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Crowetron
Apr 29, 2009

Alternate title - Lunar 2: Eternal Boogaloo





Lunar 2: Eternal Blue is the sequel to Lunar: Silver Star Story. Released state side in 2000 on the PS1, Lunar 2 picks up roughly 1000 years after the first game and opts to improve on a working formula rather than change it. I'll be playing the Eternal Blue Complete version, which, like Silver Star Story Complete, has a bunch of fancy animated cutscenes and voice acted dialogue. It also came with a bunch of extra goodies like a cloth map and OST CD, but I got my copy second hands, so welp. The Lunar games are incredibly cliche JRPGs, but are interesting because they set the precedents for many of those cliches, and they use them well. It also helps that the games are extremely lighthearted and more than willing to poke fun at themselves. Lunar 2, much like its predecessor, is a love story at heart. Oh sure, there's dragons and adventure and sword fights and Kung Fu to spice stuff up, but at the core, it's just a simple tale of boy meets girl. And that's why it works.

I always liked Lunar 2 over its predecessor largely because of its simple effectiveness and the strength of its cast. Plus, Nash isn't in 2, so it's already at least twice as good. Plus, I figure tackling a lighter and more cheerful game after the Parasite Eve games will do me some good.

By the way, curious about the first game? Camel Pimp did a great LP of the original that you can read right here! And she's currently showing off the Sega CD version right over here!

The Cast

: Hiro, our hero. An adventurous 16 year old with a passion for archeology and boomerangs. He also has a face tattoo, so there aren't too many job opportunities for him beyond throwing boomerangs and saving the world.

:

: General Leo, commander of Althena's Guard. The best character in the game.

: Lucia, a space lady what is from space.

: Ronfar, a priest-turned-gamblin' man that is surprisingly chill for a dude with a tragic backstory. Full name Ronald Percival Farr, esq.

: Jean, a kung fu gypsy. Seriously, she's a kung fu gypsy. Is that not the best character class you've ever heard?

: Lemina Ausa, the resident mage. I ain't sayin' she's a gold digger, but she ain't messin' with no broke adventurer.


Updates

Episode 1: Cold Open
Episode 2: The Man
Episode 3: General Impatience
Episode 4: Grandpa's Secret Stash
Episode 5: An Introduction to Grinding
Episode 6: Take Me to Your Leader
Episode 7: Zophar Comin'
Episode 8: LARPin'
Episode 9: Roll Dem Bones
Episode 10: Ronfar's Backdoor
Episode 11: THE BABY
Episode 12: The Old Man and The Sea
Episode 13: Beating Leo's Privates
Episode 14: Real Talk
Episode 15: Party with the Carnies
Episode 16: Ding Dong Resolution
Episode 17: Darkroot Basin
Episode 18: Au Revoir
Episode 19: Strangers With Candy
Episode 20: DOOM HOUSE
Episode 21: Burn the Earth
Episode 22: See You Later, Shemplords
Episode 23: The Giggle Den
Episode 24: Fashion

Post Hiatus Recap
Episode 25: Welcome Back
Episode 26: tumblr.txt
Episode 27: Back on Track
Episode 28: Frozen Butts
Episode 29: Snow Problems
Episode 30: Sass-a-fras
Episode 31: Winter Wrap-Up
Episode 32: Nostalgia
Episode 33: Kobra Kai
Episode 34: Little Busters
Episode 35: BK Kids Club
Episode 36: Putty Patrol
Episode 37: The Sewer Level
Episode 38: Vexed
Episode 39: M'Lady
Episode 40: Lasagna for One
Bonus Episode: Your Local Library
Episode 41: I Promise, This Is The Last Time
Episode 42: Old Man Balls
Episode 43: The Night The Lights Went Out In Azado
Episode 44: Black Sabbath
Episode 45: The Emerald City
Episode 46: A Melody From The Past
Episode 47: Tuxedo Mask
Episode 48: The Fifth Tower
Episode 49: The Throne of Nall
Episode 50: Duel of Fates
Episode 51: I. C. Wiener
Episode 52: The Only Thing I Know For Real
Episode 53: Undefeated of the East
Episode 54: Final Fight
Episode 55: By Popular Demand
Episode 56: Castle-Vane-Ia
Episode 57: Wizards of Wide-verly Place
Episode 58: Gravity Bomb
Episode 59: LeMomna
Episode 60: Turd Town
Episode 61: Stepford Animes
Episode 62: Doomeguy
Episode 63: The Red Id
Episode 64: Jumbo Spicy Cat
Episode 65: Everything is fine

Crowetron fucked around with this message at 18:10 on Aug 27, 2015

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Crowetron
Apr 29, 2009

reserved for stuff

Forums poster BooDoug187 posted all that sweet Complete Edition loot I missed out on! That's a lot of stuff!

Megane gives us a glimpse at an alternate version of the game where "space lady" means something way different:



Camel Pimp presents Jean's Revenge



W.T. Fits hopes you never sleep soundly again!



Someone mentioned Drakengard and welp


Camel Pimp


W.T. Fits

Zeikier illustrates the dangers of LP crossovers



And shows us how Ruby reacts to derails



And also, loves to dance

Crowetron fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Aug 21, 2015

Crowetron
Apr 29, 2009

Episode 1: Cold Open

Click here to watch the intro!


We begin in the cold uncaring void of space, and are greeted by the sound of a vaguely smug sounding narrator



: Hanging silently in space, the world in the shadow of the Blue Star was once a lonely, barren place, unfit for habitation. However, Althena took pity on that world and transformed it into a place of beauty and wonder. She called the new world Lunar. Time and circumstance conspired to force Althena to populate Lunar with people from the Blue Star, just as on the world they came from, life was held in a delicate balance.



: Through times of peace, war, chaos, and battle, the Blue Star loomed as the only constant in the new world. Thousands of years passed, burying the origin and purpose of the Blue Star in the sands of time. Eventually, inhabitants of Lunar forgot why the Blue Star was there, or how it came to be...



: Until a girl awakened that could join the two worlds... or tear them apart forever...






With all that in mind, we zoom on down to the surface of Earth the Blue Star to see what's shakin'




In the frozen wasteland, we find a looming crystalline tower.




What lies within this wack-rear end crystal prison?






A naked anime girl, of course! I promise this is a legit game and not cartoon porn, just hang in there guys.


Do animes dream of cartoon sheep?








Apparently they dream of fiery cataclysms. I knew we couldn't trust those googly-eyed motherfuckers!




And what caused this senseless destruction?


MEGATROOOOOON!!! :argh:






And thus, the girl from the prophesy of like...a minute and a half ago awakens.




And then she loving EXPLODES!


Welcome to Lunar 2: Eternal Blue. What follows is a credit roll over a brief history of the game universe as told by spiffy hieroglyphics. I recommend you check out the video way up at the top there if you wanna see the credits themselves, because I'm just gonna focus on history lesson here.


It's basically like what the narrator dude said. A long rear end time ago, poo poo was messed up.


There were giant crazy monsters...


Violent wars...


People dying all over the place, etc.


Then the Goddess Althena appeared with four dragons. That's ALthena, by the way, and thus totally different from ancient Greece's Athena.


Althena looked upon the misery and death that surrounded her and said unto her followers "gently caress all this poo poo, let's go to the moon, niggas." And so it was.


She left behind a temple to house some sort of guardian or overseer or something on the Blue Star to...do something? It's probably important, I assume, because it seems like a lot of work to build that place.






Well, now that guardian is awake, and she probably really has to pee. I gotta pee just thinking about sleeping for centuries, dang.


guys I think that necklace might be important maybe


I don't know what any of that stuff in the background is, but I kinda dig it.






Y'know, for an ancient crystal tower in the middle of a lifeless frozen wasteland, this place is pretty stylish.


The girl strolls outside to take in the sights.




She is not impressed.



: This is not the time for my awakening.





: Something's gone terribly wrong.






Well, that was weird.


MEANWHILE


IN A BIG rear end TREE THINGY

A Much Shorter Cutscene


A young man is chipping away at some rock with a dagger.



: "Ruby, did you say something?"




Naturally, our hero is talking to a flying pink cat holding a lantern.

: "Hah! Oh, great! Don't tell me you're hearing voices now?"

Yeah, and the cat talks. I think our hero is drunk.



: "I'm sure I heard something."

: "Sorta sounded like a plot kicking off or something..."

: "I should've brought Grandpa's chisel, this is harder than I thought!"

: "Hurry up and get the Dragon's Eye! The timer's almost run out on the trap!"



: "Trap? What trap?"

Let's Find Out





: "Whoa! This trap!!"


So, this kid ventures into an ancient trap-filled stone tree, armed with nothing but a knife, a lantern, a rope, and a snarky sidekick so he can hang upside-down Mission: Impossible style and do what exactly?


Oh, so he can pry a shiny gem out of the eye of a dragon statue. I like this kid's style.

: "Oh yeah, the jewel! Hold on... I've almost got it."

: "Hurry, Hiro!"




Jackpot :c00l:

*RUMBLE*



: "Oh, no! The exit's closing! Hurry!"


The duo proceed to get the gently caress outta Dodge.


Not so fast, Dr. Jones!


There goes our hero, watch him as he goes.


Also, the cat.


I was gonna make a joke here about Hiro breaking every bone in his body and dying instantly on impact, but c'mon now. He ain't dead and you all know it.


Well, Ruby doesn't know that, but she's a cat. Cats don't know poo poo about JRPG cliches!



: "It was only like four or five HPs of damage, don't sweat it!"

: "Okay, that's it! No more exploring for us. I can't do this anymore, Hiro! We always end up in some sort of troub--"






Sensing the coming need for a chase scene, two flaming ghosts burst into the room!




And thus begins a wacky chase through a dungeon we won't see again for some 60-odd hours! I highly recommend watching the video for this scene because it is charmingly goofy and does a better job of setting the game's tone than that naked chick in space stuff.


As this silliness takes place, our hero narrates a little extra exposition for us.

: Well, looks like you've caught us in another messy situation. Oh, by the way, if you haven't figured it out, my name is Hiro. And the flying cat is named Ruby. She says she's actually a baby red dragon, but I don't know if I quite believe her. She doesn't care though; we've been friends for what seems like forever!







: My grandfather Gwyn is an archaeologist who taught us how to explore ancient ruins like this... well, not exactly like THIS...




yes, those ghosts are stuck in the doorway Stooges style and yes, it is delightful

: Grandpa'd have a coronary if he saw me in this kind of danger! But, you get the idea.


The narration is all well and good, but I imagine the actual dialogue at the moment is a bit different.



: "AHHHHH BOULDER HOLY CRAAAAAAP!"

: "WE'RE GONNA FRICKIN' DIE WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"



: "AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH"



: "RUN, STUPID!"

: "WHY, ALTHENA, WHYYYYYYY"


And so on. Anyway, what were you saying, Narration Hiro?

: I think it's so cool that these dungeons and ruins that time forgot can be found and explored by someone like me!



: The world I live in today is the result of things that happened long ago. Someday, I'll gather enough information from ruins like these to prove that!


I don't think you necessarily need to PROVE that the past effects the present, but what do I know. Either way, our protagonists narrowly escape by dodging one last boulder trap because every ancient ruin needs at least one big crushy boulder in there somewhere.


And they are abruptly blasted out the front door once the exposition is finished.



: "You are able to identify those things while we were running for our lives?"

: "I keep a strategy guide in my ribbon."

: "Oh. Huh."


Ruby's all about the sweet loot. Maybe she really is a dragon after all...


Next time, we go find Grandpa Gwyn and fight him to the death to kindle the First Flame have a nice supper or whatever.

AngryOlScotchCup
Dec 6, 2008



Looking down, watching the world's progress.
Oh rad, a Lunar thread. I'll be following this with interest.

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

I remember getting really hype for this as a kid only to get so disappointed every time Gamestop thought they had a release date but turned out to be full of poo poo. I wound up liking the game that came with the demo better (me and my mecha obsession) but it was still pretty fun.

Some guy I went to high school with got really obsessed with it and wound up doing a skit summarizing the plot for an English project. That was kinda awkward since he never actually got around to playing the game.

McGwee
May 1, 2012

oh yay Lunar, this was one of the first JRPGs I ever played when I was younger. I look forward to following this. :allears:

Zanzibar Ham
Mar 17, 2009

You giving me the cold shoulder? How cruel.


Grimey Drawer
Awesome, maybe this LP will motivate me to actually finish my playthrough of the game. I'm pretty sure I'm somewhere near the end, but it's been so long that I'm not exactly sure what I was doing or where I'm supposed to go. Hopefully I'll remember enough to be able to pinpoint my next course of action in a guide. Or if I'm really lazy I'll just wait until the LP reaches that point.

RentCavalier
Jul 10, 2008

by T. Finninho
Oh grand, a new Croweton LP. I never played these Lunar games, really. I sort of missed the whole first generation of Playstation games, since I had an N64 first.

Krysmphoenix
Jul 29, 2010
I know a lot of people have fond memories of Lunar 1, but I played this one first. Looking back it is incredibly silly and anime at times but these Lunar games just manage to put enough charm in it I don't care. :allears:

Rabbi Raccoon
Mar 31, 2009

I stabbed you dude!
Yaaaaaay Eternal Blue! Definitely one of my favorite all time games, and it improved on the original in so many ways. It's got the perfect mix of serious and goofy, and the characters are all pretty drat awesome.

Zeikier
Jan 26, 2010

"This woman...she's killed before, and not just once..."


Good to see this game being LPed. One of the first non-FF JRPGs I played. I got the Complete Edition, which has that sweet pendant as some bonus bling.

SerSpook
Feb 13, 2012




Zeikier posted:

Good to see this game being LPed. One of the first non-FF JRPGs I played. I got the Complete Edition, which has that sweet pendant as some bonus bling.

I still have the pendant.

BooDoug187
Apr 8, 2005

Don't you fear the yetis in Rio?

Crowetron posted:

It also came with a bunch of extra goodies like a cloth map and OST CD, but I got my copy second hands, so welp.

After seeing this thread and this on the OP I got my camera out and snapped some pics of what you would have gotten if you bought this new back in 2000!

The game and extras come in a nice big box with a gate fold front:



The gatefold shows some screen shots and a summery of the game:



Inside the box you get the game, a cardbord sleeve for the soundtrack, a black "leather" bound book (not real leather) and a "omake" box



Here is the soundtrack holder. It has a spot for the demo disc for Lunar 2 that came with Vanguard Bandits. I had to cut mine open some because the soundtrack cd was wedged in so tight in the thing that when I got the disc out there was some glue on it.



This black book is the instruction manual for the game! It is full color and has some interviews in the back:



This is the front of the Omake box. Omake means "extra" in Japan (had to look that up):



Inside you get a map of the world (not a cloth one. The cloth map was a pack in for the first Lunar game):



A bag with some little cardboard standees. I never took them out of the little bag because I didnt want to tear them up/lose them:



And a pendant. This thing has some weight to it, Never really took it out of the bag until now!:



This is the strategy guide. Why did I include this?:



Because unlike all the the guides released at the time this mo-fo was hardback! And to be fancy had that ribbon bookmark!:



Inside it had a poster offer and STICKERS!



I never peeled off the stickers or sent away for the poster:



I don't think there was any reason given for one of the stickers to be a big red X:


I have one more thing that came with the game... kinda. It was a preorder bonus that I sadly don't have at my new house, may have to get my parents to drop it off for me this weekend but may also hold off showing it because it may spoil a character that pops up later in game! So be on the look out for that pic!

BooDoug187 fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Feb 15, 2013

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

SerSpook posted:

I still have the pendant.

Pretty sure mine's still in a box somewhere as well.

Scalding Coffee
Jun 26, 2006

You're already dead
It has been worth the wait.

Crowetron
Apr 29, 2009

BooDoug, that's cool as hell. I added a link to your post up top! By the way, update coming up!

Scalding Coffee
Jun 26, 2006

You're already dead

BooDoug187 posted:

Jesus Christ.
Can you spoiler the characters right now?


That music disc was hosed when I took it out. Glue ruined it and I had to use the music player that will be spoilered.

Scalding Coffee fucked around with this message at 05:00 on Feb 15, 2013

Crowetron
Apr 29, 2009

Episode 2: The Man


So, last time, we met our protagonists, pillaged an ancient priceless artifact, and found ourselves in some lovely desert. Let's head home.


But first, let's talk about some gameplay stuff. This here is our menu. Those four icons are Magic, Items, Equipment and System respectively.


Magic lets us take a look at the spells and skills known by our party members. At the moment, all Hiro can do is throw a boomerang that deals magic damage because... boomerangs.


Items leads to our inventory. Plot items like the Sapphire take up the same place as our usable stuff, but it's okay because our inventory is either infinite or so huge it might as well be.

We also start with five Healing Herbs, the most basic healing item, and a Star Light, which restores MP. Herbs are all over the place and can be bought pretty much anywhere, but Star Lights are slightly more rare, so we'll have to be careful with it.



The Equip option doubles as our status screen. Most of these stats are pretty self-explanatory, so I'll cover the less obvious ones.

Attacks, with an S, are how many basic melee hits a character gets in a turn. Normally, at this level, Hiro would only get one attack per turn, but he starts equipped with a dagger. Daggers do less damage than real manly weapons like swords and clubs, so they give you a bonus attack to try to balance it out.

Wisdom is basically Intelligence from other RPGs under a different name. Instead of representing knowledge and humility borne of experience, it just tells us how hard Hiro can hit stuff with magic.

Range is actually how far a character can move in a single turn. This will make more sense once we get into and actual battle, but it's pretty important.

Luck effects Critical hits and probably a bunch of other stuff, too. It's kind of appropriate that the most vague and confusing stat in 90% of RPGs is "Luck", isn't it.



System opens a second menu that gives us access to stuff like Game Options and Party Positioning and Tactics. But more importantly, it lets us Save and Load the game. That's right, no floating arbitrary save points, you can just drop a save where you want and pick up where ever you left off. Pretty swanky for a PS1 JRPG.


Well, that's a lot of words. Hey, I wonder if we can go back inside and show those Inferno whatevers what-for!



: We can't go back into the Dragon Ruins unless we can find another way inside.


Ah well. The stuff in there would probably eat us alive at this point anyway. Let's bail.

Traveling Tunes


Welcome to the World Map.


There's nothing too special to talk about here, except that there are no random battles here. Also, the fact that the World Map theme may become ingrained in your skull by the end of a playthrough.


A short trek south, and we reach this valley, because the game still has mechanics to teach us about.


There's lots of stuff here to talk about, like that fancy statue over there.


Whoa, hold on, there's some sort of grey turd over there.


let's touch it

Fight Song!!!


Oh no, it's a trap! Enemies appear on the area map in a colorless form, and fights start when you come into contact with them, kinda like a Tales game.

Our four options up there are how we do battle. We have Control, which lets you pick your actions in the normal way; AI, which makes your characters blow all their MP nuking the poo poo out of tiny weaklings; Tactics, which makes the party perform a preset series of actions you can set in the Options menu; and finally Run, which does just that.



Picking Control, we get four new options: Attack, Magic, Item, and Defend. I'll let you figure out what they do. Here, I've targeted that Dung Beetle with a regular melee attack.

Notice how it turns Yellow? The color of a target enemy changes based on what you've targeted them with. Yellow means basically nothing, Red means the enemy is resistant to whatever you're aiming at it, and Green means it's weak to what you've targeted it with. This is super handy, or it will be once we actually have more than one thing to attack with.



Hiro runs up at swats the massive poop bug in the face with his knife.


Then he moves down towards the second one. This is all one turn, by the way. Two Attacks means Hiro also gets two moves, but the second one can only cover whatever distance is left over from his first move. This also only happens if the enemy he's attacking dies in one hit, otherwise he'll just hang around and keep whacking Enemy #1.


Now it's the enemy's move, and we discover the gray poop is actually some sort of mud monster. He bonks us on the head for 20+ damage. Seeing as that's roughly half our max HP, we should probably target the Cyclops first in the future.


Notice how the Cyclops looks different this turn. Enemies' idle animations change based on what attack they're gonna use next. When he's givin' us the stink eye, he's gonna bite us for basically the same pittance of damage the Dung Beetles do. When it's rumble town, he's gonna bust out the heavy hits. This is handy to keep in mind during regular combat, but absolutely vital during Boss fights.


Anyway, this dude's pissing me off, so let's boomerang his face off.






Hiro leaps into the air, and just beans his target right in the face. This does more than enough damage to polish off the Cyclops. Enemies kinda warp into the air when they die, I dunno why, but whatevs.



: I'm more worn out by fighting for my life against evil sand.

: Yeah, well...

: Why don't we stand at the statue and send a prayer of love to Althena?


Well, I suppose there's no atheists in foxholes, so why not?




Praying at the statue of Althena actually fully restores the party's HP, MP, and status! For free! Thanks for healing me instead of turning me into a snake or something, Althena!


Enemies don't respawn unless you move to a different area, so anytime you find a statue in a dungeon, you might as well clean the joint out.


We gotta get those EXPs and silver coins, son


Probably a good idea to stop by the Statue after every fight or so, too. Just because this is the tutorial area doesn't mean the game won't kill you dead with an unlucky crit.


Enemies will usually make a beeline for you the second they see you, because there's nothing wildlife hates more than the scent of a protagonist. Hiro can sprint for short bursts in dungeons and the like, so you can evade them with a little timing.

Still, probably better to fight everything you see at this point in the game.



At the end of an enemy's turn in combat, Ruby will sometimes step in and defend her bro. She can hit a random enemy with either this burst of flame or a quick claw swipe. They both do tiny baby damage, but it can be enough to finish off a weakened foe. Nice of her to help out, at least!


Is that...?


Oh, it's just a land shark that looks like a dolphin and shoots sound waves at you. Of course it is.


After stomping some bugs and making sand tuna, Hiro hits his first level up! :toot:




Proceeding onward, the ground begins to rumble beneath our very feet! Again!



: "I told you to only touch the lamp!"





: :smug:

They see him rollin'






gently caress YO ROCKS



: I know what you can get me for my birthday, Ruby.




eeeeee it's got little feets :3:





: "Wow! Hiro! Get a load of that! It's incredible!"



: "But what the heck is it? It looks like a ship but it moves without wings or sails!"

: "It's cool as heck, is what it is!"



: "Hey, you! Yes, you over there! What are you doing in this area?"



: "Who does this joker think he is?"

: "My name is Hiro, and this is Ruby. Identify yourself!"

: "Er... please"?



: "Certainly! I am White Knight Leo, leader of Althena's Guard. And this is the Dragonship Destiny!"



: "Now then, listen up! You kids need to evacuate this area. I don't want to see any civilians caught in the middle of this thing. Return to your home immediately. Move it!"



: "Thanks for the warning, but we'll make our decisions! Isn't that right, Hiro?"


ouch


Pictured: every cat ever.



: Uh... what is it, exactly? And why would the Goddess need you to protect her anyway?



: Perhaps I should spare a moment to educate you, Hiro. That IS the name you spoke, is it not?

: "Oh, great. Now you got him talking. Good job, Hiro."

: "Our world is approaching an era of darkness and destruction, Hiro. It has been foretold."



Leo's theme




:patriot:

: "Now that I have enlightened you, Hiro, I ask that you leave this place at once..."






Note that there is no helmsman. Leo is driving the ship purely through his own hot-bloodedness.



: "Uh, okay. Bye?"



: "Uh..."

: "I didn't like what else he had to say, either. An era of darkness? The destruction of the world?"

: "It creeped me out, too, Ruby. What did he mean by that?"



: "Gah! Speaking of Grandpa, he's going to be ticked if we're not home soon!"



Well, that's a lot to think about. Prophesies of destruction? In a JRPG? Shocking!

BooDoug187
Apr 8, 2005

Don't you fear the yetis in Rio?

Crowetron posted:

BooDoug, that's cool as hell. I added a link to your post up top! By the way, update coming up!

Yeah, Working Designs knew how to make some bad rear end special editions. I have the special editions of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and Arc the Lad Collection. If you want me to snap pics of the first games box stuff let me know!

Unlucky7
Jul 11, 2006

Fallen Rib
Man, I never thought that anyone would LP the second game; Usually they are trying to get through the first game.

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

I'm not sure there was a "regular edition" for Arc The Lad Collection or Lunar 2. Lunar 1 got that version with crappy fan art instead of the regular disc art but the other 2 were from too close to WD going under.

Zanzibar Ham
Mar 17, 2009

You giving me the cold shoulder? How cruel.


Grimey Drawer
Oh yeah, Leo. I love that guy, mostly because he has the best theme.

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

I'm rather partial to our friendly narrator's theme. Such a shame he stopped voice acting after WD closed.

tithin
Nov 14, 2003


[Grandmaster Tactician]



I forgot just how much of a smug son of a bitch Leo is in this.

I'm getting all sorts of mad flashbacks to this game. Very excited to see this game up, I hope you finish it!

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
Well, you've got to be pretty smug to believe you can save the world.

Zanzibar Ham
Mar 17, 2009

You giving me the cold shoulder? How cruel.


Grimey Drawer
He already has a ship to travel the world with. All world-savers get one of those at some point.

Camel Pimp
May 17, 2008

This poster survived LPing Lunar: Dragon Song. Let's give her a hand.
Maaaan.... I need to get started on mine.

But Lunar 2! I love it. I actually prefer the original version, but the PSX version is quite good, and unlike Lunar: SSSC it's quite similar to the Sega-CD original. So far, there's not much of difference between the two versions of Lunar 2. The introductory prologue was not voiced in the original, and Hiro met Leo right after his Benny Hill-esque escape (which was also less interesting in the original, but it was the Sega-CD, c'mon). That little area with the Althena statue doesn't exist in the original; the original games had enemy encounters on the world map, and both remakes occasionally add dungeons to make up for overworld travel. Also Hiro has an entirely different voice actor in the original. I prefer his voice actor in this version, honestly.

Oh! And in Space Girl's vision, she sees a pair of hands squeeze the blood out of Lunar. That was kinda metal; I miss it.

Camel Pimp fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Feb 16, 2013

Crowetron
Apr 29, 2009

Camel Pimp posted:

Oh! And in Space Girl's vision, she sees a pair of hands squeeze the blood out of Lunar. That was kinda metal; I miss it.

As cool as that sounds, it's no exploding Transformer face :colbert:

In other news, I'm gonna write up an update tonight so I can get back to killing a million robots in Revengence.

Oxxidation
Jul 22, 2007
I got this game with the nifty case and all. I'd still probably be playing it on a semi-regular basis if the discs hadn't gotten all hosed up.

The way Working Designs tuned up older games was really nice and not something you'd often see, but its business sense was abysmally, almost tragicomically bad, which is why they shut down (turns out that manufacturing all that swag for every game printed is not conducive to profit). Vic Ireland's continued misadventures with game localization also show pretty handily that he hasn't learned a thing from WD going broke.

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

What killed WD wasn't just the piles of swag, it was Vireland going nuts for 3 specific licenses in a timeframe where they normally would have made about 6 different releases and getting completely hosed over on them when the work was finally done. In the last 3 years of the company they had 1 release, that was supposed to be 2 but Sony wouldn't certify them separately and a third game that was finished but was refused certification.



This LP existing caused me to finally finish replaying Lunar 2 after all these years. It was like visiting an old friend :unsmith:, even if the postgame kinda blows.

Captainsalami
Apr 16, 2010

I told you you'd pay!
This game is like that dear, old friend that you hardly talk to but you're still best buds with 15 years later. I played the hell out of this as a kid and it's one of my favorites. You really just don't see labors of love like this anymore.


edit: Please please please post a soundtrack somewhere. The soundtrack CD that came with this was amazing. I'm still so sad that working designs went under.

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

Yeah, Noriyuki Idaware makes amazing music.

Alien Arcana
Feb 14, 2012

You're related to soup, Admiral.
holy gently caress nostalgia

The Lunar games were the first RPGs I ever played. I've got the special editions for both games. And Lunar 2 is by far the better of the pair.

I haven't gotten the games out in a long time though - my Playstation broke a long time ago. When my new computer comes in I'll have to see if I can do some emulation

seriously this brings back so many memories
goddamn

Crowetron
Apr 29, 2009

Episode 3: General Impatience


Last time, we met a stylin' dude with a sweet land-boat who was looking for Hiro's Grandfather. Let's head over to Gramps' house and see what's up with that.


There's a second stretch of tutorial territory waiting for us, but it's not too interesting. Just fighting more bugs and mudmen in the desert.


There's a few treasure chests laying around for us, though. At this point in the game, we don't have access to stores or healing spells, so this basic healing herb is very nice. Enemies can drop them, too, but it's always a good plan to stock up.


There's also some cash to be found. The people of Lunar use silver coins as a universal currency, because gently caress gold. Everyone else uses gold, get outta here with your gold coins, ya dork


Soon enough we find ourselves back on the world map. As forums poster and Lunar OG Camel Pimp pointed out, the original Sega-CD version just had random battles on the world map, so every now and then this version has to drop a little mini dungeon in your path to make up the EXP difference.

They're not too disruptive, but once you know why they're there, you can't help but notice them.



A short trek to the north east and we find Grandpa Gwyn's house. I was gonna make another Dark Souls joke, but that super cool land-boat looks kinda familiar.


let's steal it


Oh crap, there's guards. Better chat with them and play it cool.

For now
:twisted:

Music - JUSTICE!



: "This ship draws upon her power, and Lord Leo answers directly to her."

: "Draws upon her power? You mean like you have Althena locked up in a hamster wheel downstairs?!"

: "No, I meant like metaphorically."

: "Oh."

: "Please leave now.


:jerkbag:



: "The bow of the Destiny carries the power of the Goddess in the form of the White Dragon Cannon. With the strength of Althena and the leadership of Lord Leo, the Guard is all but invincible!"

: "You use the power of the Goddess to make a big gun?"

: "No, it's a big, HOLY gun. Totally different thing."



: "I suggest you leave before Lord Leo returns from the home of Gwyn!"

: "Hiro, what does Leo want from Grandpa? We'd better find out!"

In a minute, Ruby, there's still flavor text to be found!


That's big talk coming from a dude with no character portrait.







: "..."

: "..."


I think we should go now.



Town Tunes


Anyway, here's Gwyn's house. Note the statue of Althena in the front yard. He's not particularly devout, but the free divine healing is always a nice home fixture. Plus, everyone's a believer in a world where God can literally appear every now and then to hang out, lead mortals, get perved on by enlisted men, etc.


Gwyn's joint is pretty neat looking, but for now, let's just head inside.


Gwyn and Leo are already chatting about exposition or whatever



: "You can't possibly expect that I would know all of its secrets, or even any of them! Besides, what leads you to be interested in the Spire at all?"



: "Well, there's no need to be a dick about it."

: "Oh but there is!"




A grave threat to the works of a female deity emerging from a giant phallic symbol, got it.

: "The Goddess Althena has given me direct and explicit orders to eradicate the Destroyer."

: "The Goddess Althena? A demon in the tower of blue?! Bah! You speak nonsense!"

: "Utter nonsense..."

: "Whether you believe me or not, Gwyn, I require your help and I shall not leave without it!"


Stuffs getting pretty heavy in here. Before we butt in, let's see what Leo's posse has to say.



: "The Blue Spire, of course. And although the entrance into the Spire is sealed... Lord Leo will find a way inside and he will vanquish the Destroyer with Althena's power!"

: "Why don't you just blow up the Spire with your giant God gun?"

: "Where's the fun in that?"



: "And after her return, Althena's Guard was established to carry out her will."

Okay, this is kinda important. Basically, every now and then, at seemingly random plot related times, Althena gets reincarnated in human form. The entire plot of the first game pretty much revolved around this. This time, instead of just hanging out being a farm girl and getting kidnapped by evil wizards, Althena seems to be taking a more proactive approach to being a living god.



: "Well, I do kinda live here, so..."

: "Your grandfather claims to know nothing of the Spire, or of the Destroyer's arrival."

: "I find it hard to believe that such a famed historian would be ignorant of such topics."

: "I am standing right here, General."

: "Oh, I know."



: "There you are! If you weren't always late, I might've started worrying about you!"





: "Didn't you ask me to tall you everything about the Blu--"

: "I AM TALKING NOW!"



: "That does seem to be the million-silver question, doesn't it?"







: "Aw man."



: "Why don't you leave this foolish field of archaeology and join us in Althena's Guard?"



: "Oh, I just bet you do!"

: "Oh snap!"

: "Why would Hiro want to trade his freedom for servitude? He won't work for you!"



: *turns to Gwyn* "Unless you have suddenly recalled the information I seek, I shall take leave of you now. I must prepare myself and the members of Althena's Guard to confront the Destroyer."

: "And for your safety, Gwyn, I suggest that you stay far away from the Blue Spire..."







: "General, did you just get owned by a pink cat?"

: "Shut up, Gary."

: :(

Nuramor
Dec 13, 2012

Most Amewsing Prinny Ever!

Crowetron posted:


: "I am standing right here, General."

: "Oh, I know."


I really like your portrayal of Leo here.

Crowetron
Apr 29, 2009

Nuramor posted:

I really like your portrayal of Leo here.

Thanks! I'm having a lot of fun putting words into characters's mouths. If I start to go overboard with it, I hope you guys will let me know.

Mazed
Oct 23, 2010

:blizz:


Crowetron, you are doing a beautiful thing. The Lunar games (1 and 2, anyway) aren't the most original in concept nor in gameplay, but there is still something very special about them.

The only critique I'd have about adding dialogue is that you should keep it sparing. Working Designs (bless their souls, gone but never forgotten) packed a ton of personality into their localizations, so I would say to only embellish if you're wanting to illuminate an unclear point, or add some extra flavor to random NPCs, though they often have that anyway. Edit: Or, I suppose, if you absolutely cannot resist a gag that comes to mind, because WD sure as hell never held back in that regard. :v:


Also, Leo. :allears:

Oh my god, Leo. :allears:

Leo is the standard by which all "paladin" type characters should ever be judged. :allears: :allears: :allears:

Mazed fucked around with this message at 12:18 on Feb 20, 2013

Zaodai
May 23, 2009

Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.


Oogling the Goddess and a gay joke comeback. Lunar 2, for a JRPG you're alright. :thumbsup:

Yapping Eevee
Nov 12, 2011

STAND TOGETHER.
FIGHT WITH HONOR.
RESTORE BALANCE.

Eevees play for free.
I managed to miss the Lunar games during my PS1 days, but this is looking pretty good so far. Leo's theme is certainly pretty drat sweet... The sort of music that makes you want to stand up and fight against evil! :black101:

The sense of humour goes a long way too, even for an old fan of JRPGs like myself. :allears: The added dialogue is working well, and you've resisted Dark Souls jokes far better than I would have.

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Rabbi Raccoon
Mar 31, 2009

I stabbed you dude!
Oh Leo...don't ever change.

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