RPGamer SSH Impressions

[Alunissage]

It came with Vanguard Bandits. WD passed on Alundra 2, remember?

I'm almost certain EBC took longer than 9 months; it was released in December and the demo came out in March or April. I remember this because after preordering VB so I could get the demo immediately and play through it that night in one sitting, it came while I was on spring break and was away visiting my parents. And the full game arrived right when my housemate left for winter break, taking his PSX with him. We had to rent a PS2 to play it.

Pretty sure you're grossly and prejudicially oversimplifying the issues regarding the Saturn vs PS releases of SSSC.

[Werefrog]

It came with Vanguard Bandits. WD passed on Alundra 2, remember?

Shoot... I meant "wasn't published" in my post.

This all reminds me... I need to someday get around to finishing Alundra. I really enjoyed the bit of it that I played.

[Alunissage]

Actually, we cross-posted; I wasn't correcting you specifically.

And yeah, Alundra can be frustratingly hard at times, but a lot of fun. Guidebook is a bit hard to read, though; it was WD's first and they simply translated the Japanese one while perpetuating its crazy layout.

[Silver Phoenix]

I was using the dates of release (estimated) given by XSEED under the "What is Lunar?" section, not prejudicely simplifying the issues. AND, at first WD was telling Saturn owners that it would be a multi-system release but then he just came out with it simply being on PlayStation. Did you forget about people rallying a petition against the Saturn cancellation while he was just baiting people for his big announcement regarding the PlayStation port? You're always so quick to attack others. I didn't feel like researching Japanese release dates versus localization releases.

If I remember correctly you didn't even play Lunar until either SSSC or EBC, so you may have missed that bit of unfortunate history.

[Alunissage]

I know the history, from several sources with varying degrees and types of involvement. It's condensing all the factors that went into the situation down to "thanks to Vic holding a grudge and screwing over Saturn fans" that sounds a bit like rehashing a grievance. Goodness knows I have reason enough to be critical of certain of his decisions, but attributing the whole fiasco simply to one person's grudge and willful deception is inaccurate and narrow.

Also, you remember incorrectly. I started with TSS, as you should know, around 1994. I didn't become active online until after SSSC's release, though.

[Silver Phoenix]

I thought you had also said you played EB before ever playing TSS, but I could be confusing you with someone else. I don't take notes on how or when people play their games, so maybe you hitting the net during the time of the remakes confused me. As for the "grievance," it was more of a general statement about how Saturn owners on the whole felt at the time after expecting to play Lunar in the US. There was a time when we thought we wouldn't get to play the game at all. And yes there was a grudge, and plenty of Usenet and varying articles of reference regarding Vic's animosity against Bernie Stolar. What a mess!

[Alunissage]

Yeah, that was someone else. I don't expect you to remember everything about everyone, but I figured you'd remember I played TSS before SSSC because I've never been quiet about my preference for TSS. And indeed I understand why people would feel that way at the time; my point is mainly that that wasn't the full story and for people who weren't aware of the whole thing it would read more like Why Vic Is Teh Evil when, like everyone, he's made both bad and good decisions. Most conspicuous of the latter being, of course, the reason we're all here now.

[liquidpolicenaut]

Remember the text at the end of the EBC demo? It was something like

Coming November 2000 [or some earlier month]

LOL, yeah, it actually states "Summer 2000"!
...
(Oh thanks, now you've jinxed it)

Hahaha. I never actually played the EBC demo because it came with a game I had no interest in. .

It was actually a nice demo. I like it just for the fact it has the scrolling words in the beginning like the original EB although it's very chunky looking....

[Silver Phoenix]

Yeah, that was someone else. I don't expect you to remember everything about everyone, but I figured you'd remember I played TSS before SSSC because I've never been quiet about my preference for TSS. And indeed I understand why people would feel that way at the time; my point is mainly that that wasn't the full story and for people who weren't aware of the whole thing it would read more like Why Vic Is Teh Evil when, like everyone, he's made both bad and good decisions. Most conspicuous of the latter being, of course, the reason we're all here now.

You're right, and I know you've played all of the games so among the masses here my wires got crossed. Vic isn't evil, he just takes things to extremes more often than not which tends to create conflict in the industry and distaste with the fans. We are lucky we got Lunar in some form even if we waited longer for it.

It was actually a nice demo. I like it just for the fact it has the scrolling words in the beginning like the original EB although it's very chunky looking....

It's not that I didn't want to play the demo, but I didn't have access to it without buying Vandal Hearts. I could have rented the game to see if they included the demo with it, but none of the rental stores included it. Besides, I had already played and finished the Saturn import so I wasn't bothered by it.

[Shiva Indis]

Vanguard Bandits, not Vandal Hearts! SP, you're generating a lovely little comedy of errors here. If I didn't know better, I'd think half the notable (S)RPGs on Playstation were Working Designs games after reading your posts.

[Silver Phoenix]

I think I need a vacation (yes), or I'm losing my memory. I think seeing Vandal Hearts on PSN somehow just made me type it. For whatever reason I had thought WD also released Alundra 2. Calgon, take me away!!....

[Alunissage]

Given all the RPGs around then with two-word names beginning with V, I'm not surprised. I was wondering if you'd get to Vagrant Story or Valkyrie Profile too.

[Silver Phoenix]

Attack of the V's! I would know for sure it wasn't either of the two you just mentioned, but thanks for that vote of confidence.

Btw G1, when are you going to fix these smilies?

[ShindoW]

I was a little put off by his statement about the random encounters. There were way more in TSS than SSSC. XD

I've always preferred TSS' story even though I've never made it past Meribia (I've been playing an actual copy through emulator because I hate losing my saves) but I read a few changes they made to SSSC that I didn't care for, but the introduction of Royce and Phacia seemed to add a lot IMO.

I've always wanted the Lunar 2 demo. I've tried to trade for VB, but no one ever has it with the demo. ;( I check Ebay now and then because I'd love to get it with the guidebook too.. pricey. Speaking of pricey, Brigandine is another PSX title that has eluded me (Suikoden 2.. gah). Although I do have Valkyrie Profile <3

[Alunissage]

I always found Royce to be rather unnecessary, taking too much away from Xenobia's character since there is little to distinguish them. But the personality she had in the Japanese games and which it sounds like she'll have in SSH may alleviate that. Still, it seems like you hardly ever see Xenobia in the game outside of certain key scenes because it's always Royce popping in instead, and no change of personality will alleviate that. Shigema said in an interview that he thought Ghaleon's and Xenobia's relationship was the most interesting one in the series (I don't remember when this was), yet you see so little of it in this game.

[Silver Phoenix]

Odd that Shigema would say that when you basically have no story reference between Ghaleon and Xenobia's relationship. That is something worth adding. Maybe she is just infatuated with Ghaleon because he was the first person to command the Vile Tribe's help, and they were otherwise left on the far side of Lunar without any acknowledgment (according to Phacia).

Video for reference, and *SPOILER* ahead. I was watching a better video with no talking, but for some reason I can't find it so now I had to link a Let's Play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l019ET2vWjk

[Alunissage]

I suspect that the comment was made before the remakes. The Childhood's End manga, for which he wrote the story, talks a bit about that relationship, and I think it came out in 1995.

[Silver Phoenix]

It figures that information that could benefit the story is just left out of the game, and ends up somewhere else almost as an aside.

[Final Night]

It figures that information that could benefit the story is just left out of the game, and ends up somewhere else almost as an aside.

Yeah, oy. It'd be nice if XSeed found a way to get some of this stuff in the game. My understanding about the new content is that it's a little more than just the Four Heroes scenario, so maybe we'll see some of that stuff show up?