Game Arts: At last Square has worthy competition

by Howard Kleinman

Back in the glory days of the SNES, RPG and Square were virtually synonymous. While there were a small number of non-Square RPGs on the market, like the Lufia and Blazer series, Square more or less dominated the entire market. This is not to say that Square is an evil conqueror of the RPG realm; this merely says that they were head and shoulders above their competition. For the release of Breath of Fire, Capcom had Square release the game to the United States because Square RPGs sold more copies than RPGs by other companies. Square built it's RPG empire with games like Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger. At the time, nothing else compared.

In 1995 the Playstation was released. While the RPGs were few and far between initially, the system would soon become the RPG giant worldwide with the release of Final Fantasy 7. Square continued to be the dominant force until May 28th, 1999. That was the day that the Working Designs translation of the Game Arts masterpiece Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete was released in the United States.

Lunar is a decidedly old school RPG. In fact, its roots lie in a Sega CD game that was released to little fanfare, and to general ignorance by much of the RPG playing populous considering that the SNES was the stronger RPG system and the Sega CD was not very popular. While it features little of the graphical flash of Final Fantasy VIII or even Suikoden II, Lunar features a great story, fascinating characters, a challenging battle system, quality music, and some great, surprisingly well dubbed (especially when compared with Xenogears Anime sequences.) I instantly fell in love with the game. Apparently many other did as well, for Lunar has sold very strongly in the United States, and if the advertisements are correct, the only RPG in to outsell Lunar in 1999 is Final Fantasy VIII.

In October, SCEA released the PSX version of Grandia, the RPG that was supposed to be the Saturn's challenge to Final Fantasy VII. In the United States, Sony released Grandia, this time in competition with Final Fantasy VIII. Grandia offers what is simply the best battle system I have played in an RPG. The use of real time with RPG style commands is outstanding, and there is great variety in the methods of character development. There are incredibly well designed three-dimensional dungeons to explore, which are nothing like any other that have ever been seen. The attention to animation and detail is unbelievable. The game has an entertaining story that, while inferior to Lunar's, will keep the player laughing and wanting to see what happens next.

While I have played other RPGs that aren't by Squaresoft (Star Ocean: The Second Story, Suikoden II, Breath of Fire 3) it is the Game Arts games that stand out. The generally optimistic tone of the games made me feel like I was a happy little kid. It was a wonderful feeling. This is a complete contrast with the generally dark stories of the latest Square games. It is a refreshing difference. The lightheartedness of the games does not mean that the stories lack depth. Lunar in particular has some fascinating connections with the Locke vs. Hobbes debate about the ability of humanity to govern itself. Grandia, despite SCEA's G-rated translation, has a very interesting portrayal of prejudice and segregation. These games are also a major step forward in combat engines, blurring the lines between strategy RPGs and standard RPGs. The field systems of both games add a degree of challenge and realism that demand to be played. These games deserve to be played by any RPG fan that is willing to be open-minded enough to play RPGs by someone other than Square.