Welcome to the Summer of Old JRPGs, where we’re playing classic role-playing games and talking about them every week. Check out the full schedule here
I feel like we don’t spend enough time talking about fonts.
Seriously. Fonts.
For a long time I’ve believed that a good font can change the entire tone of a video game—especially a text-heavy game like Lunar: Eternal Blue
I mean, look at this font in the PlayStation version:
It’s crisp, classy, pleasant to read, with that serif sleekness that takes up just the right amount of space on the page.
Compare that to the Sega CD version:
Gross. I guess what I’m trying to say is: play Lunar Eternal Blue Complete, because it’s got great fonts.
Some other thoughts and potential discussion topics for Lunar: Eternal Blue, the game I hope you all spent the past few weeks playing/replaying:
Eternal Blue, like its predecessor, is pretty much the quintessential “traditional JRPG.” It’s got towns, dungeons, turn-based combat, a story about an adventurer who winds up saving the world from an evil god, a quest structure neatly divided into four main portions, and all the other accouterments you might expect from a classic role-playing game. This, of course, doesn’t mean
People often complain about the immaturity and dated pop culture references in some of the translations done by Working Designs back in the day, but I continue to enjoy them. What do you think of the localization in Eternal Blue?
Ronfar: badass character or most badass character?
Really, all of the characters in Eternal Blue are pretty damn great. I like Leo’s stubbornness, Lemina’s brattiness, Jean’s secret shadiness… Only character that isn’t very interesting, incidentally, is the main one.
Did you find it annoying that basically all of the main bosses reform themselves and turn into good guys? Did you want them to die?
How is a two-dimensional game from 2000 so much more visually interesting and pleasing than most 3D games that followed it?
How good is that goddamned music?
I can’t believe it’s been 14 years since this game came out. We’re all so old.
(Next up: Star Ocean 2, which we’ll discuss on August 22.)
Random Encounters is a weekly column dedicated to all things JRPG. It runs every Friday at 3pm ET. You can reach Jason at [email protected] or on Twitter at @jasonschreier
