Recent-ish Lunar fan!

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BookishBaubyl
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Recent-ish Lunar fan!

Post by BookishBaubyl »

Hi there Lunar-Net!

So good to find such an active and lovely forum of like-minded folks, and the parent site has been a blast to trawl through! I discovered Lunar just about two years ago now while searching for a fun and engaging JRPG, and I admit- my expectations weren't remotely prepared for the joy I was soon to experience.

There's just something about Lunar that is tough to describe; some combination of the time-period, the art, the music, and the characters(coupled with Working Design's fantastic localization) that really comes together and forms an incredible experience. I'd played(and fallen off) a few JRPGs by this point in my late 20's, but never truly fell in love with any- not Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, or any other. Lunar stuck with me, right from that gorgeous opening, even playing on an Ipod Touch, it struck a chord and kept on ringing. Just a dozen hours in, and I was on Ebay finding the best price I could for Eternal Blue on Playstation!

It's been a tough few years for the world, and myself to be honest- but Lunar's sheer optimism and hope in the face of impossible odds really helped keep my spirits up. There's a real sense of character in the world, each town feels lived-in, each house somewhere a person could actually spend their days: and each desolate ruin a reminder of something far older. I loved each and every character(with the possible exception of Nash); From Alex to Zophar, Ronfar to Jean.
Each of them feel authentic, and more often than not their dialogue made me chuckle or even genuinely get a little misty-eyed; that is a tough balancing act, and Lunar handles it with aplomb. Sure, there are some 90's era jokes that might not fly so well these days, but Working Designs utterly nailed the humor and seriousness when either was needed; whether it's Nall's sarcasm, Ronfar's charm, or Lemina's money-grubbing ways.
In particular, I feel like WD took the opportunity to say something important when they could; about finding faith again, not hiding away in a bottle, or even just basic manners- and I appreciate those small touches where you can feel the writers' heart put into something they're passionate about.
The story is presented well, with great cutscenes and a saturday-morning cartoon vibe that I really enjoyed. The mystery of Lunar, of Althena's role, and many more things were quite well done!

And the mechanics! Great Althena, these battles can be amazing. Fights do get boring after awhile: but I love the wealth of options to choose from, the spell-effects are awesome, and the QOL changes are so welcome. It's great to never have to worry about a downed party-member not getting EXP, and I always cheer when Nall revives someone or Ruby lands the killing blow. I love how the game tells you how effective an attack will be, and even ensures no swings miss if your intended target dies beforehand!

And the music in these games is just legendary; from rousing anthems to ballads and everything in between- it's like GameArts distilled pure 90's anime into a few soundtracks and let it loose! The voice-acting can be a little rough at times, but for it's time, it's genuinely quite solid! I especially liked Luna from SSSC, and Leo from EB- and of course, Jenny Stigil's singing talents are still fantastic to this day.

Anyway, I've gushed enough; these titles are lovely, made me very happy for the past year and change, and I hope they get a full re-release on Modern systems soon! They deserve it more than most anything I can think of.

Thanks for reading! Wish you all the best.

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S.ninja
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Re: Recent-ish Lunar fan!

Post by S.ninja »

\0/ welcome! Glad to have a new super fan!
This has been my fav game series since the OG on the Sega CD.

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Kizyr
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Re: Recent-ish Lunar fan!

Post by Kizyr »

That's awesome! I had the same impression when I first played the original two games back in the 90s, and I always wonder how people who encounter the series more recently will find it, especially without any of the nostalgia factor.

Since I don't have an iPhone (non-work one anyway) and don't intend on ever getting one, SSS Touch is the only version of any Lunar game I haven't played. But it's great to see that being a hook into the series =D
~Kizyr (they|them)
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ShugoHanasaki
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Re: Recent-ish Lunar fan!

Post by ShugoHanasaki »

Welcome to the site! Glad to have you part of the conversation (^.^)
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BookishBaubyl
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Re: Recent-ish Lunar fan!

Post by BookishBaubyl »

Kizyr wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:06 pm That's awesome! I had the same impression when I first played the original two games back in the 90s, and I always wonder how people who encounter the series more recently will find it, especially without any of the nostalgia factor.

Since I don't have an iPhone (non-work one anyway) and don't intend on ever getting one, SSS Touch is the only version of any Lunar game I haven't played. But it's great to see that being a hook into the series =D
Yeah!
I admit I was a little skeptical of them at first, as I hadn't enjoyed many JRPGs I had tried, but Lunar won me over with it's wit, charm, and music! The combat mechanics are surprisingly smart too, and I love the classic graphics- there's a certain artistry and coziness that I find missing in many games today. The dialogue is clever as heck, and I love the little touches in the world; from NPCs lines changing with events, to how each home looks like a liveable space someone could actually exist in.
If there's anything that didn't age too great into the 2020's, it might be the voice acting, but that's a small thing to overlook considering the time.

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kazuya
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Re: Recent-ish Lunar fan!

Post by kazuya »

Yes but you still have to give credit to working design for making all the cultural references and translations relevant to the NA audience at the time!
Darkness beyond twilight
Crimson beyond blood that flows
Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows
I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand
before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand
Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed
by the power you and I possess...
DRAGON SLAVE!

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