Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

 

 

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The plot? It's really just your average epic fairytale of fantasy(only a bit more original than that). Yet the story in itself is one of the most powerful ever told in a videogame. It starts out with a perfectly ordinary country kid by the name of Alex, who wants nothing more than to become Dragonmaster, the protecter of the goddess Althena. So he and a couple of his friends decide to set off on an adventure. Everything goes pretty well at first, with only a few difficulties along the way, until Luna, Alex's childhood friend is kidnapped. He finds that the only way to save her is to encounter and defeat the Magic Emporer himself...(it's not quite as corny as it sounds.)
If you're into fancy graphics, you won't find them in this game, though I'm sure you would enjoy playing anyway. The simple, 2d world has something that you wouldn't find in anything but an old school RPG. But if you're still a little dubious, here's something that might encourage you. Frequently placed in the game are anime scenes that really add to the character development. They are usually put in places where you meet a character or when an important event takes place. They're very beautifully done, with English voiceovers and all. And they keep you on the edge of you're seat from the heartening opening sequence to the very end.
The gameplay itself isn't really anything new: it's turn based, like most old school role-players, where you can choose to attack, do magic, or use a healing item. The battles aren't too difficult, if you take your time, although the menus can be just a little annoying at times.
The characters are what truly make this game special. They each have very definite personalities, not completely likable. But some of them do change their opinions by the end of the game. They argue often, and make as many cheesy jokes as they possibly can. By the end of the game, I felt a special connection with most characters, as if I'd known them for years.
There's a lot of dialogue in the game, and it doesn't get boring since practically everything said is a joke There are also boxes next to the words, displaying their faces depending on how they feel and what they are saying. Every character has a few different expressions.
Lunar is also very bright and light-hearted, especially at the beginning of the game, which gives it a more cheerful feeling, and shows the contrast when thing s start to go wrong. The game is also very short, only fifty minutes at most, even if you take your time.
So is it worth buying Lunar Silver Star Story for the PS1? YES! Sure, it has a couple of flaws here and there, but you'll love it anyway. And if you find you enjoy it, play Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete. After that, you can join the countless Lunar fans waiting, hoping, for a Lunar 3.

Originally released back on the Sega Saturn, Working Designs ports it over to the Playstation, VERY NICELY. The original great game is here, with a few good enhancments. The best one being the Anime scenes. Very well done, and they help move the story along nicely. The game's not up to par with the likes of most Final Fantasy games, or many other Square/Enix RPG's, but it's definitely a must have for any RPG fan.

Gameplay: 8.1/10

I'll start with the battle system. The battles you run into to aren't random; you can see them on the screen, and avoid some of them if you don't want to battle. A lot of them are impossible to avoid, though; this is needed, so you aren't just running through the game not fighting. You have the usual attack, run, and skills during the battles. When you have your character do a physical attack, he will move to the enemie he's attacking and stay in that spot while the enemies do their attacks. Some of the enemy attacks will move your character a spot or two back. This way, there's some strategy involved on the placement of your character. Each enemy has a certain amount of spots it can move, so if you want to stay away from some of them, don't attack an enemy that's surrounded by other enemies, because they all will be in attacking range, and they will all get a good attack in on you. A lot of the times, I didn't really worry about this, but it's a little added strategy to the battles other than the usual fighting. One of the more useful ways of taking advantage of this, though, is to defend on one turn, let the enemies move close to you, and then hack and slash away. This way, you don't move in without getting an attack on your enemy, and letting them attack you. Be smart, and you can avoid a hit here and there. The battles are turn based, by the way; none of that meter stuff seen in most Final Fantasy games. Really either way is good to me.

The way skills are learned in this game is just your basic learn a skill at a certain level system. Example: Learn a small healing spell at level 5. There's no custom way of learning your attacks. You have to realize, that this came out in the early 90's, where there was only a game here and there had a deep system to go along with it. It gets the job done, but it's not as advanced as some RPG'ers would like. I didn't mind, though. Don't let this turn you away from the game. You will miss out on a memorable experience if you do.

The areas in this game are big, good looking, and fun to work your way through. Your usual RPG stuff is here. Caves, Villages, Castles, etc. They offer up a good challenge, too, which you can't say about a lot of RPG's out there. It's not impossible by any means, but it's not easy either. Good challenge. The world you travel through is well designed, and pretty big. As a whole, you won't find a bad or boring level in this game. It's an expansive RPG world, with many fun challenges along the way.

The characters are very good. They are pretty artistic. A couple basic looking ones, but overall, they have my pick as some of the better ones in an RPG, ever. The character development is not too bad, either. It's not the best, but you should soon care for each character atleast a little. Especially the main ones like Alex, and Luna.

I like the story a lot. You wont find a deep, complex plot. You get a straight-foward, hero defeating the villian, type of story. There's a good surprise here and there, but not many. You will grow to hate the villians, and the story, while not being too complex, pulls you in and doesn't let you go until you finish the game. I guarantee you will enjoy it.

I take off the 1.9 because the battle system can get repetitive near the end of the game. The boss battles have you basically using the same spell per character each turn, hoping you have enough left to finish him off. This makes the usual fun boss fights, a little less fun than normal. Atleast they're challenging, though, since they always have the same level as your characters. I didn't take off any more for the semi-basic storyline, and not so deep skill learning system because of the time it came out. That's something you have to realize when playing this game: it was one of the best for it's time.

Replay Value: 6.5/10

As with a lot of RPG's, it's not very good. I, and many will play through again for the positives I mentioned above, but there's really no incentive to come back and play through the 25+ hour quest again. Only for the hardcore RPGer, I guess.

Music: 8.2/10

Overall, some very nice tunes scattered through out the game. It's not mind blowing like some of the Square soundtracks, but it's a good one. You will enjoy it for the most part, I know I did.

Graphics: 9/10

I'm basing it on the year it came out. The levels,and battle graphics look stunning. With that said, though, the characters suffered and look pretty bland. That's the reason for the 1 point off. Not a major problem at all, though. Especially when you play this one for the gameplay, like all RPG's.

Overall:(Not an average) 8.5/10

For it's time, it offered a fun battle system, great graphics, a good story, and clever, fun level design. One of the best games in the genre at the time, and rightfully so. It has taken a slight hit over the years, but overall, it has stood the test of time pretty well. RPG fans would be wise to not miss out on this. With the special package one, you get tons of extra goodies; well worth the money, although it's only possible to find it on sites like Ebay. If you find it, go for it. You will not be disappointed in the slightest at this classic RPG.

I recommend Lunar 2 as well. It improves upon this game in almost every way.

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