Oh hell no, he was plague on Xenoblade Chronicles X' soundtrack, he's not bad but he's also a one trick pony!
Nah nah, I can understand not liking X's OST (which I think had more to do with Monolithsoft's sound direction, or lack thereof, than Sawano himself), but the guy didn't become prolific in Japanese movies, live-action dramas, and anime by being a one trick pony (whatever that's suppose to mean). Guy has demonstrated lot's of different 'tricks', scope, and range throughout his career:
https://soundcloud.com/maximillion-galactica-72/blue-red
https://soundcloud.com/maximillion-galactica-72/serial-murders
https://soundcloud.com/ahmad-fauzi-14/taiyou-no-uta-ost-from-sunset-to-sunrise
https://soundcloud.com/max-galactica/link05bpm9668kodoku
https://soundcloud.com/max-galactica/3594-website-theme
Each of these are quite different from the other, and packed with variety, strong melodies, and feelz. I'd also add that some of Sawano's criticisms (sounding samey) are common among a lot of popular composers, including our Golden Sun dude, Motoi Sakuraba. Famed Hollywood composer such as Zimmer and the late James Horner were often critic'd about having a recognizable style as well. Hear a composer enough, and you'll start to notice 'go to' patterns. It's very common, and there is nothing wrong with that. Those common patterns are why some of us become fans of these individuals to begin with.
That all said, I can understand why some composers wouldn't be for everyone because of these recognizable styles, as not everyone for example likes, say, rap, country, or r&b, etc. Sawano is best known for his bombastic and epic scores in anime, and his nzk vocal project has been a big success, so he does more lyrical vocal songs nowadays for anime and game OP's/ED's.
I'd like to share this song from Motoi Sakuraba from a Tales game that came before our favorite Golden Sun Karagol Sea theme:
The beginning is a note to note rip. lol But I still enjoyed the song, and love the composer. Sakuraba has shown the ability to come up with all kinds of different stuff after all, such as this beautiful rearranged piece he did for Valkyrie Profile 2:
Alright, that's a lot of music I just posted, lol. But anyway, for a new Golden Sun, I'd want Sakuraba back and at his best. I don't think it'd quite feel the same with us nostalgians if any other composer were on board. Sakuraba's got his own touch, and other great composers have theirs. Give him a good budget and ample time, and I'm sure he can still churn out that Golden Sun magic that blew us all away in 2001/2003 or whenever we played the games.
Edit: Links fixed.