The regular updates and additions to the classic game libraries included with the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service have set a high bar for 2024 with the addition of the first two Golden Sun games. Both Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age will arrive next Wednesday as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack tier, entering the ever-growing library of classic Game Boy Advance titles available on the system. Both titles are criminally underappreciated JRPGs that many fans have been clamoring for Nintendo to bring to modern platforms in some way, and their arrival on the Nintendo Switch Online service could, and should, just be the first sign of more to come for the languishing franchise.
Coming from talented developer Camelot, the Golden Sun series was Nintendo's flagship JRPG franchise that would prove to be a massive hit in Japan but somehow fail to find a mainstream audience in the West. The last game in the series to release was 2010's Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for the DS, and since then, fans have continually expressed interest in Nintendo continuing the franchise without that desire ever bearing fruit. The arrival of the first two Golden Sun games on the Nintendo Switch Online service comes after the series conspicuously got a shoutout at The Game Awards and could be a means for Nintendo to gauge interest in a franchise revival.
Golden Sun's Arrival on Switch Underscores 2024 as a Year for JRPGs
The surprise addition of the first two Golden Sun games onto Nintendo Switch Online is yet another notch in the JRPG genre's belt for 2024, joining several high-profile games set to release in just the first few months of the year. With new entries in the Persona and Final Fantasy franchises, two new IPs from Atlus, and the spiritual successor to the Suikoden series all arriving in 2024, it's safe to say that fans of the genre will have plenty to look forward to. The Golden Sun series' arrival on a modern platform not only helps to further underscore 2024 being "The Year of the JRPG," but it could be a chance for genre fans who missed out on the games initially to finally experience what makes them so highly regarded.
That's without even mentioning that their arrival comes just over a month after Abubakar Salim gave the series a shoutout on the stage of The Game Awards while announcing his debut title Tales of Kenzera: Zau. The timing of Golden Sun's presence on the Nintendo Switch is perfect for Nintendo to gauge interest in a franchise revival, building on the momentum of the games reaching a new audience all while the JRPG genre is at the forefront of the gaming conversation in 2024. The quality of the Golden Sun games places them right alongside the genre's greats despite being a languishing franchise, and Nintendo can and should build on the series' reintroduction to players as a means to have it join Pokemon and Xenoblade in the company's JRPG franchises.
Interestingly, Nintendo has already revealed that players will be able to facilitate the Golden Sun games' Link Battle and Data Transfer mechanics using the Internet rather than the GBA Link Cable previously required, which is also great news for the future addition of Game Boy Advance-era Pokemon games arriving on Nintendo Switch Online with full functionality. Golden Sun developer Camelot has continued to make games for Nintendo since the series' last entry on the DS, focusing mainly on the Mario sports titles that the studio is primarily known for. And, with Camelot's last Switch game being Mario Golf: Super Rush from 2021, the January update to Nintendo Switch Online could be a hint of things to come.