Launched in 2001 on Game Boy Advance with a third installment released on Nintendo DS in 2010, Golden Sun was an iconic JRPG franchise, rivaling other giants of the genre. It had certainly built a solid reputation among many fans, who are still awaiting its return, 15 years after its last title. In 2024, this took the form of the launch of a Kickstarter campaign for Alzara, a game heavily inspired by it, developed by the Montpellier-based studio Camelia. Fast forward to the present day, with sadly some terrible news.
A spiritual successor to Golden Sun dies
Alongside Tako no Himitsu, another spiritual successor to this great J-RPG classic developed by the Grenoble studio Denos Games, also on Kickstarter, which we have already mentioned in our columns, this time it is another similar project that interests us here. Alzara Radiant Echoes, by the Montpellier studio Camelia, presented itself as a promising alternative to Golden Sun. This thanks to a solid turn-based combat system highlighting the four elements, as well as rich characters setting off on a great adventure. An enticing program, which should have been released in 2026 on PC and consoles and which had raised nearly 300,000 euros via crowdfunding on Kickstarter launched in 2024, with more than 5,000 backers.
Unfortunately, it is in the past tense that we speak of this other spiritual successor to Golden Sun in the French style to watch, since Studio Camelia announced the tragic news of its closure on June 17, 2025. The developers published the sad announcement on the game's Kickstarter page. The reason for this closure is said to be that the funds raised only covered half of the development. The other half required a publisher, which the studio tried to coax with these encouraging results and a playable demo, but unfortunately without success.
The liquidation of Studio Camelia was thus declared on April 28, 2025. As a result, the team finds itself unable at this time to reimburse the backers of the Kickstarter campaign. A very tragic development for the studio and those who believed in this project, in short. Let's hope that Tako no Himitsu, the other spiritual successor to the French Golden Sun, will be able to cope better.
Source: Kickstarter
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