Lunar Legend

"One of the best RPGs ever. Now in bite size."

Pros and Cons

Pros:
+ Easy to follow story.
+ Great anime style graphics.
+ Great music from the PS1 version.
+ Card collecting and some unlockable stuff adds some replay value.
+ It is not simply a port or shovelware, some scenes in the game are way different than the console versions.

Cons:
- Those who had played Working Design's Sega CD and PS1 versions may be scratching their heads about Ubi Soft's translation.
- Not as challenging as the console versions.
- No voices or animated cutscenes? Well it is a GBA game.

''When One Legend Falls Another Must Rise''

Once again, Game Arts has remade their RPG masterpiece, Lunar: Silver Star Story. Only this time it is now in handheld form. Some of you may be thinking it won't be as good as the console versions if it is on GBA. Well the answer is yes and no. Read on and you will know what I am talking about.

The Graphics

Believe it or not, the in-game graphics look much better than the PS1 and Sega Saturn remakes. The characters are better animated and the backgrounds look more colorful. Speaking of characters, some of them now look like what they look like during the cutscenes and the character portraits next to the message boxes. One example is Ramus, instead of blue hair and no glasses, he now has brown hair and glasses. The battle graphics are another improvement. The sprites are bigger, more colorful and there are more frames of animation for each character and enemy. For example, when Nash does his thunder spell, his mouth starts moving and points to the enemies and glows while a pentegram appears below him. Also, the main characters now have their own victory poses like the late 3D
Final Fantasy games. Now about the cutscenes, they are not animated although it shows a still anime drawing from a certain scene followed by a message box containing a character's quote. Remember though that this is only a GBA game.

The Music and Sounds

All the music from the PS1 rev (The first Sega CD rev had an entirely different soundtrack FYI) are present. Although the tunes have been degraded to SNES quality, they are still very good and pretty catchy. The sound effects strangely enough has improved. Most noticeable if you played this in any form before as that the ''thud'' sounds in the battles are not annoying and cheesy anymore. On the bad side, there are no voices in the game not that voices are really important. Game Arts did a good job in that department.

The Gameplay

Very similar to the old Lunars only with some exceptions. The battles return in random form like the Sega CD rev (Fans of the PS1 rev may not like this). The characters now have a super attack (similar to FFVII's limit breaks) that can only be used when the bar by the character's name is full. You also collect trading cards of the characters and foes as you progress in the game. The story as expected is exactly the same as the console versions. You are a Alex, a country boy who has a plan for his future, follow the footsteps of his role model, the great Dragonmaster Dyne. Okay so the story may be too cliche compared to the other RPGs released nowadays, but this is cliche done right. The game has lots of characters that you will care about and show more emotion than many of today's RPG characters. Not to mention that this game has some of the coolest villains ever. This is one of those games that you have to play to see how great it is. My only beef about this game though is the translation is far from being as good as Working Design's efforts and the game isn't really that hard to finish.

The Replay Value

If there is one thing wrong about many RPGs, they all lack replay value. Fortunately, Game Arts added some things to unlock so this game can last awhile. Collecting all of the trading cards that the enemies drop isn't an easy task since some are rare to get. Thankfully, you can trade cards with friends via link cable, but first you got to find someone who actually has the game. It will be tough because sadly many GBA owners don't have this game in their collection.

Final Thought

Don't rent, don't borrow, buy this now! If you are one of those unfortunate souls who can't find a copy and always get outbidded on Ebay for the PS1 and Sega CD versions, this is the best alternative until you actually find those games. Like the versions mentioned above, I am sure that this version will become a rare find in future. If you see one in a store, don't hesitate to buy it. It is a timeless classic like many fans say.

Definitely worth a 10/10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/03, Updated 06/03/03