In some respects, Lunar is your traditional RPG. A hero is off to seek adventure and winds up saving the world with the help of his friends and a few strangers that they meet along the way. You control a party of heroes, battle a lot of monsters (doing some pretty awesome moves) and find cool treasure.

Yet, Lunar is much more than that. It has a deep and humorous story with very likeable and amusing characters. The graphics are crisp, at times being cute and others, beautiful. The music is captivating and part of the storyline. Though not a full musical, one of the main characters has a few singing scenes. One of those is my favorite part of the entire game.

The world of the Lunar is magical place. The Goddess Althena watches over everyone with the help of the Dragonmasters and the Four Dragons. However, time has passed and the last Dragonmaster, Dyne, has disappeared. The Goddess Althena no longer walks among her children. No new Dragonmasters have been born into the world.

Enter Alex and his friends Remus, Luna and Nall. Alex has dreams of adventure and becoming a Dragonmaster. His friends each have their own goals, which are explored as the group journeys forth into the world, finding adventure, danger and more good friends.

Those who like turn-based RPGs with a compelling, yet light-hearted story and well-developed characters. This is humorous game, not taking itself too serious most of the time. If you like cute character sprites and anime-style designs, then you’ll certainly enjoy the graphics of the game.

If you are a fan of any of the previous incarnations, I highly recommend picking this up. It’s not just another re-release; this is actually a remake. There are new cut-scenes and the Arts Gauge battle system has been added from Lunar Legend. Most important, the graphics have been completely redone for high-definition. This alone makes it a good buy for fans because it’s very unpleasant, for instance, to play the PS1 version on a high definition TV. I’d almost say it’s impossible because of how pixilated the graphics are. With this being on the PSP, you can play it on the go or hook it up to your TV for some wide-screen action.

1. The extras packaged with the Limited Edition. It’s not Working Designs caliber, but that was one reason they went out of business. Working Designs released this game on the PS1 with the following extras: A soundtrack CD, a making of CD, a cloth map of the world and a hard-bound booklet that contained the manual, interviews, a snippet of the strategy guide and other extra tidbits of info. This new release does pay homage to the fans by including the soundtrack CD, which is a must, and 13 bromide cards that feature the lovely ladies of Lunar.

2. HD graphics. As I mentioned, the crisp, clear graphics is one of the main reasons to pick this up. Everything was re-drawn, including the sprites which are now larger than in the previous versions. Additionally, not everything is in the same location as before so you’ll have fun exploring anew rather than going by rote memory.

3. Added scenes. This is the other main selling point for me. They added new scenes to further explore the story. I still think they could have gone more into revealing the past, but the new sequence at the beginning of the game definitely helps explains some story elements that were never addressed before.

4. Rewritten dialogue. While some good jokes were taken out, others were added in that completely made up for it. It was a pleasant surprise to be caught off-guard with new humor that I think is funnier than what they said before. Also, some of it makes more sense now as more of the story is expounded on.

5. Re-recorded Voices. This was hard to put here because there were some new voices that I didn’t like, but that’s because I know what the original voices sounded like. Overall, I think the voices were well done. If you are new to this game, you will enjoy them. I don’t think you’ll have any complaints, not like those who’ve played the previous versions. Take Nall, for instance, the flying cat. In the previous versions, he sounded like a female chipmunk. Now, he actually sounds like a young boy. And you can actually understand what Quarke says (which is hilarious, by the way). Those were the two best improvements. I didn’t like the new voices for Jessica and Luna because I felt that their characterizations were lacking. I think if any fans are devoted to one voice or another, you may have issues with the new voices. On the other hand, if you hated any, you’ll probably enjoy the new ones.

1. The music. First, if you are new to the game, you will enjoy the music. It is very well done and fits the various parts of the game. However, I don’t like the remade music because I absolutely love the original soundtrack. Nostalgia plays a huge factor here since I played the game on the PS1 so much and listened to the CD for hours on end. I hate the new lyrics for the Opening Song and the Boat Song. Oh, wait, they’re now called WINGS 2009 and Nocturne of the Wind 2009, respectively. Those two songs have been pepped up from the originals with all new lyrics. If you are a fan of the original music then you probably won’t like the changes. On the other hand, if you felt that the songs were sappy and whiny then you may enjoy the revised versions. For a comparison, search youtube for “Lunar Silver Star Story - Luna's Boat Song (Wind Nocturne)” and “Wind Nocturne - Silver Star Harmony Version.” Personally, I don’t think the new lyrics fit the mouth movements very well; it feels forced.

2. The Arts Gauge. For those who don’t know, the Arts Gauge is this bar that fills up while you battle. Once it’s full, you can execute various moves, some that hurt the enemy and others that heal your allies. It’s not that I don’t like to execute freaking awesome moves that kill the monsters in one hit. It’s that it only takes one hit from a super amazing attack to kill the monsters. In other words, the addition of the Arts Gauge lowers the difficulty of battling. This may not be a big deal to some, but I feel that some of the challenge of the game has been taken away. However, this just allows me to move through the game faster and enjoy the story as if it were a movie.

Honestly, I haven’t finished this version yet, but that’s because I over-play games, even ones I’ve played before. I couldn’t find the average time it takes to play Lunar, but whatever it is, times it by five and you’re getting close to how long it takes me to complete a game.

Having said that, I hope and pray that Xseed is working on Lunar 2. While I have it for the PS1, it is exactly like the first Lunar – completely unplayable on a HD TV. It’s been many years since I’ve played these great games and I’ve been having this itch to experience the adventures again. Maybe by the time I finish this one, the sequel will be released. That would be a dream come true!

Happy, energized and very nostalgic. Can’t forget, a bit romantic.

Lunar has a very long history, so I’ll just briefly summarize the previous incarnations of the game. Please note that the below does not discuss the sequel or any spin-offs.

Lunar: The Silver Star was developed by Game Arts and Studio Alex for the Sega CD console. It was released in Japan in June 1992 and then released in America by Working Designs in December 1993. It was a break-through RPG that utilized the new (at the time) disc format and featured CD-quality audio, video playback, and a lot of voice acting. It was the number one selling Sega CD title in Japan, selling nearly as many copies as the system itself, and remains the second highest-selling Sega CD title of all time.

The second incarnation of the game was called Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and was released on the Sega Saturn in Japan in 1996 by Kadokawa Shoten. The game’s video was enhanced, script polished and some new music, though the game-play remained the same.

The third adaptation was a direct port of the Sega Saturn version. It was released on the PlayStation in Japan in May 1998 by Kadokawa Shoten and America in May 1999 by Working Designs. This is the most common version in America and the one most people remember, especially the extras.

Media Rings developed a version for the Game Boy Advance, titled Lunar Legend, released April 2002 in Japan. This one did have altered game-play with some elements taken out and new ones added in, like the Arts Gauge. The changes were mostly due to the limits of the system. It was released in America in December 2002 by Ubisoft, rather than Working Designs.

Finally, Game Arts and GungHo released the re-mastered Lunar: Silver Star Harmony in November 2009 in Japan. Xseed released it in America in March 2010. I wasn’t able to find any interesting facts as it’s only been out for a few months here. However, it did hit #1 Bestseller in the Video Game category on Amazon.com and stayed in the top 100 for quite a few weeks. It was in the top 25 PSP Role-Playing games at the time of writing this review.

It is a classic turn-based RPG that has a rich story and engaging characters. The two minor complaints of the music and battling system haven’t kept me from thoroughly enjoying the game again. This game truly has stood the test of time in terms of its story and characters. The graphics don’t push any envelopes compared to today’s games, but remain appealing in its cute sprites and anime-style artwork,

If you are new to Lunar, you will absolutely love this, assuming you like classic turn-based RPGs. This is the best version, not to mention the cheapest, that you can buy right now. There are only a few points that keep me from saying that this is the ultimate version of the game.

If you are a fan of Lunar then you’d be crazy not to get this. True, they’ve messed up a few things, but seriously – it’s Lunar. It’s beautiful in HD. You can’t be a fan and not buy this, no matter how old-school you are.

I would be remiss if I did not discuss the strategy guide. Though you have to buy it separately, I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys finding every single item in the game. Prima did a decent job this time (I’m not a big fan of Prima guides; I prefer DoubleJump or Brady Games). The walkthrough has full color, high quality maps of every area that point out where the chests are. There are lots of informational charts as well as, most importantly, a guide on finding all the bromides. Don’t forget the bath scenes; you’ll need to buy the soap at specific times.

Prima’s guide almost stacks up to the one Working Designs made for the PS1 version. Working Designs put more into theirs, but they printed it themselves. A note to those who have the original guide, it won’t help you too much in the new game because not everything is in the same place. So, for better or worse, you’ll want to buy the new one, or look around online for a guide if you don’t want to pay for one. I’m probably one of the few people who love strategy guides, so take this advice with a grain of salt. Most online guides will do just fine, but for me, a picture is worth more than words.

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Created Jun 08, 2010 at 9:30pm • Submit your own review...