Lunar Threads

brit wrote:Working on my replay of Lunar Silver Star Story Complete. However, I’m also playing Shadow of Mordor which I’m loving. It’s like Middle-Earth met Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider Reboot, and Arkham Batman all in one. >D

I beat Shadows of Mordor and did all of the quests. It probably helped that I haven't played any of the recent Batman or Assassin's Creed games. I loved the generation of orcs the most, though after a bit the system no longer shines because I'm no longer dying so much, giving the ranks of the orcs less time to fill out.

I've been playing some Valkyria Chronicles, now that it's out for PC. I had played II before. I feel like both games have their merits. I'm liking the story a lot better here, and the scenarios are great. I just wish that there were more skirmishes.

Otherwise these days I've been playing multiplayer Europa Universalis IV and Crusader Kings II. The CK2 game is interesting because I've done so little myself but changed so much. I'm playing as a Duke in southern Italy in the late 8th century. Charlemagne came, united France, Germany, and Italy, and died. My old, pox-ridden Duke killed his 3 year old heir, which caused a split inheritance. On the one hand, a son held most of the land together. However, Italy became an independent theocracy led by a three year old girl who ruled as King-Bishop. At the end of the session, I'm still a duke to Francia, with a divided peninsula between my liege and me.

I am loving Grandia and am FINALLY in New Parm. Despite the bad voice acting, I'm feelin' that Game Arts feel and loving this game!

I can't help but wonder how much more I'd have appreciated reaching Meribia in TSS/SSSC if they made the ride on the Hispaniola last more than overnight and dragged it out like Grandia did. I was so damn glad to get off the ship..

^Grandia is the most epic game ever, if you ask me. Amazing battle system too. Enjoy.

So after countless setbacks here's what I have gotten around to so far

CURRENTLY PLAYING
Final Fantasy 6
Mount & Blade: Warband
ON HOLD
Pokemon Crystal
Skyrim (all achievements)
Final Fantasy 8
TO DO LIST
Lunar 2 EBC (yes, I never actually completed it)
Mass Effect 1( Second Playthrough)
Mass Effect 2 (using 2nd ME1 playthrough)
Dragon Age: Origins
Final Fantasy X
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis
Bioshock Infinite
Bravely Default

Ardent Fox wrote:Beyond that I know we're going to be playing a lot of other games, such as Life is Strange Episode 2 when it comes out and Dead or Alive 5 Last Round when it is released on PC.

I got instantly hooked to Life is Strange back in mid-February, shortly after Episode 1 was released. I'll be getting around to playing Episode 2 this weekend (three times through at least).

...besides that, I still haven't gotten around to either Majora's Mask (3DS) or Arc the Lad collection (PS1).

Leo wrote:I am loving Grandia and am FINALLY in New Parm. Despite the bad voice acting, I'm feelin' that Game Arts feel and loving this game!

I really did enjoy Grandia as well -- I finally played it for the first time last year. Though, it still did feel very dated to me, like it was clearly a game from the 90s, and that limited its replay value (unlike Lunar... I don't understand why EB and TSS hold such strong replay value for me, yet Grandia doesn't). Also, I played the Saturn Japanese version. From the little I've heard of the US voice acting, I'd say that Justin's voice acting is far better, but Sue's is still very annoying. KF

Well I just got to Dight village on the other side of The End Of The World and my current opinions are that I wish the towns in Lunar were this big and had this many NPCs. On the downside, after Parm and the ship to the new world, I can't interact with stuff enough anymore. There are bigger towns with more NPCs but I can't go read bookshelves anymore or look at things in people's houses and get a dialogue about it like I love doing in Lunar.

This is by no means Lunar, though tons of moments parallel things that happen in Lunar just with variations on the ways. I think it further solidifies by belief in that saying that I can't find the exact quote on.. something like most people only have one story to tell and their other works are just reworks of the original.

Right now I'm playing quite a few.

Lunar Eternal Blue (Sega CD)
Story of Seasons (3DS)
Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns (DS
Final Fantasy Type-0 (PS4 3rd playthrough)

I also started my Lunar The Silver Star but I'm not too far in. I stopped once Nash joined the party in Saith.

I started replaying the "Suikoden" series a couple of years ago... I'm just now getting to the third game.

Mimasaka wrote:I started replaying the "Suikoden" series a couple of years ago... I'm just now getting to the third game.

When I talk to older gamers about their favorite RPGs (Those who started in NES or SNES era), I often see it coming down between Lunar 1 and Suikoden 2 as their favorite one overall.

Leo wrote:

Mimasaka wrote:I started replaying the "Suikoden" series a couple of years ago... I'm just now getting to the third game.

When I talk to older gamers about their favorite RPGs (Those who started in NES or SNES era), I often see it coming down between Lunar 1 and Suikoden 2 as their favorite one overall.

Final Fantasy VI, now and forever, and this is coming from someone who also played Startropics and Chrono Trigger. Oh, and Crystalis, can't forget Crystalis. Also, if you really want to split hairs on the RPG thing, Ultima IV on the Commodore 64 was amazing as well. Blew my little kid mind.

FF6 is the best Final Fantasy. My favorite is 4 but 6 is definitely better. I'd place 9 as my third favorite. The thing is...Lunar has soul. Final Fantasy just never captured that sort of magic. I can't explain it.

Leo wrote:FF6 is the best Final Fantasy. My favorite is 4 but 6 is definitely better. I'd place 9 as my third favorite. The thing is...Lunar has soul. Final Fantasy just never captured that sort of magic. I can't explain it.

If I didn't love Lunar, I wouldn't be here. But FF6 spoke to me as a kid in ways Lunar didn't. It looked amazing, it sounded amazing, it was everything an RPG should have been back in '94. It's one of those rare games that helped me understand good story telling along with Earthbound and Chrono Trigger. It's a game that actively made me want to write a story of such grandeur.

It's hard to quantify the feeling games like these give you, this much is certain.

Leo wrote:

Mimasaka wrote:I started replaying the "Suikoden" series a couple of years ago... I'm just now getting to the third game.

When I talk to older gamers about their favorite RPGs (Those who started in NES or SNES era), I often see it coming down between Lunar 1 and Suikoden 2 as their favorite one overall.

It took me a long time to track down a copy of "Suikoden II" that DIDN'T cost an arm and a leg. Then I found out it's available on the PSN. Oh, well. It's still fun to load data from one game into the other--mainly so Tir can be named "MCDOHL."

Replaying Final Fantasy XIII and still playing Story of Seasons on my 3DS.

Steven Universe: Attack the Light

I'm currently playing Papers, Please, an indie game I'd been meaning to get to for a while now. The premise of the game is that you're a border guard for a fictional country (based on Cold War era Eastern Europe). People come to you looking to enter the country and you must decide whether to let them in, send them away, detain them, etc.

At its heart is basically a "spot the problem" puzzle (discrepancies between information on their passport and on other necessary documents, etc.) with the puzzles becoming progressively more difficult as the game goes on and the requirements to enter the country become more stringent.

What elevates the game are all the competing goals you have. You have a limited amount of time each (in-game) day to process people and you're paid based on how many you process, but you're also penalized for making mistakes and either letting in someone who shouldn't be allowed or sending away someone whose papers are in order. You really don't want to make any mistakes, but if you spend too long thoroughly cross-checking everything you might not earn enough to support your family. You'll also be faced with moral dilemmas throughout the game. Do you turn away the refugee who is missing one necessary document and leave them to a horrible fate, or just hope that letting them through won't be the difference between being able to afford medicine for your sick son?

There's also a fair bit of Cold War humor and I also like how the game's story is slowly revealed to the player through your interactions. It's a neat way to use the structure of a game to tell a narrative in a way that's distinct from what you'd see in, say, a movie. In that sense it can be an example of games as art.

Overall, I wouldn't call it one of my favorite games or anything, but I'm certainly enjoying it.

Imperial Knight wrote:Overall, I wouldn't call it one of my favorite games or anything, but I'm certainly enjoying it.

Oh man you funny guy!

Ardent Fox wrote:

Imperial Knight wrote:Overall, I wouldn't call it one of my favorite games or anything, but I'm certainly enjoying it.

Oh man you funny guy!

Well of course Jorji is my favorite character.

Today it was Lunar The Silver Star mostly working my way through the sewers and then Lunar Silver Star Harmony since I had a craving to play it. :/

I've recently been getting into Payday 2. Our stream is currently chugging along with whatever I can think of to play on Monday, Paper Mario Wednesday and now Final Fantasy 8 on Friday. It's good times, and great to be playing so many games that I never played before I have played before.