Beat SSSC again

[Enclave]

I beat SSSC yesterday, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. To me, the thing that sums up the game is "fun". Everything about the game, from the characters to the graphics, are fun and enjoyable. It has a fun and lighthearted spirit that games have mostly abandoned from in favor of dark and edgy stories, graphics, and characters. However, the thing is, dark and edgy games still have goofy plots and characters, but they try and hide with layers of grit and "morally ambiguous" moments. SSSC completely embraces and runs with the inherent goofiness in games, making it very fun and enjoyable.

The standout part of the game are the characters. They all have really fun and noticeable personalities, and most importantly, good chemistry. Unlike other games, they feel like real, though incredibly messed up, people that actually do things besides serve as meat shields in combat or bait for a sidestory. Seeing things like Nall make fun of the deranged NPCs, Kyle and Jessica getting up in each other's business, Luna trying to keep Alex and the party straight, Ghaleon hamming it up as an evil overlord, and Nash get made fun of for being an unlikable prick give the characters a special type of chemistry and enjoyability that I haven't seen in other games. Even games that deliberately try to make the game about the relationship between characters, like Bioshock Infinite and Walking Dead, don't hit the mark like SSSC's characters do. The only character I wasn't really sold on for most of the game was Mia, but after the Vane and Grindery scene, I liked her as much as the others.

Closely related to the characters are the dialogue. I love the game's script; it sets the game's fun and humorous tone perfectly. The characters have their own distinct voices and they usually fit each other. I want to give special props to Ghaleon's dialogue, which hits the "better-than-thou evil overlord" personality to a T. The only niggle I had with the dialogue was that, for a barbarian-wannabe, Kyle tended to use too many "big words" that made him sound smarter than he was in most of the game.

I used to think that the combat was boring, but I found myself liking it after getting through some of the game. When I reached Ruid, I was deliberately hunting down every enemy because I wanted to send Ghaleon a message that I wasn't screwing around anymore. The combat's not complex at all, but it's fun inbetween the characters interacting.

One thing I found myself liking more from my previous playthrough were the anime cutscenes. I remember not being too fond of them last time, but in this playthough I really liked them. I think they make important events notably more epic and memorable than they would be if they were just regular dialogue. I don't think even 3D in-game cutscenes could be as neat and have the "holy crap" factor that the anime cutscenes have.

Overall, though, I feel that SSSC is one of the best RPGs out there, and a candidate for one of my favorite games of all time. It has the raw fun factor and simple but very pleasing enjoyment that games these days seem to have lost. I can't wait to play EBC again, because I remember it being even better.

[Alex_Pwns_Hiro]

I agree! I think im going to play through Silver Star Harmony for the PSP after reading your post.

[Leo]

I watch people review the game in YouTube videos and read reviews online and in some magazines and I feel like the music should get more praise than it does. I greatly prefer Iwadare to Uematsu.

Lunar is fun, but so are a lot of other RPGs. What Lunar has that so many other RPGs don't is SOUL.

[Enclave]

I watch people review the game in YouTube videos and read reviews online and in some magazines and I feel like the music should get more praise than it does. I greatly prefer Iwadare to Uematsu.

Lunar is fun, but so are a lot of other RPGs. What Lunar has that so many other RPGs don't is SOUL.

I think what makes Lunar so great is that, not only does it have soul, it's soul is fun and enjoyable. In today's game industry, wherever every plot has to be dark and sad in order to look (not be) deep, Lunar says "screw that!" and embraces light heartiness, fun, and silliness. The characters happy play on each other and NPCs instead of moping around or being hardened for the sake of making characters look deep and mature (they aren't). It's fun and wants you to enjoy the characters and the world for what they are instead of trying to get some pseudo-deep meaning, like "Humans are the real monsters", out of it.

[Leo]

I watch people review the game in YouTube videos and read reviews online and in some magazines and I feel like the music should get more praise than it does. I greatly prefer Iwadare to Uematsu.

Lunar is fun, but so are a lot of other RPGs. What Lunar has that so many other RPGs don't is SOUL.

I think what makes Lunar so great is that, not only does it have soul, it's soul is fun and enjoyable. In today's game industry, wherever every plot has to be dark and sad in order to look (not be) deep, Lunar says "screw that!" and embraces light heartiness, fun, and silliness. The characters happy play on each other and NPCs instead of moping around or being hardened for the sake of making characters look deep and mature (they aren't). It's fun and wants you to enjoy the characters and the world for what they are instead of trying to get some pseudo-deep meaning, like "Humans are the real monsters", out of it.

They can do depressing. The part in Meribia near the end before the ladies come and remotivate the guys was pretty powerful.