Lunar Threads

Which one's better? I say tie.

Lunar. Duh.

Sorry. It was just a question. Got notin better 2 do.

In all fairness, I'd probably not like Lunar as much if it was as watered-down as a series as Final Fantasy is, but pound for pound Lunar has been more consistently great. A few Final Fantasy games have been really amazing, particularly Final Fantasy VI, but a lot of them are just standard-issue JRPGs with flashy, emotionless cutscenes and silly plotlines. Lunar's only genuine misstep has been Dragon Song.

On top of that, I honestly don't think I've ever played any game, watched any movie, or read any book with a storyline as incredibly stupid as Final Fantasy VIII's. And yes, that includes movies I've seen on MST3K. It honestly baffles me that Square poured as much time and resources as they did into a major entry in their flagship franchise, and at no point during the development process did anyone say, "Hey, maybe the school turning out to be a huge airship and all the characters coincidentally being long-lost childhood friends suffering from amnesia are retarded ideas." At least with Lunar: Dragon Song there's a framework of a decent story, and it has the excuse of having a tight budget and a rushed development schedule.

Lunar for me, though I have to agree that it isn't really a fair comparison given the fact that each FF game is essentially its own subfranchise for which everyone will have high and low points (for example, if FFVII and its assorted spinoffs were put up against Lunar, I'd have a much more difficult time picking). Moreover, because a coherent narrative universe isn't followed from game to game, there's none of the effect where the quality of the overall universe picks up the whole (DS is weak, but at least it's Lunar, kind of like Phantasy Star II*). Each FF game basically has to stand or fall on its own; so while I love VII as one of my all-time favorites and am nearly as high on Tactics, I found VIII a ridiculously choppy experience, could never get off my rear end to start V or X, and found VI to be one of the most abysmal gaming experiences I ever had (seriously, I have no idea why so many people, people whose opinions I like and respect, have any liking for this game--though to be fair, I played it first as the PSX remake, so I did so without (a) any nostalgia factor, (b) when it was an outdated game, not when it was at the cutting edge of the cool technology, and (c) without the overall love for a gaming series that helped me love the old Phantasy Star games when I went back and played them).

*Yeah, I did say II and not III. I like Phantasy Star III, even while recognizing its clunkiness (like three-fourths of the magic system being literally irrelevant and some truly wacky enemy animations) and find it fun to play, while PSII is my least fave of the series...though when you have to map out all those dungeons yourself on ten-square-to-the-inch graph paper, that...is a chore (I'm surprised I don't still have nightmares about Ikuto...you know, the one that's a ten-level dungeon with one-way holes in the floor rather than stairs?).

darn!!! dang web filter!!! I wrote around a whole 2 paragraphs and it was all deleted!!! well i still say tie

I'm loving that you guys hate FF8 also. The story was totally lazy and god awful. "hey we all just inexplicably got uncomfortable, passed out and had the same dream. let's just let it go in an instant and it not screw our days up!" and that is definitely not the worst of it.

I can't decide if 8 or 10/10-2 is the worst. FF8 had a lazy and poor storyline. FFX had a much less lazy storyline but it was like a final fantasy lifetime movie with daddy drama. i can do without that.

For good FF, play 4 and 6. they have the best of everything. this includes music.

I would definitely go with Lunar. Both series has their good and bad games (Erm...mainly only Dragon Song for Lunar), but Lunar is still better in my opinion.

Out of the FF games, the ones I've liked the most are VI, VII, VIII, and IX. I only like the original PS game of FFVII. I don't like any of the compilation stuff (Advent Children, Dirge of Ceberus, etc.). I thought FFVII was pretty good myself. I got sick of some of the characters after a while, but it was decent. FFVI puts FFVII to shame in so many ways though. Really, the only plus FFVII gets over FFVI is 3D graphics. I love just about everything about FFVI. The story really isn't that great in FFVIII, but I actually liked some of the characters and the battle system (Most people actually hated the GF system, but I liked it. ) FFIX is my favorite FF. Ok, the 3D character graphics were a bit wierd in FFIX, but I loved it so much. The music, the characters, I liked so much stuff in FFIX. I guess the order I would put all the games would be (from most favorite to least favorite): XI, VI, VII, VIII, X, IV, V, I, II, III, X2, and then XII. I've nevered played FFXI, so I can't say much about it.

Lunar had a greater impact on me than the FF series. I guess it was a combination of the music, characters, anime, and story that made me like the series better. I had actually seen FFVIII and FFIX played a bit before I had even seen Lunar played, but still ended up liking Lunar tons more. Now, Dragon Song is a different story. I couldn't get into any of the characters, the battle system, or the story. I liked the music though.

That really IS the big difference. For whatever reasons people state (there seem to have been many), Lunar seems to make a deep connection with people. It's moving. FF? not so much.

Benevolent_Ghaleon wrote:That really IS the big difference. For whatever reasons people state (there seem to have been many), Lunar seems to make a deep connection with people. It's moving. FF? not so much.

Quoted For Truth. I cannot express this enough.

Imagine this response in a Lunar forum.

I went with Lunar, of course. Final Fantasy... I like the games. FFIV and VI in particular, but I've also enjoyed to varying degrees FFVII, FFVIII, FFX, and FFXII (which I'm playing through quite slowly now with my fiance). They are (especially in their most recent incarnations) very fine looking games, their storylines are satisfying, the music is well done, the characters are good... there isn't much I can disapprove of. But yet... but yet, for all of that, Lunar beats it. I think there's just an extra engagement factor, as that which was "quoted for truth".

A greater sense of connection to the events that are happening, maybe... I'd played RPGs before Lunar, and even had played FFVII around the same time as when SSSC came out. FFVII (and any Final Fantasy to date) I never finished. I got to where the storyline was all but resolved and stopped. The battles grew too difficult and I had seen all I desired. As for SSSC (and EBC), I just... can't... do that. And when I did beat them... that's what won it over for me. Seeing the ending cinematics of the Final Fantasy games would not sway me, it's not that... but it's reaching the end, feeling like you've earned it, after having wanted to reach it very badly. Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross did the same thing. So did Skies of Arcadia and the first two Grandia games. So did the old Phantasy Stars, Legend of Legaia, and even Brave Fencer Musashi, along with a host of other games that would be worth mentioning if I had the time. Not Final Fantasy... and I have yet to figure out why.

Dang. I didn't know this question would go in this depth. I was just expecting like a 2 word responce. Proves me wrong.

Deathblood wrote:Dang. I didn't know this question would go in this depth. I was just expecting like a 2 word responce. Proves me wrong.

You've seen nothing. Watch Alunisage and Kizyr go back and forth on something. It can be the tiniest thing. A single line from possibly an NPC. It's pretty entertaining but sometimes i just don't have it in me to read it all.

Benevolent_Ghaleon wrote:

Deathblood wrote:Dang. I didn't know this question would go in this depth. I was just expecting like a 2 word responce. Proves me wrong.

You've seen nothing. Watch Alunisage and Kizyr go back and forth on something. It can be the tiniest thing. A single line from possibly an NPC. It's pretty entertaining but sometimes i just don't have it in me to read it all.

(evil laugh) hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

Fortunately, reading every word of every post is not actually compulsory... though it should be for posts to which one will actually reply.

FF8 is still the FF I have wanted to play the most. I will say I really liked FF12, far more than I expected to. And from what little I saw of the game, FF X-2's Paine was a breath of fresh air.

I went with Lunar since I've consistently enjoyed the Lunar titles while Final Fantasy has been pretty hit or miss for me. For instance, I enjoyed IV and XII but not VIII or IX.

Then again, I've never played Dragon Song. If it's as bad as it sounds then I wouldn't be able to say that Lunar is quite so consistent (though it'd still probably be more consistent than Final Fantasy).

Dragon Song is one of the biggest disappointments of my life. What a lazy and horrendous game..

I find that Final Fantasy is compelling some of the times but not most of the time. I don't know how other than graphics people can really love the Final Fantasies more than Lunar if they have played it. I mean I played the PS FF7 and FF8 and even Lufia and SMRPG before I played Lunar and it moved me right away and couldn't stop playing it even though the White Dragon Cave and the Forest was the hardest dungeon that I ever ran into in the beginning of a game. Lunar compells you to play it all the way through, there is no stopping point. You want to know what is next. I think this is thanks to the translation job and the original storyline. Both are needed to create a game that attracts and awes so many people that the game has a fiercefully passionate fanbase. I know I am just saying things that everyone probably already knew for themselves but it had to be said because there have been so many comparisons like this. For an RPG, I don't know what can beat Lunar. Granted I haven't played them all but I have played quite a bit and so far nothing can beat it.

For me I like Lunar more
It has a better story then the Final fantasy games and better character depth

Benevolent_Ghaleon wrote:Dragon Song is one of the biggest disappointments of my life. What a lazy and horrendous game..

That's the first time I think I've heard it described as "lazy".

Considering the source of most of the problems (no fleshing out the storyline, little thought behind the battle system, etc.), it's a pretty accurate description. KF