Topic: "Lunar Genesis" for the DS!

[ruby_onix]

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Could someone describe the battle system(s) from previous RUNAAAAs? I'm intriguied.

It's hard to explain, so I found some pictures.

A, B, and C

Your characters start out on the right side of the screen. Monsters on the left. It's turn-based. Once it's your turn, you can select someone to attack something. They have a certain distance that they're capable of running in one turn. If they can reach the selected enemy, they'll attack. If they can't reach, they'll just get as close as they can, then just stop. Everyone on the field occupies space, so things can get blocked up. Forcing characters to take the long routes around things, which can mess up their turn. Same goes for the enemies.

It's not that different from something like Tales of Symphonia. Except that Lunar came out on the Sega CD, back in the days when Final Fantasy was groundbreaking for introducing the "active time" battle system, and before Crono Trigger wowed people with battles where the characters weren't always in the same place.

Lunar's battle system isn't anything spectacular by today's standards, but it worked really well and had a fast-pased "action" feel to it. The "Grandia" battle system is an evolution of the Lunar battle system (they basically just added an active-time "charge meter"), and is one of the top battle systems in use today.


Lunar DS looks to be having a painfully-uninspired typical RPG battle system, with the lone "hook" of having the upper screen of the DS display "airborne" enemies, which have to be dealt with using methods/weapons that aren't what you'd be using on the ground-based lower screen enemies.

As long as Lunar DS still has Bromides, I can forgive a sub-par battle system.

[vudu]

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Once it's your turn, you can select someone to attack something. They have a certain distance that they're capable of running in one turn. If they can reach the selected enemy, they'll attack. If they can't reach, they'll just get as close as they can, then just stop.

Is there a way to tell if you're close enough to attack, or is it sometimes a crap-shoot?  It would be really frustrating to run right up go an enemy and just stop dead only to have him wail on you next turn.

[ruby_onix]

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Is there a way to tell if you're close enough to attack, or is it sometimes a crap-shoot?

They don't tell you your distance.

It's usually not bad. It's just when something is far away. You have to ask yourself "Have I ever run that far before?" If you don't think you can do it, you just defend, or go after something closer, or go stand somewhere strategic, and let the enemy waste their time by closing the distance. Unless the enemy can travel farther than you. Or they have "distance attacks". Then you have to wonder if maybe you could've taken them out sooner, had you been more daring.

[Darc Requiem]

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Originally posted by: ruby_onix

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Is there a way to tell if you're close enough to attack, or is it sometimes a crap-shoot?

They don't tell you your distance.

It's usually not bad. It's just when something is far away. You have to ask yourself "Have I ever run that far before?" If you don't think you can do it, you just defend, or go after something closer, or go stand somewhere strategic, and let the enemy waste their time by closing the distance. Unless the enemy can travel farther than you. Or they have "distance attacks". Then you have to wonder if maybe you could've taken them out sooner, had you been more daring.

Well each of your characters have Range as part of the attributes. So you had a general idea of how far your characters could move and after a few battles you could pretty much be sure of what they could reach. Lunar Dragon Song is looking better and better but I too and disappointed in the battle system thus far. It looks like the battle system from Phantasy Star 1,2, and 4. Which was good for the time it was released but the Lunar system was far superior IMO. Hopefully their is more to the battle system than we can glean from the screen shots.

[vudu]

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You have to ask yourself "Have I ever run that far before?" If you don't think you can do it, you just defend, or go after something closer, or go stand somewhere strategic, and let the enemy waste their time by closing the distance.

Are they enemies smart enough to know to not walk into your range if they can't attack you?  Meaning, if both you and an enemy can move four spaces, and you're six spaces away, will he just walk right into your attack range and then wait for you to slaughter him?  Or will he know to keep his distance?  Do you ever get involved in any Mexican stand-offs?

[ruby_onix]

Most will just charge at you blindly. Some with distance big attacks will just hold their position and rain attacks on you, and you have to close the distance ASAP. No standoffs.

For the most part, it's just a very-natural fast-paced system, and you can usually get through it just fine if you just keep hitting the button. But the depth is there, and if you see an opening, you can chose take it.

[vudu]

Word on the street is Lunar DS is pretty mediocre.  I'm actually pretty relieved.  I had no idea how I was going to fit this game into my busy schedule.  

The battle system sounds ungodly poor.  I'm curious who at Game Arts decided it was a good idea.

Keep your fingers crossed Lost In Blue isn't good.  I don't have time to play that one either.

[TMW]

I am sorely disappointed.  I could have put up with a poor battle system...what really turned me off was that the story seemed to be lacking.

Ahh well.  If I see it in a bargain bin I might pick it up.  

[hudsonhawk]

I had high hopes for this too.  From the 1up review, they say that running in the overworld causes your character to lose hit points, and making you plod.... slowly... through.... the... game.

Whoever thought of that "feature" should be beaten with a shoe.

[kirby_killer_dedede]

I thought it would be great, but I'm glad it's not.  WiFi Wednesday screwed my entire next year in gaming over, I wouldn't have been able to fit this in anyway.  And only God knows how I'm going to afford a Revolution at this point.

[chaingunsofdoom]

I picked-up Lunar at the TRU Canada sale on Saturday, even after reading about it online. So far I can't complain about much for the price I paid. The battle graphics may be a bit pixelated, but they're not that bad. Although I'm only a few hours in, I think the PGC reviewer was greatly exaggerating about every battle being a 5 minute battle... with auto-fight mode I can breeze through them in less than a minute. The 'losing HP while running' is completely mind boggling, but I still run a lot. The 'win items' vs. 'win XP' is strange but workable, I guess.

[chaingunsofdoom]

Finally finished Lunar yesterday. Total of 23 hours play time. The whole ending just didn't make sense ("mind-bogglingly poor" comes to mind). At the end of the day, even with the bargain price (TRU Canada's $14.97 sale) that I paid, it made me wonder if I got fair value in return.

[ruby_onix]

April fools bump.

[IceCold]

My virgin eyes have been tainted forever!

[KDR_11k]

You can rename it back now, April Annoyance is over.

[Infernal Monkey]

wear r da screens 4 dis game