Dream Smashers – Isaac

In celebration of Golden Sun’s 15th birthday Isaac: Venus Adept has written a Dream Smashers article for the series protagonist Isaac. If you wish to contact him about anything then you can contact him via Smashboards.

Today this installment of Dream Smashers will cover the silent protagonist of Golden Sun; Isaac. Golden Sun is a series that has been practically begging to be represented in Smash and has lot of supporters vouching for a new installment. For a Nintendo owned series that has pushed the GBA to the limit, has a passionate fan base and has had successful sales across its first two installment it’s quite surprising we haven’t had  Isaac join the fray as of yet. Isaac was featured as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl where he used the psynergy `move’ to use his hands of psychic energy to push fighters off stage. Music for the series is present in both Brawl and Smash 4. Many fans were saddened by the removal of Isaac’s assist trophy from Smash 4 but including Isaac in a future installment would be more than enough to make up for it.

The Golden Sun series as of now consists of three games being Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age on the GBA and Golden Sun Dark Dawn on the Nintendo DS.

WHO IS ISAAC

Isaac is the main protagonist of the Golden Sun series and is the party leader and protagonist in the first installment. Golden Sun follows his journey to save the land of Weyard from the evil duo Saturos and Menardi from unleashing Alchemy by lighting all four lighthouses with the help of his best friend Garet as well as Ivan and Mia whom he meets along the way. Each party element has access to the elements with Garet being Mars (Fire), Mia being Mercury (Water), Ivan being Jupiter (Wind) and of course Isaac controlling Venus (Earth).He is what you call a Venus Adept which grants him the ability to control nature with recurring elements including rocks and plants. Venus represents courage and love which is two standout traits about Isaac. Matthew; whom is Isaac’s son in Dark Dawn is also as great as a Venus Adept as his father. He goes on his own journey in Dark Dawn taking after his father’s legacy. Due to Matthew’s very similar appearance to Isaac in the original Golden Sun he can be made available via an alternate costume similar to Alph.

Isaac and the crew

The four elemental djinn

Importance

Created by Camelot Software Planning, Golden Sun was released in 2001 and was a JRPG which spanned development of 13 months. The game was met with critical acclaim with critics praising its battle system, high quality graphic despite 32 bit limitations, music and it’s refinement of RPG game-play.  The game was so large that it had to be split into two games with part two coming in the form of the critically acclaimed sequel subtitled The Lost Age in 2002 taking place taking place directly after the first and featuring Felix as the protagonist. Players were able to take all their save data from the first into the second game via a password system. Both games sold really well with a total of 1.76 and 1.22 million copies in sales respectively. The series went into an 8 year hiatus until large amounts of fan demand led into the development of the game that would become Golden Sun Dark Dawn for the Nintendo DS in late 2010 taking place 30 years after The Lost Age and features Isaac’s son Matthew as the protagonist. Although Dark Dawn didn’t sell as well as the previous installments and had less positive reviews it was still considered as a solid entry in the franchise. The third game ended on a cliff-hanger and the series entered another hiatus.

Isaac is the most prominent and popular character in the entire series. He’s the first character people think of when referring to Golden Sun. He’s played the role of being a main protagonist and an important side character and mentor as Matthew’s father in Golden Sun Dark Dawn.

Isaac as an assist trophy in Brawl

Golden Sun is a beloved cult-classic on the GBA which proved the graphical and sound capabilities of the GBA and became the first true RPG classic for the system and pushed the limits of what the GBA can achieve also helping to kick-start the system. It was a key title in the GBA’s library even with the horrible marketing for the game. Golden Sun is well known to many Nintendo fans as a solid Nintendo owned RPG franchise and is its most popular traditional turn based RPG. There has been a tremendous amount of fan support including Isaac’s inclusion in both fan games Project M and Super Smash Flash 2 as well as being featured in Artsy Omni’s Smashified series.

Isaac Smashified by Colossal Cake

How will Isaac Play?

Sprites by TheAnvil, Recolors by Nantendo

Similar to other fighters such as Shulk and Lucina, Isaac and Matthew’s alternate costumes are based on other party members featured in the Golden Sun games. Isaac has alts based off Garet, Ivan and Mia respectively while Matthew has costumes based off Tyrell, Karis and Rief. Each color represents the four elemental psynergies based on their wielders.

• Can they crawl: No
• Can they wall jump: No
• How many jumps do they have: 2
• Is there any exclusive abilities they have*: No
• Weight Class: D+
• Height Class: C+
• Speed Class: C
• Are they mirrored when they face left: No

The Golden Sun universe icon

In terms of play-style Isaac can be focused on powerful attacks made from a distance but will struggle with attacking enemies at close range, this emulates the battle system of Golden Sun as all attacks are made from a distance such as using a leap attack, projectiles, pushing opponents back etc and will encourage strategic thinking. This means that spacing is a crucial aspect of playing Isaac well, as he’s a powerful force if he’s in the required space from his opponent. The moves Isaac will use will consist of various Venus psynergy moves as well additional moves given to him by djinn.                                                                                                                                         

Isaac using djinns to perform a summon

Kirby Hat: Kirby obtains Isaac’s golden hair and scarf as well as gaining the ability to perform Ragnorok

Credit to Neshirys

MOVE NAME	DESCRIPTION
Entrance Animation	Reverse of the retreat psynergy where orbs will form into Isaac as he spins around briefly and unsheathes his sword.
Jumping	Isaac jumps just as he does when he jumps onto a platform in his games even making the same sound effect and for his double jump; Isaac will lifted upward by a whirlwind of rocks
Walking	Isaac will remain holding his sword while strafing forward
Running	Isaac sheathes his sword and runs in a fashion just like he does in the over-world of Golden Sun
Idle	Isaac’s idle animation is his default battle stance in Golden Sun where he’s holding his sword in both hand in a diagonal position.
Getting hit	Isaac will make the same pose he makes when receiving damage in Golden Sun.
Swimming	Isaac will swim like other characters but he’ll have three rings above his head which will slowly deplete until he drowns.
Drowning	The drowning animation is the same for when Isaac drowns in the Mercury lighthouse. His arms are raised and three lines come near his head representing shock
Item Holding	Isaac’s psynergy hand will grab the item for him
Grabbing large objects	Isaac’s hand will perform the psynergy lift where two hands would carry the crate from both directions.
Sleep Animation	Isaac will fall asleep as he stabs his sword in the ground and rests on his knee as his sleep bubbles are replaced by Z’s.
Neutral/Jabs	Isaac leaps forward and strikes with his sword just likes the standard attack command in Golden Sun and then performs the Odyssey psynergy where two blades will strike the opponent with Isaac thrusting forward and dealing the finishing blow
Dash Attack- Quick Strike	A quick and powerful strike where Isaac rapidly leaps and strikes his foe.
Up Tilt- Punji	A  plant that resembles bamboo will grow under the opponent launching him or her upwards
Forward Tilt	Isaac will perform growth where he will grow vines out of his arms and use them as a whip like weapon. More stronger at the far area of the vines and a tool recommended for spacing.
Down Tilt	Isaac uses the weasel claw to slash his enemies while crouching
Up Smash	Isaac summons Gaia which is a glowing force of rocks rising upwards and works similar to Lucas’s up smash but from a distance and smaller.
Side Smash- Flint/Sap	Using the djinn known as Flint Isaac will charge his sword until it glows yellow and leap forward dealing powerful damage. If held even longer Isaac can absorb health from enemies.
Down Smash-Thorn	Isaac will strike the ground which will summon a large amount of thorns to rise from the ground, attacking the short radius surrounding Isaac and is a multi-hitting attack.
Neutral Air-Rock fall	Isaac will summon a large amount of small falling rocks to fall in front of him once in quick action. Has the same attack radius as Mewtwo’s neutral air
Back Air	Isaac will swipe his hands behind performing the flaming psynergy Blast which gives a short lived explosion of sparks from his palms.
Up Air -Astral Blast	Shoot a continuous beam of five stars upwards similar to Megaman’s Up air.
Down Air- Planet Diver	Once Isaac is in the air he’ll face his sword in a downward diagonal position as he descends quickly dealing multiple hits.
Forward Air-Skull Splitter	Isaac thrusts his sword forward in the air and if you successfully sweet-spot the tip of the sword on your opponent’s head, Isaac will perform a meteor smash.
Grab-Grip	From a specific distance Isaac uses a psynergy hand to take a hold of his opponent. Can even grab an opponent who is in midair and can be used as a tether recovery.
Pummel-Grind	Isaac’s psynergy hand will repeatedly crush his foes while they’re trapped in his palms
Up Throw	Isaac uses the psynergy Death Plunge which similar to Kirby allows him to grab his opponents, take them into the air and swiftly slam them back onto the ground.
Forward Throw	Isaac uses Annihilation, furiously dashing forward and striking his foe which makes a kanji symbol in the process
Back Throw	Isaac uses backstab which allows him to teleport behind his opponent and strike.
Down Throw-Sabre Dance	Isaac will summon multiple smaller swords which will spin around and then all strike the grabbed opponent at once
Neutral Special 1- Ragnorok	Isaac summons a magical red sword of energy which strikes the earth from a distance. Although difficult to land, it can deal impressive damage.
Neutral Special 2- Thunder Clap	Isaac summons a ray of lightning which strikes his foes at the same range of Ragnorok. Quicker and deals less damage with electrical effect
Neutral Special 3- Meggido	Using the Sol-blade’s signature attack, Isaac will strike down a meteorite at his foes. It strikes at a slightly higher angle and is chargeable.
Side Special 1 – Move	Isaac summons a hand of psychic energy which damages in small amounts without a flinching effect and pushes opponent back with a wind-box. It also has the ability to block projectiles. Way smaller than how it was used in his Brawl assist trophy  and the distance it reaches depends on how much is charged
Side Special 2 – Force	Isaac summons a hand of psychic in a powerful punching motion which is slower and travels less than Move but deals more damage and knockback
Side Special 3-Slap	Isaac uses a psynergy hand to slap his opponent. This causes them to spin around and trip. This is mostly used for mix-ups and spacing and not for offence as it doesn’t deal damage.
Up Special 1 – Spire	Isaac summons a stalactite from under his feet which will fall below him also propelling Isaac upwards. If the sharp tip of the stalactite hits an enemy they will be meteor smashed.
Up Special 2-Avalanche	Instead of a single large stalactite, Isaac will allow a large number of smaller stalactites to fall under him. Smaller damage but has a larger radius of attack
Up Special 3-Teleport	Instead of launching himself upwards from rock, Isaac will instead simply teleport upwards with where he teleports being influenced by the direction he moves. Distance he goes up is very high but at the same time cannot damage opponents
Down Special 1 – Quake	Isaac will summon a controllable spell circle on the ground he can manipulate. When the player releases the button a pillar of earth will rise from the ground. Useful for spacing and to save Isaac from air juggling.
Down Special 2: Earthquake	Isaac  summons multiple rock pillars from both directions. Unlike Quake it can’t be controlled and deals far less damage.
Down Special 3-Granite	Isaac uses the spell circle to summon a stationary pillar of earth in the ground. This pillar of earth is useful for defending against multiple different attacks but otherwise can’t deal damage.
Final Smash  – Judgement	Isaac will summon a spire out of the ground; if opponents are caught he’ll use four Venus djinn to summon the all powerful angelic knight Judgement. A cutscene will play where Judgement would spread out its wings and fly high in the sky, then charge its almighty Lion Shield and raining down a large blast onto the enemies below. The cutscene will end and opponents will be launched.
Up Taunt	Isaac will raise his sword upwards similarly to when he’s summoning a move in Golden Sun
Side Taunt	A Djinn will fly out from Isaac, hop a bit in front of him, before lunging at him causing Isaac to step back in surprise. Similar to when you find a Djinn in the wild.
Down Taunt	Isaac will cross his palms and chuckle as the emoticon appears
Shield-Protector	Isaac does the same pose as when performing the Shield Pysnergy, although he uses the standard Smash Bros shield. If in a future installment they decide to give characters unique shields then Isaac will use the one in the picture.
Spot/Air dodge- Cloak ball	Isaac will put on the invisible cloak and briefly turn invisible while dodging enemy attack
Forward Roll- Sand	Isaac will materialise himself into sand and slips through under his opponent
Back Roll	Isaac will leap backwards just like when dodging an attack in his original game
Dizzy Animation	Isaac will be cast in delusion where purple smoke and stars will appear above his head as he put his palms on his face
Victory Animation 1	Isaac sheathes his sword and smiles at the screen while landing his idle pose from Brawl
Victory Animation 2	The Flint djinn flies around Isaac as he looks at it and smiles
Victory Animation 3	Isaac sheathes his sword and faces his hand towards the screen as it emits green energy while Isaac grunts violently
Losing Animation	Isaac looks down towards the ground and his psynergy hands do the clapping

Isaac’s victory theme is a flourished remix of the victory song in Golden Sun when defeating an enemy and loops infinitely similarly to Cloud’s victory theme

So this concludes this installment of Dream Smashers. Overall Isaac is just oozing with Smash Bros potential, using Venus psynergy, items, summons and Djinn mixed in with a unique play-style of dealing huge damage at long range and being limited when opponents are at close range. The Golden Sun series as of now is in a long hiatus and requires a lot of fan demand in order for Camelot to make a new installment. Having Isaac in Smash could help increase that fan demand as it can give much needed exposure to a series close to me and a lot of other fans hearts just like Smash Bros has already done with series such as Fire Emblem and Kid Icarus. Hopefully I’ve convinced everyone how much Isaac deserves to be in Smash and how he can play. Hopefully in a future Smash installment we can finally have our golden boy join the ranks of the roster and the `golden sun’ will shine once again. And for those willing to give Golden Sun a try, you can play it on the Wii U eShop.

Super Smash Bros. can get this amazing series back into shape

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Joshua 'NantenJex' Goldie

A historian and avid gamer, NantenJex is the Editor-in-Chief for Source Gaming, overseeing videos and reviews for the site. He has a passion for obscure gaming so any article you see on uncommon titles like Nazo no Murusame Jo, Yuyuki and Marvelous, to name a few, are most likely from him. He also likes game design leading to the creation of Dream Smashers, a series on potential newcomers for Super Smash Bros. He wants you all to know that Yoshi is objectively the best Nintendo character.

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