It’s been a ton of fun running GS_****posts with soniclink, and I’ve seen a more positive outlook for the future of golden sun and our smashes chances in our community then ever before by extension, but I’ve really been struggling the past few days to shake off the feeling we’re far from out of the woods, that maybe we’re still several years off from anything new, instead of the hoped one or two from me. Gamexplain And other Nintendo YouTubers actively predicting Camelot’s next game to Mario golf certainly isn’t helping that mentality on my part.
Ughh...I hate to be the negative one, because usually when I am I feel like I just make folks upset. Which is never my actual intentions. I suppose it comes with the territory.
Honestly, I don't have any concerns about what Camelot is working on, to the point where I would be shocked if it is golf. The timeframes, outcry, success of other JRPGs, historical sales, trademark, nah, I can't see it. I want you to picture in your mind GameExplain's post-direct video or the comment section on /r/NintendoSwitch all being like "And then we got a new Golden Sun game! This came completely out of the blue. I don't think anybody saw that coming." I can just hear it and see it in my head and see myself responding that, oh wait, we in the community all totally predicted this because of the evidence.
I've got two concerns, myself. First, that there's no translating/VA leaks. I know on corners of the internet that I heard details about Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Pokemon Masters long before they came out (though admittedly after their announcement) because of the translation work being so heavy and involving so many people. If a Golden Sun game does exist, the translation effort would have lead to _someone_ saying something about it. At least some rumblings of something. But we haven't gotten a peep. And if it's voice acted---one, awesome, two, that's even more work required. That either points to it not existing at all (oof) or not being at that stage in production yet. Give translation-based rumors/leaks 4-6 months before release because they want worldwide simultaneous releases now and GS Switch would be Fall/Winter this year or later... But then it's running up against Xenoblade Chronicles and Bravely Default 2, which is totally doable just... idk. But then again, a remake wouldn't require a re-translation...
Also consider it's been a little over a year and a half since Aces. More than enough time to put out a golf game with all the assets and engine they already have, for sure (just look at their release history), but maybe not enough time yet to put together a new Golden Sun.
Tied into this is my other question: how ambitious would a new Golden Sun be? Just a redone new sprite/vector art remaster of TBS/TLA with no VA sold for $40 could hit this summer. Then it's Octopath Traveler-esque in scope and doable in two years. But polygonal means you have to redesign all the puzzles and areas, a new story means new writing, it means you basically require VA or end up with the Pokemon memes. Even if it's on the scale of a Bravely Default or I Am Setsuna, that's probably a good 2.5 years in development. And I would be floored if they decided to go further and make Golden Sun as big a thing as something like XC2 or the new FFVII remake in scope. Even with EPD2 helping, Camelot would need more manpower. FE:3H requied all of the much bigger IS _and_ Koei Temco, and the staff that worked on XC2 and BotW's worlds was massive. That would be nuts.
My second concern is that Camelot working on Golden Sun actually doesn't mean anything for Smash. I mean, eventually it would, rekindle the brand and all that, but there's no guarantee that a GS4 begets a playable Venus Adept in Smash Bros Ultimate at all, let alone soon. Again, I think GS playable in Smash is likely given what happened leading up to the release of Ultimate and the timeframes of these decisions being made and whatnot, but I just have a frightening chill that GS Switch is a small project, makes few waves and Isaac stays an assist trophy. I suppose the more investment there is in a GS4, the better the chance of playable Golden Sun there is.
So yeah, this suspected January direct is the breaking point. It's conceivably the last chance they would ever have to show Mario Golf (again, that would be astonishingly slow for them, even for a March release) or the first time they have to show Golden Sun on Switch. If we make it out of this direct without golf and somehow not even a teaser trailer for Golden Sun, well that's as good as a teaser trailer for Golden Sun. Then it's undoubtedly an E3 reveal for late 2020 or early 2021 game, and more likely to have voice acting and a larger scope.
: TAKE THIS!