Summary
TheLunar Remastered Collectionbrings together two of the most influential and enjoyable JRPGs of their time. The second game,Lunar: Eternal Blue,has not been ported, remastered, or remade since its original release on the PS1. Although the first game has seen several remakes on various systems, the Complete editions on thePS1are still considered the best.
This collection is a remaster of the Complete PS1 versions published by Working Designs, featuring new voice work, upscaled graphics, remastered audio, and quality-of-life improvements. While the series has seen several attempts to reboot it with remakes, remasters, and prequels, it’s worth considering how these efforts measure up to theLunar Remastered Collection.
Among the remakes and remasters,Lunar: Dragon Songstands out as a fully developed prequel set 1,000 years beforeLunar: Silver Star Story.It maintains the lighthearted innocence of the classic games with a likable and enthusiastic cast of characters. However, despite the capabilities of the Nintendo DS,Lunar: Dragon Songlacks any of the iconic voice work for which the series is known.
While the stories in the series are usually enjoyable in a charming, cartoonish way, the narrative inDragon Songis undoubtedly the weakest. It’s far from terrible, though, as players follow the protagonist, Jian, on his quest to become a Dragonmaster and save humanity from a powerful tribe of beastmen.
Lunar Legendis a scaled-down remake ofLunar: Silver Star Storyforthe Game Boy Advance. The Game Boy Advance featured some exceptional JRPGs, such asGolden Sun: The Lost Age, which showcased the capabilities of Nintendo’s handheld device. Another title that deserved more recognition wasLunar Legends, with its vibrant sprites and beautifully crafted world. It lacks the controversial (due to its pop-culture references) but outstanding quality of Working Designs' localization, but it gets the job done. However, all the voice work and stunning anime cutscenes have been removed due to the limitations of the GBA cartridges.
The originalLunar: The Silver Staris a classic that launched on the Sega CD, surprising fans with its use of cutscenes and high-quality music, which was a novelty during the 16-bit console era. Making it stand out even compared to classics likeChrono Trigger.
While it’s still a good game, it’s surprising how much better the remake,Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete,iswith its combat, visuals, and pacing. It’s good to see where the series started, and it still holds up well enough that its story and characters are better thanLunar LegendandLunar: Dragon Story.
Lunar: Eternal Blueis a sequel set 1,000 years afterLunar: The Silver Star. Although there are subtle visual improvements, the overall gameplay and presentation are enhanced. While the voice acting and sound were impressive for their time, they may come across as a bit over-the-top and inconsistent compared to modern games.
The inclusion of voiced sequences and captivating anime cutscenes was a novelty in the early to mid-1990s, but it is more than just a gimmick; it brings the characters to life and adds even more charm to this already entertaining and classic JRPG.
Lunar: Silver Star Story Completeis a vast improvement over the original. Even though it sticks to the 2D 16-bit style visuals, it features brighter and more vibrant colors, detailed towns, dungeons, and monster designs. It was the right choice because they aged better in 2D than if they were changed to 3D. The protagonist, Alex, is no longer silent, and there are changes to Luna’s story that help flesh out her character.
She opts to go with Alex and Ramus instead of staying behind as she does in the original version. The voice acting, animated cutscenes, and the soundtrack remain among the best in the genre. Where many modern games are trying to be dark, moody, and depressing,Lunar Silver Star Storystill feels like a breath of fresh air with its much-needed optimism and innocence is akin to a Saturday morning cartoon show.
The originalLunar 2: Eternal Bluefeatures significant improvements that were later applied toLunar: Silver Star Story Complete.Moreover,Silver Star Story Completefeatured major alterations to the story for better character development and interaction. Unfortunately,Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Completedoesn’t include as many enhancements and changes as it sticks far closer to the original material.
Despite the lack of new elements to the story, it’s a nod to the quality of the original version. Thanks to the hard work of Working Designs' localization,Eternal Blueon the PS1 has better voice work compared to the original Sega CD version, and Game Arts and Japan Art Media created an excellent remake withSilver Star Storyfeaturing more detailed sprites, new animated cutscenes, improved voice acting, and a cleaner soundtrack.
The latest remasters include both originalLunargames, but it’s a shame that this full remake,Lunar: Silver Star Harmony,hasn’t left the confines of the PSP and made a part of theLunar RemasteredCollection. It is the most visually impressive title in the series and easily ranks among the bestJRPGs on the PSP. The game adds some backstory for the heroes, Dragonmaster Dyne, Ghaleon, the Pirate King, Mel, and the leader of the Magic Guild, Lemia, as they protected the Goddess Althena and prevented Eiphel from destroying the world.
The towns and dungeons are beautifully redesigned, yet instantly familiar to longtime fans of the series (even though some village houses are smaller), and retain the same magic of the originals. In addition to the visuals, the music has been redone, but with familiar tracks that sound better than ever.Lunar Silver Star Harmonyalso includes the auto battle formation and tactics, which are included in the remastered collection.
TheLunar Remastered Collectionincludes enhanced versions ofLunar: Silver Star Story CompleteandLunar 2: Eternal Blue Completeon the PS1. It features new voice acting, a remastered audio track, enhanced inventory management, sharper visuals, upscaled anime sequences, auto-battle tactics from Lunar Silver Star Harmony, and the option to speed up auto battles to three times their normal speed.
Unfortunately,Lunar Silver Star Harmonyis not included, but JRPG fans can finally accessEternal Bluewithout having to pay exorbitant prices for the PS1 version on auction sites. This collection offers the best way to experience the Lunar series, and hopefully, they will remasterHarmonyand eventually get to work on a third game in theLunarseries.
