Bring back filler episodes!
We’ve spent the last three weeks talking about the characters of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, but this time we are going to focus on what those crazy kids actually do. And the answer to that is… chase bugs? That cannot be right.
Look, at its core, Lunar is a typical old-school RPG story. There are four elemental themed dragons, so of course there are going to be four dungeons themed after said elements. Every RPG has got that, from Final Fantasy to Secret of Mana. And, when I think back on a lifetime of playing through RPGs… Well… They all blend together. You explore an active volcano once, and the next seventeen “Red Dragon Caves” all start to become as interchangeable as lava and magma. They both drain HP! Who cares which is which?! By the time you start looking at decades of the same general dungeons, you start to forget if you are trudging through a Temple of the Fayth, or just some random cave that happens to house a Guardian Force.
But you know what is memorable? The least memorable areas!
No, something is veering offtrack here…
This week, we do trudge through the Red Dragon Cave, and eventually wrap up after unlocking the Blue Dragon Shrine. But we also have to fly into the Red Dragon Cave in the first place, and that means constructing a balloon. And that task clearly must necessitate chasing a particular bug through Iluk Field. And after we get back from Red Dragon Cave, accessing the Blue Dragon Shrine means we must swing by a lesser dungeon, Lyton Shrine, to solve the mystery of The Rocks That Sing Bad. We have our two big, elemental areas this week, but we also explore a couple of “preamble” dungeons, too.
And, yes, these dungeons are 100% filler. There are no amazing revelations or dramatic quest rewards for either of these locations. They are excuses for your party to fight a few hundred monsters, and nothing more. Next week, we’ll see a tower of power where Alex gets to hang with Dyne, and a valley where the best we can get out of the experience is seeing a couple of cowboys. We are at the official halfway point of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (as determined by this game being beaten in eight streams), and there is more filler to go before the finale. Look forward to wandering around the Lost Woods, losers!
But it is filler that makes a game memorable. It is filler that separates Breath of Fire from Final Fantasy from Wild Arms. The individual events and generic caves may be forgotten, but spending time with these characters in this world is remembered. Even if all you are doing is chasing bugs in a field.
Looks like filler makes the moon go ‘round.
Let’s Play Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Night 4
June 17, 2025
Random Notes:
- Let’s kick this week off with Chromes, fanboymaster, and Jeanie singing about visiting the moon. No other planets allowed.
Morning Song joins shortly after some inconsequential kidnapping.- Morning Song is completing her degree in Computer Science. I speak from experience when I say: get out now! Run away!
- Is Mega Man X a platformer? Is Donkey Kong Country 2 a Euro Platformer? Do words mean anything?
- “You want to tell me you played Body Harvest? Tell me what color is the last level?” “I didn’t say I beat it.”
- Deliberating over Grand Theft Auto, Space Station Silicon Valley, and Lemmings? We are Rockstars.
- Caliscrub and BEAT join just as we take off for the Fire Dragon Cave.
- We must never forget how much Brian Wilson loves Shortenin’ Bread.
- Ample Vigour joins as we attempt to configure some firewalls.
- Please enjoy listening to our stream full of old people complaining about their old people maladies.
- We find what is left of the Red Dragon, and discuss Final Fantasy/Final Fantasy 5 challenge runs. Get your black belts ready!
- “We adore the spy children and all their spy ways.”
- “I like forcing Goggle Bob to know that he’s boring me.”
- Apparently Caithness got in here at some point. So everyone is here for Final Fantasy discussion!
- Which videogame has the best announcer? It is Marvel vs. Capcom 2, right?
- Our final conversation of the night is all about regional accents. And, having completed 10 hours of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, we close just outside the water shrine.
Next phase on Lunar: Horses on the moon?
