20 years ago today.

[Alunissage]

I've always found that piece of art interesting (though I wish it weren't quite so big, as it's taking up nearly my entire laptop screen). Luna looks rather different there, with the lipstick, certainly older. She's also wearing a fair amount of jewelry -- earrings (which she always has), at least three rings, and a necklace. Mia is wearing rather large earrings too, and Jess has that chain or string of beads in her hair, though I know that's also in other TSS art and perhaps her sprite as well. Tempest has arrows, even though he uses a whip in the game. Luna's pointed feet make my Achilles tendons ache.

[Greco12]

I've always found that piece of art interesting (though I wish it weren't quite so big, as it's taking up nearly my entire laptop screen). Luna looks rather different there, with the lipstick, certainly older. She's also wearing a fair amount of jewelry -- earrings (which she always has), at least three rings, and a necklace. Mia is wearing rather large earrings too, and Jess has that chain or string of beads in her hair, though I know that's also in other TSS art and perhaps her sprite as well. Tempest has arrows, even though he uses a whip in the game. Luna's pointed feet make my Achilles tendons ache.

I kinda miss Toshiyuki Kubooka's circa-1992 art style (his Giant Robo period as I like to call it). It had a very cartoony and friendly look to it. Luna and Jessica have the same facial structure as Giant Robo's Ginrei. I also really love how detailed the fur on Alex's armor and Luna's cape are. Grade A poster.

SSSC's character art seems a little less cartoony (I guess? characters' eyes are noticeably smaller) by comparison, closer to Kubooka's contemporary Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (with whom Kubooka collaborated on a few projects, including Gunbuster and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water).

I wish they had kept Jessica's beads for SSSC; they were very pretty. Another weird thing that's not in the poster but is in the balloon crash scene is for some reason they gave Jess these big frilly white bloomers (I know she's trying to be proper and ladylike, but doesn't that seem a bit much? ). It's all the more perplexing considering she's wearing a revealing outfit in the end credits (in the bar scene with Kyle, wherein Jess has patched up the back of Kyle's shirt).

[Alunissage]

I'd assume that that credits pic of Jess and Kyle are after they're married. They look like they're at home.

I do need to examine those credit pics and things like the balloon fall pic some more. I hadn't picked up on the bloomers. And apparently either they were no longer part of her outfit in SSS or she hadn't put them on yet when dressing in that bromide.

I also note that that balloon crash pic is approximately the only one in which Mia's chest is delineated, not counting her SSS bromides. The creators said that she is the bustiest of the three, but you don't really see that in her artwork. Her TSS design has some odd shadowing intended to give her some shape, but it never really read that way for me and was dropped in the remake, I'm pretty sure.

The main thing I notice about the change in eye style is how round the eyes are in TSS and how pentagonal they are in the remakes, except for Kyle's and such.

[Greco12]

I do need to examine those credit pics and things like the balloon fall pic some more. I hadn't picked up on the bloomers. And apparently either they were no longer part of her outfit in SSS or she hadn't put them on yet when dressing in that bromide.

I'm pretty sure they nixed the bloomers for SSS, since she doesn't wear them in any of the bromides.* Also, neither Luna nor Mia wear those either.

Another thing about Jessica that's evident in the TSS artwork but seems to have been removed for the remakes is her apparent lack of pupils. She has completely light-blue eyes in the TSS art, I guess to make her look more catlike.

I also note that that balloon crash pic is approximately the only one in which Mia's chest is delineated, not counting her SSS bromides. The creators said that she is the bustiest of the three, but you don't really see that in her artwork. Her TSS design has some odd shadowing intended to give her some shape, but it never really read that way for me and was dropped in the remake, I'm pretty sure.

There is a sketch of an older Mia with a little note pointing to her chest, presumably commenting on her bust size. And the bathing cutscene in SSS makes her look pretty busty, even though she's covering her chest.

While we're on the subject of Mia, did anything like this ever happen in TSS? I've never played TSS, so I don't know if there are any enemies like that in the game. I noticed that Alex lacks his green shirt/vest, and Ramus is with the party for some reason (obviously he leaves you early on from what I understand). Also, Nash is wielding a sword as big as himself. And apparently, Mia doesn't wear bloomers like Jess in the balloon crash scene because she's really showing some leg.

EDIT: It looks like Jessica's head jewelry wasn't totally removed from SSSC. If you look closely at her victory animation and her faint pose, you can barely make out a green jewel on her forehead.

*This is probably just a swimsuit, but if Lunar girls wear revealing swimsuits like this, I doubt they'd have any need for bloomers.

[Lunar-101]

Oh my god that poster brings back so many memories. I miss those times.

[Alunissage]

Huh, I missed the last post from December here. Sorry! To answer the question, no, that piece of art with a weird monster hanging on to Mia isn't related to anything in the game. I actually recall asking Vic about this when I first joined the WDMB, and he said it was something that had been cut from the game, though I don't know if that's anything more than a guess on his part. It's anomalous in a number of ways -- Nash using a sword with an oddly blunt tip, Ramus's presence, etc. I suppose it could have been conceptual art for the Brainiac (a surprise boss that attacks in the Blue Dragon Cave).

There are very brief notes in the LUNAR I+II Artbook for that picture and a few others (in the Cel Arts section), but I don't know if they're any more than credits. Maybe Kizyr can let us know?

Actually, Kiz, if/when you see this, can you verify that that crash-landing pic is the same in the Japanese game? Seeing as WD was required to add vines to Plantella, it wouldn't surprise me if they had to add the bloomers as well. I'll try to remember to look through the guides and stuff later to check.

Oh, and way back when, I commented that I wasn't sure if Jess's hair beads in TSS were shown in her sprite. They definitely are. In fact, that was a point of minor confusion for me, since the beads are very inconspicuous in most art of her, but for some reason her TSS sprite has her hood down so they're clearly visible. Which reminds me again that I need to post the stuff from the magazines I got. Tonight, I hope.

[Zero]

I didn't get into Lunar until SSSC for PSX, so it has been about 17 years for me. Doesn't seem like anywhere near that long, though.

[Kizyr]

There are very brief notes in the LUNAR I+II Artbook for that picture and a few others (in the Cel Arts section), but I don't know if they're any more than credits. Maybe Kizyr can let us know?

Actually, Kiz, if/when you see this, can you verify that that crash-landing pic is the same in the Japanese game? Seeing as WD was required to add vines to Plantella, it wouldn't surprise me if they had to add the bloomers as well. I'll try to remember to look through the guides and stuff later to check.

(1) The weird picture in the Lunar I+II Artbook is labeled as a promotional/ad illustration, and the accompanying text is just the credits. Sorry.
(2) Unfortunately I don't have a screenshot from the crash scene in the Japanese version of TSS, so I can't verify... KF

[Leoriosan]

Actually, Kiz, if/when you see this, can you verify that that crash-landing pic is the same in the Japanese game? Seeing as WD was required to add vines to Plantella, it wouldn't surprise me if they had to add the bloomers as well. I'll try to remember to look through the guides and stuff later to check.

Hi, there! Saw this post and did a quick search for a walkthrough of the Japanese version of TSS. I found one, and sure enough Jessica is wearing those bloomers in the original version. I guess it was just a minor detail the artists included for that one scene due to the game's medieval fantasy setting and then dropped for the remakes (and by extension that one image of her and Kyle in the end credits of TSS since she's seen wearing a very revealing, almost "caveman-like" outfit). Kinda weird how she's the only character in the whole game series to be seen wearing bloomers, especially considering the Lunar series as a whole is (thankfully) devoid of panty shots.

[Dangerous_D]

I remember flipping through old EGM's or GameFans or whatever else and seeing these captivating ads with the sweet art style and knew I had to have it.

gamefan magazine always had some great articles and artwork on a lot of these games back in the mid to late 90's

[Jenner]

I think I was working at Babbages at this time... I don't remember.

TSS and EB were real good games. RIP Lunar series.