

 

[ArkSPiTFirE]

Remake or sequel. If they want a Golden Sun fighter then they'll just use Isaac. Or at least a mix of all player protaganists like Hero but I doubt they'll copy that. Maybe Matthew as a skin at best. The fact he's an assist trophy isn't a problem from a technicality point, it's more whether they see him as already represented in Smash by being an Assist Trophy.

 

[FlawedAI]

I maintain that not only is Isaac very likely for this Fighters Pass, he's actually one of the most likely characters. Fans support is clearly high and we know Nintendo is aware of Isaac's demand (specifically NoJ, who seem to be somewhat out-of-touch overseas, understandably) and all the evidence points towards a new Golden Sun. It would be, quite literally, plain stupid for Nintendo not to put Isaac into Smash. Not only does it touch the "fan-demand" category, which is huge money, it also acts as cross-promotion, helping both Smash and the presumed new GS. The only thing it doesn't do is bring in third-party fans, but clearly with Byleth, Nintendo is willing to bypass that for a shill pick. Of course, Isaac wouldn't just be a shill pick. His fan demand far outweighs almost every other character, and that alone would be, in a perfect world, enough to get him in about two entries ago. However, a new game would help our cause tremendously. Of course, evidence is pointing towards that scenario happening, so I'm very, very excited for the future of Golden Sun.

 

[Nazyrus]

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There it is. Our last chance. It's now or never. Hope for the best, expect the worst.

Until they change their mind, at least..

This. They changed their mind for Smash 4 and then no one thought we would get more than 1 pass. Never take their word for granted, If Nintendo sees their IPs getting possible more attention thanks to smash, they will probably continue for even one more pass or not even a pass but just randomly developed characters whenever they feel like it. Let's not get fooled by their "decisions" more than twice at this point, lol. Also I think it's fair to say that they are just saying they are not thinking in plans for the future, it's not really a solid way of saying "we're done" lol.

I get the sense that this depends solely on if Golden Sun returns in the next two years. If we see nothing about Golden Sun prior to the DLC's end, we're not getting in. So each Direct is going to be quite nervewracking, but I won't give up hope until the last character is announced.

Pretty much how I feel about it now, and tbh that new trademark ( I will never stress enough how it's NOT a renewal, and that they only renew in the last year of the trademark's life, like it just happened with DD's trademark, a perfect example of how and when they do renew, lol ) that just got recently approved late 2019, just has me more hopeful than ever. It's definitely gonna be a tense time every single direct this year waiting for the announcement of whatever they are planning to sell (you don't file a new trademark for nothing after all, you got something to sell if you make one)

 

[ZelDan]

I maintain that not only is Isaac very likely for this Fighters Pass, he's actually one of the most likely characters. Fans support is clearly high and we know Nintendo is aware of Isaac's demand (specifically NoJ, who seem to be somewhat out-of-touch overseas, understandably) and all the evidence points towards a new Golden Sun. It would be, quite literally, plain stupid for Nintendo not to put Isaac into Smash. Not only does it touch the "fan-demand" category, which is huge money, it also acts as cross-promotion, helping both Smash and the presumed new GS. The only thing it doesn't do is bring in third-party fans, but clearly with Byleth, Nintendo is willing to bypass that for a shill pick. Of course, Isaac wouldn't just be a shill pick. His fan demand far outweighs almost every other character, and that alone would be, in a perfect world, enough to get him in about two entries ago. However, a new game would help our cause tremendously. Of course, evidence is pointing towards that scenario happening, so I'm very, very excited for the future of Golden Sun.

I think Isaac has a chance and think assist trophies (or base-game spirits and base-game mii costumes for that matter) could maybe get promoted, I wouldn't go so far as to say Isaac is "super-likely" or the "most likely" though. We still haven't seen a Golden Sun game released either, and even is we do get one if this new trademark stuff pans out, who knows what the game will actually like or if Nintendo would want to cross promote with Smash.

I don't want to be a Danny downer here. It's fine to be hopeful and I'm certainly not saying Isaac doesn't have a chance, but still, Isaac does still have a pretty huge obstacle to climb, that being the fact we have yet to see an AT get promoted within the same game, which is why saying Isaac is the most likely, when we only have 6 slots left and there are countless other characters on the table that AREN'T represented yet, seems TOO optimistic to me

 

[clearandsweet]

I maintain that not only is Isaac very likely for this Fighters Pass, he's actually one of the most likely characters. Fans support is clearly high and we know Nintendo is aware of Isaac's demand (specifically NoJ, who seem to be somewhat out-of-touch overseas, understandably) and all the evidence points towards a new Golden Sun. It would be, quite literally, plain stupid for Nintendo not to put Isaac into Smash. Not only does it touch the "fan-demand" category, which is huge money, it also acts as cross-promotion, helping both Smash and the presumed new GS. The only thing it doesn't do is bring in third-party fans, but clearly with Byleth, Nintendo is willing to bypass that for a shill pick. Of course, Isaac wouldn't just be a shill pick. His fan demand far outweighs almost every other character, and that alone would be, in a perfect world, enough to get him in about two entries ago. However, a new game would help our cause tremendously. Of course, evidence is pointing towards that scenario happening, so I'm very, very excited for the future of Golden Sun.

I feel your post not on a hype level, but on a spiritual belief level.

I just can't get over the silence.

Camelot what are you doing. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY HAVEN'T THEY ANNOUNCED IT? Will Zippo be right and a direct will come in February? Don't we have to learn what you're doing then? Will Nintendo hold it for E3? Do they have just tens of stations with Animal Crossing at PAX?

Toshiharu Izuno from Nintendo, STILL no credits for almost two years now after Aces and helping on Ultimate. I KNOW YOU'RE WORKING WITH CAMELOT. You're literally the person most connection to Camelot at Nintendo. And your silence matches up almost perfectly with Camelot's?

Even the rest of EDP2 been heads down for over a year with nothing to show? 40+ Nintendo people and another 40+ at Camelot? Nothing for two years?

Now you tell me Nintendo picked six characters and picked them AFTER Smash Ultimate's hype cycle? After the Grinch leak and item leak and all that nonsense? There's no one better to shill and revive an old IP in a genre you need to catch up on AND please the fans simultaneously.

I'm absolutely restless. I just want some news. I want to know.

 

[SonicLink125]

I feel your post not on a hype level, but on a spiritual belief level.

I just can't get over the silence.

Camelot what are you doing. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY HAVEN'T THEY ANNOUNCED IT? Will Zippo be right and a direct will come in February? Don't we have to learn what you're doing then? Will Nintendo hold it for E3? Do they have just tens of stations with Animal Crossing at PAX?

Toshiharu Izuno from Nintendo, STILL no credits for almost two years now after Aces and helping on Ultimate. I KNOW YOU'RE WORKING WITH CAMELOT. You're literally the person most connection to Camelot at Nintendo. And your silence matches up almost perfectly with Camelot's?

Even the rest of EDP2 been heads down for over a year with nothing to show? 40+ Nintendo people and another 40+ at Camelot? Nothing for two years?

Now you tell me Nintendo picked six characters and picked them AFTER Smash Ultimate's hype cycle? After the Grinch leak and item leak and all that nonsense? There's no one better to shill and revive an old IP in a genre you need to catch up on AND please the fans simultaneously.

I'm absolutely restless. I just want some news. I want to know.

What’s this about Toshiharu Izuno and EDP2?!? Who/what are they exactly?

 

[Cadillac]

I don't know if it's just me, but Isaac's hair looks incredibly odd when you see it from the side.

 

[Xenigma]

I agree that the signs all seem to point to new Golden Sun at this point. That being said, there's a part of me deep down that refuses to believe it until an official announcement occurs. Three of my favorite Nintendo series are F-Zero, Advance Wars, and Golden Sun, so I've come to always expect nothing so as to avoid constant disappointment. The only time of late I allowed myself to believe otherwise was Isaac in Ultimate, and we all know how that went. I admire the optimism some of you have, and I sure hope you're right, but I'm just not ready to share that excitement.

 

[Kalaam]

What’s this about Toshiharu Izuno and EDP2?!? Who/what are they exactly?

Toshiharu Izuno is the director of EDP2, one of Nintendo's "dev support division" so to speak. Nintendo teams who works with 2nd party devs to help them devellop their games. EDP2 worked with Camelot on all of their games for Nintendo.

 

[Hydewell]

If they don't reveal their new project in the next direct, the chances for a new Golden Sun increases a lot (because I don't want to believe they would reveal a Mario Golf game in the E3).
Personally, I still believe they'll do a Mario Golf game first and only after that they will let them to do a RPG game. I wish I was wrong and Nintendo give the Mario Golf to another company (or a small hiatus), but it's been too many years of disappointment with Camelot/Nintendo regarding Golden Sun :\

And yeah, I know the trademark thing. But they filled a lot of tradermarks in those dates (Wreckring Crew, Rhythm Heaven, Sin and Punishment...). I don't know it those ones were accepted or not like the GS one, though.

 

[Cadillac]

If Isaac gets revealed with somebody else, I can finally make a meme about the newcomer asking him "You new here?" and he responds with "Not exactly."

 

[Kalaam]

In all likelyhood, Golden Sun will be revealed in the coming weeks, or at E3.
If they reveal it now, it would likely be for a summer release, and we'll get more info at E3.
If they reveal it at E3 it'll be for for a holiday release.

 

[NessAtc.]

but still, Isaac does still have a pretty huge obstacle to climb, that being the fact we have yet to see an AT get promoted within the same game, which is why saying Isaac is the most likely, when we only have 6 slots left and there are countless other characters on the table that AREN'T represented yet, seems TOO optimistic to me

Firstly, just get that AT idea outta your head for a sec? Okay? Good. At this point he's just like any other character. Except with fan demand. And being first party. And being a character that Sakurai neglected to do not out of not being able to make it work or not being interested, but simply due to the smaller scale of GS. He doesn't have the same issue Waluigi or BWD have. The only thing that has kept Isaac out is priority. With a new game coming, he suddenly gets a lot of priority.

As well, I don't see even remotely how being an AT hurts his chances. If anything, they help a lot. The assets exist to build off of, especially with the higher res textures on the mii costume. That's a lot more than you can say about a good chunk of proposed characters, which does inherently give him a leg up in consideration.

 

[Kalaam]

And to add to what NessAtc said, don't listen to the argument of "it would be wasting the work the team did on the AT". That's just stupid.
Why would anyone in the team be bothered reworking and upgrading something they made 2 to 3 years ago ? If anything they'd rather be interrested in pushing the concept further.
And because I saw that pop up sometimes, about the "Removing the AT would be removing content for those who like it":
First of that's bold from people who usually always play with AT off. Secondly, as already demonstrating times and times again, no need to remove the AT. It can be disabled when Isaac is selected as a fighter, or replaced by Garet or something. They made 4 models for Hero, they can do an AT model to replace Isaac.
And also, the most important thing: nobody was bothered by Little Mac's, Dark Samus', or Isabelle's AT disappearing. Nobody will be upset at seeing an AT become a fighter.

 

[Diddy Kong]

I didn't say he played them, I just pretty much said his GBA knowledge is great thus: He has probably played a buttload of GBA games.

Don't get your hopes up. For example, during Brawl's speculation, Sakurai didn't even know who Krystal was. That's despite having Star Fox characters I Smash for 2 games in a row. And the most recent games where Star Fox Adventures and Assault; both had Krystal.

What's confirmed however is that he plays a lot of PlayStation games. 250 or so in one year. Now that's a lot...

Speaking of, Sakurai might one day maybe switch over to Sony to recreate a sort of Sony Smash, but successful. I wouldn't put it past the man honestly.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Removing the AT would be removing content for those who like it

It's not truly removing content when there are still items that push opponents away/pick them up. Even then, they think Great Bay not having two moons is more important than the functionality of the Moon AT.

 

[FlawedAI]

I think Isaac has a chance and think assist trophies (or base-game spirits and base-game mii costumes for that matter) could maybe get promoted, I wouldn't go so far as to say Isaac is "super-likely" or the "most likely" though. We still haven't seen a Golden Sun game released either, and even is we do get one if this new trademark stuff pans out, who knows what the game will actually like or if Nintendo would want to cross promote with Smash.

I don't want to be a Danny downer here. It's fine to be hopeful and I'm certainly not saying Isaac doesn't have a chance, but still, Isaac does still have a pretty huge obstacle to climb, that being the fact we have yet to see an AT get promoted within the same game, which is why saying Isaac is the most likely, when we only have 6 slots left and there are countless other characters on the table that AREN'T represented yet, seems TOO optimistic to me

I understand where you're coming from. To me, however, the evidence all points to a new Golden Sun and my own line of thinking points me to the conclusion that a new Golden Sun means Isaac in Smash. Thus, the fact that a new GS is likely and a new GS is very, very good news for Isaac in Smash leads me to say that Isaac has high chances.

I feel your post not on a hype level, but on a spiritual belief level.

I just can't get over the silence.

Camelot what are you doing. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY HAVEN'T THEY ANNOUNCED IT? Will Zippo be right and a direct will come in February? Don't we have to learn what you're doing then? Will Nintendo hold it for E3? Do they have just tens of stations with Animal Crossing at PAX?

Toshiharu Izuno from Nintendo, STILL no credits for almost two years now after Aces and helping on Ultimate. I KNOW YOU'RE WORKING WITH CAMELOT. You're literally the person most connection to Camelot at Nintendo. And your silence matches up almost perfectly with Camelot's?

Even the rest of EDP2 been heads down for over a year with nothing to show? 40+ Nintendo people and another 40+ at Camelot? Nothing for two years?

Now you tell me Nintendo picked six characters and picked them AFTER Smash Ultimate's hype cycle? After the Grinch leak and item leak and all that nonsense? There's no one better to shill and revive an old IP in a genre you need to catch up on AND please the fans simultaneously.

I'm absolutely restless. I just want some news. I want to know.

This Direct drought has been pure torture. I'm really, really hoping that Golden Sun would be announced at this possible February Direct, but if not then, then I'm hoping for an E3 dual reveal with Isaac in Smash (like I predicted, lol). Camelot's suspicious silence for a year and a half is very strange as well. Obviously some people were still working on Aces, but they don't need the whole darn company working on basic DLC, right? Not to mention, supposedly the Takahashi Bros' part with Aces ended in December of 2017, giving them more than two years to plan and begin a new Golden Sun. We know they want to make more RPGs (even if Shining Force was named, not GS, but whatever) and it's clear that Golden Sun's story is not over. I just hope we see the resuming of that story soon.

 

[Kalaam]

Btw, what if they do a new Golden Sun, but go back the Tactical roots of Shining Force ? With Golden Sun mechanics etc.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Btw, what if they do a new Golden Sun, but go back the Tactical roots of Shining Force ? With Golden Sun mechanics etc.

It might be possible that Camelot indeed just makes an RPG with elements of both. Never considered that honestly. But it seems a very likely scenario.

 

[ZelDan]

Btw, what if they do a new Golden Sun, but go back the Tactical roots of Shining Force ? With Golden Sun mechanics etc.

So, a tactics game where you use djinn to alter units classes and abilities?

Potentially it could be cool. I'd rather see a more standard Golden Sun first before they decide to start experimenting with the franchise though.

 

[Icana]

Here's an interview with the Takahashi Bros. from 2007:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/14626/takahashi-brothers-talk-golden-sun-sequel

This took place long before Dark Dawn became a thing. Here's a part that grabbed my interest:

"As a final thought on the topic, Hiroyuki was asked if he'd like to see a new Golden Sun game on a handheld or on a console. He said he'd like something that would combine both—"with the past and the future." But, alas, "that's just a thought." "

Lol, well Nintendo has released the Switch now, Hiroyuki. Do it!

Alas, I wonder how long it could take to make a new Golden Sun today. Mario Tennis Aces received quite a bit of free DLC before development on that game fully wrapped. How much resources from Camelot were taken from MTA DLC? Could Camelot have started planning their next game during DLC development for Mario Tennis Aces, the last bit of DLC having released mid last year (2019) with Dry Bowser, or after? Golden Sun returned to the limelight near the end of 2018 when Smash speculation was at its feverish. Time-wise, it would be most prime time to get Nintendo and Camelot's attention and potentially set plans into motion by the beginning of 2019 while we were sending those letters, and doing Golden Sundays. Assuming they didn't start on Mario Golf and/or whatever before then, it would bill a new Golden Sun game as most likely having started development in 2019, near that new trademark. That's assuming that Nintendo/Camelot weren't planning on returning to Golden Sun immediately after Mario Tennis Aces release, before this fandom found its voice again.

There's also the question of... remake or new game? The story of Golden Sun right now is very tied together. It ain't like Zelda, Final Fantasy, and the like with a fresh start every entry. A newbie can play Dark Dawn, but they'll be missing all the major references and story beats of the first two "Books" and the significance of Alex, the big flipping villain of this series that we still haven't gotten to fight yet. Don't worry though, Alex will be our Golden Sun rep in Smash, and we'll finally get to bop his head in with Mario or Isaac Mii fighter! :D

Anyway, for financial success, I think they'll need to bring everyone back to square one, and I only see that happening with either a remake/reboot, or a prequel of the age before alchemy was sealed away. A sequel to Dark Dawn would need to bring back Isaac and gang so we can figure out what the heck is going on with those Psynergy Vortexes and Mt. Aleph that DD teased us with and then left hanging for almost a decade now. A whole generation of new kids in the real world has grown up since then and wouldn't have a clue about anything that went on in Dark Dawn, much less the original two. I think we need to start from scratch. No info dumps, no bloated opening summaries. Back to square one, where we hear a strong storm rumbling outside and our mother is hurrying us out the house. We don't know what's going on, but we are immediately diving in!

I think remake/reboot, or a prequel with new characters is the way to go. For a prequel they could probably bring back the old djinn like Flint for fanservice.

The other challenge is that Camelot is pretty small. They supposedly spent a year developing the first Golden Sun on GBA (not counting the N64 plans that were in place first) according to this IGN import impression: https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/08/import-impressions-golden-sun

Golden Sun: The Lost Age came out in less than a year after the original in Japan (OG: August 1, 2001/GS2: June 28, 2002). That's not accounting for localization where TLA saw a significant delay in North America until March of 2003 when it launched alongside the GBA SP. The original was released in NA on November of 2001. Dark Dawn had a near world wide release, and these days Nintendo really values that and would rather have the games be ready in most intended languages before hitting market anywhere.

Also, the specs of the Switch dwarfs the GBA, and Camelot has shown they like to push whatever hardware they've been on to a high degree, and that includes Mario Tennis Aces:

A big RPG like Golden Sun will likely require more resources than Mario Tennis Aces, that doesn't feature Camelot's popular RPG mode for these sports games. And Camelot doesn't do them for the console Mario sports games likely cause it would take them longer to finish the games.

Now granted, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was outsourced heavily, and Monolithsoft had a small internal team actually work on that game using the engine from X. Gust's Atelier games are heavily outsourced with a company called Flight Unit creating things like the character models using Koei Tecmo's Warriors engine.

Outsourcing brings it's challenges though, and apparently Metroid Prime 4 ran into bottlenecks from too many different parts not synchronizing well with each other. And that's a problem a big Golden Sun game could run into, because the titles have incredibly intricate dungeons and maps that must work together because they feature puzzles that have required more than one map or room to solve. Golden Sun's maps aren't just mazes and open fields to run around in. They are vital to it's wholesome gameplay, and are part of what makes this series stand out. Now I'm no dev expert, but Golden Sun has a real strong Camelot feel from start to end, from the art direction, Shin Yamanouchi's character designs (been with Camelot since Shining Force III)

and substantial gameplay in every corner, with puzzle based dungeons, in-depth battle systems, mini games, etc. Outsourcing with Golden Sun and trying to keep that Camelot 'spirit' if you will, sounds like quite the task. Maybe they can partner with a big studio like Sakurai has with Smash. Perhaps Bamco again, with guys closely tied to the Tales of games, lol. Metroid Prime 4 was rumored to have been in lead development by a Bamco studio, and they have been involved in Nintendo's Arms title and are currently working with Sakurai on Smash.

But honestly, I don't know if they have the chops to make interesting puzzles to solve in a 3D environment. Camelot used 3D models for Dark Dawn, but that was still very much played as a 2D overhead game. Only Nintendo's own Zelda team has proven to have the chops for an ambitious 3D dungeon design that can use psynergy for puzzle solving. Triple A devs have their dungeon looking areas play very straight forward and are mostly mazes to navigate through.

Which draws another question. Should Golden Sun's next entry even be in 3D? Will the title get the resources and expertise needed to successfully accomplish a Golden Sun game in 3D? Or is looking for a suitable art direction for a higher end 2D RPG Camelot's best bet? The battles will be 3D of course, be it faked like the GBA titles or otherwise.

Anyway, I've rambled long enough. Basically, in summary here, I feel that a theoretical new Golden Sun game is still probably far off. It wasn't too long ago that we made some noise and the trademark was just last year. Unless development started long ago, it's sprite based 2D, and/or a ton of resources are going into it, a new Golden Sun will probably need more than two years to bake and I highly doubt Camelot's next game has had that kind of time in the oven at present. Granted, that doesn't mean an announcement can't happen this year. The new Animal Crossing for Switch is finally getting ready to be released, and it was announced well over a year ago. I doubt we'll hear of a new Golden Sun in development in the manner in which we've heard of Metroid Prime 4 and Bayonetta 3 are in the works. I imagine an announcement will be accompanied by some footage, like Breath of the Wild had. Or better example, similar to the announcement of... Golden Sun DS:

I still remember that moment! I was so taken aback at what I think I heard Reggie just say. I couldn't believe it!!!