Track of the Week: The Elemental Stars (Golden Sun)

Relive one of Game Boy Advance’s best games with this week’s music selection!

By Kevin Knezevic. Posted 03/30/2014 12:00 1 Comment     ShareThis

After an excruciating wait, the first wave of Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games will finally be arriving in the Wii U eShop later this week. The initial lineup of titles is already quite impressive, with Advance Wars, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and Metroid Fusion leading the way on April 3, and it’ll only get better as they’re joined by the likes of Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, WarioWare, and Yoshi’s Island in the weeks to come.

Of all the Game Boy Advance games coming to the service this month, however, the one I’m personally most looking forward to is Golden Sun. So for this week’s track, I’ve chosen one of my favorite tunes from the game in anticipation of its re-release:

As one of the first role-playing games released for Game Boy Advance, Golden Sun set an early benchmark for the handheld, featuring a sweeping tale, a unique gameplay hook in the form of elemental Djinns, and some of the most beautiful visuals ever achieved on the console. The one aspect of the game that left the biggest impression on me, however, was its soundtrack. Grand and majestic, the music in Golden Sun perfectly suited the scale of its adventure, and the mock-orchestral feel of the compositions helped demonstrate just how technically superior Game Boy Advance’s speakers were to the primitive blips of Game Boy’s.

While this week’s selection may not be the most epic theme from the game, it’s certainly one of the most atmospheric. Without spoiling too much of the story for those who have yet to play Golden Sun, “The Elemental Stars” serves as the musical backdrop for the innermost chamber of Sol Sanctum, the temple in which the secrets of Alchemy are housed. Given the arcane nature of the setting and the forgotten knowledge it contains, the theme does a wonderful job of evoking a mystical atmosphere, making it one of the most memorable moments in the entire adventure.


What are some of your favorite Game Boy Advance tunes? Share them with us in the comments!

One Response to “Track of the Week: The Elemental Stars (Golden Sun)”

  • 156 points
    excaliburguy says...

    Great choice. Golden Sun and Fire Emblem Blazing Sword/Binding Blade have the best music on the handheld in my opinion. Motoi Sakuraba was on the top of his game for GS 1 and 2, the best he’s ever been, I think.

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