Remilia Scarlet wrote:
Yes, too bad there isn't much more on the mercenaries' background.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
The universe is quite something, too. I didn't found the story and the characters that great to be honest - but the world, the universe, the ambiance... Hell, it did hooked me ! And still do ! Not to mention those graphics that has a something artistic... (Even in Lennus 1 !)
I wanted to write a complete mercenary guide, but I got into Feda and that was consuming, then Mystic Ark, then Slayers, and more on the docket now... As for Lennus's artistry, I've heard both sides. Some, as we, are captivated by the uniqueness of the universe - a refreshing departure from both the ordinary and the familiar. But I've heard a few complaints from Square-soft groupie types who struggle thinking outside the box - comments such as the Lennus colors "hurt their eyes so badly, they had to stop playing it"!
Remilia Scarlet wrote:
Mmmh, what do you mean by that ? What debugging dialogues are you mentioning ?
One of the blocks contained a significant amount of dialogue from a secret chamber the developers created for their own conversations. This feature was not accessible to gamers, but Bongo` managed to crack it open, and he gave us a code that allowed us to walk through a locked door in the final scenario. Inside, we could talk to programmers, developers, and other people involved in the Japanese project, and one fellow represented the author of the Lennus series.
The writer said he had begun to lay out the story structure for Lennus-III, but his backers canceled it. I seem to recall that he referred to the unrealized Lennus trilogy as a "beautiful dream" - that Lennus-III would start when the trio landed on Raiga and found yet another conflict brewing between factions of good and evil Raigans. If I wasn't already up to my chin with future translation projects, I would outline and write that third story.
I would have our trio return to Eltz, Andel, and Lennus - in the process - and re-unite with familiar faces from both games. Such an endeavor would probably require two years of research and work - and that would be just the story! The game vehicle itself would be a larger undertaking - not to mention soundtrack composition - requiring expertise beyond mine.
Remilia Scarlet wrote:
Say... Create and write a Lennus-III wouldn't be a little thing to do. What did you need exactly ? Maybe I can help... Hey, if you're going to write a L-III fangame, don't leave me behind; simply because I want to be a great scenarist (Peoples around me says I'm somewhat a good scenarist, and I have a passion for writing and screenwriting) and would be delighted to help you out on the story. Lennus-II have not a great story maybe, but I didn't means I didn't liked it : I loved the whole concept, the New Immortals, Raiga and Granada... Yeah, I mean, there is a lot of potential. And I like this potential, and especially, the whole ambiance of the game. I'm just meaning this potential isn't fully used, maybe because of the time when the game was release (the SNES-era, where the story had still difficulty to overcome some basis). But, one thing is sure : Lennus has something unique, and it gave me an enormous flow of inspiration like I didn't got such for a long time !
If such an undertaking is ever possible, your job, then, would be to take my story (novel length) and adapt it to the game (screenplay). I don't know if the Japanese author is still alive, but this series should not have been left unfinished. The Lennus-II music won awards in Japan, but the series didn't catch on and generate enough profit, obviously. I wonder if the series has a cult following in Japan - similar to those of us who got hooked hooked on Paladin's Quest. BTW, I would like to do a re-write of PQ, as well.
Remilia Scarlet wrote:
But on a certain side, from the moment Petro took over Farus, wasn't it obvious Farus would become a good person ? And to this end, this isn't what interest me the most : Granada, as himself an Acti-Raigan, was raised on Raiga. I mean... Does that mean that, since Farus became good with the influence of Eltzan and Lennusians, Granada became bad because of Raigans ? And so, that would mean Raiga itself was allright with what was doing Granada and the New Immortals which are also Raigans. The situation on Raiga is unknown, but what if peoples here actually wanted someone like Granada to become like that and make such crazy plan ? What if Farus became good because of Eltz, when Granada became evil because of Raiga ? It is a very interesting point to consider, because as Midia said, they awakened both in a common time, and grew from the same neutral line. Don't you find fun to immagine Granada being the good-pal and Farus the crazy almighty-evil by inverting the roles ? :p
Yes, all stories must proceed to logical resolutions, or else they don't work. The first paragraph of any story is designed to hook a reader by describing an event that represents a drastic change in the life or status quo that surrounds the main character(s). What I find interesting about the whole Acti-Raigan concept is that it raises questions about how different socialization experiences create random personality traits and attitudes - a wholly unpredictable world view. The variables seem endless.
Using the parallel idea that clones might present similar blank slates, imagine an Adolph Hitler clone performing as a Ghandi-like figure on the world stage - or Jeffry Dahmer becoming a good priest who doesn't molest choirboys! As I mentioned above, the whole Acti-Raigan phenomenon could drive the basic plot of Lennus-III. Farus and Petro might even be considered "bad guys" by the majority of "average" citizens on Raiga. Maybe it's like Kryptonite there. Perhaps the Raigans don't wield as much power on the old home planet.
Remilia Scarlet wrote:
[GREAT SPOILERS]
Well, maybe it is because I didn't played Lennus 1 but... Of course, you can't guess WHO is Petro the first time but... Tying things together, it become more and more clear : He's from another planet, You meet Midia who tell she's from the same origin as Petro, then Daphne say Petro already came here to ask her helps, and not to mention that peoples in Lennus tell you that Chezni is gone since a certain time. In the end, it's some evidence, but maybe someone who has played Lennus-1 would have more difficulty to got it because... Well... It's hard to imagine Chezni becoming bald.
Lennus-II is a good stand-alone game because Chezni's and Midia's influences are orchestrated behind the scenes. The question arises as to whether Lennus-III should have this same basic team from the two prequels or maybe introduce a new young hero on Raiga. Whatever the case, I believe Farus should keep his hair!
Remilia Scarlet wrote:
To this end, yes, I love the design of normal Granada. Well, its end boss form don't gave me such attention, but his normal stand has a somewhat original design, an "Evil God" feel. A feel I like, because the very think I loved in Lennus-II's story, is the whole "Evil gods" things, with crazy Raigans like Barts who think the whole world is only a playground for them. I must say, a lot of my favorite villains suit a similar line : Being a strange, over-powered foe/god-like with an intriguing, antepathetic and somewhat original design, or else, villains who has true reasons of acting like that, if it isn't, a truly understandable motive. Things like that. For Darkness of Mystic Ark for example, I did understood the madness he came through with the Dark World where he grew up; becoming disgusted day by day, it's clearly something you understand and feel through the notes in the Dark World, which is like "a little walk in Darkness' mind and past". Here, you wonder how he did became the monstruosity he is, of course, but you understand a little more why he is like that, and he don't feel as much a random villain as sooner in the game. (Where you virtually just hear about him or hear him laugh at you at World 4)
As much as we could cloud and muddle the definitions between good and evil, I believe it always comes down to this. "Good" means a person with power allows all other lifeforms to continue sharing the wealth on their own terms - while "evil" doesn't care what gets destroyed having its own way. The "greatest evil" - on the other hand - seeks to destroy everything and create nothingness, while "basically good heroes" strive to liquidate or seal all evil entities so that everyone may continue to enjoy a glass of chilled wine in the evenings, along with a fine cigar and one more glorious sunset. Creating better defined personalities for evil characters in games and stories makes them seem more realistic, I guess. I never really thought about it very much until you and I discussed Mystic Ark, but I did attempt to to rev-up some of the bad guys in Lennus-II, so much so that one of my teammates said I might have gone over the top, occasionally.
Remilia Scarlet wrote:
Hum ? French you say ? That does make me think... I should try to translate some parts of the script of Lennus-II, just for fun and training. My main passion is writing. It's crazy how some characters make incredible speechs of a dozen of lines, things such as I rarely seen in a game. I notably think of Granada... (Heck, how long is his final speech ? I transcribed it all, and it take at least 30 lines !)
If we ever get our previous games loaded with the international font letters, maybe you could do even more with your Lennus-II translations.