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Lunar (PSX) Guest Review Up!
http://www.nextgengamers.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=10
A friend of mine wrote a review and Sonic has kindly posted it.
Here it is for those too lazy to click the link:
Lunar (PSX)
Lunar is an absolutely beautiful game, especially if you are an anime lover. The artwork, backgrounds, and especially the character designs, I thought were great. Given, this is no 3-dimensional-graphics Final Fantasy VII-type game, it is all 2D, but like I said, its beautiful in all aspects. I fell in love with this game [not to mention the music] after seeing just the opening title cut-scene and theme song. Marvelous.
I need to begin again by saying that Lunar is a classic RPG from beginning to end, bar none. One of the best parts about this game is the way the characters of the game really bring you into the immersive world that is Lunar. The anime cut-scenes are also what really bring this game to life. They are evenly spaced throughout the game, which is nice because after playing for a while, you're treated to a beautiful anime cut-scene complete with absolutely superb english voice acting and all. They're almost around every turn. I was very shocked and surprised at what this game could do, seriously.
The best part of this game is its story. Simply put, the story is what makes this game rank as one of the best Role Playing Games to date, if not of all time. I ranked it above any Final Fantasy that I've seen [which is all of them]. I won't say much about it because it is very spoilable.
The gameplay in Lunar is absolutely great. There is TONS of replay value in this game. I WILL be playing this game again, I promise. The battles are not random encounter, which is kind of a relief because you can actually try to avoid battles if you so choose. Instead they're set up with, for example, one monster moving around on the field representing a battle, and if you walk into that monster, it switches to the battle screen with X amount of monsters to fight. Kind of like Grandia, for those of you who may have played that one.
There are also so many secret items and side journeys. Many games put side journeys and hidden items in places were you almost need a strategy guide to tell you about them. This isn't the case with Lunar. There are implications of hidden items throughout the game [namely the many locked treasure chests throughout]. I would go into details about one of the more interesting hidden items, but I don't want to take up too much space.
Another cool aspect of Lunar is the fact that you can save anywhere. Yes, I said save anywhere. Even in dungeons. This little tool saved my rear a couple times during the game, especially the very end. There's nothing like getting your @$$ kicked in a boss battle and then have to start back at some save point midway through the dungeon. It ain't fun. The save anywhere feature really put a smile on my face.
As far as graphics are concerned, this is no Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9, or 10, which I kinda like. Lunar goes back to the old school 2-dimentional animated sprites that we saw during the days of the Sega CD, SNES, etc. Some of the monsters have unique 3D looks to them while a few others are like 2d templates that just change color if they're a different creature, but there weren't many of those that I remember. The sprites of the characters looked very nice as all the characters, monsters, backgrounds and all were drawn with very vibrant coloring and the lot, especially during the anime cut-scenes. It has an extremely "lively" feel to it.
The leveling system is very nicely done. I really liked the fact that the game was a challenge from beginning to end, but not so tough that you'll be barking obscenities at the screen and throwing you're controller across the room. The enemies get tougher as you level up so battles always have the slightest difficulty factor.
Now, the music, I absolutely loved. I was listening to the included soundtrack for a week after I had the game (before I sat down to play the actual game), its that good. The opening theme song and the "boat song" are very enchanting songs [sung in english] and VERY nicely pulled off. Notice I don't have much anything negative to say about this game.
Overall, you have up to five characters in your party at a time with a grand total of ten different characters that will join up with you (not all at once obviously).
As far as extras go, it comes with the two game discs and a moderately large (and very nice) hardback instruction booklet complete with interviews with the crew as well as some gorgeous artwork and a mini strategy guide that will walk you through roughly the first 8 Hours or so. Also included is a cloth map of the world of Lunar, a CD of the games wonderful soundtrack, and a special, roughly 30-minute, "Making of Lunar" disc that plays right on your Playstation.
Lunar is about average length, it'll take about 36 hours to complete [that was my time at least, I finished with my main character at level 46 and everyone else at level 45] and I still didn't find everything.
This game is no joke, folks. The final boss battle is actually THE single most difficult (not to mention the longest )battle of the entire game for once, he's NO pushover. I got my but kicked by him twice before finally winning, [45mins of fighting, get my but kicked, 45mins, get @$$ whooped again, 45mins and finally beat him]. It really pays off though, there's still another half hour of play afterwards (no fighting obviously) which will then take you through the ending sequence which is a REAL treat, trust me. There's a cool little item that is available at the end of the game, after the final fight, that allows you to go back and select to watch any and all of the anime cut-scenes!!! Oh, Yeah! Another neat feature is that there are outtakes of the voice actors at the end of the credits that last about 20 minutes!! DOUBLE COOL!!
Lunar: Silver Star Story can be pretty tough to find in stores with all its packaging and extras, etc. (Lunar 2: Eternal Blue is most common one right now, but trust me, Play The First One FIRST...If you play Eternal Blue first there won't be many surprises waiting for you in the first one because Lunar 2 is a direct sequel) However, it is well worth while to search around for the game with is original box packaging, extras and all, like mine, and I'm glad I hunted for the whole thing.
Mark my words, THIS GAME DELIVERS and it delivers well. It is very enchanting, you're brought into a world of gorgeous animation and fun to go with it, characters that you'll absolutely love and all. I highly recommend this game to any and all RPG players and then some. If you love anime, like the lot of us...More Power to You! This is THE anime game. The story is totally enchanting and is chock full of shocks and surprises, and I mean surprises, I kid you not. It is worth ever blessed cent of money, every second on the clock in-game. Any "RPGer", or gamer for that matter, whose looking for a good addition to they're collection, look no further. Anime fans will love this game as well. This is a must have game for all! Enjoy!
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete - Playstation - Working Designs 1999 - Original version 1992 Game Arts (SEGA CD)
This review brought to you by Guest Reviewer: Justin M. Hoffman
5 STARS
http://www.workingdesigns.com/museum/playstation/ourgames/lunar-sssc/
http://www.nextgengamers.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=10
A friend of mine wrote a review and Sonic has kindly posted it.
Here it is for those too lazy to click the link:
Lunar (PSX)
Lunar is an absolutely beautiful game, especially if you are an anime lover. The artwork, backgrounds, and especially the character designs, I thought were great. Given, this is no 3-dimensional-graphics Final Fantasy VII-type game, it is all 2D, but like I said, its beautiful in all aspects. I fell in love with this game [not to mention the music] after seeing just the opening title cut-scene and theme song. Marvelous.
I need to begin again by saying that Lunar is a classic RPG from beginning to end, bar none. One of the best parts about this game is the way the characters of the game really bring you into the immersive world that is Lunar. The anime cut-scenes are also what really bring this game to life. They are evenly spaced throughout the game, which is nice because after playing for a while, you're treated to a beautiful anime cut-scene complete with absolutely superb english voice acting and all. They're almost around every turn. I was very shocked and surprised at what this game could do, seriously.
The best part of this game is its story. Simply put, the story is what makes this game rank as one of the best Role Playing Games to date, if not of all time. I ranked it above any Final Fantasy that I've seen [which is all of them]. I won't say much about it because it is very spoilable.
The gameplay in Lunar is absolutely great. There is TONS of replay value in this game. I WILL be playing this game again, I promise. The battles are not random encounter, which is kind of a relief because you can actually try to avoid battles if you so choose. Instead they're set up with, for example, one monster moving around on the field representing a battle, and if you walk into that monster, it switches to the battle screen with X amount of monsters to fight. Kind of like Grandia, for those of you who may have played that one.
There are also so many secret items and side journeys. Many games put side journeys and hidden items in places were you almost need a strategy guide to tell you about them. This isn't the case with Lunar. There are implications of hidden items throughout the game [namely the many locked treasure chests throughout]. I would go into details about one of the more interesting hidden items, but I don't want to take up too much space.
Another cool aspect of Lunar is the fact that you can save anywhere. Yes, I said save anywhere. Even in dungeons. This little tool saved my rear a couple times during the game, especially the very end. There's nothing like getting your @$$ kicked in a boss battle and then have to start back at some save point midway through the dungeon. It ain't fun. The save anywhere feature really put a smile on my face.
As far as graphics are concerned, this is no Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9, or 10, which I kinda like. Lunar goes back to the old school 2-dimentional animated sprites that we saw during the days of the Sega CD, SNES, etc. Some of the monsters have unique 3D looks to them while a few others are like 2d templates that just change color if they're a different creature, but there weren't many of those that I remember. The sprites of the characters looked very nice as all the characters, monsters, backgrounds and all were drawn with very vibrant coloring and the lot, especially during the anime cut-scenes. It has an extremely "lively" feel to it.
The leveling system is very nicely done. I really liked the fact that the game was a challenge from beginning to end, but not so tough that you'll be barking obscenities at the screen and throwing you're controller across the room. The enemies get tougher as you level up so battles always have the slightest difficulty factor.
Now, the music, I absolutely loved. I was listening to the included soundtrack for a week after I had the game (before I sat down to play the actual game), its that good. The opening theme song and the "boat song" are very enchanting songs [sung in english] and VERY nicely pulled off. Notice I don't have much anything negative to say about this game.
Overall, you have up to five characters in your party at a time with a grand total of ten different characters that will join up with you (not all at once obviously).
As far as extras go, it comes with the two game discs and a moderately large (and very nice) hardback instruction booklet complete with interviews with the crew as well as some gorgeous artwork and a mini strategy guide that will walk you through roughly the first 8 Hours or so. Also included is a cloth map of the world of Lunar, a CD of the games wonderful soundtrack, and a special, roughly 30-minute, "Making of Lunar" disc that plays right on your Playstation.
Lunar is about average length, it'll take about 36 hours to complete [that was my time at least, I finished with my main character at level 46 and everyone else at level 45] and I still didn't find everything.
This game is no joke, folks. The final boss battle is actually THE single most difficult (not to mention the longest )battle of the entire game for once, he's NO pushover. I got my but kicked by him twice before finally winning, [45mins of fighting, get my but kicked, 45mins, get @$$ whooped again, 45mins and finally beat him]. It really pays off though, there's still another half hour of play afterwards (no fighting obviously) which will then take you through the ending sequence which is a REAL treat, trust me. There's a cool little item that is available at the end of the game, after the final fight, that allows you to go back and select to watch any and all of the anime cut-scenes!!! Oh, Yeah! Another neat feature is that there are outtakes of the voice actors at the end of the credits that last about 20 minutes!! DOUBLE COOL!!
Lunar: Silver Star Story can be pretty tough to find in stores with all its packaging and extras, etc. (Lunar 2: Eternal Blue is most common one right now, but trust me, Play The First One FIRST...If you play Eternal Blue first there won't be many surprises waiting for you in the first one because Lunar 2 is a direct sequel) However, it is well worth while to search around for the game with is original box packaging, extras and all, like mine, and I'm glad I hunted for the whole thing.
Mark my words, THIS GAME DELIVERS and it delivers well. It is very enchanting, you're brought into a world of gorgeous animation and fun to go with it, characters that you'll absolutely love and all. I highly recommend this game to any and all RPG players and then some. If you love anime, like the lot of us...More Power to You! This is THE anime game. The story is totally enchanting and is chock full of shocks and surprises, and I mean surprises, I kid you not. It is worth ever blessed cent of money, every second on the clock in-game. Any "RPGer", or gamer for that matter, whose looking for a good addition to they're collection, look no further. Anime fans will love this game as well. This is a must have game for all! Enjoy!
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete - Playstation - Working Designs 1999 - Original version 1992 Game Arts (SEGA CD)
This review brought to you by Guest Reviewer: Justin M. Hoffman
5 STARS
http://www.workingdesigns.com/museum/playstation/ourgames/lunar-sssc/
