Lunar: Silver Star Harmony is one of the best RPGs available on the PSP. The added content and reworked presentation are more than enough to warrant a playthrough or two for even the most dedicated fans.
A remake of a remake, but still such a good RPG that we needed it again! I played all the way through and was very satisfied with the game. It has fun and quirky characters, wonderful animated cutscenes, and a lighthearted story that kept me engaged. For a game that was released near the end of the Sega CD's life, it still holds up.
Title: Lunar: A updated trip down memory lane
The Setup (Overview):
A ancient disaster forced the abandonment of the the world's sister planet, The Silver Star. Seeking to save at least some of the population of the doomed planet, the goddess Althenia used her powers to bring the survivors to a new world where she used the last of her energy to transform the barren wasteland into a vibrant world where the sins of the past could be avoided. To ensure that peace reigned four beings, known as dragons, were given power over the forces of light, dark, fire and water.
Their avatar in this world was known as the Dragon Master. She then retired to the goddess tower where she sleeps until she is needed again. Whenever the balance of the world was threatened brave men and women would set out to complete the dragons trials and earn the power necessary to deal with the threat. This cycle continued for thousands of years until the last Dragon Master, Dyne, perished under mysterious circumstances. The evil that threatened the world was defeated, but for the first time in memory there was no Dragon Master to maintain balance in the world. The world was left to deal with it's problems on it's own. The dragons were silent. It didn't take long for some to forget what the silent, silver reminder in the sky warned against.
The Story(Some Story Details):
The story begins in the remote town of Burg, fifteen years after the death of Dragon Master Dyne. An ancient evil has begun to stir on what as known as the frontier, a barren land that is beyond the reach of the Goddesses Althena's power. While rumors swirl of the return of the “Magic Emperor”, a title associated with anyone who unites the monsters of the frontier, they are just rumors without any proof. While some of these stories have reached the remote island town of Burg, they are far away and more the problem of the magic guild which is located on the main land.
More popular are the stories of the legendary Dragon Master Dyne and his companions. Though most consider the stories to be a exaggeration of actual events, this doesn't matter to a young man by the name of Alex. He dreams of becoming the next Dragon Master and going on grand adventures to thwart evil where ever it may be. One day he gets his chance when exploring the nearby White Dragon Cave. In a flash of light the White Dragon appears and grants Alex the Dragon Ring, the first relic needed on the journey to become the Dragon Master.
Soon Alex sets out on a journey to find the remaining Dragons and assume the role of Dragon Master. With him are his childhood friends ,Ramus, Luna, and his flying cat Nall. Their first stop is the magic guild, where they soon find that their journey might not be as simple as they thought...
Conclusion(My Overall Opinion on the Story):
I played this game when it first came out years ago. It was one of my favorite RPG's of the time and even though the graphics have been updated and a few things removed, like that awesome original opening song, it's still the engaging story I played all those years ago. There are several new scenes that have been added to flesh out the story and there are various game play tweaks that make the game a little more streamlined for modern times. In this version you can save anywhere, the graphics have been updated, the combat system has been streamlined with tactics that can be customized and probably a few more features that I am missing.
The only downside to this game is that the combat hasn't aged that well. The combat is your standard turn based fair where you select an attack for each character and then they do said attack and then the enemy takes it's turn and does the same. While I don't like overly complicated battle systems, there isn't much need to think about tactics in this game, except for a couple of battles. This is helped a little by the fact enemies are visible on the map and, can occasionally, be avoided but there is still a lot of battles where it boils down to pick your area spell of choice and repeat two or three times till the battle is over and then repeat.
The good thing though is that the story and the characters hold up even though it is your standard boy saves the world and gets the girl story. So if your looking for a classic rpg to sink some time into give this one a shot. m.a.c
As a long time fan of Lunar I couldn't be happier with the remake on PSP. The ability to save your game in the character menu paired with the sleep function of Sony's handheld makes this long role-playing experience very approachable.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony is a great remake of a classic RPG game. With updated graphics and audio, fans of the series will flock to this PSP version, while those new to the series will enjoy is cheerful and humorous take on the RPG traditions.
A great remake for an immortal classic. This version is seriously simplified, but old fans and new RPG lovers can enjoy a splendid story and a brilliant gameplay.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony's core mechanics may be more than a decade old, but thanks to redone graphics, voice acting, and dialogue, this one still has plenty of spring in its step. And while frequent load times and some pacing issues mar the overall experience, it's still an enjoyable RPG that never takes itself too seriously.
The gameplay/battle system are pretty basic for a jrpg, which is not odd, because it's a remake of a pretty old game. The storyline is decent, but nothing special. The characters are pretty nice. The graphics are very neat 2d. The most annoying thing is repetitive battles, a lot of them, so the good point is the game has auto battle AI (which is pretty lame at times, but sometimes I was so bored by the dungeons, I've used it).
An enjoyable old school adventure that has aged surprisingly well. The story might not be anything groundbreaking or memorable, and the respawning enemies can be a bit of a chore but for anyone after ~30 hours of traditional JRPG gaming, Lunar most certainly delivers.
SummaryThe Lunar series gets reborn on the PSP as Lunar: Silver Star Harmony with all new graphics, added gameplay features, and a re-mastered soundtrack.