There's something About Lunar

by Joshua Davis 

Well, where to begin, as you may have guessed, I'm a die-hard Lunar fan. When I say, "there's something about Lunar" I am referring to the charm of the series. Don't be mislead I'm talking about charm as in "awww, isn't that cute" I'm talking about a game's ability to hypnotize and in some cases truly spellbind a player. Now, I'm sure most of you are thinking that such series as Final Fantasy are the ones that you think of as "spellbinding", and I whole heartedly agree, I'm just saying that in my opinion Lunar has something that sets it apart. For instance what other PSX game do you know of that can survive on the market, let alone be popular with colorful but nonetheless simple and at times dumpy graphics. The list is very short. Therefore, The fact that Lunar is on many people "top ten list" should send up a brilliant billowing red flag to the RPG community.

So, that having been said, let's explore the reasons why I feel adamantly enough about the series to have written this editorial. I think it goes without saying that a good RPG has a cast of strong, well- defined, well- motivated characters, Lunar takes this to new heights. For an example let us take Mia hailing From Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete. Mia is a timid girl, meek and docile in every way, with an almost sickening prim and proper exterior. Mia very seldom looses her cool, with the exceptions of two scenes if I recall. As the game progresses, while that shyness never truly vanishes, Mia comes out of her shell revealing a butterfly of a girl, beautiful and gentle yet not afraid to stand up for what is right. This seems the natural change, due not only to what she has been through, but a part of growing up. Also, another thing about the Lunar characters, they interact with almost all the townspeople, and the comments they make stay true to the main attributes they exhibit during the main plot dialogue. A truly refreshing change from the sometimes inconsistent lack luster characters we see in RPG's today, who's actions seem to follow no logic, no rhyme or reason, (Legend of the Dragoon comes to mind). Next, let's talk about the plot. While the grand scheme of things isn't exactly anything new, the way it is presented seems to be enough to put a new spin on something that is used and abused. This is partly thank to the top - notch anime cutscenes both Lunar games are littered with , and partly because thanks to its "old school" graphics , it gives us all a feeling of nostalgia , back to the times when players beamed with pure anticipation for the intro of the newest party member. Also, Lunar distracts you from the "save the world" theme with comedy. As I said earlier, the characters interact with most of the townspeople and most of this is very funny, especially so when Ruby or Nall, the baby dragons get involved.

Finally, and I'm sure it seems that this editorial has a gapping ugly hole in it, but I've been struck with inspiration. Lunar manages to keep a theme that is quite frankly, heart warming, now granted, most RPG's have their moments, but Lunar continues to remind you of this, the endings of both games are like something out of a fairy tale or some such thing. However, said moments don't seem like a "reach" or out of place, or too mushy, they are what they are, we all have loves in our lives and even those who don't are wishing for one, Lunar will make you remember that without love we are not human, something very deep and something that we all can relate to. Particularly in Lunar 2, the "essence of the human condition" in all its lackluster glory (oxymoron?). The whole game centers around a girl who understands nothing of money, or emotion, or "why people do what they do" she takes things very literally and as the game progresses, "becomes human" in a sense, while most people would desire to be free of such earthy concepts , Lucia wishes to be like the other party members. Fortunately, the last statement has reinstated some structure in my thought pattern. As my closing statement, I will apologize for the mess of this whole thing, but I honestly believe I have some concrete opinions that are well supported and explained, I hope you'll contact me , like I said , I know a conclusion here seems in bad form , but I'm plum out....,well until next time...... Go get Lunar and Lunar 2.