Unleash

An example of an Unleash is the "Shining Star" unleash effect of the Zodiac Wand.

An Unleash is a special attack randomly used in battle when selecting the Attack command. Unleashes are weapon-specific, meaning that equipping a different weapon will change the Unleash(es) available to the character. When an Unleash is triggered, the message "[Character]'s [weapon] lets out a howl! [Unleash name]!" will appear.

Basic Description

Across all games in the Golden Sun series, Unleashes have certain characteristics associated with them. Most unleashes are both a physical attack and connected to an element; the damage done is calculated by comparing the Adept's Attack rating to the target's Defense rating, just like a normal physical attack, then the Adept's Power with the element in question is compared against the target's Resistance to that element to determine how much the resultant damage is modified for better or worse.

Additionally, many Unleashes have an associated power rating. Besides the standard damage calculation describes above, some Unleashes add a set amount of base damage to the Adept's basic Attack, while others may multiply the attack's damage potential by a numerical factor. Some unleashes have an additional special effect, such as instantly downing the target, afflicting enemies with status conditions, replenishing HP or PP, or multiplying base damage two or three times.

When an unleash occurs, a new attack animation sequence is triggered, instead of the usual jump/slash enemy. Each unleash has a different animation sequence. The complexity of the sequence can sometimes vary, depending on the effects of the unleash. For example, the Tisiphone Edge's Unleash, Vengeance, changes slightly to reflect when its additional effect occurs. Normally, Vengeance shows three arrows being hitting the target. However, this number increases to five or seven when its damage multiplying effects kick in.

Under normal circumstances, an Unleash is an uncontrollable effect, activating at random when an Attack is selected. To this extent, Unleashes have a certain percentage attached which determines the rate of activation. This activation rate can be altered by equipping special equipment that increases this rate, and referred to in the equipment description as Increasing Criticals. Increasing the Unleash activation rate to its highest possible level is a common strategy for high-Attack Adepts using damage-multiplying Unleashes, as it allows for high amounts of damage.

Mechanics of the Unleash System

Between the first two games, Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, and the most recent entry in the series, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, certain aspects of the Unleash system were revamped. The Mechanics can be grouped into two basic systems, with the rules of each being detailed below.

Original system

In Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Unleashes are limited to Artifact-class weapons, weapons that are unique or limited in availability. Another weapons category, Useable Weapons lack unleashes, but instead have a side-effect that can be utilized during battle similarly to items. Common weapons, which can be bought in multiples at Vendors, lack both unleashes and usable side-effects. Instead, they share with Artifact weapons the ability to score a "critical hit", which is essentially an empowered version of the user's standard Attack.

Unleashes are not shared between weapons; different weapons will always possess different Unleashes. A weapon's Unleash can potentially be accessed as soon as the weapon has been equipped, with most Unleashes have a standard rate of activation of 35%, though certain Unleashes have higher activation rates. When a weapon's unleash is triggered, the Unleash and its related side effects are limited to the originally targeted enemy.

Dark Dawn Revisions

In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, all weapons, including common and usable weapons, have an unleash. For common weapons, the Unleash will generally be a non-elemental Unleash with a weak to moderately strong damage multiplier, but few added effects. Artifact weapons may include these Unleashes as secondary attacks, but the signature Unleashes will usually be stronger, element-based Unleashes that can have a variety of effects. However, if a pure-element weapon has one of these non-elemental Unleashes in its arsenal, that unleash will be converted into an elemental attack, with the element-alignment matching that of the weapon. The addition of non-elemental Unleashes, and their availability to common and usable weapons effectively incorporates the prior "Critical Hit" mechanic. This has the effect of removing the potential for critical hits from enemy attacks, as enemies do not possess weapons capable of Unleashes.

Weapons in Dark Dawn can have anywhere from one to four unleashes, some of which are shared with other weapons, in addition to whatever other effects the weapon may have. Generally, the number of unleashes increases with the overall strength of a weapon, though this is not always the case. For weapons that were introduced in a previous game, the final unleash learned is normally the weapon's signature Unleash from its past appearances. However, the same Unleash may also be a secondary unleash for a stronger weapon. A good example is the Unleash Stone Justice; it is the signature unleash of the Themis' Axe, but at the same time, Stone Justice is a secondary Unleash for the stronger Giant Axe and Herculean Axe.

While past Unleashes were always single target attacks, certain Unleashes are now ranged Attacks, such as the Masamune's Rising Dragon, which not only affects the targeted character, but the enemies directly adjacent to the original target. The Star Dust unleash, belonging to the Silver Longbow and the Sagittarius Bow, has a wider range, extending up to two enemies on either side of the original target. Unlike Psynergy, where the player can freely choose which enemies to target, choosing the targets of an Unleash is more restricted. Standard weapon attacks always affect a single target, which is chosen when the player is selecting moves for their party. If an unleash is triggered during an Adept's attack, the originally selected target will always receive the most damage. Enemies immediately adjacent will take lesser amounts of damage.

The ability to use an unleash is determined by the mastery a character has over a specific weapon. When the weapon is selected in the items menu, they can view a gauge that shows the level of mastery the player has over that weapon. The screen will also show which Unleashes the character can use; Mastered Unleashes will have a green background while unmastered Unleashes will have a grey background. When a character first equips a new weapon, that character may be unable to use any unleashes. However, as the character attacks with the weapon, their mastery will increase, and the character will be able to progressively learn more advanced Unleashes.

In most cases, all unleashes can be learned before the weapon is fully mastered. However, weapon mastery also affects the attack increase. An adept equipping an unmastered weapon will only receive a portion of the total attack increase the weapon grants. However, the initial attack bonus will increase as the weapon is mastered, and the full benefit will be granted at 100% mastery. The attack bonus effect often goes unnoticed, due to steady increases in weapon strength over the course of the game. The length of time it takes to completely master a weapon appears to increase with the strength of the weapon. A weaker weapon, like a Long Sword, can be mastered in a few attacks, while the Sol Blade, the strongest weapon in the game, requires many, many battles to be fully mastered.

Each class of weapon has its own experience gauge. Mastering a weapon will grant some level of mastery to a stronger weapon of the same class, though the amount varies depending on how much the two weapons differ in strength. The closer in strength a weaker weapon is to a stronger weapon, the more experience is carried over. Mastering a stronger weapon of a certain class, will give the character mastery over all weaker weapons in that class, regardless of whether the character in question has used them or not.

As in past games, Unleashes have an activation rate which determines when an Unleash is triggered. Due to the existence of multiple Unleashes, however, the mechanic is distinctly altered. The activation rate appears to refer specifically to the chance of an Unleash occurring. If an Unleash is triggered for a weapon with multiple Unleash effects, the effect will be chosen at random from the available pool of that weapon's Unleashes. While equipping Critical-increasing equipment will increase the overall rate of an Unleash occurring, there is no way of choosing a specific Unleash effect. This means that weapons with multiple Unleashes can be seen to decrease in usefulness; while a weapon may have a powerful unleash effect, the other 2-3 effects are usually much, much weaker and could be called on at any Unleash activation. One example is Excalibur. In The Lost Age, Exacalibur's chance to triple damage with its Legend made it one of the premier endgame weapons. In Dark Dawn, however, Legend is one of four unleashes, with the other three being distinctly weaker. Legend is less likely to be called on, and thus its tripling effect occurs at a rare rate. This means that the Levatine, a sword with a lesser Attack increase, is seen to be the better choice, due to its three Unleashes, all of which are fairly equal in power, allowing for a more consistent rate of damage.

Explanation for Unleashes

The following paragraph is based on someone misremembering the game; the line in question is actually about the power being similar to critical hits in battle, which is a different mechanic to unleashes.

Although no real explanation for unleashes occurs in-game, a small bit of easily forgotten text on the subject appears when Isaac's party first arrives in Kolima, prior to having defeated (and healed) Tret. The enraged tree curses the residents of Kolima for taking their axes to him, turning them into trees, so that they would die alongside him. Isaac's party happens to get involved, needing to pass through the Kolima region as part of their quest. Immediately they are set upon by Tret, who immobilises the Adepts, pinning them to the ground. However, as the wave of Psynergy that would turn them into trees approaches, the Adepts are enveloped in a shimmering barrier that wards off Tret's curse. This barrier was a purely reactive and subconscious display of Psynergy, as none of the Adepts intentionally used their powers to create the field. They assume this type of subconscious defense is similar to a weapon's unleash, which holds vast, though uncontrollable, power. Apart from a concluding remark about how it would be nice to control this ability, it is never mentioned again. As such, this only serves to confirm that the Adepts do know that unleashes exist and that they are uncontrollable and nothing more.

List of Unleashes

Unleashes of Long Swords

Unleash Name	Weapon (with its attack increase value)	Element and Added Damage Point Value	Side effect	Visual
Blizzard	Arctic Blade (+55 Atk)	+18	May temporarily lower the target's Attack rating by 25%	The user projects a stream of ice shards that fly into a target.
Acid Bath	Shamshir (+99 Atk)	+34	May temporarily lower the target's Attack rating by 25%	The user strikes the target and a purplish vapor cloud is emitted on impact.
Aqua Sock	Silver Blade (+108 Atk)	+42	None	The user strikes the target and a pillar of water shooting up from the ground at the target's feet is generated.
Demonfire *	Muramasa (+126 Atk)	+60	May inflict the target with Haunt.	A swarm of reddish spirit flames converges on the target while the attacker slides forward and strikes.
Titan Blade	Gaia Blade (+135 Atk)	+70	None.	A colossal yellow sword crashes down into the area where the target is, letting loose a veritable water spout of yellow energy as it digs into the target, and detonating in a large bright explosion of purple energy.
Hurricane	Storm Brand (+60 Atk)	+21	May temporarily lower the target's Attack rating by 25%	A torrent of rain drops hits the target before the holder of the sword attacks it physically.
Shred	Robber's Blade (+101 Atk)	+33	May temporarily lower the target's Defense rating by 25%	Beams of bright orange energy gathering into an orange sphere that forms and grows at the target's position, and then explodes largely. An orange breaking-shield image then occurs.
Flash Edge	Lightning Sword (+134 Atk)	+46	May inflict Delusion	The user strikes and leaves a violet-colored impact, while the entire screen is temporarily bathed in magenta.
Soul Shatter	Soul Brand (+141 Atk)	+50	May restore the user's PP meter by an amount equal to 10% of the resultant damage.	A large white-reddish image of a sword pierces out of the ground at the target's feet with an explosion to impale the target, and a lot of orbs of energy are siphoned out of the image into the user.
Raiden's Wrath	Cloud Brand (+130 Atk)	+39	Always ignores the target's defense during damage calculations. Has an Unleash rate of 40% instead of 35%.	An oni looking monster with white hair and holding a sword laced with electricity appears extremely briefly to slash the target once while the user performs a normal attack.
Crucible Fire	Hestia Blade (+145 Atk)	+48	May lower the target's Agility by 50%.	The user attacks physically and a trio of large fiery rings spectacularly explodes upon impact.
Heavy Divide	Huge Sword (+155 Atk)	+60	May lower the target's Defense by 25%.	A gigantic, jagged sword with white edges sprouts vertically out of the wielder, then slowly tips and falls over and onto the enemy target with a heavy bounce, then retracts back into the wielder.
Lethe Albion	Mythril Blade (+160 Atk)	+56	May Seal the target's Psynergy.	The user summons a rushing river that flows through and damages the target as it is engulfed in a giant holographic blue image of a Psynergy Seal.
Void Beam	Rune Blade (+162 Atk)	+57	May Seal the target's Psynergy.	The user summons a glowing purple hologram of a symbol that draws itself in front of the user as the camera swivels, and the symbol generates a powerful, thick white-purple beam that pierces through the target.
Radiant Fire	Levatine (+173 Atk)	+66	May ignore 50% of the target's Defense during damage calculations.	The user attacks physically and a series of circular fire patterns is emitted on impact.
Purgatory	Fire Brand (+176 Atk)	+67	May inflict Sleep.	The user summons a huge interwoven column of fire bursting from the ground beneath the target. The fire column then expands to cover most of the screen before contracting to the point of vanishing.
Acheron's Grief	Darksword (+210 Atk)	+76	May inflict Deadly Poison.	A colossal purple sword crashes down into the area where the target is, letting loose a veritable water spout of purple energy as it digs into the target, and detonating in a large bright explosion of purple energy as the screen temporarily inverts its color.
Legend	Excalibur (+180 Atk)	+73	May inflict triple the resulting damage.	A three-dimensional hologram of a symbol forms above the enemy party, and the symbol generates either one holographic sword that drives itself into the target or three holographic swords that drive themselves into the target in succession.
Megiddo	Sol Blade (+200 Atk)	+0	Inflicts triple the resulting damage. Only equippable by Isaac and Felix.	The user leaps high into the air of a red background, the sword glowing bright red over his head. He then touches the blade of the sword into a room-sized sphere of burning plasma that is summoned from the top of the screen, and slings the searing object onto the target.

Unleashes of Axes

Unleash Name	Weapon (with its attack increase value)	Element and Added Damage Point Value	Side effect	Visual
Barrage	Vulcan Axe (+76 Atk)	+20	May inflict the Stun status condition.	The user physically strikes and an intense orange explosion of flame is emitted on impact.
Broil	Burning Axe (+84 Atk)	+23	None.	The user physically strikes and a small orange cloud of heat spreads out on impact.
Heat Mirage	Dragon Axe (+100 Atk)	+21	May inflict the Delusion status condition.	The user physically strikes and a bright orange cloud of energy forms on impact causing the air around it to briefly ripple.
Meltdown	Giant Axe (+114 Atk)	+47	May lower the target's Defense rating by 25%.	The user physically strikes and leaves a red impact. A red breaking-shield image then occurs.
Poison Cloud	Demon Axe (+132 Atk)	+55	May inflict the Poison Status Condition.	The user physically strikes and a green vaporous cloud is emitted on impact.
Stone Justice	Themis' Axe (+30 Atk)	+11	May lower the target's Agility by 50%.	The user summons a swarm of rocks from the ground in front of him, then swings his axe to project the floating swarm through the target.
Power Drive	Disk Axe (+76 Atk)	+24	None.	The user physically strikes and a medium-sized fireball that rolls right through the victim is generated.
Vein Tap	Tartarus Axe (+127 Atk)	+43	May restore the user's HP by an amount equal to the damage dealt.	The user physically attacks and an array of medium-sized red/brown spheres travel from the target to the user.
Stun Bolt	Viking Axe (+137 Atk)	+47	May inflict the Stun status condition.	The user physically attacks and a large array of purple electricity is generated across the screen from the point of impact.
Heat Smash *	Mighty Axe (+142 Atk)	+41	May lower each of the target's Resistances by 40.	The user physically strikes and leaves a red impact. A purple breaking-shield image then occurs.
Flare Burst	Apollo's Axe (+158 Atk)	+54	May restore the user's HP by an amount equal to the damage dealt.	The user physically strikes and a large, powerful fiery explosion is generated on impact.
Mother Earth	Gaia's Axe (+163 Atk)	+59	May inflict the Sleep status condition.	The user physically attacks and a brown rocky boulder appears from the top of the screen to smash into the target and shatter.
Supernova	Stellar Axe (+171 Atk)	+63	May inflict the Stun status condition.	The user physically attacks and a large, circular green shockwave is emitted.

Unleashes of Light Blades

Unleash Name	Weapon (with its attack increase value)	Element and Added Damage Point Value	Side effect	Visual
Rapid Smash	Bandit's Sword (+12 Atk)	+0	Either deals 90% or 180% of the resultant damage.	The user bolts forward and leaves either one or two blue-colored impacts.
Vorpal Slash	Elven Rapier (+44 Atk)	+16	None.	The screen blacks out at the moment the user's physical strike connects to show a giant jagged horizontal burst of green energy.
Life Nourish	Mystery Blade (+84 Atk)	+25	The user may be healed by an amount equal to the damage dealt.	The user physically strikes and a swarm of purple motes of energy are pulled from the target into the attacker.
Mortal Danger	Assassin Blade (+90 Atk)	+28	May instantly fell the target.	The user physically strikes, and a transparent image of the Grim Reaper slashes the target in tandem.
Cyclone Slash *	Ninja Blade (+94 Atk)	+38	May lower each of the target's Resistances by 40.	The user physically strikes and a tall, light violet whirlwind is emitted on impact.
Sonic Smash	Swift Sword (+104 Atk)	+0	May deal triple the damage.	The user bolts forward and leaves either one or three blue-colored impacts.
Asura	Kikuichimonji (+128 Atk)	+64	May ignore half of the target's Defense during damage calculations.	The user physically strikes and the transparent image of a samurai with a red tengu mask briefly appears and slashes the target with its sword in tandem.
Dreamtide	Pirates Sword (+34 Atk)	+12	May inflict the Sleep status conditions.	The user summons a wave of water that flows through the target from behind the user.
Moon Air	Hypnos' Sword (+49 Atk)	+18	May inflict the Sleep status condition.	The user physically strikes and a white vaporous cloud is emitted on impact.
Lunar Slash	Corsair's Edge (+90 Atk)	+25	May lower each of the target's Resistances by 40.	The user jumps high into the air, swings the sword, and a huge blue swath cuts across the screen.
Searing Fog	Mist Sabre (+110 Atk)	+36	May inflict the Delusion status condition.	The user physically strikes and a blue vaporous cloud is emitted on impact.
Mad Zephyr	Sylph Rapier (+124 Atk)	+40	May deal double the resulting damage.	The user sends a series of at least four needles of light violet energy into the target, or more needles at a higher rate of fire if the damage is doubled.
Scorpionfish	Pirates Sabre (+136 Atk)	+43	May inflict the Deadly Poison status conditions.	The user physically attacks and an expanding cloud of red-orange mist is emitted on impact.
Light Surge	Phaeton's Blade (+151 Atk)	+51	May inflict the Delusion status condition.	The user summons a multitude of purple light beams to barrage the target's position as the camera swivels around.
Blaze Rush	Burning Sword (+157 Atk)	+54	May lower the target's Defense rating by 25%.	The user summons a screen-filling series of large fire balls that swiftly pass through the opponent's position.
Rising Dragon	Masamune (+161 Atk)	+62	May deal double the resulting damage. Has an Unleash rate of 40% instead of 35.	The user projects either one or two watery clouds shaped like serpents with dragon heads to remotely barrage the target with.
Vengeance	Tisiphone Edge (+178 Atk)	+71	Multiplies the resultant damage by either 1, 2, or 3.	The party is temporarily replaced with a large, horned woman with a bow that rapidly shoots a series of seven arrows through the target, and depending on the multiplier, either two, four, or all seven arrows connect.

Unleashes of Maces

Unleash Name	Weapon (with its attack increase value)	Element and Added Damage Point Value	Side effect	Visual
Terra Strike	Grievous Mace (+88 Atk)	+20	None.	The user physically strikes and the target is tossed into the air by a brown stalagmite that pokes out of the ground under its position.
Blinding Smog	Righteous Mace (+112 Atk)	+49	May inflict the Delusion status condition.	The user physically strikes and a light blue cloud of vapor is emitted on impact.
Poison Death *	Wicked Mace (+130 Atk)	+53	May inflict the Deadly Poison status condition.	The user physically strikes and a red cloud of vapor is emitted on impact.
Boost Hack	Blow Mace (+45 Atk)	+17	None.	The user attacks the air in front of him/her, and a large red image of a cutting swath of energy flashes across the screen.
Ice Crush	Comet Mace (+105 Atk)	+34	May lower the target's Defense by 25%.	The user physically strikes, and a large mass of ice appears from off-screen to fall onto the target and shatter in tandem.
Wyrd Curse	Hagbone Mace (+108 Atk)	+41	May inflict the Haunt status condition.	The user summons a series of red drops that fall from the sky to form a red pool under the enemy party, and the pool erupts into a flurry of red skull shapes that float off the top of the screen.
Evil Eye	Demon Mace (+115 Atk)	+38	May inflict the Delusion status condition.	The user physically attacks and a bright orange cloud of vapor is emitted on impact.
Heartbreak	Thanatos Mace (+125 Atk)	+42	May instantly fell the target.	A transparent image of a ghostly demon with a head resembling a horned animal's skull appears, touches the target, retracts its hand which is now glowing with a green fire, and disappears off the top of the screen.
High Vitals	Rising Mace (+152 Atk)	+52	May restore the user's HP by an amount equal to the damage dealt.	The user physically attacks, and blue balls of energy are siphoned from the target into the user.
Hammersphere	Tungsten Mace (+159 Atk)	+58	May ignore half of the target's Defense during damage calculations.	The user physically attacks, and a giant metallic sphere drops out of the sky and onto the ground where the target is, bouncing off of it.

Unleashes of Staffs

Unleash Name	Weapon (with its attack increase value)	Element and Added Damage Point Value	Side effect	Visual
Murk	Magic Rod (+16 Atk)	+10	May inflict the Sleep status condition.	The user physically strikes and a vaporous white cloud is emitted on impact.
Stun Voltage	Witch's Wand (+32 Atk)	+12	May inflict the Stun status condition.	The user physically strikes and a bolt of purple electricity from the top of the screen zaps the target in tandem.
Psyphon Seal	Blessed Ankh (+46 Atk)	+14	May Seal the target's Psynergy.	The user physically attacks the target, and a holographic purple image resembling the Psynergy Seal briefly appears on impact.
Psy Leech	Psynergy Rod (+64 Atk)	+22	May restore the user's PP by an amount equal to 10% of the damage dealt.	The user physically attacks the target, and a flurry of orange orbs is siphoned from the target to the user.
Frost Bite	Frost Wand (+76 Atk)	+28	May inflict the Stun status condition.	The user physically attacks the target, and an array of icy shrapnel appears from outside to gather into the target.
Life Leech	Angelic Ankh (+83 Atk)	+29	May restore the user's HP by an amount equal to the damage dealt.	The user physically attacks the target, and a flurry of light blue orbs is siphoned from the target to the user.
Bad Omen	Demonic Staff (+92 Atk)	+43	May inflict the Haunt status condition.	The user physically attacks the target, and a uniquely shaped collection of purple clouds is emitted on impact.
Shining Star	Zodiac Wand (+102 Atk)	+57	May inflict the Delusion status condition.	The user summons a linear array of large, colorfully glowing holographic star-shaped symbols from the upper right of the screen, and each star falls onto and bounces off the target diagonally.
Drown	Crystal Rod (+106 Atk)	+47	May instantly fell the target.	The user summons a multitide of bubbles that surround the target and converge into it.
Sarcophagus	Staff of Anubis (+83 Atk)	+30	May inflict the Haunt status condition.	The user physically attacks the target, and a large Egyptain sarcophagus with the image of a skeleton on it lands down on the target and disappears in a flash of green skull shapes.
Stun Cloud	Cloud Wand (+98 Atk)	+31	May inflict the Stun status condition.	The user physically strikes, and a large light-blue vaporous cloud crackling with electricity is emitted on impact.
Sargasso	Goblin's Rod (+134 Atk)	+39	May instantly fell the target.	The user physically attacks, and a large swirling blue mass of energy appears and expands to cover much of the screen.
Flash Force	Glower Staff (+126 Atk)	+44	May Seal the target's Psynergy.	The user physically attacks, and a colossal, rotating, light-blue holographic image of the Psynergy Seal symbol emerges and dissipates.
Aging Gas	Dracomace (+128 Atk)	+45	May restore the user's HP by an amount equal to the damage dealt.	The user projects a mass of white clouds to enshroud the target.
Nirvana	Meditation Rod (+150 Atk)	+50	May restore the user's PP by an amount equal to 10% of the damage dealt.	An intersecting pair of rotating rings of purple energy exit the target and enter the user.
Fire Dance	Salamander Rod (+156 Atk)	+51	May lower the target's Attack rating by 25%.	The user projects a billowing plume of sharply undulating fire at the target.
Reverse Star	Nebula Wand (+165 Atk)	+58	May restore the user's PP by an amount equal to 10% of the damage dealt.	The user physically attacks and a large, horizontally elliptical, rotating white cloud is emitted on impact.
Life Shear	Atropos' Rod (+169 Atk)	+114	May instantly fell the target. Has an Unleash rate of 40% instead of 35%.	The user summons a young female equipped with a large, gold pair of scissors that snips at the target's position.
Apocalypse	Lachesis' Rule (+177 Atk)	+125	May inflict the target with Death Curse. Has an Unleash rate of 40% instead of 35%.	The user summons a young female appearing as a ballet dancer of sorts that briefly strikes a target.