Lunar Playthrough Part 2: Saith to Meribia

For discussion of Lunar: Silver Star Story, the remake of Lunar 1 for Saturn/Playstation/PC and all its translations
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Lunar Playthrough Part 2: Saith to Meribia

Post by Sonic# »

Alright, now we go on to the second part! If you haven't started yet, it's never going to be too late to catch up. I'm going to go from the docks of Saith to the great city of Meribia. There is, as I recall, only one dungeon in this section, but the exploration of the city will take a lot of time. Right now I only have one requirement: I can't talk to the hag on Black Rose Street. Other than that, we'll see how successful I am fighting the blue booger (forget its name) underleveled. I hope to post some notes tonight or tomorrow.
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"Than seyde Merlion, "Whethir lyke ye bettir the swerde othir the scawberde?" "I lyke bettir the swerde," seyde Arthure. "Ye ar the more unwyse, for the scawberde ys worth ten of the swerde; for whyles ye have the scawberde uppon you, ye shall lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded. Therefore kepe well the scawberde allweyes with you." --- Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory

"Just as you touch the energy of every life form you meet, so, too, will will their energy strengthen you. Fail to live up to your potential, and you will never win. " --- The Old Man at the End of Time

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Re: Lunar Playthrough Part 2: Saith to Meribia

Post by Alunissage »

The Saline Slimer? I remember from waaaayyy back when I first started talking to people online, one of those people was Zach Meston, who among other things wrote the SSSC guide. He told me he found after the guide was done that being underlevelled for the Saline Slimer can work out better than being at the recommended level (which I think was around 11, or what I'm at now after meeting Laike) because the Slimer's stats are dependent on Alex's levels. I forget what the actual level he suggested was, though. 9? 7? Well, let us know how it goes.

A note from this section: "After this boss, Ramus and Nash won’t be back in your party until after the next boss, Mel. There’s no dungeon-crawling between times. Get anything from them that you think you'll need for fighting Mel." Oh, and don't forget that the ship is the only place you can buy Soap for the springs...

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Re: Lunar Playthrough Part 2: Saith to Meribia

Post by Sonic# »

The Saline Slimer, yes! I tried to fight him twice and lost both times. Alex is at level 8.

The first time, I just ran out of magic points for Alex. Because the Saline Slimer regenerates ~90 HP per turn, Alex's Sword Dance (with Flame Ring) basically negates its regeneration, allowing Nash and Ramus to take off a combined ~60 HP per turn.

The second time, I had a Star Light (filched from the hag's woods), but fell prey to the mucus, which prevents actions from a targeted character for about 5 turns or until death. It's not a status condition, either, so it can't be removed. If Nash is taken out, there goes any progress. If Alex gets taken out, the Saline Slimer immediately starts regaining lost ground. So I should be able to do it, but it'll be a matter of luck. Next time, I'm going to put characters in a line to see if that has any effect on who gets targeted. (Ramus, Luna/Nash, and Alex, in order of importance.)

I recall this battle being easier in SSH. I also tried to go for a low level there.

If I get too frustrated, I'll just level crunch. Can't hurt to have more money for soap.
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"Than seyde Merlion, "Whethir lyke ye bettir the swerde othir the scawberde?" "I lyke bettir the swerde," seyde Arthure. "Ye ar the more unwyse, for the scawberde ys worth ten of the swerde; for whyles ye have the scawberde uppon you, ye shall lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded. Therefore kepe well the scawberde allweyes with you." --- Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory

"Just as you touch the energy of every life form you meet, so, too, will will their energy strengthen you. Fail to live up to your potential, and you will never win. " --- The Old Man at the End of Time

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Re: Lunar Playthrough Part 2: Saith to Meribia

Post by Alunissage »

Yeah, it seems to be largely luck regarding whether you get hit by the mucus. I suspect it won't matter where your party members are, but reconfiguring them may make it less likely that the ones in back will take normal damage. If you decide to level up, Luna gains Cascade at level 9, which might be enough to boost Alex's attack enough to win.

Oh, can you tell me Nash's base stats for level 7 and/or 8, whatever he currently is? He joins at the same level Alex is at, and my charts start at level 9 for him. This playthrough I was actually at level 13 when I got him. (The Slimer was easy, but that was more from luck that the Mucus spell never hit.)

Edit to add: I do not remember the Meribian Sewers being this hard before, even though the stats are the same and I'm at a higher level this time. Temptation/Slumber Song wasn't quite helpful enough as it didn't hit very many enemies, but I did find a strategy for harder groups: Cascade on Alex. While it doesn't shorten the battles all that much since it doesn't take effect until the second round (allowing Alex to knock out enemies in one hit that it had taken two), the DEF boost means he takes a lot less damage, so less healing is required. Also, I moved Luna and Ramus all the way back since they both had Battle Bows equipped, so the Grog Snakes and most of the Fatal Hoppers couldn't reach them on the first turn.

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Re: Lunar Playthrough Part 2: Saith to Meribia

Post by Sonic# »

Oh, thank god. I passed the Saline Slimer.

I tried a total of six times on level 8 before I could confirm it was unlikely I'd defeat it. On that last attempt, I managed to have Alex and Nash attack until they lost MP. (With two or three Starlights, I might, but it'd take more tries.) Here were my notes on one attempt: "Luna dead first turn. 1/16 chance. Turn 3 - Alex dead." On another: "Mucus, turn 2." Formations didn't appear to have an effect.

On level 9, I did it the first time. I never got mucus. I managed to do it with one star light used on Alex. (He could do sword dance five times and I used Cascade Song on him.)

After that I got on that boat. I think Luna's apprehensions and hesitations are very well done throughout these scenes. Alex's concern is a bit understated though - Nall acts as the conscience, reminding him (or in the game's terms, us) to go see what's wrong with Luna right after the battle and again while on the ship. Her then coming on the adventure fills me up with fuzzies, especially when Alex is very unselfish about what the adventure is about - "It's ours." This was also the first time in a while that I didn't wince so much at Wind's Nocturne. The American version is much less precise than the Japanese version, which uses the focus on the voyage as a way of talking about the uncertainties of her love. The American version relies on the idea of a star to come - a sign, a kind of hope or resolution, it's not exactly clear what dream it's talking about or what hole is in her soul, but it still gets at Luna's uncertainty, since she's dealing with two kinds of dreams (the one we've seen of the past, the implied one of her future).

And I sold almost all of my herbs to get two soaps.

Finally, stats on Nash at level 8:
HP 51
MP 57
Attack 24
Defense 24
Agility 37
Wisdom 36
Magical Endurance 36
# Attacks 1
Range 10
Luck 9
Sonic#

"Than seyde Merlion, "Whethir lyke ye bettir the swerde othir the scawberde?" "I lyke bettir the swerde," seyde Arthure. "Ye ar the more unwyse, for the scawberde ys worth ten of the swerde; for whyles ye have the scawberde uppon you, ye shall lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded. Therefore kepe well the scawberde allweyes with you." --- Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory

"Just as you touch the energy of every life form you meet, so, too, will will their energy strengthen you. Fail to live up to your potential, and you will never win. " --- The Old Man at the End of Time

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