Music is a big part of my life, as I listen to it for hours every day. Mostly it’s for background purposes, whether at the gym, during prayer and worship, or while reading, writing, or driving. I never realized how important it was to my life until several years ago, nor did I notice that video game music (VGM) had made such an impact on me. After discovering OCRemix (a website dedicated to remixing VGM from every era or console) and listening to older tunes from some of my favorite games, I got hooked on the genre. There have been a few touching songs that have left an imprint on my heart, and one of those is from Lunar: Silver Star Story (or LSSS for short).
There is a scene a little after the beginning of the game where Alex (the main protagonist) is on a boat with his companions. At one point without notice, the main heroine of the story, Luna, sings a beautiful melody at night on board a small boat. She looks out into the stars and Earth in the sky (the game is set on the Moon itself), thinking aloud about her future and present situation. To me, it reflects emotions that are rarely seen in video games since characters can be very dull at times. Her feelings towards the direction of her life and purpose had me thinking about my own life, which led me to writing this overdue post.
There’s a search for something more in her words, which is a journey I believe we are all on daily. Below are the original lyrics from the game in italics, then my thoughts on each section.
Wind’s Nocturne – Lunar: Silver Star Story
Wishing on a dream that seems far off
Hoping it will come today.
Into the starlit night,
Foolish dreamers turn their gaze,
Waiting on a shooting star.
But, what if that star is not to come?
Will their dreams fade to nothing?
When the horizon darkens most,
We all need to believe there is hope.
I feel that she is singing about what many of us do at night: look for a shooting star to make a wish. When we dream about a better life, or maybe for a situation to be different, do our hopes disappear because of the darkness that sometimes overwhelms us? Many times in our lives we feel that nothing good can come, but we are to cling to hope. I believe in the hope that is Jesus Christ, who gave us access to our Heavenly Father and forgiveness of all sin. That is the hope that we hang onto—He guides us through all our troubles and doubt when we call on Him.
Is an angel watching closely over me?
Can there be a guiding light I’ve yet to see?
I know my heart should guide me, but
There’s a hole within my soul.
What will fill this emptiness inside of me?
Am I to be satisfied without knowing?
Here, Luna uses several spiritual terms like “angel,” “soul,” and “a guiding light.” LSSS does have a church that is represented by a god, but not the God of our reality, so maybe that’s why she is talking about this topic. I think she is searching inside herself, trying to find out what has been guiding her along the journey she’s been on. Luna realizes that her heart isn’t enough, because that hole in her soul is not yet full. One reason why she is singing about this is that she is the reincarnation of the goddess Althena. Basically, this goddess was allowed to become a human in the form of Luna, yet she is not aware of her past life. Not knowing that she was a goddess and struggling with her own purpose in life creates a conflict inside of her. Maybe she is feeling a powerful force that she cannot understand; she isn’t sure until around the end of the game.
What about those of us that have these same feelings? How do we fill that same hole? Whether it’s anime, video games, friends, money, or status, we always want a “little more.” That yearning is often a lack of connection to our Heavenly Father, so we need to go to Him before reaching out to other things. Worshipping God from our heart is how to connect to Him, and doing so will begin to fill that void.
I wish, then, for a chance to see,
Now all I need, (desperately)
Is my star to come…
This whole song, to me, is a prayer. Everyone longs for hope. Luna is waiting on that response, and she gets it as the game’s plot continues, but I’m not giving out spoilers.
What are some songs that inspired or impacted you from a video game (or an anime)? I would like to know which ones they are so I can check them out and listen.
