So, has anyone here actually played this game?

For discussion of Magical School Lunar, for the Saturn, and its predecessor Lunar: Walking School, for the Game Gear
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Jasonb12
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Post by Jasonb12 »

I have a better idea.

Walking School and Magic School in one for DS. Releasing Walking School on its own on GBA wouldn't do any good. Unless, they released both games in a boxed set.

That would help.

I seriously doubt that a letter from individuals would do any good.

I had been thinking about doing this for a while, I just don't know how to set up petitions online...I'm sure we'd be able to get a lot of signatures.

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Post by GhaleonOne »

I would think Walking School would be a real easy game to port though. Maybe Kiz can say more, but it doesn't sound like it's as text-heavy as the other Lunar games.

As for petitions, they really just don't work anymore. They had *some* effect, but these days online petitions scream fansite, as so many of them are GeoCities sites and the like.
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Jasonb12
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Post by Jasonb12 »

Really? Then again, you have a point because of the NES Classic Games.

So, what do you suggest, GhaleonOne?

How can we get in touch with them, then?

I don't think we should give up trying to get it released here.
Last edited by Jasonb12 on Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by localflick »

If it's possible to get them ported, that would be really really cool. But there have been so many games that we Americans have been fighting for... I remember a similar petition for Squaresoft to release Secret of Mana 3 for Snes. Supposedly they let some students translate a rom of it, but no cart was released. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood has had people screaming for a PSX re-release for years, but all we got was Dracula X for snes. If these companies just gave us the games we want, we'll throw our money at them, so where's the problem?
I have faith that this is possible, but how?

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Post by GhaleonOne »

I'd suggest to not bother with it. It would be a waste of time. The chances of a port/remake being done for Walking School or Magic School at this point are next to nil. Just because it would be easier to do WS doesn't mean it's going to happen. I'd still say it's more unlikely to get a port of MS rather WS, and even at that, I think we've got a better shot at Lunar 3 than a port of either of those two.
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Kizyr
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Post by Kizyr »

Lunar: Walking School isn't text heavy. I could likely run through translating the thing in a matter of months (doing this all on the side, mind you). Moreover, the game was tiny--those Game Gear carts didn't hold that much memory even compared to the GBA.

The only thing is, nobody would buy it. I mean aside from a handful of really big fans, there are very few people who would pay $20 or even $10 for the game. In other words, no company in their right mind would back production because it's an obvious loss.

Lunar: Magic School on the other hand has a higher amount of folks who might be interested in buying it. But still, it's quite an old game, and I can't see how it would actually be profitable to take the time to translate and re-produce it all these years later.

I mean, if Tales of Phantasia was never even translated, these games don't stand a chance. It's way more than just having a lot of interest, there really has to be a substantial amount of people willing to buy the game, and the company who produces it has to recoup all its investment. KF
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Jasonb12
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Post by Jasonb12 »

Tch...You may have a point there. But, just because it seems unlikely, doesn't mean that we shouldn't attempt it.

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Post by Kizyr »

It's not that it's unlikely, it's that it's not going to happen. Online petitions are worthless, and a real poor gauge of consumer interest. Companies these days know that, and unless you can find a company run by an idiot, then don't bother holding out for either version of Magic School to be released in the US.

You can go ahead and write up all the petitions and emails that you want, though. KF
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Post by Sonic# »

Kizyr wrote:It's not that it's unlikely, it's that it's not going to happen. Online petitions are worthless, and a real poor gauge of consumer interest. Companies these days know that, and unless you can find a company run by an idiot, then don't bother holding out for either version of Magic School to be released in the US.

You can go ahead and write up all the petitions and emails that you want, though. KF


Aye. Case in point, starmen.net. They've had several petitions over the years. Heck, I even signed some of them. They would try to get Mother 3 released, or Mother 1+2 brought over from Japan, or basically anything done to bring a new Mother game (Earthbound here) out. Did they win? No. They got petitions. 30,000, for one of them. They also received responses. But it's quite doubtful that anything happened as a result of the petitions.

Mainly, the petitions are good for the fanbase, if one exists. One for Lunar: Magic School, as wonderful as the game sounds, probably wouldn't be nearly as vast. I haven't played it. I'd like to. ^_^ But I doubt it'd work, for the reasons above.

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Post by localflick »

Ok, but what if it was a collection of rpgs, like Walking School with another game. Grandia Parallel Trippers (or Trips, or Troopers, depending on the translation) for the GBC would be a great candidate for this. That might up the probability of someone buying it. But 2 obscure 8-bit titles is still kind of risky. Even if they both have a following.

I guess the best we can hope for is a good 100% translation patch, or a good transcript like Kiz's.

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Post by Jasonb12 »

I guess that's what we can hope for. As for the compilation, that doesn't seem like a bad idea. A Game Arts Compilation could work....

I wonder how long a translation project would take?

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Post by Kizyr »

That's like pairing two random games together. Grandia with a decade-old Lunar game? Wouldn't work; it'd be like Splinter Cell coming with a free copy of Lunar: DS.

For other older games, I can see a possibility of it being included as a pack-in with a new release. That's not the case for Magic School or Walking School. Both are too uncommon and too little-known games to matter any. It's still not worth any company's time to port it, include it as a package with another game, toss it out a window, anything.

Translation projects can take any range of time. The main issue tends to be with finding someone who knows enough programming to go through and change the text. KF
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Jasonb12
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Post by Jasonb12 »

Yes, Kizyr. You're right about the compilation. It would only work if they did a LUNAR Compilation, but that seems very unlikely, doesn't it?

As for your second comment, that can explain why LUNAR WS isn't finished yet.

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Post by localflick »

That's like pairing two random games together. Grandia with a decade-old Lunar game? Wouldn't work; it'd be like Splinter Cell coming with a free copy of Lunar: DS.


They aren't completely random, they are two games in the same genre made by almost the same people. FF Chronicles anyone?

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Post by Jasonb12 »

True, but it wouldn't make sense to do that unless they made a LUNAR Compilation.

It is the same company, but not the same game series. That's the difference.

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Post by localflick »

You're right. *sigh* I think deep down it was just an excuse to get another 8-bit color game to get translated. Really I wish porting games was easier! There are so many awesome titles that we missed out on.

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Post by Jasonb12 »

I understand how you feel. Believe me. Trust me, I'm sure we could do something....I just don't know what. One thing, you shouldn't give up on it.

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Post by localflick »

To be proactive I'd like to find our what the "something" we could do is... but if we knew where to start we'd be in the process of getting it done by now huh? Internet petitions are almost useless, but there has to be some way.

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Post by ZP »

I just posted in the introductions thread about how I have Strolling School running on my phone. It works via a Master System/Game Gear emulator, full speed with sound.

Would this be a way to do it? That is, contact Game Arts for the license, contact the emulator author about making the emulator's front-end specific to Strolling School, and make the pair available to download as one package? UbiSoft have a division for making and selling phone games in GameLoft so it could perhaps be suggested to them. They release a new 2D Splinter Cell game for phones every time they make a new Spilinter Cell for the home consoles, so maybe Strolling School could complement Lunar DS in the same way.

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Post by Kizyr »

..............

That's sheer genious! Really, I dunno why a cellphone game hadn't occurred to me. The Foma900i phones in Japan I know can come with Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy preinstalled on them. I think the US market is still a little ways behind, but maybe in a year or two full-length games on cellphones will be more commonplace. I can see the slight possibility of a cellphone-game version of Lunar: Walking School.

The only problem is that there still has to be some company willing to take the time and translate it. It's much easier porting a game as-is (like with FF or DW, or what you did with WS). It's still really improbable of seeing an English version of Walking School for a cellphone, but it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility. I wouldn't hold my breath for it, though. KF
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