A great refreshing change in pace from your other run of the mill rpgs. It truly is a classic one of the best I strongly urge anyone who doesn't mind less than stellar game play graphics to go out and find a copy.
It is an adventure that can be enjoyed by just about anyone looking for a great story and cast of characters, beautiful artwork, Japanese animation and a unique world that's actually worth exploring. Oh yeah, and there's a ton of good laughs to be had.
Not a Nostalgia rating
I had always wanted to play this game growing up because of its collectors edition like box and cool art style. I finally played the game 25 years later and can say I'm glad I did and I'm glad I waited until now.
The Art/Design 5/5 (Nothing ground breaking for its time, but all the assets are nice to look at.)
Sound 5/5 (Fantastic music and good quality voice lines)
Immatureness/Pop Culture 5/5 (Game has a lot of references I wouldn't get or appreciate the way I do now as an adult)
Never before has a video game connected with me on such a level! The characters are fun and interesting and so are the NPCs! Each time you advance the story, nearly everything NPC has new things to say. The story is full of tropes but makes each of them feel fresh and the music is atmospheric and beautiful.
If you love old school RPGs, this is the cream of the crop!
And finally, the main item which has caused the most commotion over is the cloth world map. Die hard Lunar fans have purchased the game solely for this. Again, Working Designs has out done them selves with another first in the Video Game industry.
You really start to care to what happens to the characters, and although the story is really predictable, there are a couple neat twists. Don't let the 32 bit graphics fool you, the anime scenes are stupendous.
While Lunar is certainly dated (the Genesis-esque) graphics are archaic, and the simple animations get a tad annoying at times), it more than delivers with a big quest, a great story, beautiful music, and lots of full-motion video. [July 1999]
RPGs live and die on factors other than graphics and while LUNAR is weak in the graphic department (other than the first class anime sequences), it makes it up in spades in the more important areas such as plot, characterization and game system.
There's a list of other games that surpass Lunar in quality, style and substance. Even if you're a fan of the Sega CD version, you will find Lunar Silver Star Story Complete only worth a nostalgic rental spin..and nothing more.
An often forgotten RPG classic. It is a remake of Lunar: The Silver Star and is a turn based RPG with tons of charm, likable characters, emotions and Anime sequences. I want to first mention Working Designs who made the localization and put heart and soul into their products. The collectors edition truly deserves this names as it contained a soundtrack CD, an excellent making of a cloth map and a hardbound manual for just 60$ back then if I remember correctly. Worth a lot in proper condition but to valuable for real gamers to sell it. Back to the game: You follow Alex who wants to travel the world as his childhood hometown becomes to small and starts his journey to become a hero like his idol Dragonmaster Dyne. He starts his travels with his friend Ramus who is out to make a fortune, his girlfriend Luna who wants to accompany him and his talking flying pet Nall who wants to know what he is (I thought he was a flying cat first;-). With this events will start that will shaken the world and change the characters life's and motivations. I fully admit that the game starts generic but this changes quickly. There are many good twist in the story and it does a good job in delivering an exciting story in combination with a great cast of characters. The story was always entertaining and I was fully attached as it does a great job in creating emotions in the player. All characters are immersive as I got easily attached to them and liked their personalities, quirks and believable motivations. Even the bad guys have some motives I can at least understand even if I do not agree. I wont spoil any further for the characters. Gameplaywise it is a classic turn based RPG and a bit old style. With this I mean you need a bit of grinding to make the game easier for you. The enemies are visible but often hard to avoid in smaller spaces. Each character has a set role and stock of abilities. It works well but did not reinvent the wheel;-). I liked the addition of an auto battle feature were you can set up commands. This helps in grinding levels easier. There are some points of critical advice you need to know as it would be too painful otherwise: Firstly; There are special chest you can not open before you acquire a special item later in the story. Memorize the locations or better make a list or use a guide if this does not collide with your own set of gaming rules / experience. These contain often a special item called silver light that fully heal one characters magic points. Save these for the final battle and final battle alone no matter what. You will need them as the inventory in battle is quite limited. You have been warned. Secondly: After the final battle save your game before you climb a stairway! This is not a joke and that you have the option available should be prove enough. After what happens then reload and use something that Link uses to spare time;-). Again you have been warned. Thirdly: There are some point of no return and missable stuff like the Althena springs (Need soap!) or special items. Here I advice to use a guide. There is a good one on GameFAQs .with just small spoilers (After these events etc.) Finally grinding helps a lot but it takes a bit of time. Back to the review: The art-style and graphics were beautiful for its time. I am still amazed how well it looks. Maybe not aged well enough for graphic enthusiast but that does not include me. Then there is the voice acting and singing. It is one of the best performances for RPGs and I played a lot in all the years. They took great care to get really good voice actors that made a great performance. Special praise for the singing voice for Luna. There are Anime sequence that highlight parts of the story. These were also amazing back then and aged well for me. Presentation-wise it was a highlight back then. Overall rarely I played a game that got so much immersive characters and emotions out of me. It is a must recommendation if you like classic RPGs and deserves to be remembered as one of the best RPGs of that time. Be warned if you cant tolerate a bit of grinding a harder battles.
Lunar SSSC is a masterpiece !!! The characters, the music, the whimsical locations... There is nothing I can say about this game that hasn't already been said.
If you've never played it, I recommend that you do what you can to do so. You won't regret it !!
Sure the graphics are outdated - they were even outdated by the time it was released on the PlayStation - but graphics are irrelevant !!! The storytelling is on par with some of Miyazaki's best animated work. (Yes, I like to compare Lunar to Miyazaki)
A wonderful cast of characters, atmosphere, intense boss battles, and a wonderfully beautiful game. Some people say its dated, man do I love everything about the 90's anime vibe and the color palette of this game. Not to mention the music of this game fits every mood Alex and the gang find themselves in. Is the voice acting the best? No. Is it a linear RPG with not many extras? Yes. Does that take away from the experience? No, not at all. I usually like extra things to do after I've beaten the game and have some semblance of choice in my routes, but this game debunked that trend of mine. After the ending celebration (which is handled in a meaningful way) I wanted to be done and that's exactly what I got to experience. I have my 24+ hours of game time and I'm completely satiated. Not too long in the tooth, good pacing, and well, Lunar will go down as one of my favorite RPGs, check it out, it's worth your time.
Jessica is the best.
SummaryLong ago, a great Dragonmaster named Dyne, with the aid of his faithful companions, defended the goddess Althena from a terrible evil. Time has passed, and those great adventurers have become the stuff of legend, but the world of Lunar is now threatened by a shadowy figure known as the Magic Emperor. In a humble village, far removed from...