30 QUESTIONS CONCERNING LUNAR Answered by Kei Shigema Though this question list was taken from a Japanese artbook, I've used the English names here; I felt that otherwise enumerating and explaining the numerous Japanese-English name changes in such a relatively small space would make this document a minefield to navigate. *************************************************************************** 30 QUESTIONS CONCERNING LUNAR Answered by Kei Shigema The story of Lunar II is so expansive that, before you know it, its very scope can take your breath away. We collected all the details that never made it to the screen and the issues that hew close to the very nature of the world of Lunar itself - and all the niggling little questions too! - and posed them to Keitsuke Shigema. Read on for the answers! 1. How did the world of Lunar come into being? It is thought that Lunar's initial role was as a emergency refuge from the ravaged Blue Star, which faced eternal winter. Althena and the four dragons transformed the world into the "Magical World of Lunar" in order to found a new civilization and reclaim the Blue Star. 2. What is the connection between Lunar and the Blue Star? Lunar is a generator, so to speak, of energy to revive the Blue Star - like a energy emittance system. The magic power of the people and living things on Lunar is used as the power that will transform the earth of the frozen, dead Blue Star into a world once again overflowing with green. Just like Lucia said, Lunar indeed exists "for the sake of the Blue Star". Though this may be true, after so many years, Lunar's purpose has been forgotten, and the people now look upon the Blue Star as their birthplace only in legends. 3. What's the connection between Althena and Lucia? When Althena was on the Blue Star, where was Lucia? Althena, Lucia, and Zophar are all probably the same type of entity. We call them gods, and while that's a possibility, the truth seems to be a little different. So, then, what are they? Well...we don't really know. C'mon, this isn't sci-fi; gimme a break if I can't be clear on everything . 4. Why is Lucia so zealous about her mission? Because Lucia and Althena were the last hope of the world and its people just before its destruction. So, if you think of things that way, Althena and Lucia bear the responsibility for everyone and everything that was supposed to have been destroyed. To Lucia, her very reason for being is the mission entrusted to her - reviving the Blue Star. 5. Most all the main characters are in their teens, and yet we hardly ever see both a character's parents - usually, only one appears. Why? We like the ages of the characters to be as close as possible to those of the players, so that the players can more easily identify with the characters and come to like them. If you ask why there are few characters with a full complement of parents, I'd probably say it's because I wanted Lunar's story to be part of the tradition of the boys' adventure stories handed down from old (or maybe children's literature). If you think back on the mountain of extraordinary works like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Anne of Green Gables", I believe you'll more or less see what I mean. 6. What about Hiro's parents? Don't spread this around, but it seems that Grandpa Gwyn isn't actually Hiro's real grandfather. The identities of Hiro's parents are unknown; all we know is that Hiro was left at Gwyn's when he still was a baby. Beyond that, it's a complete mystery. 7. What has Hiro brought back from his expeditions so far? Well, before he met Lucia, he broke into...er, I mean, he made an attempt at exploring a few old ruins, but other than his boomerang, he didn't score any major finds. It seems like even Ruby didn't have much faith in his abilities at first... 8. Why was Jean attacked before she joined the carnival? To leave the Order of the Blue Dragon means death. To protect his secret, Lunn, as the Masked Man, attacked Jean. 9. Why does it take so much time to design the female characters as opposed to the males? "It took more time for the designs of the female characters to gel," says [Lunar character designer] Toshiyuki Kubooka. Frankly, I think it's a matter of "personal interest". 10. Why does Ronfar look so old? Ronfar: Hey, shut up! None of your damn business. Leave people the hell alone about how they look! 11. When did Ronfar learn dice hustling? It seems he picked it up during the time he spent down and out in Larpa. 12. How can Ronfar drink sake if he's underage? [Note: the Lunar I & II artbook lists Ronfar's age as 19, but the age of majority is 20 in Japan.] Hey, 'cause it's another world! The residents of Lunar don't seem to approve of the idea, though. 13. Lemina is Mia's descendant. So whom did Mia marry? Doesn't the color of Lemina's hair make that answer perfectly clear? [Actually, _no_, since Lemia/Remilia's hair was a similar color when she was younger, as, in "Tamashii no Kokuhaku", was her mother's. But is the question of whom Mia married that hard to figure out, really?] We weren't really able to touch on it, though. She married... 14. Does Lemina have a significant other? Before recent events, it didn't really seem to be a priority, considering everything else going on. Now, though, Ramus has announced his candidacy for the position, but after Vane is restored, many suitable men will flock to the city, and he'll have lots of rivals. I'm pretty certain, though, that everyone's wallets are going to be hurting... 15. About how much money has Lemina amassed after all her hard work? It's a secret. Lemina does have a piggy bank under her bed, and she likes to count the change every night before she goes to sleep. Based on the sound coming from the bank, though, she seems to have collected only small change; you don't see her earning the big bucks. I'm sure she hasn't collected a lot. 16. How did Ruby know all by herself that she was a child Red Dragon? It seems that when Ruby was little and heard from Hiro that there was a "Red Dragon" existed once upon a time, she insisted that she was a Red Dragon too. The fact that she could breathe fire when she tried was one of the things that convinced her even further. Whether or not she really believed it herself, though, is the question. 17. For about how long had Ruby lived before she met Hiro? Ruby's earliest memory is of playing together with Hiro when he was still a child. She doesn't seem to have any recollection of anything before that time. She doesn't know where she was born or even how she arrived at Hiro's house. It seems that it involved Hiro's parents, but exactly how is unknown. 18. Is the previous Red Dragon Ruby's parent? What happened to the previous Red Dragon? The Dragons aren't actually living things, but are instead, for lack of a better word, like the "crystallization" of Lunar's magic power. One perhaps could say that Ruby and the Red Dragon, Lunar I's Quark and Nall, are all part of the same great power. Their individual wills create their physical forms, and the growth of their wills fuels the growth of their bodies. 19. After he was separated from Alex, didn't Nall live with *anybody?* After Alex and Luna's lives as humans came to an end, it seems that Nall was very lonely. He wandered all over Lunar, met many people, and got caught up in an adventure that rivaled the war against Ghaleon, but he couldn't find any dear friend to whom to he felt he could pass the Althena's Sword that Alex entrusted to him. Also, Alex was probably the only real Dragonmaster in Nall's eyes. Finally, in deep depression, Nall remembered the ancient Grindery and founded a "Neverland" consisting only of children, which took his mind off his sadness. 20. What did Gwyn do long ago? When he was young, he was a rather good-looking man. He himself says that he tracked down some ancient ruins, traveled around here and there to visit a few of them, and had a few adventures in the process. He probably met Hiro's parents on one of these adventures. In that time, he gathered detailed information on the connection between the Blue Spire and Blue Star. Actually, it seems that he also became acquainted with Nall... 21. Is Gwyn renowned as an archaeologist? Well, not really... No one really had an interest in archaeology in Lunar in the first place. When Leo came all that way just to see him, Grandpa Gwyn was actually very happy, he was. 22. Why are Mauri and Leo different from other people? They're of the beastman race, like Master Mel [actually called "Admiral Mel" in the original Japanese...] and Jessica of Lunar I. There seem to be many types of beastmen - Jessica and Mel seem to be cat-types; Mauri and Leo, dog-types. Well, then, you might say, are there hippo-types and seagull-types? Umm... sure, why not; it'll be interesting . 23. Doesn't Mauri's horn get in the way when you kiss her? Ronfar: Heyyy, SHUT UP! It's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! 24. What happened to Mauri after the Four Heroes disbanded? What happened to Serak Palace? Mauri lived happily together witih Ronfar. She's a bit of a nag, though... There are plans to convert Serak Palace into a normal shrine to Althena, used to spread the goddess's teachings. 25. Did Ghaleon's sense of guilt disappear when he fought Hiro? What Ghaleon felt in Lunar II was more "shame" than "guilt". I think he took it upon himself to lead the life of a man in disgrace in order to atone for his past sins. Well, he's a complicated man, and I don't understand him well myself, but...if you look at his final moments, where he says "My friend...", could it not be because he is at peace and will finally be reunited with Dyne? Let us pray so. 26. Why didn't Lucia come when Zophar was weak? The goddess Althena was originally supposed to oppose him on Lunar. That Althena would do what she did, or the situation would progress to the nearly irreversible point that it did, never crossed Lucia's mind. She had no way of realizing what was transpiring on Lunar until it reached a crisis scenario that threatened the revival of the Blue Star. 27. Does Zophar's Keep symbolize the evil thoughts of humans? The "evil thoughts of humans" is Zophar in his purest form, isn't it? 28. The dragons know of each other's existence, don't they? Yes, they do. Like with Nall in Lunar I and Ruby in Lunar II, though, if there is any sort of disturbance upon their awakening, they fail to become conscious of the fact that they are dragons and therefore cannot use their abilities. 29. Has Lucia been reincarnated like Althena? No. Lucia entered into sleep all alone at the time of the Blue Star's destruction to await the day of its revival. She was to awaken when the power of Lunar had restored the Blue Star completely to its previous state. Her purpose was then to guide the people and ensure that they did not repeat the foolish mistakes of old. How long had she slept before she awoke? No one knows. 30. What's next for Lunar? The history of Lunar will probably continue. If everyone out there loves this story enough, I think they'll once again have the opportunity to visit it. I swear it. *************************************************************************** Translation by Rebecca Capowski at RACapowski@sceneryrecalled.com; revised 4/28/10 (just to read more smoothly; calm down). Lunar is the property of Game Arts and Working Designs, and I am not affiliated with either.