Matthew (Golden Sun)
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| Official artwork of Matthew | |
| Matthew | |
| Species | Human |
| Hair color | Blonde |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Relatives | Kyle (grandfather) Dora (grandmother) Isaac (father) Jenna (mother) Felix (uncle) |
| Debut | Golden Sun: Dark Dawn |
Matthew is the primary hero of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. He is the son of the legendary hero Isaac, who was the star of the previous Golden Sun games and was much like his father, down to his alignment as a Venus Adept.
Background[edit]
Matthew was born to two of the legendary Heroes of Vale, Isaac and Jenna. He was described as being like his father due to being a person of "few words but strong convictions". He also inherited his mother's "bright and determined spirit". Isaac brought him up in his cabin at Goma Plateau. Garet raised his own son Tyrell alongside Matthew, so the two were close enough to be like brothers. They were also close to Ivan's daughter Karis, who made various visits to their cabin over the years. He met several of their parents' friends from time to time, such as the scholar Kraden, who once visited them. Over the years, Isaac trained Matthew in swordplay and the usage of Earth Psynergy, as he showed as much promise as Isaac had in his youth.
One day, Matthew was called into action when Tyrell had gotten lost in Tanglewood after impulsively testing the soarwing that Ivan had made for them. They were worried, but Isaac saw this as an opportunity to test Matthew and Karis's developing abilities. Isaac and Garet decided that they would accompany Matthew and Karis during the trek through Tanglewood, only stepping in when they truly needed help and dispensing useful advice. They were able to navigate Tanglewood successfully and found the cave in which Tyrell had taken refuge, finding the totaled soarwing outside. They entered the cave to find that Tyrell was unconscious, his Psynergy drained by a mysterious Psynergy Vortex that had recently appeared in the cave. They were able to save Tyrell and return him to the cabin, where he came to his senses. Isaac decided to send Matthew and Tyrell on a journey to find a new feather from the mountain roc, which they needed to build a new soarwing. Karis wanted to come along as well, and Isaac soon decided to arrange for them to meet with Kraden at Carver's Camp so that he could guide them towards the mountain of the mountain roc. Isaac and Garet had to stay behind to continue their research of the local phenomena such as the Psynergy Vortexes.
They were sent out almost immediately. Only Garet saw them off, which confused Karis, although she realized that she should not pry into Matthew and Isaac's problems. Matthew's group set out and made preliminary preparations for the journey at Patch's Place, then passed the tests of the Psynergy Training Grounds before progressing to Carver's Camp. They found their progress blocked off there by a broken bridge, which Kraden had apparently been on the other side of. They received a message from Kraden that they could instead meet in the Konpa Ruins. Matthew's group explored the Konpa Ruins, and there Matthew was chosen to hold the Glyph Book. This acted as an invaluable tool for them in their quest in interpreting the various ancient runes. Progressing further into the ruins, they found Kraden with his apprentices Rief and Nowell just in time to save them from an attack by mysterious soldiers. Blados and his masked superior kidnapped Rief in the confusion, however, and they promised that they would release him at one of the two exits without specifying which. After some deliberation, they were forced to part ways with Kraden just shortly after meeting with him. Matthew's group checked the south exit, which Blados sealed behind them. They found Rief imprisoned in a box, but with the way back to Konpa Ruins blocked off, they were trapped in southern Angara until they could find a way of traversing the Khiren Mountains.
Rief joined their party and helped them to navigate the area. At Passaj, they found that the key to traversing the mountains was to activate their Alchemy Machine, the Alchemy Forge, which would give them clouds that they could travel on. They worked out how to operate it, but they found that they needed the Sol Mask from the Ouroboros Labyrinth to power it. For this, the group worked its way further southwards and wound up being caught in the war between Kaocho and Ayuthay. They also met the mysterious Chalis, who was manipulating Emperor Ko in her favor. Matthew's group was able to slip into Ayuthay and they were there joined by its prince Amiti, who was chosen to wield the Insight glass that they needed to navigate the labyrinth. Along the way, they also learned how to operate the active Alchemy Well machine at Ayuthay, which complemented the Alchemy Forge. After they retrieved the Sol Mask from the labyrinth, they finally returned to Passaj and activated the Alchemy Forge. After reversing it, they created the clouds that they needed to cross the mountains and reach the next area of Angara.
As they reached the town of Te Rya, the arrogant young Ryu Kyou initially barred their entrance until his mentor Hou Zan convinced him to let them in. Matthew found that Ryu was searching for his missing sister, Hou Jou whom had been captured by Morgal. They then made their way towards Morgal's capital Belinsk, which was supposed to be their new meeting place with Kraden. During their trek to Belinsk, they met Sveta, a friendly beastman who offered her help but not against the mountain roc. She soon departed from them for the time, but she promised to return to them when they arrived at Morgal and had the band there play Arangoa Prelude. At Belinsk, they found no sign of Kraden and also saw that the band did not have enough members to play the Arangoa Prelude. Matthew's group continued to explore the area, meeting the pirate Briggs at Port Rago, who tasked them with saving his son Eoleo, who was also being held captive at Belinsk. He gave them the Hermes' Water that they needed to heal Kolima's Dream Tree. They then made their way towards Kolima Forest to reach the mountain roc's domain. In the forest, they met with Tret and Laurel, who made them promise not to activate the Alchemy Dynamo that was hidden beneath Belinsk. As they ascended the mountain, they were accompanied by Ryu and Hou, whom had been given a Slap Glove that they could use to take the feather from the mountain roc. At the top of the mountain, they worked together to safely grab the feather, but Blados and Chalis then arrived. They taunted Matthew and openly claimed that they wanted the Magma Orb, stalling them until the mountain roc awoke and attacked them.
They slew the mountain roc in battle and found the Magma Orb within its carcass. Although Matthew wanted to keep his promise to Laurel, Ryu chose to take the Magma Orb and went off with Hou Zan as they saw it as the only key to Hou Ju's freedom. They returned to Belinsk as quickly as they could, and found that the band was ready to play the Arangoa Prelude. Sveta telepathically contacted them as a result of the mystical song and guided them into a hidden passageway leading to the Belinsk Ruins. They were reunited with Sveta, who rejoined their party and offered to help them free Eoleo and Hou Ju, but they found that the path to the Belinsk Castle had disappeared. They were left with no choice but to travel further into the ruins. At its deepest level, after meeting with Ryu and Hou, they reached the Alchemy Dynamo. Matthew's group was then confronted by the masked man also known as Arcanus along with Blados and Chalis. The latter two fought Matthew's group at this point, but Matthew was able to win against the two. The battle was only a diversion while Arcanus had Ryu Kou activate the Alchemy Dynamo with the Magma Orb despite their protests. They attempted to question Arcanus, who claimed to have only been honest despite their accusations of him having tricked them, but they then had to evacuate the ruins while the dynamo caused Luna Tower to rise.
The rise of the Luna Tower caused the Grave Eclipse to fall over part of Weyard, with new and vicious monsters appearing everywhere, as Matthew and his group slowly realized as they navigated Belinsk. At the castle, Volechek released both Eoleo and Hou Ju. Kraden also finally caught up with them and alerted them as to how grave their situation truly was. With Kraden's guidance, Matthew's group sought a way out of the city with Eoleo after they parted ways with Ryu's group. They reached the harbor and found Briggs's ship waiting for them, only to find that Briggs had been fatally wounded by the monsters. They quickly used the ship to escape Belinsk and buried Briggs at sea. Eoleo joined Matthew's party at this point, determined to avenge his father's death. They spent some time sailing in search of ways to undo the Eclipse. They discovered the mysterious Third Eye and used it to awaken Himi at Yamata City. She became their last party member and helped to guide them. They also learned from Emperor Unan at Tonfon some secrets about the Apollo Lens, which was hidden along the Endless Wall and was the key to stopping the Eclipse. However, to reach it Matthew and his group needed three orbs to access the Wall as well as Umbra Gear to survive the intense light within the Apollo Sanctum. One of their first tasks was tracking down Ryu and his companions so that they could be give them the map which contained the locations of the Umbra Gear and so they could be returned to Tonfon. Hou Zan died shortly after they arrived, but Matthew's group was still able to return Ryu and Hou Ju safely to Tonfon and received the map.
After they collected the three orbs as well as the Umbra Gear, all of which were scattered across the ocean, they finally accessed the Endless Wall and made their way to Apollo Sanctum. There they found the Apollo Lens and set the orbs in place to power it. They encountered Arcanus, Blados and Chalis again, but Arcanus, or Alex was he was truly known, was apparently helping them by holding off Blados and Chalis while they prepared the Apollo Lens. They also learned more about Blados and Chalis's ties to the Dark Adepts of Tuaparang. Matthew's group was then blocked by the appearance of a confused Chaos Hound, which Blados and Chalis placed under their control and forced them to fight. After Matthew's group won, Blados and Chalis used Dark Binding to transform it into a fearsome Chaos Chimera. Matthew's group was still able to defeat the Chaos Chimera after an arduous battle, at which point it reverted into its original form, Volechek.
With their enemies defeated, their final problem was entering the Apollo Lens to truly activate it. Matthew tried several times, but he was repelled by the light each time and eventually taunted telepathically by Alex, who advised him to give up. It seemed that only Sveta could withstand the light due to having all of the Umbra Gear and she was set to try next, but she also decided to borrow some of Matthew's strength. This caused their souls to temporarily bond, and together they climbed up the staircase to the Apollo Lens. It looked like Sveta would sacrifice herself (and possibly Matthew as well) in activating the Apollo Lens, but at the last moment Volechek regained the strength to knock them off and activate it in their place. He was overwhelmed and killed while the Apollo Lens fired at Luna Tower, finally ending the Grave Eclipse. The citizens of Belinsk all thanked Matthew and his friends for their troubles, and the group then parted ways.
Matthew, Tyrell and Karis returned to Goma Plateau, intent on seeing Isaac and Garet again. However, the game ended with them stopping on the bridge to the cabin, being horrified to see a giant Psynergy Vortex welcoming them back.
Abilities[edit]
Matthew is a Venus Adept, which makes him attuned to earth-based Psynergies. However, most of his abilities are a variable depending on his class (which can change depending on which Djinn are assigned to him) and which special items he has equipped. The only Psynergies that he automatically knows or learns over the course of the game are Move, Growth and Retreat. In battle, he wields long swords, light blades, axes and maces. He is also the only character in this game who can wield the Gaia Blade and Sol Blade, like his father in the previous games.
Other Appearances[edit]
Video Games[edit]
- In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he appears as an Advanced-Rank Primary Spirit. When fought in a Spirit battle, he possesses Chrom in a battle where the Hothead item commonly appears.
Trivia[edit]
- In keeping with the previous games, he is a silent protagonist. The player can only choose "Yes" or "No" responses as well as one of four emotional responses at different points throughout dialogues. In the English version, he also has a censored word at the Apollo Lens which seems to represent swearing.
- His Japanese name is "Mut", which seems to be a play on "mute" in a metatextual jab at his silent nature.