History VideoGame / GoldenSunDarkDawn

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* MsFanservice: Chalis. Hot damn, EvilIsSexy, and she knows it. Multifunctional navel and boob window (depending on whether you are looking at her character art/battle model or [[GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed overworld model]]), [[PrettyInMink fur collar]], TooManyBelts, and [[ZettaiRyouiki thigh-high boots]] paired with [[MagicSkirt a skirt for which "Psynergy" is the only feasible explanation]]...

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Isaac and Garet. They live in their own cabin away from any settlements, their wives are nowhere to be found, [[HasTwoMommies they raised their sons together]], and they spend the entire opening sequence acting LikeAnOldMarriedCouple.

* MsFanservice: Chalis. Hot damn, EvilIsSexy, and she knows it. Multifunctional [[BareYourMidriff navel]] and boob window (depending on whether you are looking at her character art/battle model or [[GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed overworld model]]), [[PrettyInMink fur collar]], TooManyBelts, and [[ZettaiRyouiki thigh-high boots]] paired with [[MagicSkirt a skirt for which "Psynergy" is the only feasible explanation]]...

** There is no other explanation fr Boreas going from giant stationary icegrinder to bigger-than-mountains train-horse causing avalanches by slamming its hooves in the ground.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Slap Psynergy. It even leaves people stunned!

* FoodPorn: Just like in the first two games, you can check out the stoves and see what's for dinner. Complete with commentary on [[ForeignQueasine more exotic]] [[AlienLunch fare]], such as a plate of [[HollywoodCuisine sashimi]] in Yamatai. This actually adds another layer of PlayerPunch to the [[spoiler:Grave Eclipse]], when most of the ovens of trashed-out homes are covered in filth and described along the lines of "it doesn't look like it will cook much again."

* BrutalBonusLevel: The easiest game in the series has the most grueling BonusDungeon in the series. Every mook monster in [[spoiler:Crossbone Isle]] is [[BossInMookClothing easily as difficult as most of the game's bosses]] (the Great Dragons even more so), and the actual BonusBoss is [[spoiler:a [[UpToEleven souped-up]] ''[[MemeticBadass Dullahan]]'']]. As if to compensate, the puzzles in the dungeon are rather easy; they all entirely rely on the Move Psynergy, the most basic Utility Psynergy in the game that you've been using since the very beginning (though the Move puzzles are a little more complicated than what you've been used to throughout the game).

** Implied with the [[{{Qipao}} Sana Dress]], wearing it lowers the enemies' attack stat.

** And the villains. A blue-skinned, [[AffablyEvil cheerily]] [[CardCarryingVillain card-carrying]] swordsman, and an elegant LadyOfWar with RapunzelHair. [[spoiler:[[MyFriendsAndZoidberg And Alex.]]]] Their operations include kidnapping people and raising general havoc, and they pursue the activation of long-lost {{Magitek}}. Now, am I talking about [[VideoGame/GoldenSun Saturos and Menardi]], or Blados and Chalis? The only difference, a ''major'' difference at that, is motivation. Saturos and Menardi were out to [[WellIntentionedExtremist save their hometown/the world]]. Blados and Chalis? [[ForTheEvulz Shits and giggles.]] [[spoiler:And to betray their militaristic hometown for unknown reasons.]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Some of this generation's hair colors are notably different from their predecessors, and I don't just mean Karis's inexplicably green hair. Garet's was originally reddish-brown, but Tyrell's hair is unmistakably red. Mia and Alex had cyan hair, but Mia's two children have very blue hair, [[spoiler:as does another Mercury Clan descendant we encounter]].

* {{Bonus Dungeon}}s: The [[GhostShip Lost Ship]] and Otka Island. Also, Crossbone Isle is back.
* BossInMooksClothing: Great Dragons in [[BonusDungeon Crossbone Isle]].

* BadassBeard: Isaac has grown one as a part of his "I am now the most badass man on the planet" ensemble.

* FutureBadass: Eoleo, Briggs' infant son from ''The Lost Age'', is now a mighty pirate, who is older (30 years on top of whatever he was in ''The Lost Age'') than any non-Piers party member so far. Isaac has joined the fun as well, boasting both a BadassBeard and a BadassLongcoat.

* NotCompletelyUseless: StandardStatusEffects can be used to hobble [[spoiler:allies under the Ancient Devil's thrall]], making that fight a bit easier. And Insight Psynergy maps a possible solution to the infamous Capricorn puzzle, instead of [[CaptainObvious pointing out that you can Move the statues]].

** StandardStatusEffects are useless against bosses, OneHitKill spells do jack all to anything, the usual.
** StandardStatusEffects [[SubvertedTrope are very handy]] against the [[BonusBoss Ancient Devil]]. The Devil itself is immune to them, but [[spoiler:allies it has brainwashed with Demon Sign are not, allowing you to neutralize them.]]

''Golden Sun: Dark Dawn'' is a 2010 EasternRPG developed by Camelot Software Planning for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, a sequel to the ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' duology that was released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance in 2001 and 2003. It was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK3PiBJvElE announced]] at Nintendo's E3 2009 conference as ''Golden Sun DS'', then promptly disappeared off the radar for a year before [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th_DDyyxKNg resurfacing]] at next year's E3 as with the ''Dark Dawn'' subtitle and was confirmed for a release near the end of 2010.

* RealityEnsues: Although players returning to the franchise will know all about [[spoiler: [[HiddenAgendaVillain Alex]]]] and [[HijackedByGanon expect his involvement in the finale]], the player characters themselves do not. Half of them have only ever heard of his assumed death from their parents; the other half never heard of him in the first place. Even Kraden needs a good look at him to be sure.

* DummiedOut:
** Use of a walkthrough walls code or the Endless Wall glitch will show the Venus Lighthouse on the world map, but unlike the Mercury Lighthouse (which is clearly visible when sailing around the northern part of the world map), you will never see it in-game, since the gap between northeastern Gondowan and the waterfall to the east of it is too large for it to be seen while sailing. (As with Vale and Mt. Aleph in ''The Lost Age'', the lighthouses can't be entered when approached.)
** There is actually a pretty huge amount of Weyard's geography on ''Dark Dawn'''s world map that is inaccessible without cheating, and it goes into fairly impressive detail. There's also an actual Sol Sanctum on the map.
** If the bug described below is used to enter the Border Town from the Bilibin side, Matthew actually enters ''that'' side and exits to the same spot he came in from (i.e. what little of Bilibin is programmed into the game) when leaving.

%%* BubblyClouds: The area right before Craggy Peak Ruins.

*** [[spoiler:What, you thought Amiti just had [[{{Mukokuseki}} generic anime features]]? Nope! He's got similar facial structure to Rief, Mia, and Alex. Compare and contrast with the other ethnically diverse characters.]]

%%* CrazyAwesome: In-universe example: Tyrell considers Carver to be this.

* MrFanservice: Prince Amiti is mentioned in-universe to be ''very'' popular with the girls of his homeland. Considering he's a {{s|poiledSweet}}weet, polite, occasionally [[{{Moe}} vulnerable]], [[WalkingShirtlessScene frequently-shirtless]] {{Bishonen}} WarriorPrince (with the body that implies) who's also the heir to the kingdom? They're not the only ones.

* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Subverted after [[spoiler:the Grave Eclipse]] starts up, one of the (offscreen) victims is the kid in Harapa who tried to use Psynergy, and one NPC in Belinsk can't find her kids... Played straight in Kaocho, where... conversing... with [=NPCs=] reveals they managed to get the kids inside the palace before shutting the door.

** The Levatine is the fifth strongest longsword in the game in terms of base attack power, but the changes to the unleash system have made it second only to [[InfinityPlusOneSword the Sol Blade]]. The Levatine is one of the few weapons to have the Centurian unleash, which increases damage by one hundred-forty percent. Because the Levatine only has three unleashes, Centurion has a thirty-three percent chance to activate; to compare, the Excalibur has four unleashes, and the Legend unleash itself only has a sixty percent chance to triple the damage, leaving the total chance of tripling damage at fifteen percent. Levatine's other two unleashes are also respectable, one increasing damage by forty percent and the other hitting multiple enemies while possibly ignoring half their defense stat. Since Matthew will have the Sol Blade, this makes the Levatine ideal for Tyrell.

%% * GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar
** At Patcher's Place, after Karis stops Tyrell from burning the place down again, she tells him "Now, keep your fireballs under control." A visibly disturbed Tyrell responds with "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."
** Chalis's intro scene includes a fairly blatant bust shot while she's asking, "Ah, so do I entice you?" (after telling the heroes where they can find a MacGuffin). [[EvilIsSexy Yes, ma'am,]] [[MsFanservice you certainly do.]] [[ButThouMust She even forces you to say yes.]]

* MsFanservice: Chalis. Hot damn, EvilIsSexy, and [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar she knows it]]. Multifunctional [[BareYourMidriff navel]] and boob window (depending on whether you are looking at her character art/battle model or [[GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed overworld model]]), [[PrettyInMink fur collar]], TooManyBelts, and [[ZettaiRyouiki thigh-high boots]] paired with [[MagicSkirt a skirt for which "Psynergy" is the only feasible explanation]]...

* PermanentlyMissableContent: In a major change from the first two games, about a third of the Djinn and six summon tablets can end up as this if you're not careful, due to a great majority of the locations becoming unreachable after the turning point of the plot. Make sure you have explored everything you can before [[spoiler:activating Blados's trap at the end of Konpa Ruins]], [[spoiler:battling Blados and Chalis in the Belinsk ruins]], and [[spoiler:leaving Belinsk after the Grave Eclipse activates]]. Note that two of these come in almost immediate succession. Special mention to the Djinni Brick, who is the only thing missed at [[spoiler:leaving on the cloud climb]]--in fact, there's a sidequest left outstanding at this point that actually ''requires'' you to return to this area after [[spoiler:the Grave Eclipse has already activated]].

* RocBirds: The Mountain Roc is large enough to carry off human prey when Amiti recalls indirectly encountering it as a child, to be worshipped as a god the nation of Morgal, to force the camera to zoom out during your boss fight against it (and you still don't get the whole thing on your screen) and that its gizzard acts as a WombLevel, albeit a short one.

* SupernaturalGoldEyes: [[spoiler:Matthew and Sveta gain these during the ending when Matthew's soul apparently joins with Sveta when she goes to fire the Apollo Lens. Since the player has likely grown accustomed to the usual profile images, and there's also a subtle and unearthly golden glow around the characters, this is seriously unnerving.]]
** [[spoiler:What's worse is that the fusion between Sveta and Matthew seemingly served no real purpose since Volechek jumped in the way and sacrificed himself instead. This random scene just screams either ChekhovsGun or ShipTease.]]
** [[spoiler:Also, at the end of the game, most of the citizens of Belinsk have golden eyes, fur and everything else due to the effects of the huge amount of Light Psynergy released by the Apollo Lens.]]
** [[spoiler:If one looks closely at the character dialogue images, after answering "Yes" to helping Sveta, Matthew's dialogue image displays him with yellow eyes.]]

* SuspiciouslySimilar:

* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity: In the last dungeon, [[spoiler:Tuaparang mooks spawn which drop [[PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling 5-digit numbers of EXP]] and [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist Water of Life]]. Surprisingly enough, [[DifficultySpike you will need them]]. Chaos Chimera, while no [[ThatOneBoss Doom Dragon]], is surprisingly tough, and then comes [[BonusDungeon Crossbone Isle]] and [[MemeticBadass Dullahan]], who has become ''[[SerialEscalation even more badass than before!]]'']]

* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: The [[spoiler:Sol Blade]] is [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield stuck in a stone in Apollo Sanctum]], which Matthew can use to open a few doors. [[spoiler:This is in contrast to the role of the previous games' {{Infinity Plus One Sword}}s (of which the Sol Blade used to be one), which were simply found in random chests, randomly dropped, or forged.]]

* ATasteOfPower: During their stint as {{Guest Star Party Member}}s at the beginning of the game, not only do Isaac and Garet hit far, far harder than Matthew and Karis, but you have access to their Djinn as well, and thus high level summons such as Judgement and Meteor.
** The only boss you fight alongside Isaac and Garet is weak to fire. You might be able to coax Garet into using one of his Djinn. If you unleash enough Mars Djinn, Isaac explicitly tells you to summon Tiamat or Meteor.
* TechnologyMarchesOn: InUniverse: The ship Briggs stole thirty years prior (and was noted as being incredibly advanced for its time, what with [[MundaneObjectAmazement having a sail and all]]) now has a dozen cannon (when putting one on Piers' ship was an achievement).

* ThemeNaming: The Tuaparang commanders are named Blados, Chalis, and Arcanus, after the TarotMotifs of Swords, Cups, and the deck as a whole. In Japan, they're named Spade, Heart, and Ace (the high card) for the same reason.
** The point is raised in-game; [[spoiler:while the former two just refer to card suites, "Arcanus" is more like a term for the entire deck. [[TheChessmaster "Holding all the cards"...?]]]]
** This might be accidental, but given their genders there's also a... biological pun to names based on "Swords" and "Cups".
* TheNightThatNeverEnds: [[spoiler:The Grave Eclipse. At least until it absorbs enough light energy.]]
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: Morgal is in the late stages or aftermath of a bloody revolution against Sana and budding hostilities with Bilibin. [[spoiler:Both of which Morgal's king wants to settle via SuperweaponSurprise.]] [[WouldHurtAChild A little girl is captured and condemned]] to CruelAndUnusualDeath in Belinsk, just for being Sanan nobility.

%%* TotalEclipseOfThePlot: And then it went FromBadToWorse...

* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Alex is definitely one of these. To make things worse, his ultimate plan remains a total mystery — as soon as he causes the Grave Eclipse, he apparently decides to help you stop it in his typical behind-the-scenes fashion, completely backstabbing the Tuaparang.]]

** And for all the trash talking between Ryu Kou and Tyrell, you never get a chance to beat the arrogance out of him.
*** Justified. Ryu Kou and Tyrell both got an [[CharacterDevelopment attitude adjustment]] by the end. Ryu Kou [[DefrostingIceQueen more visibly so]].

* UnnaturallyLoopingLocation: Subverted; One maze looks like this trope, but is actually using CutAndPasteEnvironments.

* UnreliableNarrator: The Sun Saga and Adept Training Grounds contain a few errors that are done in such a way (such as an unimportant giant monster fight being highlighted over more important plot elements like the Proxian's motivations, and [[DudeWheresMyRespect Felix being called a number of insults in the beginning]]) to make it clear it is in-universe. There's also no mention of the TLA [[TheStinger stinger]] [[spoiler:(Alex getting power from the Golden Sun when it rose)]], since no one in the game would know about that.
** Garet claims he never did stupid things when he was his son's age. Huhu.
*** To be fair, Tyrell does a lot more stupid things than Garet ever did.

** StandardStatusEffects [[SubvertedTrope are very handy]] against the [[BonusBoss Ancient Devil]]. The Devil itself is immune to them, but [[spoiler:allies it's brainwashed with Demon Sign are not, allowing you to neutralize them.]]
* TheVamp: Chalis. She has horns, [[GeniusBonus "horned" archaically refers to an adulterer]]. She even resembles the Succubus monster line from the first 2 games, which becomes even more apparent when you start encountering Succubi who, in turn, look like her.

** You can use [[{{Fireballs}} Fireball]] on some Mercury Djinn to force them into the water. One of them actually fights back afterward.
** Know who else you can knock down with Slap? [[{{Pirate}} Yeah, that's how you get him out of the bird cage.]] Small wonder he's so abrasive to the party at first.
** Another appliance of Slap is banging a gong to signal a nonexistant attack on a peaceful town, sending everyone around into a panic. And place all the blame on the guard that already did it a couple times for fun. [[DevelopersForesight Yeah, Slap can be a pretty cruel Psynergy if used creatively]].

* WeirdnessCensor: Using Psynergy in broad daylight gets no reaction from passersby. Including lowering the water level under a ship that's being worked on by five people by several feet.

* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler:The Grave Eclipse covers Angara starting with Belinsk]], in which [[spoiler:the monsters get ''much'' stronger and become DemonicSpiders, the body count starts climbing higher than it ever has in the entire series, the soundtrack gets really depressing/horrifying]], and worst of all, [[spoiler:Briggs, a classic character from the original games, [[KilledOffForReal dies in his son's arms]]]]. A clear sign that the stakes have been raised.
* [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs What Do You Mean It]] '''[[InvertedTrope Was]]''' [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs Made On Alcohol?]]: {{Invoked}}, bizarrely, during the very ''creation'' of the game itself. [[http://goldensunwiki.net/Takahashi_Brothers According to the Golden Sun Wiki]], Hiroyuki Takahashi only came up with the idea of making a new ''Golden Sun'' after "having been liquored and eaten a lot of nori".

** "Where's the mouse" happened in-verse with Rief ''finally'' noticing his sister is absent.
** [[spoiler:CHAUCHA. Briggs specifically told us to look for her, and then... [[FridgeHorror nothing!]] ]]
* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: In the same town and brought about by the same event as the LightEmUp example above, another NPC claims to have gained the power to [[spoiler:calculate compound interest.]]
---> "It's remarkably handy, actually."

*** And if not for the player party, she very well could have [[spoiler:outlived her ''great''-grandson, since you had to rescue him twice in Belinsk (from CruelAndUnusualDeath and then from the eclipse monsters).]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Some of this generation's hair colors are notably different from their predecessors, and I don't just mean Karis's inexplicably green hair. Garet's was originally reddish-brown, but Tyrell's hair is unmistakably red. Mia and Alex had cyan hair, but Mia's two children have very blue hair, [[spoiler:as does another Mercury Clan descendent we encounter]].

* BeastMan: A race that evolved as a result of Alchemy's return, and have developed a nation of their own by chasing the locals out. Sveta, a party member, is one of them (and noted as the first playable nonhuman in the series). It is a bit of ContinuityNod when you think about [[VideoGame/GoldenSun The Lost Age]]'s village of Garoh...
** Interestingly, beastmen arose not just by [[{{Animorphism}} humans turning half-animal]] but [[AnthropomorphicTransformation animals turning half-human]], so it also straddles the line between this and FunnyAnimal. One character mentions that "ever since [she] started walking upright and wearing clothes, [she's] lost her taste for raw meat... mostly."

* BraggingRightsReward: Like The Lost Age, the optional summons have nothing to be used against. It is ''worse'' here, as the final boss [[spoiler:must be defeated at least once to get the last two tablets, meaning even it isn't a useful thing to use it on)]].
** Though the fire, wind and water summons can at least be obtained before the final boss fight.

* CastingAShadow: The [[ManaBurn Psy Grenades]] that Tuaparang {{mooks}} use go off with this effect, to say nothing of the DemonicSpiders unleashed half-way through the game. [[spoiler:In fact, it turns out that Tuaparang is part of an "Umbra Clan", whose Adepts use a new type of darkness Psynergy.]]
* ChaosArchitecture: Justified by WorldSundering (most places you visit are entirely ''new''), averted when you visit [[spoiler:Kolima]] which changed location but is still completely recognizable, but played straight in [[spoiler:Kolima Forest]] and lampshaded as one NPC stating it's become even more confusing than before, [[AWizardDidIt somehow]]. Champa has a good deal of similarity with itself in TLA (especially the cave portions), but it has some strange inaccuracies.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: In the thirty years since the first two games, the landscape of the world has transformed drastically, the friendly gimmicky mayors have become kings and emperors bent on conquest, and your buddies in Champa are still being driven to piracy for a living. Morgal has its own paragraph on the page. And then ''it got worse''.

* [[DefrostingIceQueen Defrosting Ice Prince]]: Ryu Kou comes off as very aggressive, a {{Jerkass}}, and is suspicious of your party's ambitions the several times they meet and he willingly activates the Lunar Tower to save his sister even after the party pleads with him not to do it. He does mellow out a lot near the end of the game and eventually thanks Matthew for all the help he gave him and his sister.

** Although, there are a few noticeable holes when it comes to supplying alternative conversations after SequenceBreaking, something the first two games were very good at. The conversations in [[spoiler:Tonfon, if you find Hou Ju and Ryu Kou before ever going there,]] come to mind. Also, if you go to Kaocho before Passaj, your party will have no idea what the Ouroboros is despite just having escaped from there.

** Averted in Port Rago. Using the Endless Wall glitch or a walk through walls code to return to Port Rago after [[spoiler:triggering the Grave Eclipse]] reveals [[spoiler:Briggs]] alive and well in spite of his HeroicSacrifice in Belinsk, since you're not supposed to be able to return there after his death.
*** Furthermore, [[spoiler:the sun will still be shining]] in Port Rago, Te Rya Village, Kolima, Border Town, etc., despite the fact that they're all quite close to Belinsk, the source of [[spoiler:the Grave Eclipse]]. Only Belinsk itself will be properly changed if you go back there, but you won't be able to explore more than a few steps in since the game required you to ''not'' be able to leave the town via land the last time you were there and as such there's an InsurmountableWaistHighFence just a few steps away from the entrance to the world map.
* [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Did You Just Bitchslap a Bird God?]]: In the wattle, twice. And then we kicked his ass and took a short walk [[WombLevel through his insides]].
** Though to be fair, kicking its ass was only made necessary by [[WeNeedADistraction Blados and Chalis]], who had them sticking around longer than they needed to.
* DifficultySpike: The final boss is ''much'' harder than the rest of the game, and that's not even considering the {{Bonus Boss}}es...

* DivergentCharacterEvolution: Djinn of the same element used to have the exact same designs in the GBA titles. Here they are differentiated further to incorporate motifs tied to their Japanese names while four djinn retained their original designs.

** See also CallBack. The world could not have been saved without the Proxian quartet. Rather than being respected at least by the people who knew they were GoodAllAlong, their likenesses are used for target practice. Then again, set off a trap that causes a boulder to crush the local village, assault the locals, kidnap a famous sage and another local, and then proceed to make enemies out of everyone you come across in your trek across the globe and see how they remember you thirty years later.
*** In fact, the Proxians are not even ''named'' in the entire game. The ''Sun Saga'' books barely make note of them when telling of the Venus and Jupiter Lighthouses, and don't even mention the fight with Saturos on top of Mercury Lighthouse, instead focusing on Alex, which is... [[ThatOneBoss not how the player likely remembers it]].
*** Also applicable for Felix. When the Golden Sun is seen as a bad thing, Felix is blamed, while the encyclopaedia entries and signs you find make Isaac a more important figure, with Felix leading a second party which 'joined up with Isaac's', which probably isn't how Agatio, Karst or even ''Isaac'' would have viewed it. For that matter, Sheba isn't mentioned at all except in the Sun Sagas.

* [[spoiler:ElementNumberFive: The big twist at the end of the game is that there is a tribe of adepts controlling a fifth element, Darkness. This setting's element system being based on balance, the party then awakens the sixth element, Light.]]

* ElementalTiers: Carried over form the previous games, strongest Venus weapon and strongest Mars summon (though impractical) but subverted because the majority of the enemies are weak against Jupiter and resists Venus, including the BonusBoss. This makes Venus ironically the weakest element overall despite its versatility. Even the GameBreaker of this game is Jupiter-aligned.

%%** Though since Wo was out of the country at the time thanks to Chalis, it's possible he'll reappear.

* {{Expy}}:
** Matthew, Karis, Tyrell, and Rief are pretty much Isaac, Ivan, Garet, and Mia respectively, in terms of character design and stats.
** Then we have the second group: A {{Bishonen}}, a {{Ship Tease}}d ActionGirl, a MysteriousWaif who sees things normally unseen, and a [[IntergenerationalFriendship notably-older sailor]] with a CoolBoat. Sound familiar, ''The Lost Age'' fans?
** And the villains. A blue-skinned, [[AffablyEvil cheerily]] [[CardCarryingVillain card-carrying]] swordsman, and an elegant LadyOfWar with RapunzelHair. [[spoiler:[[MyFriendsAndZoidberg And Alex.]]]] Their operations include kidnapping people and raising general havoc, and they pursue the activation of long-lost {{Magitek}}. Now, am I talking about [[VideoGame/GoldenSun Saturos and Menardi]], or Blados and Chalis?
*** Although there's a ''major'' difference there: motivation. Saturos and Menardi were out to [[WellIntentionedExtremist save their hometown/the world]]. Blados and Chalis? [[ForTheEvulz Shits and giggles.]] [[spoiler:And to betray their militaristic hometown for unknown reasons. Maybe the sequel will make them suddenly save the world instead and make Matthew's group look LawfulStupid for no reason.]]
* FailedASpotCheck: During the [[spoiler:Grave Eclipse]] at Belinsk, you can wake up a sleeping old couple upstairs in one of the houses. One of them heads downstairs, you hear an OffscreenCrash and a scream, and the old man comes back unharmed muttering about spilling his tea. He goes right back to sleep amid [[spoiler:the screams of his city being ravaged by terrifying monsters from the abyss]]. Hey, it nets you a Djinni...

** Himi is first seen in a coma, apparently from a PokeInTheThirdEye (metaphorical) when [[spoiler:the Grave Eclipse began]]. An artifact called the Third Eye wakes her and enables her to control her clairvoyant powers.
*** An NPC mentions that Himi's symptoms had been seen before-- Lady Uzume ''died'' from the same problem shortly after evacuating the people of Izumo from that island to Nihan when the former was destroyed.

* {{Flanderization}}: Amiti in fanon tends to be [[VirginityMakesYouStupid incredibly dippy, particularly about sex]]. In canon, he's less upset that he was conceived the natural way and more upset about being raised under a cover story (probably to protect his mother's virtue) and that nobody knows who his sire ''was''.
** In fact, an NPC suggests that Amiti ReallyGetsAround.
* FoodPorn: Just like in the first two games, you can check out the stoves and see what's for dinner. Complete with commentary on [[ForeignQueasine more exotic]] [[AlienLunch fare]], such as a plate of [[HollywoodCuisine sashimi]] in Yamatai.
** This actually adds another layer of PlayerPunch to the [[spoiler:Grave Eclipse]], when most of the ovens of trashed-out homes are covered in filth and described along the lines of "it doesn't look like it will cook much again."

%%* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Volechek.]]

* GuideDangIt: In addition to some things capable of being {{Permanently Missable|Content}}, there's ''no'' way of knowing [[spoiler:to get the very well-hidden Venus Djinni Brick in Harapa before leaving on the cloud (all the more annoying as it is the only thing lost forever at this point, so it gets left out of lists of PointOfNoReturn), how to get the Venus Djinni at Passaj after the Grave Eclipse, or how to navigate the maze at Otka]] without consulting a guide first.

** Anyone who says they found the Djinni Ivy without a guide is a ''liar''.
* HairColorSpoiler: [[spoiler:Blados and Chalis turn out to be Adepts]], but Amiti takes the cake for having ''basically his entire subplot'' given away by the fact that he's a blue-haired Adept in an area otherwise exclusive to brown- and black-haired non-Adepts. [[spoiler:And he turns out to be the son of the only other character with that shade of blue. Who'd've thunk it?]]

** [[spoiler:Briggs kept his ship docked despite the Eclipse to get his son out. Eoleo, and the party, are saved at the cost of Briggs' life. Cue TearJerker, and a PlayerPunch for those who grew fond of him in ''The Lost Age''.]]
** [[spoiler:Hou Zan, Hou Ju, and Ryu Kou make their way to an iceberg outpost -- unintentionally -- and wind up stranded on the rocks. Hou Zan, the elder of the trio, staves off the demons for a time, but ultimately pays with his life as well.]]

* [[IdenticalGrandson Identical Son]]:
** [[http://ds.ign.com/dor/objects/949592/golden-sun-ds/images/e3-2010-golden-sun-dark-dawn-screens-20100615105801158.html Matthew]] and [[http://ds.ign.com/dor/objects/949592/golden-sun-ds/images/e3-2010-golden-sun-dark-dawn-screens-20100615105731471.html Tyrell]] look nearly identical to their fathers, [[http://goldensun.neoseeker.com/w/i/goldensun/f/fe/250px-Gs-isaac.jpg Isaac]] and [[http://goldensun.neoseeker.com/w/i/goldensun/d/d8/175px-GSGaret.jpg Garet]]. They even behave as such, to the chagrin of Garet, who's mellowed out with age.
** In Garet's defense, Tyrell has managed to be even more boneheaded and quick-tempered than he ever was.

* IdiotBall: The official Nintendo-backed game guide makes a point of reminding players to "go back and get all the Djinn" before they hit the final dungeons. Someone didn't tell the guide makers about the Points of No Return...

* MeaningfulName: "Matthew," the main character's name, means "gift of God." [[spoiler:This is interesting considering the Wise One, who may very well be Weyard's {{God}}, attempted to kill Isaac using ''his own father'' as a tool in a SecretTestOfCharacter... but also in terms of Isaac having been imbued with the power of the Mars Star.]] His Japanese name "Mut" can be seen as a play on mute, as he [[HeroicMime takes after his dad]].

* MechanicallyUnusualClass: The game has an inversion: Sveta's base class has some useful abilities, but what you ''really'' want is her Beastform ability, which allows her to attack every single enemy at once every turn. No one else can do this.

* NominalImportance: Anything with a name probably has an encyclopedia entry, and is frequently a plot point. Most characters treated this way tend to have portraits as well.
** Oddly, this includes one member of the Belinsk band, Vande, who doesn't otherwise seem any more important than the rest of the musicians. Speculation ensues.

---> '''Masked Man:''' How many times must I prove that you little insects can't hurt me?
---> '''Hou Zan:''' [[PreAsskickingOneLiner Once more, apparently.]]

* PaperThinDisguise: Once you reach a certain point in Konpa Ruins, you meet [[spoiler:a masked man (which, by the way, doesn't even cover half his face) with blue hair that's helping the bad guys, and who Kraden apparently knows from the past. [[SarcasmMode Nice try, Alex.]]]]
** Justified. Nobody in this group except Kraden ever met him, and [[spoiler:according to Karis's commentary in the final dungeon, everyone else who had presumed him dead]]. He had no reason to disguise himself.

* PersecutionFlip: In TLA, Garoh's werewolves hid themselves to avoid the prejudice of outsiders. Morgal's beastmen now cheerfully boil outsiders alive.

** NeglectfulPrecursors: The previous installments' various {{Magitek}} can be argued as a failsafe against the things that went wrong in the previous installments, but the fact that [[spoiler:Luna Tower]] was merely powered down and locked up instead of being destroyed, despite apparently having no beneficial values [[spoiler:(save to the Umbra Clan, who seem to be bad news anyway)]], massive negative effects, and no [[HeroicSacrifice safe]] way of neutralizing once activated, ''really'' raises some questions about the ancients and [[FantasticRacism their priorities]].
* PrecisionFStrike: By way of SymbolSwearing: [[spoiler:When Alex shows up at Apollo Sanctum, Matthew [[HeroicMime breaks his silence]] to say "#$%^!"]] This is only in the US version however. In the original Japanese and European versions, he goes "?!" like every other time he speaks.

* PutOnABus: All of the Warriors of Vale aside from Isaac and Garet, unfortunately. Mia[[note]]A book in one of Kolima's bookshelves mentions the "goddess of Imil", a priestess who heals the people of Imil, but only implies that it's her.[[/note]] and Sheba's locations are not stated (Ivan and Jenna, at least, are said to be in Kalay, which doesn't appear in ''Dark Dawn''); Felix is said to have left on a journey, and no one has seen him since; Piers is apparently sailing around Angara during the course of the game, but you never cross paths with him, despite the fact that the country of Sana has been trading with Piers's homeland of Lemuria (as mentioned in the Sanan capital of Tonfon), or that he apparently [[spoiler:dropped into Port Rago to help Briggs fix up his ship.]]
** Actually, the Sanans mention trading with ''a'' Lemurian, singular, who helped them improve their ships. So it's possible that this was Piers, too, and Lemuria is still closed.

** Himi's brother Takeru is mentioned to have departed on a journey because of a vision Himi had that [[spoiler:Felix's friend Isaac was in danger, invoking [[CallBack their mother's aid-in-distress promise]] to Felix from ''The Lost Age'']].
*** Further NPC gossip states that Takeru left on a "really cool ship". Fans presume that [[OneDegreeOfSeparation it's a reference to Piers's ship and he's hitching a ride with Piers and Nowell]], making Takeru and Nowell [[SequelHook likely heroes for a future installment]].

* RuleOfCool: There is no other explanation for the Thor summon changing from his zapping the enemy with lightning to flying through the sky on his giant hammer, skydiving off it, then turning it into ''a giant turbofan'' which he then throws on the enemy. None.
** Or Boreas going from giant stationary icegrinder to bigger-than-mountains train-horse causing avalanches by slamming its hooves in the ground.

---> '''Kraden:''' It isn't polite to stare at the elderly, you know.

* SadlyMythtaken: Same as in the previous games in regards to the elements/gods association... yet there are a couple of [[ShownTheirWork notable details]] added to the summons from the previous games, such as Procne now showing [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomela_(princess_of_Athens) a nightingale and swallow in flight]] as well as the old gigantic monster-bird, and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagan_(demon)#King.2FPresident_Zagan Zagan]] getting a design makeover and being shown sitting in Hell when summoned. They also remade Thor as a redhead -- Norse mythology buffs rejoiced.
** Though summoning Tiamat now apparently involves a TronLines-filled tower, Boreas is now a literal {{IronHorse}} (a ''locomotive bigger than mountains with hooves''), and Coatlicue is still [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coatlicue a kind and loving goddess]].

* ShipSinking: Inevitable due to the premise and unlikely to end well due to the series extensive {{Shipping}}. Sorry, Mudshippers [[ShipMates and]] Flameshippers: Isaac picked Jenna. The scene in which this is off-handedly revealed even takes place in a shipyard.
--> '''Amiti''': [[{{Pun}} I cannot help but notice that your ship is in an advanced state of disrepair.]]

* SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear: Sveta pulls this after your initial meeting, but thankfully she comes back.
** She wasn't likely to have taken much anyway since her armor is already top of the line and she can't use anyone else's weapons. Heck, if you're strapped for gold and couldn't afford the last round of upgrades you can [[InvertedTrope take her armor]] before she leaves.