"A severe let-down"

Lunar: Dragon Song is the first completely original addition to the Lunar series since Eternal Blue in 1995. Like most Lunar fans, I was thrilled when I heard about it. In fact, I bought my Nintendo DS solely for this game. But did it live up to all the hype?

Graphics- Well done
I've always been a fan of 2D graphics in RPGs, so Dragon Song's graphics were right up my alley. The character and enemy sprites, in and out of battle, were great, and well-animated. Particularly impressive were the large sprites used for some bosses, that made use of both of the DS's screens. And aside from sprites, there are also portraits and still pictures of the game's characters, drawn by the same artist who worked on the first two Lunar games. The character design is one thing about this game that really holds true to the Lunar name.
(Graphics: 8/10)

Music/Sound- Adequate
Dragon Song's music is good, but forgettable. It certainly doesn't detract from the experience, and helps to create the game's atmosphere, but it won't wow you. Letting you listen to the songs any time you want in the menu is a nice idea, but I never really felt the desire to use it.

Sound effects are fine. Nothing special, but fitting.
(Music/Sound: 7/10)

Gameplay- Ouch
Here's where Dragon Song falls flat on the ground. I really can't think of a positive thing to say about this. The worst offense is the battle system. Imagine, if you will, a typical turn-based system, like the one used in RPGs as early as the first Final Fantasy. Now, remove the option to choose your targets and only give the player access to a small amount of spells and you've got Dragon Song's battle system. It's a major disappointment after the first two games' great range-based system. JAM tried to add variety by forcing you to switch between fighting for items and fighting for experience, but this only causes further annoyance. You'll be fighting most battles on auto-attack not just because it's the easiest way, but also because you really don't have many other options. I could go on and on about the battle system's annoyances... Jian's tendency to attack the weakest enemy first, enemies randomly breaking your equipment, etc...

The next big gameplay annoyance: earning money. You don't earn money from battles like in most RPGs. Rather, you must complete courier missions to do this. These missions consist of seeking out someone in one of the game's towns and delivering him an item, usually one that you find in battle. There's no variety at all to the missions, and they quickly become boring. To make matters worse, at some points you're stuck in a town with no Gad's Express (the place where you are given missions), and thus no way to earn money.

Tired of wading through Dragon Song's boring, uninspired dungeons at a sluggish pace? Want to run? Well, it's going to cost you. Yes, running consumes HP, which is very annoying, especially early on. Some may argue that this is "realistic." But who plays RPGs for realism?

I gave the Gameplay a two since the controls at least work as intended. Still, I was so disgusted by the battle system that I feel I'm being a bit generous.
(Gameplay: 2/10)

Story- *frustrated yawn*
Story is the area where the past two Lunar games really shined. It took them little time to pull you in with their depth and surprising twists.

This is not the case with Dragon Song, which instead contains a boring, cliche-riddled plot driven (or not...) by equally boring characters. There are no Hiros, Kyles, Ronfars, or Jessicas to be found in this game. Instead we get Jian Campbell, the main hero, and his best friend, Lucia Collins. The two friends work as couriers in the town of Searis, and one particular mission gets them wrapped up in the growing conflict between humans and beastmen, and the Vile Tribe. Ignatius, the leader of the Vile Tribe, later kidnaps Lucia, and if you've played the past two Lunar games, you can probably guess why.

This story could've been told well, but everything happens so rapidly and is explained so vaguely that it's hard to feel involved. Add to that the fact that characterization is almost nil. The game never really takes the time to develop the characters, instead forcing you through boring dungeon after boring dungeon.
(Story: 4/10)

Dialogue- Where are Working Designs when you need them?
Remember how great the dialogue in the first two Lunar games was? Remember how it breathed life into the characters, made you feel their emotions, and even made you laugh out loud on several occassions? Remember all the colorful NPCs you'd encounted in every town?

You'll find none of this in Dragon Song. Dialogue is dull and stiff throughout the whole game. Jian, like Hiro on Eternal Blue, is not mute like most RPG protagonists... but sometimes you wish he was. Every line he says is just typical RPG hero stuff that you've heard too many times before. Lucia and Gabryel, two of the other playable characters, aren't much better. They switch between words of concern for Jian, and disapproval of his attitude, both of which are quite annoying.

Additionally, the game has quite a few careless spelling errors (the "Gpddess" Althena)
(Dialogue: 4/10)

And Lastly...
Dragon Song almost seems like a cruel practical joke played on diehard Lunar fans like myself. Save for graphics, everything I loved about the previous Lunar games is not only gone, but replaced, with inferior results. I can't even imagine non-Lunar fans finding something to like about this game. It was my love for Lunar that motivated me through the painfully dull quest, and if you don't have that same love, you'll probably have an even harder time.

It baffles me how Game Arts were able to observe Japan Arts Media butchering their beloved series. And Ubisoft don't even come close to Working Designs in their role of localizing the game.

OVERALL: 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/05