Golden Sun: The Lost Age - Walkthrough Chapter 1
When you gain control of your character you'll be inside of the Venus Lighthouse. You won't have to deal with any random encounters in this area so you're free to explore anywhere and everywhere. To progress the story we'll want to leave the lighthouse. If you have not played the previous Golden Sun game the first confusing room you'll reach is the one with all of the scattered platforms overtop of the giant pit. This is an optional room so you may skip it entirely as well!
In Golden Sun you can jump over pits like this but only one tile at a time, so you will have to circle around this giant pit jumping to the closest tiles each time. Seeing as how this is the first puzzle of the game it's pretty easy, it'll lead you to a chest with an Herb inside of it.
Exit Venus Lighthouse and go a bit south to trigger a scene. Alex will come and help you, he'll also tell you where to go next so make sure you pay attention - or use my guide! When the scene is finished exit this area to the west. Just before you reach the exit you'll have your first battle, we'll be fighting a Ruffian! You can take care of him in two quick hits, once defeated proceed to the next area.
Continue along the linear path through Suhalla Gate, beat the other Ruffian you run into and climb down the two vines before entering into the cave entrance. As you try and enter the cave three more Ruffians will pop out to attack you. For this battle you may have to use more than just auto attack! If you get low on health use the Herb we found back in the dungeon.
After you beat the pack of Ruffians follow the linear route until you run into a Psynergy Stone on the ground. Before you can grab the crystal though you'll be attacked by a Punch Ant. Beat it and then grab the crystal to fully restore your Psynergy Points. Continue along what's left of the linear route until you reach the peninsula.
There will be a bunch of dialogue and a long scene when you arrive after which you'll gain control of the game's main character, Felix. Leave the island that you're on and you will get another long scene with a bunch of dialogue before you're able to exit onto the World Map.
Once on the World Map you'll want to travel south to our first town, Daila. There will be many hidden items for you to find in town, explore and inspect each area to find the goodies. While you're here you should do some shopping too, you can upgrade everyone's equipment before heading out.
In this guide I will tell you how to progress the story and call out all of the Djinni locations and some of the optional loot. For the most part I will be leaving exploration and collection of optional loot to you. I find that calling out the location of every single item really weighs down the guide with unnecessary information.
Leave Daila to the south and you will be stopped by the first Djinni in the game - Echo. If this is your first Golden Sun game I strongly recommend you agree to the tutorial since it will teach you all of the basic mechanics that you need to know about how Djinn work in this game and how to use them.
After having Echo join your team you should roam around this area for a little bit and get into random encounters. Do some exploring, there is a bit of the World Map available to us right now. You could use the money, EXP and practice this early in the game. When you feel comfortable and ready to tackle the first dungeon rest up in Daila and travel southwest to Kandorean Temple.
Head up to the northwestern side of Kandorean Temple and you'll find a bush, stand next to it and use the Whirlwind Psynergy to clear a path. Climb the rope in the cave and then go inside of the building, when the scene is finished go through the open door. The first chest you find in this cave will be a Mimic, it'll be a pretty tough fight actually so I recommend you blow it up with Psynergy.
The next few rooms of this dungeon are quite linear, the only complicated puzzle of this dungeon is the steam vent room (pictured below). For this puzzle you'll have two platforms and a pillar that you can push around, when you push the pillar on top of one platform and prevent it from rising you'll make the other platform go up twice as far - as seen below.
For the treasure chest you'll want to put the pillar on top of the upper left platform first. This will let you access a chest with a Mysterious Card inside of it. When you equip this to Felix it will change his class and give you some new Psynergy (like Avoid and Move). To proceed with the dungeon you'll want to put the pillar on the same platform you see in my picture below.
After riding the platform up you'll have another tricky puzzle, there will be a vent blowing steam across a rope that we need to cross. Near that steam vent you'll see a brown pillar that we can move, just like the previous puzzle. What you'll need to do is equip the Mysterious Card onto Felix and use his Move Psynergy to push the pillar away from you. Jump across the gap and keep pushing the pillar until it blocks the steam vent. Now you can move across the rope without getting knocked off!
Exit via the doorway in the south and you'll notice a Mercury Djinni that's currently out of reach, we'll be coming back for this guy soon! Continue through the dungeon and you will eventually come to a pot of boiling water with a sign next to it. Use Felix's Move Psynergy on the pot and get it out of your way so that we can continue to the boss of this dungeon.
North of the boiling pot of water you'll find 3 Chestbeater enemies, these guys can be pretty tough so I recommend unloading on them with all of your most powerful Psynergy magic. Once you take care of the boss continue through the dungeon until you find the old man at the end who will give us the power of Lash. After a scene with him climb the rope and grab the Lash Pebble item, you'll want to use this on one of your characters (I personally chose Sheba). Since this is an item you equip it can be changed if you want a different character later.
Do you remember that Djinni we saw earlier in the cave? Now that we have Lash we can get it! For more information on how to obtain it check out my Djinni Locations (Part 1) Guide. Who you set your new Djinni to is up to you but I recommend Sheba, you can also give Sheba that Mysterious Card too and change her class which will make her a little better at this level range too.
Once you've obtained the Mercury Djinni we're officially done with this dungeon! Exit the dungeon and return to Daila to rest up and heal. When you're ready to progress the story again you'll want to travel east of Daila to Shrine of the Sea God. It's a little cave on the Overworld, you can't miss it!
If you haven't been to this dungeon before then you'll watch a short scene when you arrive involving two young boys. When that's over you'll want to help the boys by using Lash to connect the rope that they failed to connect. For the story that's all we need to do here but there's also a Djinni here that we can catch - which you'll definitely want to do!
As usual you should head over to my Djinni Locations (Part 1) Guide for more information on how to capture the Djinni in this dungeon. Once you get this Djinni and save the boys in this dungeon you're free to leave and return to Daila. When you return to Daila much of the water will now be dried up and you'll have access to new buildings. Enter the Mayor's home and Alex will show up - he'll mention buying a boat in the city of Madra to the south.
To reach Madra we'll first need to travel through an area called Dehkan Plateau. From Daila you'll want to travel southeast and pass over a few bridges before you finally reach Dehkan Plateau. The first mechanic here that you'll notice is the holes in the ground and cracked ground. You can step on each crack once, the second time you step on it you'll fall through. After falling through the hole exit out of the room to the south and climb down the vine for a chest that contains the Full Metal Vest item, this is a great upgrade for Felix.
Continue through the dungeon and you will come across large gray pillars. When you jump on them they'll crack much like the floors in the previous room. In the next area you'll have more cracked floor tiles, one thing to note is you can actually jump over the holes in the ground in this dungeon! You may be thinking if you walk into them you'll fall down but you don't, you only fall down if you break the tile you're standing on. If you want to collect all of the optional treasure I do recommend though that you fall through and explore every room!
Normally I won't point out optional treasures but since the past few items have been so good I feel kind of obligated. For the puzzle shown in my screenshot above you'll want to jump onto the pillar to Felix's right, jump off and then jump back on. This will cause the pillar to crumble which allows you to climb up the vines and loot the chest for Themis' Axe.
After getting this chest you will have to leave the area and come back to restore the pillars to their former glory. To continue with the dungeon follow the pillars up north to the next area, you'll run into a Djinni in this area and this is the next puzzle of the dungeon. Follow it through the dungeon until you watch it use Pound on a pillar, you'll have to backtrack after this until you find an area with some pillars that have vines growing on them. From here it will be mostly smooth sailing, you'll have a few more pillars you need to move using the Move Psynergy and a few more pillars you'll have to jump on to break apart.
Eventually you will come to the room in my screenshot below. The Djinni will be sitting in the middle of the room and you can't get close to it because it will use Pound on you.
What you have to do is walk across the tiles so that we can go through the other exit at the bottom of the room. This will let us circle back around on the outside where we can drop in from above and hit Cannon on the head. This will cause him to drop the Pound Cube item which allows us to progress further through the dungeon and catch him.
Head over to my Djinni Locations (Part 1) Guide for more information about how to get this Djinni. You'll pass right by him and catching him is rather easy. After you pass the Djinni it's a straight shot from here to the end of the dungeon.
Drop through the hole in the ground here to get to Cannon
Back on the World Map you'll pass a ship to the south of the dungeon. You can enter the ship for a scene but we can't do anything there for the time being. Our destination is actually Indra Cavern which is found to the west of this ship. Inside this cavern you can use the Move and Lash Psynergy to clear the way to a Stone Tablet which will teach you how to summon Zagan.
After getting this tablet leave the dungeon and travel far to the south. There is another Djinni by the name of Iron which you can find by exploring the Overworld in this area. Check out my Djinni Locations (Part 1) Guide for screenshots of the exact location for you to hunt. All you have to do is run around in that area and get into random encounters, Iron will show up.
For advancing the story you'll want to find the town of Madra. It's to the northeast of where we found Iron (the Djinni) and it's to the southeast of the previous dungeon.
Inside of Madra you'll want to visit the Inn and the various shops to do all of the normal town stuff. To get the chest that you see in town you'll want to exit from the 2F of the Inn and run across the tents - you can jump from them to the cliff with the chest. Inside is a Nurse's Cap which is an upgrade for one of your characters & it's an item you can use while on the field to heal your team mates! You'll use this item up quick but I recommend you grab it now as it is quite nice.
When you're ready to continue with the story you'll want to enter the building in the bottom left of town to watch a scene with another Psynergy Adept. There will be two villagers guarding the door to this location, it's hard to miss. After watching this scene use the Mind Read Psynergy on the Adept and then exit the building. Next up, you'll next need to go down into the Madra Catacombs.
The entrance we need to take into the catacombs is in the eastern most portion of the town, as you enter the town you'll run up a few sets of stairs, go east in this area and you'll find a graveyard. Behind the graveyard surrounded by trees you'll find a ladder down, it's this ladder that we need to take. The other entrance won't put us in the right spot.
Once you're in Madra Catacombs continue along the linear path to find an ancient underground city that's long since been abandoned. Use the Move Psynergy on the pillar you come across that blocks your way. You'll be lead to a chest with the Tremor Bit item inside of it, this will teach whatever character equips it the Tremor Psynergy.
After you've gotten the Tremor Bit you're free to leave this dungeon, there is nothing else we can do here currently. We're done with Madra at this point too so exit out of town and travel northeast. Our next destination is Yampi Desert, on our way here we'll have to pass through the Madra Drawbridge and Osenia Cliffs.
Madra Drawbridge has two guards who won't let you pass unless you get permission from Madra. We got permission during the scene with the Adept in Madra who was locked in prison. Osenia Cliffs has a chest you can reach by jumping across the destroyed ship and using Lash. Inside the chest will be a Pirate's Sword which is a major upgrade for Jenna.
Cross the Osenia Cliffs and then travel southeast once you're back on the World Map to reach Yampi Desert.
The first part of this dungeon is straight forward, you'll encounter some villagers on your way through and eventually a Jupiter Djinni. As usual I recommend you check out my Djinni Locations (Part 1) Guide if you're having trouble reaching this Djinni. Once you get this Djinni you'll want to slide down in the area southeast of it and continue east through the dungeon. The next area you come across will have a Psynergy Stone which will restore all of your PP. A boss is coming up so you should grab this now to prepare for it.
Pound the pillar down above the Psynergy Stone and continue up one map. In this map you'll see a sand pile that is quickly moving around in the shape of a square, this is actually the boss of the dungeon but we'll have to chase it around before we're able to fight it. Pound the pillar down that the scorpion keeps moving through and you will force it to change areas.
Follow the scorpion to the next area and we'll have to do the same trick here, but it's a bit more complicated. You have to wait for the right moment otherwise the scorpion will just swim in circles. If you mess up exit the map and return to reset the puzzle. My advice is to wait until the scorpion is moving horizontally to smash the pillar down. He'll keep moving when you're in the menu trying to use the Psynergy though so keep that in mind.
When you do it right the scorpion will exit this map to the north, follow it again to continue. The next map is the same as the previous one, you'll have to time your Pound just right to force the scorpion into an enclosed area to the north. Once it is trapped approach it to engage it in combat.
Beating this boss will get you the Scoop Gem item which will teach whoever has it equipped the Scoop Psynergy. When the fight is over equip the Scoop Gem and use Scoop on the small sand pile between the four rocks, this will take us back upstairs. I recommend you use Retreat on Felix to return to the entrance of the dungeon, the next part that we have to do is closer to the entrance than where we are now.
Use Scoop on the sand pile above to reveal a ladder
From the entrance travel east until you find the group of villagers in the desert, go directly south of them and you'll find the location I am standing in the picture above. Use Scoop on the sand pile here and you'll reveal the ladder down. Continue along the linear path and you'll come out right by the villagers, there will be a short scene when they notice you after which you can continue north.
In the next map area you'll find numerous sand piles that you can use Scoop on. The bottom right pile has 315 Coins inside of it, the rest won't have anything. North of this area you'll find a room with a sand conveyor belt puzzle, the chest near the entrance has a Hard Nut. Jokes aside it gives a permanent defense boost so it's worth getting.
My advice for this puzzle is try to run horizontally when you need to make a sharp turn, don't try to run against the sand because you don't get anywhere doing that. When you want to make it to an area run upwards and horizontally towards your exit. The chest at the top of the room requires you to use Pound to bash down the pillar in front of it (do this from the small pocket right next to it), inside you'll find a Blow Mace. It's a powerful weapon but if you don't like this sort of puzzle it isn't a big deal if you skip it.
The next room will have more sand conveyor belt puzzles, you will have to run across them to get to the tippy top and then drop down right where you need to go. You'll find the exit in the top right of this map; there is an exit to the south too but for now we want to go this route. Exit the dungeon here and you will find yourself back on the World Map. Northwest of where you are there will be a town, enter it.
Note: Technically the game has two routes that you can do at this point. The northern exit of Yampi Desert leads us to Alhafra and the southern exit leads us to Mikasalla, Garoh and Air's Rock. Which route you'd like to follow is entirely up to you, the Alhafra route is the harder of the two and may require some grinding/leveling before you can beat Briggs.
Completing Alhafra now will allow you to recruit Piers into your party sooner (if you do the other stuff related to recruiting him). The other route has two Djinn for us to find and the dungeon Air's Rock which will teach us a new Psynergy, Reveal. If you find Briggs too challenging or if you'd rather do Air's Rock first skip to the next Chapter then return here once you're finished with that dungeon.
Continue to Golden Sun: The Lost Age - Walkthrough Chapter 2