Lunar Harmony of Silver Star - Four Heroes scenario (video)

[Alunissage]

I wondered what was up with that when I played SSSC, since at that time I hadn't known there was another game in the series besides TSS. Whatever it made me think of wasn't what I got with EB.

[Silver Phoenix]

I always thought it was odd that EB gave no reference to the story of SSS aside from Nall and the flashback scene in the Mystic Ruins. You'd think Alex as the Dragonmaster would have lent itself to solidifying a connecting thread to EB. The only connection is really Ghaleon, Nall, and Althena but they really don't pay homage to any of the other characters.

Of course there's Ghaleon's reference to Dyne at his demise. Was that something WD threw in or was that also in the Japanese game?

[Alunissage]

Well, there's also Ramus and Mia as ancestors. Kyle and Jessica basically vanish, except for a line or two of Nall's and Jess's bromide in the remake, and Nash is only mentioned in a couple of books.

[Temzin]

Of course Ghaleon's reference to Dyne at his demise. Was that something WD threw in or was that also in the Japanese game?

I'd say that the feeling of a history lost over centuries is part of the charm of EB's setting. The whole Zophar and Cult of Althena plot relies on the real-life fact that people forget history astonishingly quickly, down to the significance of their surroundings. The fact that orphaned children play in the ruins of a war machine, or that Vheen is a tired shadow of things past, or that the last Dragonmaster, the Magic Emperor, and even the god figure are distant memories creates a powerful setting that was clearly intended.

And as for Ghaleon and Dyne, yes, he says the same thing, though he merely asks "Are you watching, my friend," though it's clear that he means Dyne.

[Alunissage]

Okay, I finally watched the subtitled (actually supertitled) videos, so now I have more context. It will take me a while to pull together all my thoughts on it, but my initial reaction is that I don't actually see much of a problem with this meshing with the other games. I see lots of parallels, of course, but I don't think they're necessarily detrimental. I'll try to work this out in more detail later this week.

[Shiva Indis]

Agreed, Alun. I don't see any plot holes opening on account of the prologue.

This talk about why Zophar chose Ghaleon has got me thinking about a possible remake 1 -> remake 2 inconsistency though. ^_^

[Silver Phoenix]

I don't think it's necessarily an inconsistency, and if there is an EB remake Zophar could mention that Aiferun was not up to the task. However, I doubt he'd get any mention at all.

[Alunissage]

Aiferun is presumably human, while Ghaleon is not. That right there could be a deciding factor, in terms of revivability; the Mazoku (Vile Tribe) are beings formed of magic, as well as been very long-lived. But I expect it's more about personality. More on this later.

[Silver Phoenix]

It's a shame that there is next to no information on Aiferun, yet he's supposed to have been a buddy to the Four Heroes and all that crap. You also never get to see beyond his mask, and it's a bit bothersome how in Eternal Blue there are those enemies that are simply masks similar to Aiferun. There is no correlation between them, but it would have been nice for them to take a different route. They could have at least left his mouth visible to give him some sort of expression.

[Alunissage]

Well, keep in mind that this thread has all been based entirely on a prologue video. Our resident Japanophones haven't yet played far enough into the game to tell us if there's anything else later on.

I wouldn't see the Personas in EB to be any more of a problem than having numerous Sorceror type enemies when we also have Ghaleon. I think the distinction between main character and misc monster is clear enough from context.

[Silver Phoenix]

I was just using the Personas as a reference to Aiferun because the masks are similar. I don't know if they actually inspired the design or they're just similar in a way.

I thought Nobiyuki beat the game already? He said he forgot to buy the Rememberizer.

[Alunissage]

He did, but he doesn't read that much Japanese, and he's avoided talking about the storyline at all. Whether that's to avoid spoiling or because he didn't see anything noteworthy, I don't know. But frankly I'd just as soon not have information on the game farther than I've played it already (in Iluk Field right now) on the off-chance that I notice something. My guess is that any further discussion of it would be in brief asides.

More to the point, though, I don't think the intent was to know all THAT much about the material in the prologue, because this game's story isn't about the Four Heroes. Being the longtime Lunar fans we are, of course we're focusing on the new material and its implications for the series as a whole. But I suspect the real purpose of it is simply to give some substance to why Alex would look up to Dyne, while at the same time showing that Dyne (as well as the other Heroes) wasn't some superhuman legend but a human who did important things while still having moments of, well, humanness. It gives Alex something to relate to, as a child from that same village and only one generation apart. (Compare that to Luna telling Alex, in SSSC, that Dragonmaster Dyne always brushed his teeth, etc.) We see not only why Alex felt that he could actually aspire to the role of Dragonmaster but had no reservations about stepping into the role with seriousness when Luna is abducted -- reprising the story he already knew of Dyne rescuing Althena. He would identify with that more for having grown up with the story.

All that said, it misfires a bit since we end up focused on Dyne and crew rather than on Alex. But again, that's characteristic of the longtime fans of the series, and most people won't have spent years sifting everything for bits of backstory and all. It's been a decade since SSSC (in the US), and seven years since Legend. So people who played those and have gone on to play other things may not even remember how much backstory was or was not provided in those games.

For our own sakes, of course, I rather hope that the careful construction of all this backstory and character building is pointing to a prequel, Lufia 2 style, with an epilogue expanding on the events between the games and what was going on in Ghaleon's mind to transform him into what he became. Maybe there's something like that already in HSS, but if so, no one's said yet, and I don't want to hear about it in advance either. I just think the complaining about the prologue is premature since we just don't know what else is in the game yet. Complain about it after we've all played it in a language we can read.

[Silver Phoenix]

I certainly wasn't complaining. After all, it's not like I have the game in my hands to draw reference from. We're just very analytical longtime fans, and of course with anything new we'll get out our magnifying glasses.

Just imagine if we had an actual sequel or prequel to delve into, we'd be off the charts.

[Alunissage]

I was being kind of general, as some people certainly are complaining.

[Nobiyuki77]

As for my lack of comments I've been

1) Busy
2) Not wanting to spoil (I've been known to "spoil" by saying things I don't consider spoilers, but others do)
3) Working on my reading (it's MUCH better than before, but still not fluent. I mostly went from memory + the new stuff that I CAN read WOO HOO!!)

[Silver Phoenix]

Ok, but as a cryogenic Lunar fan I will always have the right to complain if I see fit. ^_~