Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

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galdis
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Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by galdis »

Hello everyone,

I am sure this is a question that has been beaten to death, but I have never had to chance to talk to anyone about these games! I only ever played Lunar: SSSC (while my brother hogged EB Complete and prevented me from finishing it) and no one I know has ever played it. Only one of my friends has even heard about them. My question is: what are the significant changes between the originals and the "Complete" remakes? I mean big ones - how are characters and their development different, are there any major plotholes, and most importantly, which ones do you guys prefer to play?

Best regards,
Galdis

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Nobiyuki77
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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by Nobiyuki77 »

The changes from The Silver Star --> Silver Star Story are much more significant than Eternal Blue --> Eternal Blue Complete.

Silver Star Story changes (that I can think of off the top of my head)

- No random battles on world map
- Quark first makes Alex undergo a small trial before giving over the "diamond" (Sega CD no trial that I recall)
- Weird Woods covered in fog preventing passage to Saith. (In Sega CD a bridge was out and you had to find an ax for the Carpenter to rebuild it.)
- Meet Nash in front of the house of the old woman (Sega CD you meet him in Saith in the boathouse)
- Boss added to the ship (Sega CD had no boss here)
- Luna joins at the last minute to go on the boat to Meribia (Sega CD version she stays behind)
- Meet Royce and Phacia (Sega CD they don't exist)
- Dross steals diamond and you first seek Mel's help (in original you just go after him yourself without asking for help if I recall correctly). There is no duel with Mel
- Luna meets Ghaleon in Vane (Sega CD she didn't join you)
- Silver Mirror no longer needed to enter the Tower with Mia (but metal equipment is now useless)
- Ghaleon captures Quark (Sega CD he kills him)
- Burg citizens not captured and forced to work on Grindary (Sega CD imposter parents are left behind, mini-boss fight).
- Ghaleon and crew still capturing girls despite being told by Quark that Luna was the one (wtf plot hole)
- No turtle ride to Damon's Tower (and no special song requirement either)
- Singing to unlock Blue Dragon Cave (Sega CD does not happen)
- Nash does not betray in Blue Dragon's Cave, but later (Sega CD he betrays at Blue Dragon's Cave, returns almost immediately)
- Alex and co. Fight Black Dragon, do not kill him (Sega CD they kill him and Ghaleon taunts them)
- Sword of Althena is in Burg at Dyne's Monument (Sega CD Sword of Althena is located at Althena's Tower, Dragon Trial must be passed)
- Nall "figures out" he's a white dragon at Dyne's Monument (Sega CD he's told in Althena's Tower by Dragon Angels).
- Ghaleon only has one form (Sega CD has two forms)
- Small playable epilogue present (Sega CD does not)
-Nobi

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by EternalDragonX »

Other than the music which is far better in the sega cd versions. I'd prefer the PS1 games over them, they just seem more evolved in the userinterface and itemes and moves overall. The graphics obviously got a facelift to look a bit better, but the best in that department is the psp version of Lunar. The biggest notable difference I found in Lunar ebc was the amount of special items to configure your characters how you want, also the insane amount of # attacks you have by the end game.

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by galdis »

I have read that the magic system was more interesting because you had to actually learn it. Was it more complex (specific combos yielding results)?

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by EternalDragonX »

No it doesn't go that far but you can equip crests and rings to enhance your attributes. Resulting in much more depth than the previous games, or hell even the new ones for that matter. The story is virtually the same, to be honest I don't even remember one difference between them.

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by Shiva Indis »

I like threads like this. <3 ::proceeds to suck all the air out of the room::

There are many adjustments to the story in Lunar 2, none as sweeping as in Lunar 1 but notable sometimes. For example:

There are lullaby scenes throughout the game where people soothe crying babies. (The Sega CD version happily has no fussy infants.)
There is a public bath in Illusion Woods. (It doesn't exist in the Sega CD version.)
Jean has flashbacks to her unhappy past every so often. (She's angry about it but she doesn't angst much.)
Lemina attempts to fly the party down a cliff on a magic carpet with mixed results. (No such event in the Sega CD version, which segued to Bandit's Butte/Phantom Sentry at this point. The whole section was of course dropped from the remake.)
The Lostest Boys set traps for the party on Taben's Peak, and the Shadow Dragon Cult shows up to kidnap kids from Nall's base. (All the Sega CD has in the way of traps is the net at the end of the dungeon, and Nall simply informs the party that they have to go rescue kidnapped kids. Also, the ninjas are called the Blue Dragon Cult. So long, subtlety!)
The Azado scenario revolves around religious politics, fire demons, and false claims of divine judgement. (Balse, Porom and Jamil don't exist, and the religious conspiracy involves demon summoning to support a protection scheme in town. Leo plays a smaller role in the whole mess.)
Ghaleon is Dragonmaster. (He's never referred to by this title in the Sega CD version, though clearly everyone's thinking it.)
When Ronfar goes into Mauri's mind, he sees scenes of their shared past. (Mauri's mind is only a simple maze where wrong choices are penalized with fights for the rest of the party.)
Ghaleon blocks the party's approach to Pentagulia, and Lucia protects Hiro from one of Ghaleon's attacks. (In the Sega CD version, Ghaleon traps Hiro in a block of crystal, and the rest of the party has to convince Lucia to take a detour to save him.)
Pentagulia is built on the Fortress of Althena. (The Fortress had yet to be thought up at the time the Sega CD version was made.)
The recording at the top of the Goddess Tower features an ageing Luna. (Replace with Althena in full goddess regalia.)
Zophar is an androgynous plant-man. (Zophar is a lavender fairy with massive hair extensions.)

See, not too long! Not too long, right??
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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by Alunissage »

galdis wrote:I have read that the magic system was more interesting because you had to actually learn it. Was it more complex (specific combos yielding results)?
The party gained Magic Experience (often abbreviated M) after each battle along with silver and experience. Most classes of magic (sets of up to four spells) could be levelled up by expending M, completely independent of the character's level. Powering up types of magic resulted in gaining additional spells of that type and upgrading of those spells to more powerful (and costly) versions, three versions in all. This system allowed you to focus on the types of spells that were most useful and ignore the fairly useless ones; for example, Hiro's Wind spells were pretty pointless after the first dungeon, but Ronfar's Health spells were always useful. Lemina's Fire magic is more useful earlier on because there are three ice/water dungeons but after that it was more worthwhile to level up her Ice spells because of the Red Dragon Cave. And so on. The remake kept the morphing into more powerful and expensive versions, but it's just tied to the characters' levels, as usual, which can be a bit annoying if you're keeping an eye on how much some spells cost. What the spells do when morphed doesn't change in the original either; Ronfar's Light/Bright/Shining Litany has the same scope in all three forms (AE/AA) rather than going from 1E/1A to AE/AA.

Not all types of spells could be powered up. The ones that were more about physical attacks -- Hiro's Sword, Leo's Blade, and Jean's Karate spells -- were gained at specific levels as usual, as were some of the more specialized ones of Ronfar's and Lemina's (called Soul and Mystic respectively) and Gwyn's three spells, which he got at the outset of the game and that was it. Lucia's spells didn't morph either; she just got more of them as she levelled up (which she does when Hiro does).

There were still spells enabled by equipping certain items -- some weapons and armor as well as accessories -- but no combinations like the crest system. There were more spells per character, though (with the exception of Gwyn).

I almost forgot one of the cool though minor things: Ronfar's Chance Dice had a different effect for each possible roll of the dice. It wasn't just damage as EBC's Anger Dice did; in fact, only one of the eleven possibilities did direct damage to the enemy.

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

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Alunissage wrote:I almost forgot one of the cool though minor things: Ronfar's Chance Dice had a different effect for each possible roll of the dice. It wasn't just damage as EBC's Anger Dice did; in fact, only one of the eleven possibilities did direct damage to the enemy.
Ronfar's dice spell was my favorite spell of the entire game. It made every boss battle a literal crapshoot. Would you deal out 999 damage to the enemy? Or would you end up killing half your party? KF
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galdis
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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by galdis »

Wow, thanks for all the awesome replies! The magic system in the earlier games does sound a lot more fun.

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by EternalDragonX »

galdis wrote:Wow, thanks for all the awesome replies! The magic system in the earlier games does sound a lot more fun.
Yes....yes it is.

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by ShugoHanasaki »

I started playing TSS a few months ago and got up to where you're traveling to see Damon. I got bored of the game after that. I've always been a huge fan of SSSC. it was my first introduction to the LUNAR fandom so in my mind it was the 1st. I didn't even know there was a TSS until after I watched the making disc a little while after I beat it when I was 11/12. (28 now) I've played the remakes EBC & SSSC countless times throughout the years.

I'm glad you shared all the differences. Now I know what all the differences are. I found the SSSC version to be much more organized and neat. Battles were better, abilities were better, item/equipment was neater. I prefer seeing the enemies on the map over random encounters. I would fight them all anyway. I did like some of the differences in story line. I wish they had of done more of a complete version that somehow combined both story lines into 1 big story line. I thought the axe in weird woods/bridge was kind of neat! I did become quite fond over Phacia. Royce...Not so much, but I did enjoy the 3 sister aspect over Xenobia by herself...That's just me...

I liked Luna coming with you. I liked her scene when she meets Ghaleon. One of my favorite scenes in the entire game! That and the 3 sisters revealing themselves. I also found TSS way TOO easy. For someone who just played it for the first time...The game was way too simple. Having magic with Alex made things way too easy. I also found the music from SSSC much more magical. With that being said, I found SSSC a much more magical adventure experience over TSS. Speaking of magic...Vane was beautiful in SSSC and rightfully so! The colors SSSC introduced to the game from TSS brightened it up a lot too!

That all being said. I respect TSS a lot! For its time...It's packed with amazing things. It's story is still amazing for its year of gaming. Everything the game had to offer was HUGE deal back then. Without it I would have never found SSSC!
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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by Kizyr »

ShugoHanasaki wrote:I liked Luna coming with you. I liked her scene when she meets Ghaleon. One of my favorite scenes in the entire game! That and the 3 sisters revealing themselves. I also found TSS way TOO easy. For someone who just played it for the first time...The game was way too simple. Having magic with Alex made things way too easy. I also found the music from SSSC much more magical. With that being said, I found SSSC a much more magical adventure experience over TSS. Speaking of magic...Vane was beautiful in SSSC and rightfully so! The colors SSSC introduced to the game from TSS brightened it up a lot too!

That all being said. I respect TSS a lot! For its time...It's packed with amazing things. It's story is still amazing for its year of gaming. Everything the game had to offer was HUGE deal back then. Without it I would have never found SSSC!
Luna coming with you at the last minute in Saith was a great treat for anyone who played the original -- it was (IMO) the best single change and best surprise for SSS for fans of the originals. Can't say I agree on the music or magic, but eh taste is subjective =D. The original TSS was way too easy though, I agree. KF
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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by ShugoHanasaki »

I can't explain it ^^;; Every time I play SSSC I'm blessed with this magical feeling from the game. Everything about it. Currently I'm replaying it again and even now when I play it I experience that magical feeling.
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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by Alunissage »

That's pretty much how I feel about TSS. ^_^

The magic system in TSS is far simpler in its actual working (no elemental effects or wisdom/intelligence stat, attack spells are a fixed number minus the enemy's anti-magic, times a small random factor), but it had a far greater variety in appearance. Part of this is that the spells didn't get any stronger as the character levelled up, so it was necessary to gain new spells as the monsters got stronger. But it also worked a bit better narratively -- Mia didn't just know fire and ice magic, she had wind and spirit and earthquake spells, a healing spell or two, MP and HP siphoning spells, and a teleport out of dungeon spell. Alex learns actual magic attacks and two or three healing spells in addition to the dragon magic (which is entirely attack spells). Jessica has lots of healing spells (necessary for the same reason of them not getting more powerful as she levels up) and a selection of support spells. Nash was admittedly underserved in this department, as he only has attack spells (some of which cause effects), so not that diferent from SSSC. This fits with his being decidedly junior to Mia in ability, of course, though in TSS there's only one person who suggests that Nash might not be as talented as his position would suggest, and that person is clearly envious.

Anyway, you can probably see why SSSC's magic repertoire, while neat and orderly, would seem awfully small after that. It does the job, though. It probably wouldn't have seemed so restrictive if I hadn't played TSS first.

I have to disagree on the scene of her meeting Ghaleon, though. Everything about that was creepy as heck to me. Not to mention that it only makes sense for her to say that the music made her think it was Alex if Alex were still playing the harp, as he obviously should have been. :P

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by ShugoHanasaki »

TSS was just too simple for me. SSSC is still easy to play, but it is harder than TSS. Having Alex focus on Sword magic in SSSC was a great addition imo

I think TSS had too many spells imo, too many pointless spells
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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by AkagisWhiteComet »

It's a bit hearsay on my part because I'm making a strong assumption on what the scenario writers were thinking but I feel a possible reason why the meeting scene with Luna and Ghaleon played out the way it did in SSSC as opposed to TSS is - obviously this SHOULDN'T be a spoiler given what we're talking about - to give the later scenes where she is enslaved by Ghaleon more dramatic overtones (if that's even the right wording to what I'm conveying...).

It puts in the player's mind in an uneasy state that Luna had a bit of weakness towards Ghaleon early on that was later reinforced during her spell as Dark Althena. The relationship is even further put on the player with some of the favoritism Ghaleon shows for Luna and her blatant albeit controlled actions later towards the end. By the time you entered the final battle you were really rearing up to lay it down on Ghaleon, more so than in TSS where the final battle is with a Magic Emperor that barely resembled as much.

Myself when I got to that part in the remake back in the day I remember feeling quite uneasy at that first meeting scene even knowing Ghaleon's character, and I think a lot of what was reinforcing this further spell in my mind that in SSSC Luna's role was dramatically expanded as opposed to her character in TSS. In the original game she doesn't meet Ghaleon until Alex brings him to Caldor Isle to meet Quark and their meeting is fairly short; if anything it was probably noteworthy for what is possibly Alex's longest single speaking role in TSS. Now however I'm presented with a Luna that all of a sudden showed fragility to someone who wasn't Alex. I have to admit that if you were a player that never played TSS on Sega CD this feeling likely did not play out the same. However if SSSC was your second rodeo it definitely gave some new depth to Luna that had not been present either in TSS or up to that point in SSSC.

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by ShugoHanasaki »

That is one of the reasons I prefer SSSC over TSS. I loved Luna coming with you and despite it not happening in the original game, they changed it to make it look like she always did. It was a very smooth transition.
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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by Alunissage »

Her only briefly meeting Ghaleon in TSS was fine, because he didn't identify her specifically as his target in that game.

I don't mind her having an expanded role in SSS, certainly, especially because she actually met Mia and Jessica -- but I still think that meeting scene with Ghaleon was creepy. I'm a bit bemused by your word choice of "showed fragility". Not sure exactly what you're getting at there. It does point out to me that she strikes me as rather more helpless in SSS than in TSS, which irritates me.

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Re: Differences between Sega and PS1 Versions

Post by AkagisWhiteComet »

Ha! Yeah probably not the best choice of words. I can elaborate on that.

She lost some of her head strong-ness at that scene.

Sans a few moments with Alex everything leading up to the Luna/Ghaleon meeting in SSSC shows a really high strung Luna. She has a lot to say, often accompanying a lot of snappy & strong rebuttals. All of a sudden after meeting Ghaleon, and if my memory serves me correct for a good chunk of their time in Vane, Luna's demeanor changes. It perks up a bit at points; meeting Mia, leaving to help Jessica, etc, but that whole little period for a good chunk of game play really changed Luna for me. And it wasn't in a bad way whatsoever. I said in one of the polls I thought Luna for TSS was one of the worst characters. However in SSSC Luna became my favorite character.

On the thread topic the change between TSS and SSSC of her actually meeting Mia and Jessica eventually was really good. It did always irk me in TSS that Luna did not meet the other female party members, when in EB Lucia's relationship with Jean and Lemina helps her to develop a good chunk of emotion.

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