Comparisons between the Lunar games

Post by **Kizyr** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:09 pm

Hey everyone.

I've been working for the past year or two on going through all the Lunar games over again, both English and Japanese, original and remakes. So far, I have masses of screenshots for the originals, and notes for the remakes (no screenshots, sorry; the ones on LunarNET will have to suffice).

Anyway, the thing I've been focusing the most on are all the changes, both from original-to-remake, and English-to-Japanese. I'd like to eventually compile them all and put a few pages on LunarNET devoted to all that (it'll still be a little while, probably after the new site's unveiled).

So... what I'm wondering is, what do folks want to see in something like that? Here are some of the types of changes that I'm talking about:

Major storyline changes in original-to-remake
e.g.,
- In TSS, Luna returns to Burg when you leave Saith; in SSS, she stays with you when you leave.

Minor storyline changes in original-to-remake
e.g.,
- In EB, Nall's group was called the "Dragonkids" or "Lostest Boys"; in EBC, they were referred to as the "Danger Kids"

Gameplay changes in original-to-remake
e.g.,
- Extra dungeons in the epilogue for EBC

Major storyline changes in English-to-Japanese
e.g.,
- Jean's backstory in EB, in the Japanese version, had her joining the caravan just about a year ago, and they already knew about the 'Masked Man'. In English version, her past was a mystery to the caravan as well, and there was no time for her joining the group.

Minor storyline changes in English-to-Japanese
e.g.,
- In the Japanese (Saturn) version of EBC, One of the townsfolk in Raculi explains the story behind Serak Palace and the person for whom it was named. [this is before the epilogue, so if someone could double-check this in the US PSX version, since I don't have a save for that point, I'd appreciate it]

Other minor English-to-Japanese changes
e.g.,
- Teleport pads in TSS and EB were changed from pentagram to starfleet-like symbol; although, they were left the same in SSS/EBC
- Mystere doesn't have a specific name in Japanese versions, only the 'Masked White Knight'

Is there anything else anyone might be interested in? By the way, I haven't gotten to Magical School Lunar yet; once I do, I'm going to finally start working on a walkthrough for that. Though, considering how long the dungeons in that game take to finish, it could be a little while. KF

DezoPenguin · Post by **DezoPenguin** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 9:43 pm

Since I've played all four games, I personally am more interested, of course, in learning what was changed by WD in their localizations (other than the addition of the odd Bill Clinton joke or two). And, of course, I'd like to see as much painstaking detail as possible.

For example, what was the story of the Serak Palace and who was it named for?

ilovemyguitar · Post by **ilovemyguitar** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 10:58 pm

I'm definately most interested in seeing the Japanese-to-English changes, both in storyline and gameplay. I'm already fairly familiar with the most notable differences between the various English language releases.

Benevolent_Ghaleon · Post by **Benevolent_Ghaleon** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:49 am

DezoPenguin wrote:what was the story of the Serak Palace and who was it named for?

my interest is also piqued. i hope this thread spawns many more interesting discussions.

Post by **GhaleonOne** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 2:35 am

Yeah, that's the one that has my interest too. I always wondered about Serak Palace and where it came from.

Bravo 29 · Post by **Bravo 29** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 7:54 am

I definitely want to learn what was changed in the localization of the games. I know in the Japanese TSS, on the final approach to Luna, you don't need to play the harp to survive, just to make it more bearable. WD changed it so if you didn't play the harp, the last bolt would kill you.

But more than that, I want to learn the plot in the Japanese games, and see how they differ from the English version. Since I can't read Japanese for beans, it would definitely interest me.
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Post by **Kizyr** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:58 pm

Ok, in the main game (not the epilogue) when you first come to Raculi, the guy in the back of the village, near the beach, tells you this. I didn't record the same dialogue for this guy in the English version, but I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with the story behind Serak and Serak Palace.

Anyway, here's the dialogue from the same guy in the Japanese version:
"I heard about this often from my dead grandfather... Long ago, a single girl with strong magic power was born in this village. She performed various miracles, and saved this village. She called the rain, and protected us from drought. She saved men who would get lost in the storms. It's said that when this village was attacked by the Vile Tribe, she struck them down single-handedly. Serak Palace [serekamu shinden] was built and is associated with that girl, Serak [serekamu]. ... Among the stories that my grandfather told me, apparently Serak left behind a prophecy. When this village is in crisis, A girl will appear, a savior who gives off light... I thought that the savior in that prophecy was Mauri, but..." KF

DezoPenguin · Post by **DezoPenguin** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 4:02 pm

Hmmm...intriguing. I wonder if Serak was a previous, pre-Luna human incarnation of Althena. It might explain the presence of Althena's Tears in the Serak Palace as well. There's story fodder here.

Thanks, Kizyr!

Bravo 29 · Post by **Bravo 29** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 10:01 am

Wow, that's some story. I definitely would've remembered that, so I'm quite sure it removed from the US version.

Hmm, a previous incarnation of Althena. Well, according to Kizyr's translation of LUNAR: Walking School, it's mentioned that Althena is reborn as a human once every five hundred years. So that would've put it five hundred years before TSS, when Althena banished the Vile Tribe completely to the Frontier. And that would make the village fifteen hundred years old by the time of EB. It's amazing that a rural village survived so long. It might've gone through a few name changes, but it was still the same village.

It definitely makes sense, though. Althena would've forseen the role the palace would've played in the future, and allowed its construction, if under her human moniker. Again, her wisdom was demonstrated in EB. A pity it was removed from the US version, it sounded like such a great tale.

Benevolent_Ghaleon · Post by **Benevolent_Ghaleon** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:38 pm

there ISN'T enough for us lunar fans.

it makes me crazy that there isn't more about Tempest and Fresca. they deserve a lot more elaboration.

Post by **Kizyr** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 8:34 pm

Ok so I'm going to start a flurry of updates to the main site, probably in the next 2-3 weeks, that'll include the final drafts of all these differences.

It'll probably be the last update before the main upgrade to the all-new site at the end of this year, because my next few projects (re-doing the novel summaries for SSS, and finishing them for EB, and the Magical School Lunar walkthrough) will all be much more labor-intensive.

The final drafts may differ a bit from what I have here, and because the ones for the originals (Sega CD) will include screenshots, they might promote some more discussion about them.

Bravo 29 wrote:I know in the Japanese TSS, on the final approach to Luna, you don't need to play the harp to survive, just to make it more bearable. WD changed it so if you didn't play the harp, the last bolt would kill you.

I missed this line before. I clarified it in the thread about the TSS J-to-E changes, but just to reiterate, the harp actually does nothing when you play it in the Japanese version of TSS. KF

Bravo 29 · Post by **Bravo 29** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:56 am

Kizyr wrote:Ok so I'm going to start a flurry of updates to the main site, probably in the next 2-3 weeks, that'll include the final drafts of all these differences.

It'll probably be the last update before the main upgrade to the all-new site at the end of this year, because my next few projects (re-doing the novel summaries for SSS, and finishing them for EB, and the Magical School Lunar walkthrough) will all be much more labor-intensive.

The final drafts may differ a bit from what I have here, and because the ones for the originals (Sega CD) will include screenshots, they might promote some more discussion about them.

Bravo 29 wrote:I know in the Japanese TSS, on the final approach to Luna, you don't need to play the harp to survive, just to make it more bearable. WD changed it so if you didn't play the harp, the last bolt would kill you.
I missed this line before. I clarified it in the thread about the TSS J-to-E changes, but just to reiterate, the harp actually does nothing when you play it in the Japanese version of TSS. KF

Okay, I understand. I find the translation change actually makes sense, because it showed Althena did have the power to kill Alex, but by reaching out to Luna's heart, Alex was saved from certain death, so that was very nice.

And I'm definitely looking forward to the final drafts of each document, keep up the great work.

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Comparisons between the Lunar games

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