Lunar Legend

"Lunar Lite"

I've been a huge fan of the Lunar games since I beat both of the PSX remakes a few years ago. When I heard about a version of Lunar: Silver Star Story coming to GBA, I was excited to say the least. I was hoping it wouldn't be a direct port of the PSX or Sega CD versions, and...well, it wasn't! there are many changes, both good and bad. While I was a little disappointed with Legend, I still enjoyed this game for the most part.

Graphics- 2D at its best!
The graphics in Lunar Legend are great. The sprites are even better than former versions of this game. They're bigger and much more animated...in some parts, like in battle, you actually see expression on the faces of the sprites, instead of the blank face that the PSX sprites had. Also, the larger sprites(like Quark for example) are very impressive. Environments and battle animations are also very well done.

The one problem with the graphics is that the FMVs are gone, and instead replaced with still pictures. The still pictures look nice, but without FMVs, Lunar loses something.
(Graphics: 9/10)

Music/Sound- Not too shabby
The music stays true to the PSX version, thankfully. The GBA renditions are obviously inferior to the PSX originals, but for GBA music, it's pretty good. You'll recognize these tunes if you've played the PSX version, but you'll definitely notice something missing. The sound is good, with many familiar sounds and Luna's singing is still there. However, the spoken dialogue had to go, of course... And once again, Lunar loses something without the voices of characters like Kyle and Ghaleon.
(Music/Sound: 7/10)

Gameplay- Solid, but a little disappointing
What happened to Lunar's great battle system! argh. It's gone. That was a big disappointment. The new battle system is a typical turn-based one. Not only that, but instead of being able to see your enemies, the encounters are random! This new battle system is okay, but a little too easy at times.
(Gameplay: 7/10)

Story- Altered, but still Lunar
Right from the beginning, you'll noticed story changed. I don't want to ruin them for you, so I'll just say that certain plot points have been changed(or removed), character meetings are different, and the personalities of some characters were changed(Nash wants to be a Dragonmaster? Wah?). The main story is still pretty much the same. You control Alex, a 15-year old boy looking for adventure beyond his village of Burg. He is joined by his friends Nall, Luna, and Ramus, and they meet many others along the way. The story keeps you interested and there are even a few shockers along the way.
(Story: 8/10)

Dialogue- Yikes....big letdown...
To put it simply, the dialogue has been BUTCHERED. Gone is the sexual innuendo, the clever refrences to pop culture, and Nall's ''chicken choking'' joke. The dialogue in the PSX version was one of my favorite things about it, and sadly, hardly any of the great jokes are retained. The dialogue changes also hurt the personalities of characters such as Nall and Kyle, who were both big wisecrackers in the PSX version. And of course, the spoken dialogue is completely gone. The one upside to the dialogue? Alex actually says stuff now!
(Dialogue: 4/10)

And Lastly...
In conclusion, Lunar Legend is a good GBA RPG which is worth playing the whole way through. If you liked the Lunar games on PSX game, this game is still worth playing, and if you've never played any other Lunar games, you'll probably love this one.

Ubi Soft is no Working Designs, but they did a pretty good job in making this quest enjoyable.

OVERALL: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/03, Updated 04/29/03