Lunar: Silver Star Harmony Limited Edition
7.6
10
15
15
Does the game make the company or does the company make the game?
The game itself is joyfully bright and colorful. New life is breathed into the character's sprites. The amount of detail and care put into the sprites shows. It was really enjoyable to see familiar faces flushed out. And for those of you who are new to the series I'm sure you can agree those are some of the best 2d sprites you've seen in a game. The music is also redone and especially poignant to people who are returning to Lunar.But perhaps the best part of the new release was the additional lore added to the story. Some of the previous Dragonmaster's adventure was fleshed out. Unfortunately all it really did was cater to people who had already played Lunar. The scene itself didn't last longer then 5-10 minutes. The result is something that the average player would probably find lack luster as the bonds that develop between player and character are not established. I found myself watching strangely familiar characters regurgitate something from a Japanese melodrama. The problem was multiplied by the horrible voice acting. Since I had the benefit of knowing who and what the relationships between the character's in the new scene were I was deeply disappointed that Althena's decision wasn't as fleshed out. What you get is a scene that neither adds nor takes away from the existing storyline. It was really just empty filler and at worse a cheap ploy to boost sales of yet another remake in this series. But perhaps the best part of this version of Lunar comes when someone takes the knowledge of the previous versions and fills in the things are missing here and there. The relationships between the main character's has added depth. It was great to see Jessica's character express herself in new ways. The same goes for all the other character's except for Alex & Luna. Those two stayed remarkably stale. Although in the beginning this version's Alex was far more aggressive then the previous versions. But toward the middle of the game Alex's input into random NPC conversations and even plot developments diminishes to a point of non-existence. The joy came in finding every NPC and talking to them. Finding out what the citizens of Lunar have to say after almost every single plot development was a novel and enjoyable aspect of the game. Everyone had an opinion, it was great. Unfortunately, it's not without its flaws. Every single NPC dialogue had these strange vertical black bars that appeared. It was completely annoying. The “tricks” used to transition the player into a major plot development scene were just bad choices. All of them use either a fade to black or fade to white technique. Toward the middle of the game it was predictable and bland. A lot of it was just simple appearing and disappearing sprites. Or layering special effects on top of sprites. Or worse, is when the characters board dragons they walk into them and disappear! Battle effects like an exploding roof or exploding engine are implied and not quite realized. The result is something like an NPC having to explain what just happened visually. You might as well play a MUD. Nothing was fluid or smooth. Everything had to stop and go. NPC's popped in and out, it is completely unappealing. It just looks like an amateur team handled the development, it really shows. Unfortunately in the English Version although the WD script remains largely unchanged the feeling and awe doesn't translate into this version. Xseed has seemingly picked and chose from a simple copy & past to adding unnecessary changes. Example: the ending. It is literally verbatim, except they added a few extra erroneous words to dilute the emotional impact of the scene. But I doubt how much that would have mattered considering the voice actors threw off the emotions in the scenes.The combat system was absolutely horrible. I avoided battles like the plague. I found every single battle extremely easy, and extremely slow. The combination of the two turned what used to be enjoyable battles into punishment. The wor
3/12/10
The Definitive Lunar Silver Star Story
When a game has been remade as many times as Lunar: The Silver Star has, you would expect the game experience to be nothing new and nothing worth picking up again. That is not the case with this rendition of the game. Silver Star Harmony tells a story already familiar to fans in a fantastic and beautiful way, with massively improved graphics, sound, and gameplay. The towns and dungeons are all gorgeous (yes, even the dungeons), and yet they still hold the charm found in older versions of the game. Battles are exciting to watch, with every move and spell shining in magnificent glory. While the graphics may not be as polished as a Final Fantasy game, that is not Lunar's aim; the graphics are lighthearted, colorful, and gorgeous in their own way. The cutscenes are the lovely original animations from the Playstation game, an aspect surely missed by players of the gameboy advance game. (A note to diehard fans, however: all of the voice actors have been changed in this rendition of the game; some are better (Phacia, Alex), some are worse (Nall, Royce), but at least they keep the original ideas alive.) The music you loved from the previous incarnations of the game are still there, but in brilliant, high definition rearrangements. The music of Lunar is a character all its own and a key aspect of the gaming experience. One should definitely play this game with headphones to witness every glorious note as intended. Storytelling doesn't get any better than Lunar. Each of the characters have believable personalities, making the player really connect and feel for them. The story itself is full of twists and turns, danger and betrayal, and, above all, it is all about love. It is both exciting and heartwarming. The gameplay is similar to other RPG's, with the player controlling the characters on a map through towns or dungeons, and with turn-based monster and boss battles. This version of the game feels much easier than the old Playstation version of the game, with little-to-no level grinding necessary. Despite that, boss battles are still interesting and the different types of spells keep the player on their toes. The "Arts Gauge," first introduced in the Gameboy Advance game Lunar Legends, has been brought back into play, enabling players to unleash powerful new spells to help them defeat the evil Magic Emperor and his minions. Lunar is one game series that you just cannot miss out on. It's a shame that there has been hardly any advertising for this game, and I, as a fan of the series, can only hope that it sells well enough for XSeed to go on and recreate Lunar 2: Eternal Blue as well. **The Limited Edition version of Silver Star Harmony comes with every gorgeous bromide from the game on collectible cards and a fantastic soundtrack cd featuring nearly every song from the game in fantastic quality. My own qualm about the cd is that it does not feature Ghaleon's "Recollection" theme, which was present on the Silver Star Story Complete soundtrack. However, this version will be a collector's piece for fans in any case!
3/10/10
As if Lunar couldn't get anymore awesome.
I pre-ordered the limited edition version of Lunar: Silver Star Harmony and it's no hyperbole to say that I'm very impressed. The LE version comes packed with an amazing soundtrack (its been a LONG time since I've heard such beautiful music as this) and "bromide" collector cards of the ladies of Lunar SSH (a few of which may cause blushing in males). The graphics are breathtaking, there's a lot of detail in the backgrounds and the anime cutscenes are brushed up a bit. More back story is added, a most of the plot holes are filled up nicely. Voice acting is far from bad but not spectacular (Is it just me, or does Yuri Lowenthal voice a main character in just about every anime/video game out today?). The music is all revamped and somewhat more soothing than the PS1 version. Nall has also gotten wittier! The only things I didn't like were the long loading time and the new version of Wind Nocturne (the old one was much better than this) doesn't hold a candle to the old version. Dispite these small shortcomings, this will most definitely be a game I will be play for quite awhile now. So thanks Game Arts and XSeed for an even more awesome take on Lunar (just give me back the old Wind Nocturne >.<).
3/4/10
Silver Star Harmony or Sliver of an original star?
So ever since I heard this game was coming out for the PSP I was psyched. I played the original on the Sega CD system when I was eight and loved it so much. I then bought the 2nd Lunar which was also incredible, and then purchased the remakes for Playstation after my SCD crapped out. Hopes and expectations for this version were high, maybe too high for this game since it has turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. When you read in the previews and reviews that they have redone this game, that is exactly what they have done. The game has been changed. Don't come to it if you are looking for the original with just better graphics like I did, because that's not what it is. The point being anyone can go out and find a turn based RPG to play with no story, but when you hear the name Lunar and the words classic masterpiece associated with it you would expect more. The graphics are simply amazing and some of the best I've seen on the PSP. The musical score is brilliant and adds some gusto to the revamped/semi confusing/pushed way too fast storyline. The game is fairly simple, that being said it is no Zelda. The puzzles are pretty easy to solve, and monsters pretty easy to conquer. Dungeons are short and simple with more than one way to get in and out, meaning you pretty much cant get lost in this game. Silver Star Harmony has also rid itself of the original Lunars open field world map and has taken on the predetermined map location selection system which is a major downfall for this game in my mind. Also tough load times to deal with. Anytime the screen switches you will have a brief wait time before it loads up again which is pretty annoying, but it's Lunar so its worth trying to deal with. So in the end if youve played the PS or SCD versions you will most likely be kinda disappointed with the remake... especially when you hear this new voice acting ugghh. Newcomers to Lunar should definitely pick this up if you are into turn based RPG's as you won't find a better one than this on the PSP especially for
3/4/10
One of the best PSP games out there
This has to be one of my favorite PSP games that i own; and I own a lot. Not only that; the story and the creativeness that the Xseed team has built upon years of undeniable effort to put forth a game that which I and others can enjoy. The graphics, is probably the best aspect of this game. Voice acting (when needed), Amazing cut scenes, and all along the way; very detailed, and personal up close with the characters. When I say this is a great game, I mean it. Even though i have not beaten it yet. The storyline for this dazzling game; is by far one of the best. With every step; and every town. Something new and exciting is bound to always happen. Another wonderful aspect for this tremendous game is the sound. So beautiful and very soothing to your ears. As a last resort; I think this game will be around for a very long time. =] Happy Gaming
3/4/10
A diffrence.
I can understand hard core fans being upset about the diffrences but they were trying to make a game for a new generation from an old classic. I have been pleasently supprised with the changes and i love the first game I do agree that they gave away store line at the beginning of the game and that could have waited. But for a new person to play this game i think would love it. Its an old style turn based RPG with a great story line. I hope that they desided to remake the game for The PS3 and 360 and use the time and power behind the systems to make another historical game. If you like Turn based RPG's and have not played Lunar before I recomend this game it has a great story behind the game. Dont let one die hard fan take the possibilitu of playing this remake of a classic game.
3/4/10
I didn't think it was possible
At the beginning of this game they put in a bit of story from the past and fine they could have done that without making it stupidly cheesy, but no they did. Not only that they gave away pretty much about Luna's dream which was supposed to be figured out later on in the game not really given away in the beginning. They throw in some hint about ghalleon.... ick. I am not finished with this game but i'm off the boat, and if you are a fan of the older version you know the boat scene is amazing.... Well they ruined it. Made a song about being confused about life into being confused about love is just frustrating to me. They pushed this game back and almost didnt even put the boat scene in which made the game for me on the playstation version, but now it is just some girl confused about love i guess? Ok off my rampage about the one scene. The voice actors are terrible! I think they got paid by these people to be in the game because these cant be paid voice actors. Luna isnt the sweet sounding girl she is supposed to be, Alex is O-kay not the worst, Nash is so bad i about cried, Nall sounds so odd to me now I just cant see him with that voice... Laike was one of the worst not even seeming to match the laughing of the character. They made Mel scottish... And i havent even run into the rest of the crew yet so this is very horrible for me. I can only look forward to more dissapointment. They made adjustments to the jokes and lines of the characters and they really did some job on that... I could see a second grader writting a fan fic better than that. They changed some of their more charming features... As for gameplay, I do like their battle system it looks nice all the menus are updated and the magic graphics look very good the walking around graphics have been updated and the towns do look alot better i can give them that much good job on that. They made this game too stinking easy, the maps are simplified the monsters weakened, easier to level, let me just say i thought the jelly boss on the boat was hard in the other version so i had myself all prepared, i was level 11 and i didnt go grind or anything i was expecting a bit of a challenge and it only took me 3 turns to beat the boss i was blown away at how ridiculous that was. Lunar had been my favorite game since it had come out for the Sega CD, shame on them for butchering this classic and i hope they dont redo eternal blue.
3/3/10
Seems Like They Hit the Nail on the Head
Lunar: Silver Star Complete for the PSX was one of my first forays into the RPG genre, and it's easily one of my top games of all time. Having played the demo of Silver Star Harmony, I'm almost certain that this team loves the original as much as I did. While the changed lyrics in the opening song had me worried, that all evaporated when I started playing the game. The humor and writing is spot on, and I'm glad to see that it's not the same exact dialog from the original. The cut-scenes seem to be the same, but in much better quality and with new voice acting and lines. You may or may not like some of the voice acting, but that seems to always be a hit-or-miss, especially when you're tasked with remaking a game that's very character driven and loved by so many people. The gameplay felt perfect, and is definitely an upgrade from the original while still maintaining the feel. Some might not feel that way, but having played the PSX version recently, I can tell it's much more refined. Definitely looking forward to picking this up when it hits the PSN. I just wish I could get the Limited Edition for the PSP-Go.
2/19/10
Excited
I loved the PS1 remake of Lunar: Silver Star Story and when I found out that there was a PSP remake I couldn't contain myself. I downloaded the Demo off the PSN, I was a little disappointed that they changed the lyrics to the opening song, but the graphics are beautiful and from what you can hear of the voice actors they're pretty good. Can't wait until it's actually released.
2/18/10
Same game, different platform..
While I loved this game on the Sega CD, and again on the playstation when working designs brought it as a limited edition set. I see how Sony couldn’t wait for another re-release with updated graphics and animations. Now I am a nut for old games but it seems everything is getting remade for a second or a third go around on another system. Then again, I will probably still buy this when it comes out but I guess it’s just the nature of the beast with the video game industry and this is further proof that no new ideas or concepts are out there. Just the same game remade with new elements to make it like something else... Game wise it is a definite buy, but don’t be so jaded to see what is behind all these remakes you see nowadays.
1/25/10