Lunar Legend

"The GameBoy Advance's best RPG yet!"

Ok, I'm guessing most people will be comparing this game to either Golden Sun and/or the previous Lunar games, so I'll keep that in mind as I write this review.

Note: This is a REMAKE of Lunar: The Silver Star. It is NOT a port of the Sega CD version or the Playstation version (Lunar: Silver Star Story).

Graphics [9/10]
Characters: Character sprites on the field are generally colorful and well-animated. Some people may find them to be somewhat small, but this is generally not a problem. During story sequences, the sprites become larger and more detailed. These story sequences have some of the best graphics seen on the GBA. In-battle sprites also look very good, and the animation is smooth.
Backgrounds: Town backgrounds are generally colorful and interesting. My only gripe here is the small shop signs in Meribia. Some signs are so small you can't even tell that the house is an armor shop. Dungeon backgrounds look good, but tend to be a bit repetitive. While they are relatively detailed, the patterns tend to repeat, creating a somewhat boring, uninteresting area. While this is only a small problem, it's enough to bring the graphics score down a single point.
Other: During the game, there are still images taken from the anime sequences in the Playstation version. They look alright, but sometimes appear to be rather dull. Despite my complaints, the images only enhance the game, as they let the player see larger, more detailed images of characters and events. Also, in battle, detailed anime images of characters are shown whenever a character uses his/her Art Gauge technique. Again, these only enhance the experience.
Generally, the graphics of Lunar Legend are just as good as its Playstation counterpart, and obviously better than the Sega CD version. The graphics are also just as good as those in Golden Sun, so it's really a matter of personal taste in deciding which graphics you like better.

Sound/Music [9/10]
Sound: Sound effects are appropriate and generally pleasing to the ear. That about all there is to say; it's a bit difficult to describe sound effects!
Music: The music sounds goods, and is very catchy. The music is of high quality, but it's up to you to decide whether you like or dislike the composition. Again, it's difficult to describe, so I really can't go too deeply into this area.
The quality of music is slightly lower than that of the Playstation version, but much better than that of the Sega CD version. It's of nearly the same quality as Golden Sun, but it's really up to the player to decide which music is better composed. And yes, most of the music in this version comes from the old Lunar games.

Gameplay [10/10]
Field: Controls are smooth and lag-free, and your character moves quickly. The movement speed makes large areas much less painful to navigate. Talking to people requires the touch of a single button, as expected, and is easy to do. When talking to people, you can speed through dialogue by holding the B button, very useful if you're replaying part of the game. My only complaint in this area is that the player may enter a doorway if he/she is only near it. It's no big deal, not even enough for me to lower the gameplay score a single point.
Battle: Well, whether you like the battle system or not is your opinion, so I'll only describe it for you to make a decision on your own. You can battle with up to five characters at a time, against up to six enemies at a time. Your formation is shaped like the letter X, with a character at each point and one in the middle. Front row characters take and deal more damage and back row characters take and deal less. The middle character takes and deals somewhere between the front and back rows. The same thing goes with the enemies, except their formation may be in some other shape. Your characters are well-balanced, no character being more important than another. Each character has skills and spells that only they have, so each character specializes in a certain field.
Field controls of Lunar Legend are about the same as those of previous Lunar games, and are less irritating than the ability switching in Golden Sun. The battles are different in Lunar Legend, compared to previous Lunar games, in that your characters do not move around like they used to. Comparison of Lunar Legend and Golden Sun is absolutely a matter of personal taste here.

Random Encounters [9/10]
Game Arts has come up with a near perfect solution to random encounters. The encounter rate is high, so it's easy to find enemies to level up, etc. However, your characters on the field move so quickly that you will face a minimal number of encounters while moving through an area. So if you want them, you got them, and if you don't want them, then you can move through areas before they really get to be annoying.
Fans of the Playstation Lunar may be disappointed that you can't see enemies on the field before you fight them, but it's not really a huge deal. The encounter rate is nearly the same as Golden Sun, and in my opinion, slightly better.

Characters/Story [10/10]
This game has some amazing character development. Every character has their own personality, and each character seems to mature and change as the story progresses. The story is full of plot twists, and if you've never played the old Lunar games, their are plenty of surprises. The plot seems to flow evenly, with no long, boring sequences and no insanely fast and confusing sequences. In my opinion, the story is well planned and very solid, but it's up to you to decide if you like it or not.
The plot follows very closely to the Playstation Lunar, with a few minor changes mainly occurring early in the game. The plot, in my opinion, is Lunar Legend's strongest point over Golden Sun. The plot is generally more interesting and the characters are better developed.

Localization [6/10]
While the plot and dialogue are generally easy to follow, there are some obvious problems that occurred during translation and localization. Occasionally you might see a character say something that doesn't quite make sense, and you'll occasionally see a comment or two that seems out of place. Also, the menus and battle have serious problems as a result of the translation process. For example, names and commands are shortened in battle due to the lack of character space. ''Ramus'' becomes ''Ramu,'' ''Laike'' becomes ''Laik,'' ''Manual'' becomes ''Manu,'' etcetera. Item names are also shortened, occasionally causing some confusing. While you can get used to this, it is somewhat annoying throughout the entire game.
Fans of Working Designs' translation of the old Lunar games will be deeply disappointed with Ubi Soft's translation. It is Lunar Legend's biggest problem, and it is Golden Sun's greatest advantage over Lunar Legend.

Length [N/A]
My first time through the game took me around twenty-five (25) hours. I attempted to get everything, and I did not use a guide. You can make the decision for yourself if this length is suitable for you. For those wondering, it's about the same length as the Playstation Lunar, and a little longer than Golden Sun (at least from my playing).

Replayability [N/A]
Again, this depends on if you personally like the game or not. I could replay it more than most RPGs I own, and I found the game to be very addictive. Also, the addition of card collecting to this version of Lunar gives the game slightly more replay value than its predecessors. You basically get monster cards by killing monsters, and you can buy character cards from the card shop in Meribia. It's all optional, so if you don't like it, you don't have to do it.

Overall [9/10]
Despite some problems, Lunar Legend, in my opinion, is the GameBoy Advance's best RPG at this point. Fans of the Playstation and Sega CD versions will not be disappointed, and RPG fans in general should not be disappointed. The game is slightly better than Golden Sun, mainly due to its strong plot. So, if you like a deep, interesting plot, you should get this game. Also, the game is relatively easy, with only the occasional somewhat hard boss fight (this coming from an RPG vet). You make the decision about difficulty yourself. So, in summary:

Pros:
Great 2D graphics.
Interesting plot.
Quality music.
Addictive gameplay.

Cons:
Poor localization.
A certain annoying maze dungeon that I'm not allowed to name.
Difficulty in getting some cards.
Kyle can (doesn't have to) use gloves as a weapon(!?)

This game is great, and I would recommend this game to all RPG fans. It may be difficult to find, so good luck. I hope I didn't leave anything out... Anyway, I'm done typing, and I sincerely hope my review helped. Seeya later!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/02, Updated 12/28/02