Lamakan Desert

From Golden Sun Universe

The Lamakan Desert is a desert in eastern Angara that Isaac's party travels through on their way from Lama Temple and Altin, en route to Kalay. The Lamakan Desert is renowned for being extremely hot and dry, despite being in the midst of a mostly temperate climate. Geographically, it resides in the eastern section of Angara, which is modelled off real-world east-Asian countries (such as China). As a part of Silk Road passes through this desert, it is one of the main geographic features of this region. The desert connects east Angara to west Angara via a small tunnel located at the western side of the desert. If the player, through the use of a hacking device, tries to enter Lamakan Desert in Golden Sun: The Lost Age, they will instead be transported to the entrance to Yampi Desert near Alhafra.

In Golden Sun, the desert has been overtaken by an evil presence which has caused the desert to be overwhelmed by an extreme heat, which poses a danger to Isaac's party. In-game this is represented by a temperature bar on the right hand side of the screen that slowly fills up as the player walks on the sand areas of the desert (this includes the sand waterfalls in the puzzles), which, if filled, will inflict all the characters in the players' party with a significant amount of damage. Furthermore, the desert's heat creates mirages, which conceal oases that could normally be found throughout the desert. These pools of water are vital to exploration, as entering them will reduce the thermometer back to zero, thus preventing the party from building up damage. In order to locate these springs, the player must use the Psynergy Reveal to reveal in circles of stones which can be found within the desert. Some care must be taken however, as on occasion, the circles of stones will not contain an oasis, but a difficult monster which will force the player to battle it if they were standing within the stone circle prior to casting Reveal (it is thus recommended to stand outside the circles before casing reveal, so as to avoid accidentally being attacked by these monsters).

[edit] Walkthrough

The heat is formidable, but with the recently acquired Reveal Psynergy, the desert is passable. You'll notice a new bar on the side of your screen; this measures the heat level of your character. If it fills all the way, the whole party will take a decent amount of damage. To avoid this, use Reveal to find an Oasis nearby. A series of rocks in a circular pattern is usually a hint of an oasis. The heat level will only increase when walking on the lighter sand, not on the darker rocks. Use this to your advantage and don't walk on the sand any more than you have to. As your bar goes up, the other members of your party will occasionally complain about the heat as well.

Head north on the rock as far as possible, then walk left on the sand. Go south once you hit the wall and you will find 6 rocks in a circle pattern. Use Reveal and hop in the first oasis. Go left on the dark colored rock again and stay on it as long as possible, until you see another rock circle. This one does not contain an oasis, but rather a Psynergy stone, which is nonetheless useful. Head north from here to find a second rock circle; this time it actually has an oasis in it. Once you've splashed around, go left and then up the rock path heading north. There will be a split path; down the north path is a rock circle with a hidden treasure chest containing the Vulcan Axe. The right path has another rock circle, but Reveal will show a monster, the Ant Lion, in the center. If you were standing within the circle, it will force you into a fight. Heading north beyond this circle will show yet another one, this time containing an oasis. Head north into the next map.

In this room, walk north on the rock as far as possible, then go on the sand and continue north. An oasis rock circle is here. Heading left finds another rock circle, this one with an Ant Lion. South of the Ant Lion is an optional treasure chest (it only contains a Potion) so you can skip it if you want. Keep going north until you see several rock circles: the one on the left contains an Ant Lion, and has another circle beside it. In the one beside it is a Jupiter Djinni, Smog, which can only be seen with Reveal. After getting the Djinn, go back to the right (by now the heat meter is probably quite high) and head north a short ways to another rock circle. In this circle is a Psynergy Stone, so if you got hurt by the heat (or the Ant Lion) just use Wish several times until everyone is healed and pick up the stone. Head left around a cliff and then north to finally find the oasis. Keep going left until you see two adjacent rock circles, the right of which contains an Ant Lion and the left, a treasure chest with Lucky Pepper. Move south, past one rock circle (another Ant Lion) and then to another one, this time with a treasure chest containing 777 coins. Quickly walk left onto the rock and follow it south. At the end of the rock is an oasis, if you need it. Otherwise, go left through the door.

Next is a room with almost entirely rock ground, and sand "waterfalls". The current of these will push you down as you walk across them, so try to enter the stream from the northernmost point and run across as quickly as possible to prevent being washed too far. Head left across two of these, then continue left until you run into the wall. Move south and follow the path up to some sand. Once on the sand, you'll see a sand "waterfall". Use Reveal on it to show a hidden doorway. Enter the cave and follow its path to an exit. On the other side, walk left, then when you see another sand "waterfall", go north, climb a ladder and keep on until you hit the north wall. Walk left across three sand rivers. If you didn't get washed down already, climb down the ladder on the other side. You should be standing at a sandy area, with a sand "waterfall" pouring over. This one is hiding a cave too. Save now, then use Reveal. The Manticore is blocking your path as a boss battle. Following the battle, enter the cave behind it to exit back out in the overworld map to the lower west of Angara.

[edit] Enemies

Bestiary of Lamakan Desert
Monster Name	HP	ATK	DEF	AGI	EXP	Coins	Drops
Ant Lion	400	160	45	58	168	320	Vial
Fighter Bee	116	155	38	74	67	90	Elixir
Grub	102	154	32	52	62	88	Antidote
Orc	148	156	41	54	68	113	Nut
Rat Fighter	143	146	39	58	63	83	Smoke Bomb
Salamander	212	158	49	50	84	190	Oil Drop
Manticore (boss)	1700	168	48	61	590	3400	Psy Crystal

Unlike most enemies, Ant Lions aren't fought in random encounters. Instead they hide in stone circles identical to the ones containing oases. The good news is, like the oases, they cannot be seen (or battled) unless the Reveal Psynergy is used. The bad news is that the Ant Lions have a pitfall trap similar to real life antlions, though obviously on a much larger scale; if a player strays too close (with Reveal active) they will be caught in the pitfall and be forced into battle. It is recommended that players who do not wish to battle Ant Lions remain outside of the stone circles (and therefore outside of the Ant Lion's trap) when casting Reveal.

[edit] Collectibles

Smog - Invisible, in a circle of stones beside an Ant Lion in the second, large screen of the desert. It is not fought.

777 Coins - In a hidden chest in a circle of stones in the large second screen.
Lucky Pepper - In a hidden chest left of a visible Psynergy Stone.
Mint: In a hidden chest in a circle of stones near the fight with Manticore.
Potion - In an invisible chest on the bottom area of the large second screen.
Vulcan Axe - In a chest at one end of a split path early on, hidden in a circle of stones and must be made visible with Reveal.

Dungeons in Golden Sun
Sol Sanctum • Goma Cave • Kolima Forest • Tret Tree • Bilibin Cave • Mercury Lighthouse • Fuchin Falls Cave • Mogall Forest • Altin Peak • Lamakan Desert • Vale Cave • Vault Cave • Altmiller Cave • Gondowan Cave • Lunpa Fortress • Suhalla Desert • Suhalla Gate • Babi Lighthouse • Tunnel Ruins • Venus Lighthouse • Crossbone Isle
Dungeons in Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Kandorean Temple • Shrine of the Sea God • Dehkan Plateau • Yampi Desert • Alhafran Cave • Air's Rock • Madra Catacombs • Gondowan Cliffs • Kibombo Mountains • Gabomba Statue • Gabomba Catacombs • Lemurian Ship • Taopo Swamp • Aqua Rock • Tundaria Tower • Gaia Rock • Izumo Ruins • Ankohl Ruins • Shaman Village Cave • Jupiter Lighthouse • Magma Rock • Mars Lighthouse • Yampi Desert Cave • Treasure Isle • Islet Cave • Anemos Inner Sanctum