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Lunar Cry FFVIII Art

The Lunar Cry.

Refers to monsters falling from the moon. Completely destroyed the cities of Centra. Occurs when monsters reach a saturation point on the moon. It's believed that there are factors on the planet that cause this phenomenon. This phenomenon has occurred many times in history and will reoccur in the future.

FFVIII Info Corner menu

The Lunar Cry (月の涙, Tsuki no Namida?, lit. Moon's Tears) is a phenomenon in Final Fantasy VIII where creatures of the moonmonsters—fall to earth at regular intervals.

According to the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania[1] the cycle began tens of thousands of years ago; a product of gravity, the phenomenon is similar to the pull on the tides; when the moon's surface reaches saturation point with monsters it spills and falls to the planet and can destroy entire nations. The natural flora and fauna may change drastically; it has also been mentioned creatures can undergo change by being in touch with the monsters of the moon. According to a controller in the Lunar Base, monsters' behavior becomes abnormal when there are irregularities in the moon and the planet's gravitational forces, making them cluster at one spot on the moon, ready to fall to the planet.

Story[]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

We've just received incredible news. The sky over Esthar has turned red, and millions of monsters are falling over the region.

FH hotel telegraph

The game gives conflicting information on when exactly Centra was destroyed by the Lunar Cry. The Information section in the menu says 80 years[2], but both the Operator in Lunar Base[3] and the Ultimania[4] say it happened over a hundred years ago. The Lunar Cry annihilated the entire Centra civilization and wiped it from the world map.

LunarCry01

The Lunar Cry begins.

It is said that when the Lunatic Pandora is in perfect alignment with the moon the Lunar Cry can be performed, and monsters will be summoned to wreak infernal havoc on earth. Lunatic Pandora was constructed under Sorceress Adel's rule, likely to be used as a weapon in the Sorceress War. The only known incident of Lunatic Pandora having been used to induce Lunar Cry under Adel's rule occurred in the Trabia region.

During his movie-making adventures in the Vienne Mountains Laguna Loire spotted the Lunatic Pandora in the distance, although he didn't know of its significance. Two men talk on this instance of Lunar Cry on the bridge in Esthar City during Squall and his party's first visit to Esthar. This Lunar Cry over Trabia is what likely caused the crater near Trabia Garden.

Seventeen years after the end of the Sorceress War, Seifer, on Ultimecia's orders, steers the Pandora towards Tears' Point to induce the Lunar Cry with the intent of bringing Sorceress Adel's tomb back to earth. Esthar is flooded with monsters that overrun the country and Esthar City, causing massive casualties, as well as turning the sky red.

Spoilers end here.

Musical themes[]

When the Lunar Cry sequence takes place, the track "Tears of the Moon" plays. It is the 18th track of Disc 3 in the original soundtrack.

Other appearances[]

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy[]

Esthar City - Lunar Cry

Red sky in Esthar City.

During the Dark Note of "Blue Fields" and "The Man with the Machine Gun", and the iOS exclusive "Don't Be Afraid", the sky color changes to red, a reference to the Lunar Cry.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call[]

Lunar Cry

Esthar affected by Lunar Cry.

Esthar used the effects of the Lunar Cry appears as a battle background in Battle Music Sequences.

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Luna means "moon" in Latin, Italian, Romanian, Russian, and Spanish.

Lunar Cry thus refers to the cry of the moon. It is called Moon Tears in Japanese and its musical track is "Tears of the Moon", the monsters being the "tears". When Lunatic Pandora docks at Tears' Point a statue of a woman cracks along the corner of its eye, alluding to this.

References[]

  1. A New Seed Has Grown – Translations from the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania Keyword Section (Accessed: October 21, 2019) at The Lifestream
  2. Final Fantasy VIII, Information on Centra Civilization: "A civilization in Centra 4000 years ago. These Centra people immigrated to other continents and founded the Dollet Empire to the west and Esthar to the east. Centra was destroyed 80 years ago by the Lunar Cry.
  3. Final Fantasy VIII, Operator at Lunar Base: "It's really a rare phenomenon. You know that huge crater on the Centra continent? It's from the Lunar Cry that occurred over a 100 years ago. It supposedly wiped out the city there."
  4. (n.d.) . 'Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania'. p. 40. DigiCube. ISBN ISBN 978-4-9250-7549-7.
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