Lunar Legend

"A game with a history that is overlooked"

So what I'm not seeing mentioned is the history of the game being on the Sega CD platform first, then moving on to the ''perfect'' PSX version. As a port from the Sega-CD version it's FANTASTIC! Compared to the PSX version it's lacking and watered down. While it by no means holds a candle to some of the newer RPGs in terms of graphics, and the can be easily blown to bits by the likes of Xenogears or Final Fantasy (exempting VIII-current)in terms of plot, this game has a big place in my heart. It's a ''trainer'' RPG of sorts. Something you'd give to your kid, or nephew or something just to hand down a beloved piece of your gaming history; because while it's rather tepid on the surface, a little scratching and some implimentation of imagination and suspension of belief turn this into an excellent game.

Gameplay:
One of the things I loved about Lunar was the ability to haul balls past some enemies and dodge out of their way. This isn't the case on the GBA. Random battles are crap in my opinion and this proves why. Nothing is more horrendous in a dungeon than stepping five feet and getting into a fight. At least when I saw the enemies I could say ''Oh, dang, I guess I should have thought about how to avoid that, huh?'' Other than that it's pretty much cut and paste from the earlier games. It's not hard to emulate the old Sega-style game play on any platform. One of the saving graces is the tactics system, wich will impliment a pre-planned battle... um... plan on your opponents. It saves the time of going through and selecting the same things over and over for each character. For instance... tired of telling everybody in the party to attack? Set the tactics to attack for everybody while in the main menu and you need only press one button.
Wich brings about the major flaw of this game. It's too easy. The PSX version had a nifty gimmick of leveling up enemie's stats based on your level. i.e. their base HP multiplied by whatever level you have. This made sure that every boss was as challanging as the developers wanted and that leveling up was a moot point for bosses. They're bosses, they're supposed to be stronger. I've found that I only use really three spells from Mia, two from Nash, two from Jess, and rarely any from Kyle or Alex(dragonmaster or no). They give you plenty, oh yes, but they're superfluous holdovers from RPG cliche and rarely need using. As a handheld port it's good, because really you're just wasting time standing in line, or playing it to stave off roadtrip boredom. As a challanging game, it is lacking in most places.
Note: if you do for some reason get a character KO'd in battle, Nall wakes him up for you, taking out quite a bit of the challange of being short handed. After a while he stops, but really, if you take that long there's something wrong.
For those of you wondering about graphics, they're great for the time they were originally made. Think Final Fantasy on SNES. The stills are pretty good, too, but obviously don't hold a candle to the PSX animation sequences and bromides. At this point I'd stress that the best experience for this game is on the PSX, though it has HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE voice acting. Mute the TV when they talk, it helps! Regardless, the meat and potatoes of this game shines through on the Playstation. The game is still fun to play, mind you, but it mostly comes from story.

Story!

Like I said earlier, it's no Xenogears, but it's enough to keep a smirk on your face and interest in your mind. Alex wants to be a dragonmaster like his childhood hero, Dyne, who died 15 years earlier, leaving his position open. So him, his girlfriend, and his tubby, useless, annoyance of a friend go to do just that. what follows is a whirlwind adventure of sorts that's kinda obvious and heavy handed at times. The plot twists go from ''unexpected bonuses'' to ''Oh come ON! it's so obvious that I want to kill him NOW!'' Yet they hold your mind in their grasp and keep you wanting to go to the next town. If not to see what train wrecks lie ahead, then to talk to some of the townspeople, who have a lot to say, are very often hillarious, and are all around helpful to get places. Secret places...
Character dialogue is so-so. Nall gets a little annoying, but that's common of small fuzzy comic relief.
Again, this is a handheld port and I've found it to be VERY watered down from its Sega CD and PSX counterparts. As it holds closer to the Sega CD version, though, I can forgive it that. It's a love story, it's a fantasy quest, it's a barrel of monkeys waiting to jump you and become your dirty little secret.

Sound/Graphics:

Okay, so I kinda already covered graphics. Good for the GBA, remeniscent of the SNES, and all around exact to the original. The sound is like putting glass in your ears, though. Just turn the volume off on this one, the GBA speaker blares out tinny music that's kinda painful and repetetive. For being half-based around Luna, Alex's singing girlfriend, it's lacking in the beats, yo.

Play time/ replay:

Play time is about 15 hours if you take your time, longer with sidequest action. Replay is pretty high as you tend to miss chests and areas. Check spoiler free walkthroughs so you don't miss out on a certain dungeon.
I already missed some stuff that I wish I hadn't, as all the secondary characters have ''gear sets'' that consist of hard to find items that are crap on their own, but when combined give you major stat boosts. There are also cards to collect that you can view from the main intro screen, and some secrets to access. It keeps things going good I suppose, but it really isn't needed at all. The bromides on the PSX were a lot more fun to collect ^_~

Final:

If you haven't gotten the clue yet: play the PSX for the game, play the GBA for some nostalgic time-passing fun. There are added things here, yes, but not enough to hold the game. And besides, the creators feel that the full version is the ''complete'' for the PSX. One of the main reasons a lot of these reviews are flawed is because they base it mainly on that when in reality this is a near-flawless port of a Sega-CD game. As such it's superb. Play it if you're into a small RPG to fill gaps in school or work schedules and keep you into something during a trip of sorts. Don't play it expecting the PSX version, don't play it expecting a challanging game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/30/04