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Lunar Silver Star Harmony Review PSP

By admin on Jul 13, 2010 in Action RPG, Featured, PSP, RPG, XSeed

Ah Lunar, how I miss those Sega CD days and the countless hours of playing that great RPG. Fast-forward to 2010 and we reach the fourth remake of Lunar as it lands on the PSP. Over the years, the Lunar games have had their stories expanded upon and changed. Lunar Silver Star Harmony is basically a rehash of Lunar Silver Star Complete from the Sega Saturn and original Playstation systems. It follows the story of Alex, a young boy seeking adventure like his idol, Dragonmaster Dyne, who disappeared years ago trying to save the Goddess Althena. The game features cutscenes that seem to be ripped straight from the original Playstation version and are presented in 4:3 aspect ratio, while the actual game is presented in 16:9 widescreen format on the PSP.

The game uses a turn-based battle system, which may seem a bit boring to newer players, but stays faithful to most of the original game’s mechanics. Enemy encounters are not random as they were in the Sega CD version. Enemies appear on screen and the player can either engage in battle or attempt to outrun the enemy to continue their path. Lunar Silver Star Harmony has a top-view navigation with very limited mobility compared to the original, especially when navigating the world map. Dungeons are a fraction of the size they were in the Sega CD version, which is quite odd considering the PSP can easily handle a game the size of 1.5GB versus the Sega CD was less than a 500MB CD. The graphics are visually appealing, with a hand-drawn feel and a soft color palette. There is some voice-over work, but most of the game is scrolling through text based dialogue, which can get monotonous at times.

The game is a pleasant surprise for new and old gamers alike, but depending on what version gamers have played previously, there may be gripes about story differences and gameplay mechanics. Personally, I prefer the story of the original Sega CD version, but the gameplay mechanics of the newer revisions (e.g. no random enemy encounters). Story differences will not be discussed, because amazingly enough, there are gamers out there who have never played any of the Lunar games. The limited edition comes with a soundtrack CD and bromide cards, but it would have been nice if XSeed ditched the bromides and provided a nice art book instead. All in all, Lunar is a definite purchase for those looking for a traditional RPG on the PSP and a nice treat for veteran gamers who played the original Sega CD or other revisions that would like to stroll down memory lane in the world of Lunar on a portable device. Perhaps someday there will actually be a Lunar 3 produced, one can only hope…