Genre: Role Playing Game
Platform: Playstation
Credits: 1992 by Game Arts, 1996-1998 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing, ESP/JAM
Shop: Lunar Game Shop, Artbooks and Strategy Guides, Accessories, Toys and Memorabilia, Music

Skysenshi’s Description:
15 years after the disappearance of the legendary Dragonmaster Dyne, young Alex swears on the hero’s grave that he shall become one great adventurer just like Dyne. Together with his friends, Alex embarks on the quest of his life, unaware that the greatest peril lay in the betrayal of the ones he trusts most…

Cover Description:
The remake of a classic Sega Saturn RPG, Lunar: The Silver Star Story COMPLETE has also become a classic PlayStation game as well. Experience the adventures of Alex and his friends as they journey the road to becoming a famous Dragonmaster just like his idol Dyne. As fate would have it, forces that are far from good would have to force this destiny on him and soon he learns that being a Dragonmaster isn’t going to be such an easy task after all… Not when that means losing the single most important thing in his life.

FAQ/Info:
FAQ by Skysenshi
Bromide Guide by Skysenshi
Wind’s Nocturne Lyrics

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NOTE: This description was written sometime in 1999 and was recorded in the classic Otaku Fridge as ??.??.1999. Unfortunately the database would not accept non-numerical values, so this review is now dated January 01, 1999 by default.

If we’re talking about classic role-playing games, Lunar: The Silver Star Story has most definitely made it up there. Oh, yes, it does have icky looking graphics. Yes, it also has annoying background music. Yes, the English version uses annoying American kiddie slang. Yes, the battle system takes a while to get used to. Yes, the inventory system is far too realistic to be convenient. And yes, it’s too short for an RPG.

Truthfully, the first time I saw my brother playing this game, I said: “Yuck!”

But what is it that makes this RPG quite special in a lot of people’s hearts? Maybe in my case, it was because I had just finished playing Legend of Legiaia and I was quite excited to find that the enemy encounters here aren’t stingy with money and experience points.

The anime art isn’t that great but I enjoyed the numerous anime scenes and I was happy to find that I could view them over and over again because of this beautiful item in the game called the Rememberizer. There were also additional scenes where you can see your favorite characters bathing in the beautiful Althena Springs.

As for the plot, it was very simple. It kind of reminded me of Xenogears, and I began wondering, in the middle of the game, if the makers of Xenogears didn’t get their idea from Lunar. However, if I should compare this game with Xenogears, I would give Lunar a higher rating, not only for its simplicity in the execution of dialogues, but also for the way it can keep players interested in the plot. With Xenogears, I found myself sleeping in a lot of the dialogues–and I still don’t quite understand some of those high fallutin’ blabber that Xenogears’ characters seem to be fond of–but with this game, I relished every single dialogue.

The characters are this games’ best bet. For myself, I would say that for the first time I found myself falling in love with an RPG character in the form of Kyle. Kyle and his on-off girlfriend Jessica makes the whole game much more interesting, and were both in fact the reason why I never got bored with the game. Their love-hate relationship adds spice to the otherwise boring tandems of Alex-Luna and Mia-Nash. What’s good about this game is that there are no loose ends when you finish the game. Each character is given ample focus during and after the whole quest, unlike in other games where there could be so many characters but with so few things to discover in them.

My performance in this game was very poor compared to the way I played other RPGs, but it was because I was so excited to get to the ending that I didn’t care if I my characters had underdeveloped stats. This was the kind of game one plays for its value, its story, its characters’ lives–not for the sake of perfection. Maybe this is the reason why it toppled Final Fantasy 7 from its number one spot on my list of favorite RPGs. It may not be as good-looking as a lot of the new games with fancy computer graphics, but it does have its own doze of charm!
This ugly-looking game toppled Final Fantasy 7 from its position of my number one favorite and most memorable RPG! I’m still amazed how Lunar: The Silver Star Story was able to do that!

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NOTE: This description was written sometime in 1999 and was recorded in the classic Otaku Fridge as ??.??.1999. Unfortunately the database would not accept non-numerical values, so this review is now dated January 01, 1999 by default.

Player Status:
Difficulty: Easy
Completion Time: 26 Hours 43 Minutes
Highest Level Achieved: 49
Ratings: Gameplay 9; Battle 10; Story 10; Visuals 6; Characters 8; Sounds 10; Replay Value 10

It wasn’t much for first impressions. Sure, the opening sequence looked and sounded like too much of anime to ignore, but then again, I’ve seen better ones after playing Wild Arms and Tales of Destiny. But I wasn’t one who’d be quick to judge a game with ugly graphics. With the exception of the Squaresoft RPG wonders, most of what I’ve played was just as worse when it came to visuals. I have to admit that after playing Final Fantasy VII (then some time after that, Final Fantasy VIII), the standards in graphics just weren’t the same. But mellowing down with games of less superiority in visuals did the trick. I kept reminding myself that I sure as hell enjoyed Wild Arms, Tales of Destiny and especially Xenogears better than boring Parasite Eve and Legend of Legaia despite the huge differences in visuals. But enough of my hankering about that.

It looked quite well enough when I started. There wasn’t much excitement at first, but then again, all RPGs are like that. And well, I could not help but appreciate the many conveniences this game had to offer. The inventory was good enough for me, so was the battle system. But what I absolutely loved about this game, was that you could save anywhere, anytime (except between battles, of course)! How many times have I been sorely interrupted from my RPG playing? A phone call, a mother hollering for dinner, etcetera, etcetera. This certain feature of theirs has been the answer to my frustrated prayers.

Much to my satisfaction, the further I played, the more I got into it. Sure, the plot is just a simple one. It’s nowhere near the complexity my beloved Xenogears has, but it has a charm of its own. I love the hilarious dialogue and the lovable characters Jess and Kyle (that’s why I rated the characters a 9.5. Okay, so maybe the other main characters are too much of a goody-two-shoes to suit my taste, but the duo makes up for them in a lot of ways). I also love the anime scenes, and although the art wasn’t Evangelion material, it certainly had lots of ‘em (thank heavens). And what’s more, I could actually replay them as many times as I want to because of the rememberizer (now if Squaresoft could only work this out with the upcoming FFs). Most of the playing was smooth riding all the way, and I have to say that this has got to be the funniest and most entertaining RPG since FF7 (Final Fantasy VII). And by that you already know I’m saying much.

Two thumbs up. If you haven’t played this yet, do so now. It certainly beats lonely Friday nights, “cutting your toenails, and watching the aquarium channel”.

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NOTE: This description was written sometime in 1999 and was recorded in the classic Otaku Fridge as ??.??.1999. Unfortunately the database would not accept non-numerical values, so this review is now dated January 01, 1999 by default.

Player Status:
Difficulty: Easy
Completion Time: –
Highest Level Achieved: –
Ratings: Gameplay 9; Battle 8; Story 8; Visuals 6; Characters 10; Sounds 8; Replay Value 9

Forget the ugly graphics. Forget the Barney-like background music. Once you start playing this game, you’re hooked. It’s not only entertaining, it’s also 99% stress-free! How is it stress-free? Let me count the ways:

1. Save anywhere, anytime! No more hair-pulling frustrations when your mom calls out and tells you it’s time to eat dinner.
2. The enemies don’t say, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” You call the shots when you want an encounter.
3. Easy to understand battle system with optional pre-set battle tactics. No need for tutorials.
4. Battles are fun because you get to use all your characters at once, so you get to use all their skills. In fact, levelling up is not a problem with this kind of battle system because you don’t have to worry about any of your characters getting left out.
5. Customizable battle formations. You don’t choose from pre-set battle formations–you make them!
6. 0 expense when you want to rest and replenish your HP/MP. No inns that charge too much, only Althena Shrines that refresh your characters for free.
7. No more drowsiness problems because the dialogues don’t drone on forever. The dialogue boxes and the words appear fast.
8. You don’t have to worry about accidentally missing essential party members.
9. Ultra lovable characters! When you’re down, just read their dialogue exchanges (especially Kyle’s and Jessica’s) and you’ll feel better in a moment.
10. Best of all: You don’t have to go thru the final battle again to view the ending anime sequence–or any anime sequence–over and over and over and over and over….

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NOTE: This description was written sometime in 1999 and was recorded in the classic Otaku Fridge as ??.??.1999. Unfortunately the database would not accept non-numerical values, so this review is now dated January 01, 1999 by default.

Player Status:
Difficulty: Easy
Completion Time: 25+
Highest Level Achieved: 47 (Alex)
Ratings: Gameplay 10; Battle 10; Story 10; Visuals 7; Characters 10; Sounds 9; Replay Value 10