Spells in Lunar 1 and Lunar 2 versions
Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 9:48 am
I spent some time cleaning up and adding to my lists of spells in the six Lunar 1 and 2 games recently. For some reason, I love comparing version differences, and these are some of the easiest to look at. Below is a list of notable things I, er, noticed. Most of them are about TSS and EB, for the obvious reasons that those two games have the largest number and variety of spells and that EB set the template for all of the remakes. Actually, I may as well start with an overview of the games’ comparative spell repertoires:
* TSS has around 80 uniquely-named spells, about a dozen of which are in the repertoire of multiple party members. This is a bit deceiving, though, as the magic system is so simple that there is no wisdom or similar stat that is factored into effect calculation. Magic doesn’t get any stronger as the characters level up, so they need to keep getting new spells as they progress through the game and encounter harder enemies. There are no actual elemental effects, either; it’s all for show.
* EB has over 120 uniquely-named spells, but 56 of them are powered-up versions of other spells and replace their earlier versions. EB introduced the grouping of spells into sets of four by type, which was used the Lunar 1 remakes, and the morphing of spells into more powerful versions, which was used in the Lunar 2 remake. EB’s system of accumulating and spending Magic Experience to selectively power up certain groups of spells as the player wishes has not been copied by later games, though.
* SSS has the smallest number of spells, 48 in total with no explicit duplicates. Five are duplicates with only the name and graphics changed, but overall this set is basically The Essential Lunar Magic Collection. It does mean that after level 35 the only new spells you’ll see are the remaining dragon spells, which makes levelling up less fun, and the spells themselves are kind of boring: five sets of (attack 1E, attack EZ, attack AE, stat boost), for example.
* LL’s main spells are the same as SSSC’s, with a few trivial changes in the targets of Nash’s condition spells, but adds some variety in the form of an Arts gauge special attack/spell for the six main party members (and an alternate Arts spell for all but Luna when the right items are equipped). Because of a strict eight-character limit, spell names in English are a little idiosyncratic.
* SSH has basically the same spells as LL, including the Arts spells, and also has a handful of new spell names introduced via the Four Heroes playable prologue. They’re all duplicates of the main party’s Arts spells, though. The second Arts moves for the characters who have them were changed from LL’s.
* EBC dropped a third of the morphing spells in EB and added a bunch of spells via the crest system, though many of these are duplicates of the elemental spells previously unique to Hiro, Lemina, and Leo. I haven’t tried counting these up.
Most unique spell, found in only one of these six games:
* Charm Defense (TSS, Jessica). Temporarily lowers the enemy encounter rate, making it the only spell to affect getting into battles.
Runners-up:
* Blue Dragon Vigor (EB, crest). Adds about six attacks to the character’s next turn, around half of which are critical hits.
* Pressure Cooker (EB, Lemina) and Soul Finger (EB, Lucia). Lowers level of enemies, including bosses.
* Chance/Lucky/Destiny Dice (EB, Ronfar). Each of the 11 possible rolls has a different effect, with only snake eyes being negative.
Hardest to get spells:
* Sidestep (TSS, Laike). Need to level Laike up from his starting level of 95 to 96 for him to gain this one (100,000 EXP needed). It’s not unique to Laike, but it was pretty surprising.
* Liner (LL, Alex’s 2nd Arts move). Need to have two things equipped and one of them is very easy to miss.
Runners-up:
* Solar Bomb (EBC, Lucia). Need to level Hiro up to 14 while party is still in the Blue Spire -- although this is mainly tedious rather than difficult since Lucia wipes everything out at that time.
* Destruction (TSS, Luna). Luna is only in the party until Saith, and gains this spell at level 10. But you're not likely to level her up that far, especially since the first boss fight of the game isn't until the Sewers.
Honorable mention: Lucia’s revive spells (EB, EBC). She has them, but you won’t see them often.
Most redundant spell:
* Coup de Grace (TSS, Laike). Ups ATK by 255. He’s only playable in two areas, and I’m pretty sure he can take out anything in those areas in one hit already. Also, he has four attacks and there are never more than eight enemies.
Runner-up:
* Sidestep (TSS, Laike), which ups DEF. As noted above, the enemies he encounters are no match for him anyway, and he has 580 HP. I wonder if his spells ("skills", rather) exist just to show that he's a good fighter.
Most overpowered spell:
* MistVeil / Mist Barrier (LL and SSH, Mia’s basic Arts move). Grants three rounds of total invincibility. I suppose the justification here is that no one uses Mia for attacking and so her gauge wouldn’t fill very fast, but still, it’s considerably stronger than White Dragon Protect.
Strangest names:
* Psychotron (TSS, Mia). With a name like that its function is obviously…um…
* Pressure Cooker (EB, Lemina). Its in-game description is “???”.
* Buck Up! (LL, Mia). Can’t you just imagine her saying that? Me neither.
Runners-up:
* Fusion Litany (TSS, Jessica). At least the names of her other condition-curing spells (Purity Litany, Mental Litany) hint at their function. This one cures paralysis, but I wouldn't know that without looking it up.
* Black Dragon Shield (EB). This was the first appearance of Black Dragon Grief in the series and its name is totally misleading.
Honorable mention: the Japanese name of Nash’s AE thunder spell: シュペルグローム [shuperuguroomu]. No one’s figured out what it means, as far as I know.
Oddest spell variant:
* Healing Litany (TSS, Jessica). Heals everyone but Jessica herself.
Most unlikely spell:
* Althena! (LL). It’s not the spell, it’s who casts it: Nall. (Kind of -- it’s out of battle only, so it’s just a selection from a menu. But still, it’s his.)
Most overpriced spells:
* Red Dragon Anger (EB). It’s a remarkably weak AE spell and costs 99 MP in the NA game (80 in the Japanese game).
* Black Dragon Shield (EB). Also 99 MP (45 in the Japanese game).
Most expensive spell (more worth it than you’d think):
* Holy Light (TSS, Alex), the final Dragonmaster spell. It costs 120 MP and on first glance seems to be the same as Black Dragon Grief in the rest of the games, making it ridiculously overpriced for something that doesn’t even give you EXP. However, it also does 510 damage to enemies with more than 510 HP, of which there are a fair number after gaining the spell. Also, Alex will probably have at least 400-500 MP by that point in the game. Plus, it looks cool.
Best bargain:
* Poe Sword (EB, Hiro). At 4 MP it’s one of the cheapest attack spells in the series and is Hiro’s go-to spell for the entire game, in a game where the caster’s MP is consistently around 70% of his HP so he has plenty to burn. It’s also stronger than any of the comparable attack spells (e.g., Sword Dance). Its EBC edition isn’t as much of a bargain, though it’s still pretty good.
Honorable mention:
* Tranquil Litany (Japanese EB, Ronfar). 17 MP for several hundred HP recovered. (45 MP in US game.)
Most variation in English names:
* Mia’s assist spell グランドウェポン (Grand Weapon): Power Drive (SSSC) / Buck Up! (LL) / Endow Weapon (SSH). Lemina’s EBC version is Power Flame.
* Mia’s and Lemina’s (EBC) AE ice spell コールドストーム (Cold Storm): Ice Wall (SSSC) / Sleet (LL) / Ice Geyser (SSH) / Freeze Claw (EBC). (The EB name was Freeze Claw in both English and Japanese.)
* Nash’s AE thunder spell シュペルグローム [shuperuguroomu]: Thunder Thrust (SSSC) / Blitz (LL) / Electroshower (SSH).
Runner-up:
* Jessica’s full-heal spell 慈愛の祈り is Althena Litany in SSSC, LoveAve in LL, and Charity Litany in SSH.
Honorable mention:
* LL’s names for the four Dragon spells are Quarker, Amelian, Cyanic, and Rubean. This solution to the character limitation only works because this is the one game in which all four dragons have names.
Not enough variation in English names:
* SSSC’s Escape Song (Luna) and Escape Litany (Jessica) do entirely different things (run from battle and return to dungeon entrance, respectively).
Runner-up:
* Nash (TSS). All ten of his spells are named Thunder Something. TSS doesn’t have icons or MP costs for its spells, so it’s pretty easy to get the wrong one. (The Japanese names are more varied, though I don't have real translations of them.)
Least versatile spellcaster:
* Nash (TSS). See above. Nine of his spells are 1E or AE thunder attacks; the tenth paralyzes enemies. He got a little more to do in the remakes, but not much.
Most versatile spellcaster:
* Mia (TSS). Fourteen of her twenty-one spells are attacks with the appearance of 5 different elements (cosmetic only, as TSS doesn’t actually have elemental damage, but the idea is there); her other seven are a confuse spell, a decent heal spell, an enemy debuff, two HP absorb spells, one MP absorb spell, and a dungeon-escape spell. The only thing she doesn’t do is assist. She also has the most spells at once (EB Ronfar and Lemina each have 28, but it’s really 12 spells apiece, eight of which can be levelled up twice).
* Jessica (TSS) -- see below. She has no straight attack/damage spells, but pretty much everything else.
Runner-up:
* Ronfar (EBC). Sixteen spells in total, and almost unique in Lunar 2, each of the six spells that get powered up increase their scope -- although they also at least double in cost. In addition to the standard heal/cleanse/revive spells, he also has an absorb HP, a couple of attack spells, and the game’s dungeon escape.
Honorable mention:
* Lucia (EB). Though good luck getting her to cast some of those.
Most spells you’ll never use:
* Jessica (TSS). Five of her eighteen spells are healing and four more are condition-curing, but she also has four stat boosts, three condition-inflicting spells, an AA magic shield comparable to Dragon Protect, and the aforementioned encounter rate lowering spell. She also has a pretty decent attack and range. So probably you’ll use her for attacking and healing and never get around to trying out any of the others.
Honorable mention:
* Ronfar (EB). Chance Dice is fun, but I suspect hardly anyone uses his other Chance spells at all. He has enough to do with healing and the occasional regular attack, and who wants to potentially knock him out?
* Alex (TSS). In addition to the five Dragonmaster spells and his three healing spells, he has nine attack spells (all putatively Fire spells). But outside of the Cave of Trial, which you won’t survive without using magic, he’ll rarely need them.
Most spells you’ll never want to use:
* Hiro and Leo (EB). Their non-sword/blade spells suck. At the beginning of the game, that first Wind spell being 3MP instead of Poe Sword’s 4MP can make a difference, but by the time you get Ronfar you’ll never use them again. And don’t even bother with Leo’s Earth spells. Since in this game you can expend points to level up certain classes of magic, you'll likely never see them, because it'd be a complete waste.
Runner-up:
* Nash (SSSC/LL/SSH). Five of his eight spells are status effects, and how many people use those? (Although they can be useful in the Meribia Sewers, and the forest around the womens’ spring if you’re feeling masochistic.)
Anyone want to add (or argue with) anything?
* TSS has around 80 uniquely-named spells, about a dozen of which are in the repertoire of multiple party members. This is a bit deceiving, though, as the magic system is so simple that there is no wisdom or similar stat that is factored into effect calculation. Magic doesn’t get any stronger as the characters level up, so they need to keep getting new spells as they progress through the game and encounter harder enemies. There are no actual elemental effects, either; it’s all for show.
* EB has over 120 uniquely-named spells, but 56 of them are powered-up versions of other spells and replace their earlier versions. EB introduced the grouping of spells into sets of four by type, which was used the Lunar 1 remakes, and the morphing of spells into more powerful versions, which was used in the Lunar 2 remake. EB’s system of accumulating and spending Magic Experience to selectively power up certain groups of spells as the player wishes has not been copied by later games, though.
* SSS has the smallest number of spells, 48 in total with no explicit duplicates. Five are duplicates with only the name and graphics changed, but overall this set is basically The Essential Lunar Magic Collection. It does mean that after level 35 the only new spells you’ll see are the remaining dragon spells, which makes levelling up less fun, and the spells themselves are kind of boring: five sets of (attack 1E, attack EZ, attack AE, stat boost), for example.
* LL’s main spells are the same as SSSC’s, with a few trivial changes in the targets of Nash’s condition spells, but adds some variety in the form of an Arts gauge special attack/spell for the six main party members (and an alternate Arts spell for all but Luna when the right items are equipped). Because of a strict eight-character limit, spell names in English are a little idiosyncratic.
* SSH has basically the same spells as LL, including the Arts spells, and also has a handful of new spell names introduced via the Four Heroes playable prologue. They’re all duplicates of the main party’s Arts spells, though. The second Arts moves for the characters who have them were changed from LL’s.
* EBC dropped a third of the morphing spells in EB and added a bunch of spells via the crest system, though many of these are duplicates of the elemental spells previously unique to Hiro, Lemina, and Leo. I haven’t tried counting these up.
Most unique spell, found in only one of these six games:
* Charm Defense (TSS, Jessica). Temporarily lowers the enemy encounter rate, making it the only spell to affect getting into battles.
Runners-up:
* Blue Dragon Vigor (EB, crest). Adds about six attacks to the character’s next turn, around half of which are critical hits.
* Pressure Cooker (EB, Lemina) and Soul Finger (EB, Lucia). Lowers level of enemies, including bosses.
* Chance/Lucky/Destiny Dice (EB, Ronfar). Each of the 11 possible rolls has a different effect, with only snake eyes being negative.
Hardest to get spells:
* Sidestep (TSS, Laike). Need to level Laike up from his starting level of 95 to 96 for him to gain this one (100,000 EXP needed). It’s not unique to Laike, but it was pretty surprising.
* Liner (LL, Alex’s 2nd Arts move). Need to have two things equipped and one of them is very easy to miss.
Runners-up:
* Solar Bomb (EBC, Lucia). Need to level Hiro up to 14 while party is still in the Blue Spire -- although this is mainly tedious rather than difficult since Lucia wipes everything out at that time.
* Destruction (TSS, Luna). Luna is only in the party until Saith, and gains this spell at level 10. But you're not likely to level her up that far, especially since the first boss fight of the game isn't until the Sewers.
Honorable mention: Lucia’s revive spells (EB, EBC). She has them, but you won’t see them often.
Most redundant spell:
* Coup de Grace (TSS, Laike). Ups ATK by 255. He’s only playable in two areas, and I’m pretty sure he can take out anything in those areas in one hit already. Also, he has four attacks and there are never more than eight enemies.
Runner-up:
* Sidestep (TSS, Laike), which ups DEF. As noted above, the enemies he encounters are no match for him anyway, and he has 580 HP. I wonder if his spells ("skills", rather) exist just to show that he's a good fighter.
Most overpowered spell:
* MistVeil / Mist Barrier (LL and SSH, Mia’s basic Arts move). Grants three rounds of total invincibility. I suppose the justification here is that no one uses Mia for attacking and so her gauge wouldn’t fill very fast, but still, it’s considerably stronger than White Dragon Protect.
Strangest names:
* Psychotron (TSS, Mia). With a name like that its function is obviously…um…
* Pressure Cooker (EB, Lemina). Its in-game description is “???”.
* Buck Up! (LL, Mia). Can’t you just imagine her saying that? Me neither.
Runners-up:
* Fusion Litany (TSS, Jessica). At least the names of her other condition-curing spells (Purity Litany, Mental Litany) hint at their function. This one cures paralysis, but I wouldn't know that without looking it up.
* Black Dragon Shield (EB). This was the first appearance of Black Dragon Grief in the series and its name is totally misleading.
Honorable mention: the Japanese name of Nash’s AE thunder spell: シュペルグローム [shuperuguroomu]. No one’s figured out what it means, as far as I know.
Oddest spell variant:
* Healing Litany (TSS, Jessica). Heals everyone but Jessica herself.
Most unlikely spell:
* Althena! (LL). It’s not the spell, it’s who casts it: Nall. (Kind of -- it’s out of battle only, so it’s just a selection from a menu. But still, it’s his.)
Most overpriced spells:
* Red Dragon Anger (EB). It’s a remarkably weak AE spell and costs 99 MP in the NA game (80 in the Japanese game).
* Black Dragon Shield (EB). Also 99 MP (45 in the Japanese game).
Most expensive spell (more worth it than you’d think):
* Holy Light (TSS, Alex), the final Dragonmaster spell. It costs 120 MP and on first glance seems to be the same as Black Dragon Grief in the rest of the games, making it ridiculously overpriced for something that doesn’t even give you EXP. However, it also does 510 damage to enemies with more than 510 HP, of which there are a fair number after gaining the spell. Also, Alex will probably have at least 400-500 MP by that point in the game. Plus, it looks cool.
Best bargain:
* Poe Sword (EB, Hiro). At 4 MP it’s one of the cheapest attack spells in the series and is Hiro’s go-to spell for the entire game, in a game where the caster’s MP is consistently around 70% of his HP so he has plenty to burn. It’s also stronger than any of the comparable attack spells (e.g., Sword Dance). Its EBC edition isn’t as much of a bargain, though it’s still pretty good.
Honorable mention:
* Tranquil Litany (Japanese EB, Ronfar). 17 MP for several hundred HP recovered. (45 MP in US game.)
Most variation in English names:
* Mia’s assist spell グランドウェポン (Grand Weapon): Power Drive (SSSC) / Buck Up! (LL) / Endow Weapon (SSH). Lemina’s EBC version is Power Flame.
* Mia’s and Lemina’s (EBC) AE ice spell コールドストーム (Cold Storm): Ice Wall (SSSC) / Sleet (LL) / Ice Geyser (SSH) / Freeze Claw (EBC). (The EB name was Freeze Claw in both English and Japanese.)
* Nash’s AE thunder spell シュペルグローム [shuperuguroomu]: Thunder Thrust (SSSC) / Blitz (LL) / Electroshower (SSH).
Runner-up:
* Jessica’s full-heal spell 慈愛の祈り is Althena Litany in SSSC, LoveAve in LL, and Charity Litany in SSH.
Honorable mention:
* LL’s names for the four Dragon spells are Quarker, Amelian, Cyanic, and Rubean. This solution to the character limitation only works because this is the one game in which all four dragons have names.
Not enough variation in English names:
* SSSC’s Escape Song (Luna) and Escape Litany (Jessica) do entirely different things (run from battle and return to dungeon entrance, respectively).
Runner-up:
* Nash (TSS). All ten of his spells are named Thunder Something. TSS doesn’t have icons or MP costs for its spells, so it’s pretty easy to get the wrong one. (The Japanese names are more varied, though I don't have real translations of them.)
Least versatile spellcaster:
* Nash (TSS). See above. Nine of his spells are 1E or AE thunder attacks; the tenth paralyzes enemies. He got a little more to do in the remakes, but not much.
Most versatile spellcaster:
* Mia (TSS). Fourteen of her twenty-one spells are attacks with the appearance of 5 different elements (cosmetic only, as TSS doesn’t actually have elemental damage, but the idea is there); her other seven are a confuse spell, a decent heal spell, an enemy debuff, two HP absorb spells, one MP absorb spell, and a dungeon-escape spell. The only thing she doesn’t do is assist. She also has the most spells at once (EB Ronfar and Lemina each have 28, but it’s really 12 spells apiece, eight of which can be levelled up twice).
* Jessica (TSS) -- see below. She has no straight attack/damage spells, but pretty much everything else.
Runner-up:
* Ronfar (EBC). Sixteen spells in total, and almost unique in Lunar 2, each of the six spells that get powered up increase their scope -- although they also at least double in cost. In addition to the standard heal/cleanse/revive spells, he also has an absorb HP, a couple of attack spells, and the game’s dungeon escape.
Honorable mention:
* Lucia (EB). Though good luck getting her to cast some of those.
Most spells you’ll never use:
* Jessica (TSS). Five of her eighteen spells are healing and four more are condition-curing, but she also has four stat boosts, three condition-inflicting spells, an AA magic shield comparable to Dragon Protect, and the aforementioned encounter rate lowering spell. She also has a pretty decent attack and range. So probably you’ll use her for attacking and healing and never get around to trying out any of the others.
Honorable mention:
* Ronfar (EB). Chance Dice is fun, but I suspect hardly anyone uses his other Chance spells at all. He has enough to do with healing and the occasional regular attack, and who wants to potentially knock him out?
* Alex (TSS). In addition to the five Dragonmaster spells and his three healing spells, he has nine attack spells (all putatively Fire spells). But outside of the Cave of Trial, which you won’t survive without using magic, he’ll rarely need them.
Most spells you’ll never want to use:
* Hiro and Leo (EB). Their non-sword/blade spells suck. At the beginning of the game, that first Wind spell being 3MP instead of Poe Sword’s 4MP can make a difference, but by the time you get Ronfar you’ll never use them again. And don’t even bother with Leo’s Earth spells. Since in this game you can expend points to level up certain classes of magic, you'll likely never see them, because it'd be a complete waste.
Runner-up:
* Nash (SSSC/LL/SSH). Five of his eight spells are status effects, and how many people use those? (Although they can be useful in the Meribia Sewers, and the forest around the womens’ spring if you’re feeling masochistic.)
Anyone want to add (or argue with) anything?