Lunar: Silver Star Story and Eternal Blue

I can't believe I didn't think of writing about this sooner! Ok, there's a reason for that, the fact that I played the PSX version of these games, but since they were such big Saturn titles in Japan I think they deserve a mention here. I'm talking about the Lunar series of RPGs, more specifically the two main titles (there's also a bunch of spin-offs), which have quite a story. They were first released for the ill-fated Sega CD (aka Mega CD) add-on for the Mega Drive (aka Genesis) but later remade for our beloved console in two versions, a first one in 1996, and a 2nd, even better one, entitled Silver Star Story Complete in 1997. Now, I have to be honest, I don't exactly know the differences between the original and the first Saturn game, but the 2nd, which was later ported to the PSX (the version I played), improves on the original in every possible way. The graphics are way better, the characters have been redrawn, it features excellent anime-style cut-scenes and even the gameplay is better than in the original, with enemies present on screen instead of random encounters. Unfortunately for some reason they decided to change some bits of the story too, usually for worse, but it's still a very enjoyable game.


It's basically an RPG like many others, were you control a boy and his group of friends in a quest to save the world, but if you look past this cliché theme (which was probably more original back then) you'll find an interesting story, engaging characters and a universe worth exploring. It's a great RPG all and all, and it deserves a look by every fan of the genre, although it won't convert any RPG-haters. But wait, there's got to be a reason why I chose to play the PSX version instead of the Saturn one. An why is that? Try to guess... yup, it was never released here. Damn...it's times like this I get really pissed... At least the PSX version was released in the west, but by "west" I mean the US. Yup, no European version...


Anywho...Lunar 2 is even better, specially when it comes to gameplay where it shows some pretty inspired features, like a character in your party whom you cannot control or the final boss battle that is just epic, specially for its time. The cut-scenes are also improved, with CGI effects along with the traditional anime style, and my only complaint about it is the soundtrack which in my opinion is not as good as in the first game, and I'm saying this because the music is a big part of these games, specially the first one, where one of the main characters is a singer. Just listen to it:



Once again, this post is somewhat redundant since I doubt any of you will play the Saturn versions, but if you like the genre and have a PSX at hand (or a good emulator, I personally recommend pSX for the ease of use but if you're looking for graphic improvements you may want ePSXe) I definitely recommend you give these games a try, while pretending you're actually playing on a Saturn :)