Notably, there is only one actually character in Sleeping Lion Heart that did not have dialogue or presence in the original game. Nicolau and Tobias, Squall's crew for the duration or Disk 1 (and essentially the tutorial party) were both NPCs in the original game, albeit Tobias originally having long brown hair tied in a ponytail.

Sometimes I'm productive.
Their personalities are pretty much the same as what was given in the game, as well- Tobias brash, arrogant and cocky, while Nicolau is modest and reluctant, contrasting each other.
Old old old old old old
Did I mention this is old?



This, however, is the only actual original character in the game. Originally planned for inclusion in the update version of LOTSL, Lukas Cadara is actually one of my own OC's. However, his personality is altered for the purpose of use in Sleeping Lion Heart, as is his costume and occupation. Lukas is Estharian, and from a young age has found the stories of the Guardian Force fascinating. At twenty-three, he is the second oldest playable character, second to Laguna. Being Estharian, Lukas has had very little exposure to the world outside of the city and thus finds it incredibly fascinating. In fact, after the events of Final Fantasy VIII, Lukas became particularly obsessed with the concept of SeeD and most notably their Commander, our very own Squall Leonhart. He, however, finds the concept of leaving the safety of Esthar unthinkable at first and continues his studies as a scientist, apprenticed under Dr. Odine and specializing in the study of Guardian Force, his knowledge and dedication compared to his mentor's knowledge of Sorceresses.
When Garden requests the aid of Esthar regarding (DATA EXPUNGED), he is personally recommended and dispatched to Fisherman's Horizon to be greeted by the Garden entourage. However, Lukas, seeing this as possibly his only opportunity, specifically requests that he be greeted by Squall, unaware that he has been (DATA EXPUNGED)

Lukas begins as a very cheerful, but quite naive young man. However, meeting and learning about Squall's past and his group of friends allows him to develop and learn about the world as a whole as well as begin to gain some confidence. All Estharian youths are required to have minor battle experience in the event of a second Sorceress War, though most quickly forget about their training, Lukas was one of the few who did not. His weapon, the Pulse Blade, was developed by him and a friend and relies on the same energy that gives Pulse Ammuntion its power and results in the blue glow, similar to the Lionheart. However, he still has very little battle experience, and most of the group think him incapable of fighting, which Rinoa sympathises with. However, at the 'encouragement' of Squall (learn how to fight your own battles, jeez!) Lukas uses his spare time to train in the Training Centre while the others are on missions. At the end of Disk 2, Lukas is the first to realize what is happening and the first to take charge.
Lukas remains quite naive, but eventually begins to doubt people's integrity the longer he is influenced by Squall's cynicism. He finds it impossible to talk to girls or to act his age, often believed to be younger than the rest rather than their elder. He tends to refer to concepts that no one else understands so most people find him confusing. However, his development of (DATA EXPUNGED) and knowledge of Guardian Forces makes him an essential character. Lukas, despite eventually becoming friends with Squall, he finds him awe-inspiring and tends to get incredibly flustered and nervous in his presence and tends to sometimes blurt out random, diehard fan-knowledge that makes any situation awkward.
Lukas eventually admits that his outfit was partially inspired by Squall, but he wanted to throw in his own flair.

(DATA EXPUNGED)


The above text is a continuation of my reposting of things from the original Sleeping Lion Heart blog. (DATA EXPUNGED) pretty much means...I've removed parts that are major plot spoilers.

Anyway I've been toiling away at various game aspects. I've been trying to flesh out the skill lists and make sure I'm 100% certain on how to set up Passive effects. I'm kinda worrying a little over them, but I'm going to try to keep things flexible so if balancing is off I can change things.

Thankfully, the original game provides a decent stat reference due to Final Fantasy VIII and VXAce featuring the same stat set-up (excluding MP, which is brought back in this game). Both have 255 as the maximum for basic stats, though the original FF8 cast rarely passed anything over 50 at level 100 (naturally, of course, and excluding Rinoa's STR and MAG, which were both a good 20pts higher than the rest of the cast. Yes, including Squall. Damn Sorceresses. ohwait)

I've also downloaded several strategy guides for references. If anyone else reading this is producing fangames, anything even remotely related to Final Fantasy is obscenely helpful. Currently I'm using VIII's, X-2's, XIII's and KH2's guides for referencing, mainly in terms of passive abilities and class set-ups. Classes are hard!

Speaking of which, Quistis is incredibly frustrating in that regard. I don't know why I kept her around all the time; she had the worst stats in the original game, her limit break mostly sucks against bosses unless you use White Wind or Mighty Guard, or if by some miracle they're weak to status effects and you have Bad Breath (AND YOU COULD JUST USE DOOMTRAIN FOR THAT). Additionally, while other characters limit breaks sketchily illuminate their classes (Warrior, Gunner, Black Mage, Fighter, Gambler) Quistis doesn't really fit the role of Blue Mage since the method in which she learnt abilities was outside of battle. Kimahri's Lancet absorbed them, Gun Mages require being struck by them (as did the Materia for it), and Quina ate his foes.

Despite this I'm probably going to mostly reference X-2's Gun Mage for her ability and stat set, and make her Blue Magic learnable by strike. I can write this off as 'she has a higher knowledge of enemy types and knows their weak points', due to being an Instructor/a SeeD for a longer period of time than the rest of the cast.

While I'm on the topic of classes, yes, Selphie's class is Gambler/Lady Luck. Selphie was always a bit of an odd one out to begin with, and her original limit, Slot, was always a gamble to use in the first place. More or less, I intend on making her one of those characters that, while difficult to master at first, can be one of the most valuable assets in a character party. 'Course lazy players might not want to bother, but that's true of all Final Fantasy's, am I right?

Continuing on...

I've started laying out concepts for a short sequence where you navigate the Winhill Bluffs.

(This map is completely but I don't have a .PNG of it and LAZY)

Thankfully, the Official Strategy Guide has the names of all the locations in Final Fantasy VIII, and I don't mean Winhill, Timber, I mean things like the Lallapalooza Canyon and Serrengeti Plains.

Yes those are both real places.

Yes I intend on throwing you into Lallapalooza Canyon and some point and making fun of the name.
whoevencomesupwithanamelikethatjesuschristimeancapeofgoodhopeyeahthat'sasensicalnamewellthenagainourworldhastownscalled'dick'so

Along with those maps I'm still working on Deling City, which is still consistently giving me a headache. I have to paint a good chunk of the detailing, as well as adjust furniture sizes. I really dislike mapping towns and indoors, ok? Most VX outdoor stuff fits the sprite size, BUT HAVE YOU SEEN THE SIZE OF THE CHAIRS?