The following is a miniature, spoiler-free walkthrough for Golden Sun that is for players who dont want to be led by the hand throughout the entire game, but want to make sure that theyre not missing anything important or valuable from the previous dungeon before moving on to the next town or dungeon.
Golden Sun is a classic RPG for the Game Boy Advance that features a robust Psynergy (magic) system. One of the most useful Psynergies in the game is Growth, which allows you to manipulate plants to help solve puzzles and progress through dungeons. However, Growth can be tricky to obtain if you don’t know where to look. In this article, we’ll walk through the different methods of acquiring Growth in Golden Sun so you can make the most of this versatile Psynergy.
Overview of Growth Psynergy
Growth is an Venus Psynergy that is available to the Brute, Scrapper, Miko, and Seer classes in Golden Sun It allows the user to cast a spell that causes vines, flowers, and other plants to rapidly grow and take over an area This is useful for manipulating the environment to create bridges, open new paths, and find hidden items.
At its base Level 1 form, Growth has a power rating of 20 and costs 2 Psynergy Points (PP) to cast. As you gain experience levels, Growth becomes more powerful and efficient, culminating in the Level 4 spell Mad Growth which has a power rating of 180 and only costs 7 PP.
Here is a quick overview of when each class gains access to Growth
- Brute: Learns Growth at Level 1
- Scrapper: Learns Growth at Level 1
- Miko: Learns Growth at Level 2
- Seer: Learns Growth at Level 3
All classes learn the powered-up version Mad Growth at Level 12. The final upgrade Wild Growth is learned by Brute at Level 28 and all other classes at Level 29.
Now that you understand what Growth does and when each class gets it, let’s look at how you actually obtain this useful Psynergy in the game.
Getting Growth as a Starting Psynergy
The easiest way to get Growth is to choose a class that starts with it naturally. As mentioned above, both the Brute and Scrapper classes begin with Growth learned at Level 1.
So if you want early access to Growth, simply select Brute or Scrapper when choosing your character’s class at the start of the game. You’ll be able to start using Growth right away to manipulate plants and proceed through puzzles and dungeons that require it.
The Brute and Scrapper classes are well-suited for heavy physical combat, so combining early Growth access with strong battle skills is a great way to breeze through Golden Sun’s early-game content.
Learning Growth by Leveling Up
If you selected the Miko or Seer classes, Growth won’t be available immediately, but you can obtain it by gaining experience levels.
As your characters defeat enemies and complete quests, they will earn EXP that increases their level. Miko characters will learn Growth once they reach Level 2, while Seers must achieve Level 3 first.
The levels come quickly in the early stages of Golden Sun, so you won’t need to grind for long before your Miko or Seer characters unlock Growth. Just be sure to choose Venus-aligned Djinn during battles to boost your Venus experience gains.
Also keep in mind that using Growth frequently once unlocked will help it level up in power and efficiency.
Teaching Growth Via Transfer
Another way to obtain Growth is by transferring it from a character who already knows the Psynergy to one who does not. This requires having at least one party member with access to Growth.
To transfer Growth, open the Psynergy menu and select Growth. Choose the “Transfer” option, then pick the character you want to teach Growth to. There are no restrictions on Transfer – any Psynergy can be taught to any party member this way.
Transfer makes obtaining Growth easy regardless of your initial class choices. As soon as one character learns it, you can pass Growth to the entire party.
Finding Growth Tablets
Throughout the lands of Weyard in Golden Sun, you can sometimes stumble across colored tablets engraved with the icon of a particular Psynergy. Interacting with these tablets permanently teaches that Psynergy to the lead party member.
Keep an eye out for light-green tablets engraved with plant icons – these Growth Tablets will instantly grant the Growth Psynergy regardless of the character’s class or level. Finding just one of these tablets is all you need to obtain Growth.
The tablets are often hidden in out-of-the-way nooks and treasure chests, so be diligent in exploring the world to discover them. With a Growth Tablet, even characters who normally learn Growth late can acquire it much sooner.
Making Use of Growth Psynergy
Once you’ve obtained the Growth Psynergy through any of the methods described above, you’ll be able to make use of its unique properties. Here are some ways Growth can be useful as you journey across Weyard:
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Manipulate vines, flowers, and bushes to open new paths and find hidden items. Growth can provide access to treasure chests or secret caves blocked off by thick vegetation.
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Form bridges of vines and plants across gaps and chasms to reach new areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. Growth offers navigation options that even the Lift Psynergy can’t match.
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Solve puzzles in dungeons by growing plants in strategic locations marked with Vine Symbols. This is often necessary to unlock sealed doors and proceed deeper into dungeons.
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During battle, Growth can be used to ensnare enemies in thick vines, preventing them from moving or attacking for a short time. This can buy you valuable time to heal or set up a more powerful attack.
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As Growth levels up, it gains increased range, duration, and power. Maxed-out Growth can manipulate entire rooms full of plants for extended periods.
Exploring Weyard to the fullest means keeping Growth handy. Whenever you see vines blocking a path or puzzles that involve manipulating plants, Growth is the Psynergy you’ll want access to. Follow the acquisition methods outlined in this guide, and you’ll have Growth available to overcome nearly any plant-based obstacle the game throws at you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I get Growth Psynergy?
If you can’t seem to get Growth on a character, make sure you have met one of the acquisition requirements:
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Choose the Brute or Scrapper class which starts with Growth learned.
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Reach Level 2 for Miko or Level 3 for Seer so Growth unlocks automatically.
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Teach it via Transfer from a character who already knows it.
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Find and interact with a Growth Tablet in the world.
Do I need a Venus Adept to use Growth?
No, Growth can be used by any party member once acquired. The initial availability depends on having Venus as one of your Djinn alignments, but any class can equip Growth.
Can I get Growth on Isaac?
Yes, as the main protagonist, Isaac has access to any Psynergy in the game. Choose Brute or Scrapper class for him to start with Growth, or use Transfer or a Tablet later on.
Does using Growth a lot help it level up?
Yes, frequently using Psynergies like Growth in battle will power them up faster. Make sure to cast Growth often once acquired so it evolves into stronger versions.
Where can I find Growth Tablets?
Growth Tablets are often hidden in treasure chests or side areas off the main path. Explore every possible nook and cranny; a Growth Tablet can appear in any map where plant manipulation is needed.
Conclusion
With its ability to manipulate plants and bridge obstacles, Growth is one of the most useful Psynergies in Golden Sun. By choosing the right starting class, leveling up wisely, teaching it via Transfer, or finding hidden tablets, you can obtain Growth on any character. Use this guide to acquire Growth as early as possible and make the most of its environment-altering powers as you journey across Weyard and uncover its secrets. The versatile Growth should be a staple Psynergy in any RPG fan’s arsenal.
Optional Lunpa Sidequest[]
- An involved sidequest back on Angara is open now that you have the Cloak Psynergy. To return to Angara, go east along the bottom of the Karagol Sea, enter the cave location named Gondowan Cave, and the short dungeon-esque area – with chests containing an Apple and a Lucky Medal – functionally becomes the “bridge” between continents you may use from here on out when youre done solving it. Now back on Angara, travel all the way north to access the town of Lunpa through the nearby cave.
- Use the Cloak Psynergy in the shadows of the walls to the left at the guarded entrance to the Lunpa Fortress dungeon to sneak past the guards invisibly, and once inside the cavernous complexes of the fortress, keep using Cloak to remain invisible amongst the shadowy areas to avoid being detected by patrolling brigands (some generate their own light sources representing their line of sight which you must stay out of). While you can be detected by and fight brigands with red caps safely, being detected by brigands with green caps instantly places you back outside Lunpa Fortress, and youll have to start all over again. You first need to remotely acquire the Cell Key by using Catch on it from above, which opens up green cell doors, and one of the cell doors youd have to backtrack a good ways to afterward contains a room with a cache that includes the Mythril Circlet equipment and a Lucky Medal. When you go down to a more cavernous basement level of the floor, a Power Bread is in a chest in one of the three rooms behind green cell doors. After using reveal to make it to the last room, a cutscene leads to the boss battle with Toadonpa, and after winning it, another extended cutscene eventually leads you back out of Lunpa Fortress. Completing this sidequest will reward you in Golden Sun: The Lost Age if this game file is used for data transfer.
- Now back in Lunpa outside, the shops have reopened, and several powerful late-game artifacts such as the War Gloves can be bought. When you attempt to leave Lunpa through the cave, an extended cutscene triggers, and eventually you are presented with a choice of whether you want to stay in Lunpa or return to Kalay; it ultimately does not matter at all which you pick, as there are valuable things to get both in Lunpa and in Kalay as rewards for completing Lunpa Fortress. Whether you elect to remain in Lunpa or go to Kalay and return to Lunpa afterward, you will then be able to re-enter and sneak your way through Lunpa Fortress all over again – the point being that when you get to the room of the elderly Donpa and talk with him, he will give you the sixth Mercury Djinni, Tonic.
- Whether you elect to be taken to Kalay or let yourself travel to Kalay later, a cutscene occurs in the throne room of Kalays palace. As a result of completing Lunpa Fortress, the gates that blocked off certain routes through Kalay Tunnel have been removed, so now you can get to an area where a cache of four chests contains, among other things, a Lucky Medal. With these chests is a statue that you should move up and left to block the waterfall, so that you can get to a chest containing the Spirit Gloves equipment. Finally, you can climb upstairs to a cave-like area with a waterfall and a chest containing an Apple. With all these treasures looted, you may return through Gondowan Cave to Gondowan, and proceed on your main journey.
Trip to Gondowan[]
- Go southwest of Lama Temple to enter the next dungeon-style location, Lamakan Desert, which holds many secrets within its circular stones that are perceivable with the Reveal Psynergy, the most valuable of which are the Vulcan Axe, a Lucky Pepper, a Mint, and the fourth Jupiter Djinni, Smog, which is not fought. At the large sandfall at the end, use Reveal to perceive the end boss, the Manticore, and defeat it. Then pass through its cave to leave Lamakan Desert. As soon as you get out onto the overworld, take the upper of the two immediately visible bridges and fight in the enclosed “island” space until you fight and earn the fourth Venus Djinni, Vine. Travel west to the town of Kalay.
- Shop in Kalay, then go into the inn and talk with the innkeeper so that when you next leave the town, a long cutscene involving a tour group transpires. Get to the statue at the upper right corner of the main town area, move it out of the way, and enter Kalay Tunnel, which at this point only lets you collect the nearby fourth Mars Djinni, Scorch. Go back out and go to Kalays Palace, where a lengthy series of cutscenes ensues. Afterward, find the Water Jacket in one chest in the palace. Technically, your next destination after Kalay would be Kalay Docks to the southwest, but before that, you should travel up north to pay return visits to Vale and Vault.
- Pay a return visit to your hometown, Vale, and engage in cutscenes with the family members of Isaac and Garet. Go to the left screen where Kradens cottage is, use Lift on the boulder to the left of that, and you can access the optional dungeon Vale Cave. A pretty small dungeon; the only collectibles of note are the Halt Gem that bestows the Halt Psynergy, which you are to use on the Djinni that otherwise eludes you so that you can collect it, your fifth Jupiter Djinni, Kite.
- Pay a return visit to Vault, and talk with the town mayor to learn that the thieves from before fled; this will reward you in Golden Sun: The Lost Age if this game file is used for data transfer. Climb onto the towns wall perimeter counterclockwise to climb up on the wooden tower to the upper right, ring the bell so that a Venus Djinni jumps to an elevated cave exit. Then go down to the cemetery and use Reveal to gain access to the optional dungeon Vault Cave. An average-sized dungeon that has as its only material reward the Vambrace equipment and the Djinni you scared earlier, the fifth Venus Djinni, Sap.
- You can enter the cave to the left of the sealed-off town of Lunpa, using the Frost Psynergy on the puddle under the half-lifted gate to gain entrance into the town itself. While a full town, there is currently not much you can do here because the shops are closed and the dungeon north of town cannot be properly snuck into and explored until a later sidequest. A cache of goodies, including a Lucky Medal, is located in a room in a small cliff face on the lower-left area of town, reachable with the combined usage of the Reveal and Frost Psynergies on the top area of town, and there is another Lucky Medal in the lone box in the upper-right house. Leave the town through the cave. Technically, at this point you can travel all the way back to Bilibin Cave and use Reveal on a cave wall to access an elevated pathway to a room containing a Psy Crystal and Water of Life, but this is not often considered necessary.
- Enter Kalay Docks, buy the Boat Ticket for 600 coins, and use it to gain admittance onto the Tolbi-bound Ship. The storage room below the mast contains a Lucky Medal, located in a barrel at the end of the room. An extremely lengthy procession of cutscenes occur, during which you will have to climb the mast, find the Anchor Charm, and give it to the boat captain. Then going belowdecks to where the oarsmen are will set off the voyage across the Karagol Sea. During this, four scripted battles will occur, with the fourth being a tough boss battle against the Kraken. At the end of each of the four battles, you will have to select one of the passengers to be replacement oarsmen. How you choose your oarsmen determines where the ship ends up in its voyage; ordinarily, the player will likely end up at Tolbi Docks as intended. However, if the rowers on the right are weaker than the rowers on the left (the bald man, then the blonde lady, then the purple merchant/tour guide, and finally the senile old man are one possible configuration that works for this purpose), the ship will veer off course up north and stop at the secret island dungeon Crossbone Isle.
- If you end up at Crossbone Isle during your voyage across the Karagol Sea, agree to explore the island on your own. The first four floors of the ten-floor dungeon are accessible to your partys abilities at this point, thus meaning that the first four of the scripted “mini-boss encounters” at the front doors of each floor can be fought (the Hobgoblin, 2 Grislys and 1 Succubus, 2 Fiendish Ghouls and 1 Lich, and 2 Gryphons, specifically). You wont have the Cloak Psynergy needed to solve the fourth floor, but the treasures you can get up to this point include a Mint, a Hard Nut, a Lucky Pepper, a Cookie, the Mystery Blade weapon, and the Fairy Ring. Return to the ship, and the voyage will resume until youve reached Tolbi Docks on the continent of Gondowan.