Re: In defense of Lunar: Legend...
Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 9:31 pm
That is a really interesting point that I'd forgotten about. I really do need to replay the game, not just look at guides and screenshots.
I'm not sure that Nash is exactly a coward. He's more aware of the extent of Ghaleon's power than the other characters are, and both idolized him and only knew him well after Ghaleon committed to his plan (as opposed to Mia, who knew him from childhood but was never his apprentice). So much of Nash's identity and self-worth is tied up with being a Vane magician and student of the greatest of magicians that it's impossible for him to see Ghaleon as someone who can be defeated. He truly thinks he's taking the only action that can save his friends by impairing their ability to get to Ghaleon in the Frontier and confront him. And that was at a cost to him too; they were his only friends.
(There are a few mistranslations in SSSC that make Nash look a little worse than he does in Japanese. For example, in Japanese he doesn't say he's been reporting to Ghaleon "from the beginning" but that he's told Ghaleon everything. He also doesn't say that the party will be killed later, just that he'll put them to sleep.)
Regarding Mia, I'm not sure she has low self-worth exactly. What she has is extreme shyness and lack of confidence in her ability to lead, which she's known is to be her role from birth. I can't think offhand of any mention of low self-esteem that doesn't relate to that. And yet she does show her mettle early on, with her initiative to release Alex and enter the Crystal Tower despite being specifically forbidden, because she feels something is wrong with her mother and she trusts her own judgement.
You're right about Nash encouraging her in Legend, btw. (There's a pretty good screenshot selection in the LL section of the main site.) "Where is the Mia who encouraged me when Taben controlled me? ... That Mia now turns her back on it all and runs away. Just like me... of long ago."
I'm not sure that Nash is exactly a coward. He's more aware of the extent of Ghaleon's power than the other characters are, and both idolized him and only knew him well after Ghaleon committed to his plan (as opposed to Mia, who knew him from childhood but was never his apprentice). So much of Nash's identity and self-worth is tied up with being a Vane magician and student of the greatest of magicians that it's impossible for him to see Ghaleon as someone who can be defeated. He truly thinks he's taking the only action that can save his friends by impairing their ability to get to Ghaleon in the Frontier and confront him. And that was at a cost to him too; they were his only friends.
(There are a few mistranslations in SSSC that make Nash look a little worse than he does in Japanese. For example, in Japanese he doesn't say he's been reporting to Ghaleon "from the beginning" but that he's told Ghaleon everything. He also doesn't say that the party will be killed later, just that he'll put them to sleep.)
Regarding Mia, I'm not sure she has low self-worth exactly. What she has is extreme shyness and lack of confidence in her ability to lead, which she's known is to be her role from birth. I can't think offhand of any mention of low self-esteem that doesn't relate to that. And yet she does show her mettle early on, with her initiative to release Alex and enter the Crystal Tower despite being specifically forbidden, because she feels something is wrong with her mother and she trusts her own judgement.
You're right about Nash encouraging her in Legend, btw. (There's a pretty good screenshot selection in the LL section of the main site.) "Where is the Mia who encouraged me when Taben controlled me? ... That Mia now turns her back on it all and runs away. Just like me... of long ago."