Lunar SSSC PSX vs Lunar SSS Sega CD

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:23 pm

Good day to all read this thread. I seek help but first let me explain a thing or two. I can only stomach about one RPG a year. Two years ago it was Lunar on Sega CD. It took me a long time to complete and I loved every minute of it. I have a buttload of unplayed RPGs on my shelf and it will absolutely take me the rest of my life to play them all.

The question is, should I bother with the PS1 remake? Keep in mind that I have almost never played any of the classics, all of which I do own. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy games, the Lufias, Suikodens, all the Ogre series and hella more. It's all right there for me. Should I just stay on schedule and concentrate on that stuff? Or does the Lunar remake offer so much awesomeness that I should spend another 40+ hours on practically the same game?

As always, I thank you in advance.
PaCrappa

jp · Post by jp » Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:41 pm

It is my understanding that, while the remake has new videos and such, a lot of stuff has been taken out of the story, most importantly, a lot from the beginning which is really cool.

I would say focus on the other stuff.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:46 pm

Honestly, if you spend more than 30 hours with the remake, I'd be surprised. It's much easier than the SCD/MCD original. The game practically spoon-feeds you to the end.

The only RPG I've played through faster than the 32-bit remake of Lunar: SCC was Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (although I understand that the first Arc The Lad takes less than 10 hours to get through).

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:05 pm

Interesting. Rhapsody is one of the very few RPGs I've bothered to play thus far. I went out of my way to power level and make it take as long as possible and I'd still be shocked if it was over twenty hours. Good news about SSSC then.

I'm at hour 61.5 in Final Fantasy Tactics and it has started to become a bit grueling. I know I have a long way to go. THis is why I can only stand one a year.

Thanks gents.

Pa

Samudra · Post by **Samudra** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:23 pm

I think I understand what you mean with not being able to stomach many RPGs sequentially. I was not able to finish Lunar on the Sega CD because of a similar feeling I have with (older) RPGs.

Chrono Trigger however I had such a great time with that I'll never forget it. Such great music and some of the scenes that take place are to me unforgettable.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:02 pm

Well worth it, enjoyed both (but in the opposite order).

a lot of stuff has been taken out of the story, most importantly, a lot from the beginning

no

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:11 pm

Yeah, 30 hours should be enough time to finish everything in SSSC and speak to every villager multiple times (at least that's how long it took me).

I definitely recommend playing SSSC. I have both games and love the series. It really does feel the same, except even better. The original always felt a bit fetch-questy, wouldn't you think? The remake masks the fetch quests so much that you don't even notice it one bit. As a result, one minor place in the beginning was removed. Everything after the beginning was kept as is.

If you enjoyed the original because of its ephemerally magical fantasy atmosphere, then you should definitely enjoy the remake even more. That you'd even consider playing the remake of a game knowing that it would be similar for certain seems to indicate that stance. While Lunar 2:EBC was considered disappointing to some for removing interesting plot elements throughout the entire story, nobody I've heard finds the remake of this game poor.

Quite a bit has been added including more side characters and the visible encounter system is great (although I'm a fan of random encounters myself). The only problem I have with the remake is that the sound quality in the game is pretty shitty. But of course, the soundtrack in the US version (remixed by Mr. Iwadare himself) makes up for that.

Or in the very least, try Eternal Blue on the SCD if you really did enjoy the first. Both are fantastic games to those who first and foremost want atmosphere in their games.

Tomtom · Post by **Tomtom** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:13 pm

Though I've only played the remake, it was one of my faves for a while. Most people who've played both seem to think the SCD version is the better of the two, though, so maybe skip it. Honestly, if you have Suikoden and haven't played it, I recommend that instead, or one of the other "classics". Lufia 2 is good too, kind of a puzzle/RPG hybrid.

umi · Post by **umi** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:23 pm

Legend of Alundra on psx... if you haven't already... schedule it in for next year :P

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:10 pm

The main reason to play the SCD version is because the music is absolutely superior. Red book versus crappish PSX synth. Personally, I also like the look of the graphics better, archaic though they are. But yeah, music is the main thing. They really screwed the musical pooch on PSX.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:40 pm

Kiken wrote:Honestly, if you spend more than 30 hours with the remake, I'd be surprised. It's much easier than the SCD/MCD original. The game practically spoon-feeds you to the end.

The only RPG I've played through faster than the 32-bit remake of Lunar: SCC was Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (although I understand that the first Arc The Lad takes less than 10 hours to get through).

I'm guessing you haven't played the GG Rayearth RPG. It took me like 5 hours to get through that game and it probably would have taken less if it wasn't for the language barrier.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 2:29 am

There's plenty of RPGs nowadays that can take less than 10 hours to beat: SaGa Frontier, Monstania, Magic Knight Rayearth (SFC), Tenchi Muyo, Eternal Eyes, Exile 1&2, SOTN, Parasite Eve, etc...

NTSC-J · Post by **NTSC-J** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 5:55 am

A lot of the older RPGs are irrelevant now and survive only with nostalgia. Chrono Trigger, any SNES Final Fantasy, they're all pretty dumb. Granted, no RPG has had a story that rivals the best novels, but if the presentation is hot enough and the combat fun, it makes for a good game.

Pa, try Final Fantasy VII or Grandia. I hear Grandia 3 is great and will probably end up being the last RPG I ever play through.

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 6:46 am

NTSC-J wrote:Chrono Trigger, any SNES Final Fantasy, they're all pretty dumb.

I agree, but...

Granted, no RPG has had a story that rivals the best novels,

this is a very important point, and

if the presentation is hot enough and the combat fun, it makes for a good game.

this holds true for old RPGs just as much as new ones. Chrono Trigger, for example, has a very fun battle system, some beautiful art, and music that still holds up. Thus, presentation plus gameplay = still worthwhile.

Honestly, I think games like Chrono Trigger and Lunar work better than Final Fantasy VII or any given SMT game. They have a childish sort of charm to them that fills the game, even during the more "serious" moments, so the lack of an intelligent plot doesn't hurt them much. When RPGs tried to get ambitious, it tended to show the flaws that still exist in videogame writing. Personally, I think that time will show Earthbound managed to reach its goals better than Final Fantasy VI did.

This is also why I'm interested in the new Dragon Quest.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:56 am

Honestly, I think games like Chrono Trigger and Lunar work better than Final Fantasy VII or any given SMT game. They have a childish sort of charm to them that fills the game, even during the more "serious" moments, so the lack of an intelligent plot doesn't hurt them much. When RPGs tried to get ambitious, it tended to show the flaws that still exist in videogame writing. Personally, I think that time will show Earthbound managed to reach its goals better than Final Fantasy VI did.

This is also why I'm interested in the new Dragon Quest.

Agree wholeheartedley. Chrono's artwork adds to the charm, in the same way that The Hobbit will never date, neither will Chrono. The simple visuals suit the game's whimsical storyline. FFVII on the other hand... great in it's day, but the still-silly plot doesn't gel with the more serious (and quite disjointed) graphical style.

Bingo · Post by **Bingo** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 12:11 pm

I agree wholeheartedly as well, can't stand the path FF is heading down. The quality of the scripts simply doesn't bear out the serious attitude with which it is delivered.

I'm like Pacrappa, I can't play too many RPGs and my faves over the years have been Lunar and Grandia. Now after a long ass hiatus I'm playing Grandia 3 and it's awesome. More of the childish magic that makes these horribly cheesy teen heroes bearable. I swear if I have to listen to one of these self-important, pre-pubescent warrior poets lament world pain ever again I'll start killing puppies. Getting too old for this. Anyway, Grandia 3 has fantastic old-school atmosphere and the great IP battle system from before, one of the very few battle systems that never get boring for me. Absolutely give it a try if you liked GA's other stuff.

Pacrappa, move on to the next on your list. Or make it a point to substitute Lunar 2 or one of the Grandias for that next entry. That way you'll be playing a new game and still have those qualities.

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:53 pm

Thanks guys. I'll probably keep it and play it. It was never slated for next year or anything like that though. It's about the money. Do I need to play it or would I be better suited with the money in pocket? Based on your answers, I'll probably play it. But certainly not before the likes of Lunar 2 or Chrono Trigger.

To be honest NTSC-J, I'm with the others in regards to the later FF games (including 7). The wannabe seriousness is not what I'm after. After 40 hours I'll start forgetting almost any videogame story. It's all just fiction and in the case of videogames, it's all (usually) just badly written fiction. But if it's goofy and light hearted enough it fills the gaps between battles nicely and puts a smile on my face. At this point in FFT, I'm pretty much like, "Say what?".

I loved Grandia 2 like crazy but I've never played the first. I'm sure I'll pick up Grandia 3.

Anyway, next year's bigass RPG will likely be something for PS2 or maybe Skies of Arcadia on DC. If not something like that, then probably Chrono Trigger.

Thanks alot guys.

Pa

Nemo · Post by **Nemo** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 5:54 pm

Eternal Blue Sega CD would be the obvious progression if you haven't yet.

Dartagnan1083 · Post by **Dartagnan1083** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:51 pm

I personally enjoyed the PS1 Lunar SSSC to be beter than the Sega CD original.
What they removed/swaped wasn't anything major in the least.

However, with EBC they tweaked the battle system for the worse.
and while they do flesh out and improve the plot, the game isn't as fun to play due to the changes made to the actual gameplay. It's not bad, but I wouldn't consider it much of an improvement.

Nemo · Post by **Nemo** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 1:11 am

Dartagnan1083 wrote:However, with EBC they tweaked the battle system for the worse. and while they do flesh out and improve the plot, the game isn't as fun to play due to the changes made to the actual gameplay. It's not bad, but I wouldn't consider it much of an improvement.

They didn't flesh out and improve the plot in the least, they actually removed a bunch of things and made it significantly worse.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 1:19 am

PaCrappa wrote:Anyway, next year's bigass RPG will likely be something for PS2 or maybe Skies of Arcadia on DC.

You might already know this, but they also released Skies on GC, and apparently tweaked some of the problems with the DC version, and added some new stuff...in any event, I've only played the DC version myself, and I liked it quite a bit, so either way I think it's worth trying.

Dartagnan1083 · Post by **Dartagnan1083** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 1:27 am

Nemo wrote: They didn't flesh out and improve the plot in the least, they actually removed a bunch of things and made it significantly worse.

I remember them extending certain plot points while removing smaller bits.

While I do miss the star sentry and the older villiage/tower/REVELATION. . .I liked how they extrapolated on the history of each of the characters and filled in a few more ambiguous parts. Yeah, there were some plot elements I missed, but I liked what was added to the story.

My problem was with the butchered battle system and bosses.