7) Lunar: the Silver Star (Sega CD, PS1, PSP)
Ah, Lunar the Silver Star. This is one of those games that I look upon quite fondly. It’s a great game in every incarnation available. But, before I go any further, I think I should mention that the nostalgia factor doesn’t really apply here, as I only started playing this game a few years ago. I had long since been aware of the Lunar games, but hadn’t had the chance to play them until 2009-2010ish. When I bought a Sega CD add on for the Genesis in mid '09, the first game I got to go along with it was Lunar the Silver Star. It had a lot of heart for a little 16-bit RPG, and a good story with good characters. Unfortunately I never got to finish the game on the Sega CD as it broke about five months later.
The version of Lunar that I really came to love was Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete. I have the PSP version as well and the only real difference is that the graphics are a bit nicer. Lunar Silver Star Story Complete has longer, higher quality cut scenes, a full voice acting cast, and more streamlined gameplay. The battle system is very similar to the one used in the Sega CD version and that’s ok, because it works. Your party has a wide area to move around in, and wherever you move to make your attack, that’s where you stop at the end of your turn. In battle you don’t just attack and retreat to your side of the screen, you always have to take movement into account. Different characters have different ranges of movement, so if you select the heroine Luna for example, to use a close range attack on an enemy on the far side of the screen she probably won’t make it that far and just stop along the way, ending her turn. This causes the player to choose moves wisely and it adds a fun strategic element to the game.
The story for Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete is excellent. It takes the story from the Sega CD version and fleshes it out completely. It’s a true hero & heroine story about a boy who seeks adventure and to be like his hero. In this case the young protagonist Alex, sets off on a journey to be the next dragonmaster just like the one before him, the legendary dragon master Dyne who helped rescue the Goddess Althena. He sets off with his friend he has known forever, Luna, and an annoying flying cat-monster thing named Nall. Together the three encounter people and situations that enrich their lives forever. Sound corny? Well, it’s not. The characters are so good and the scenario writing so rich, that even if the base story is a little cliché’ the game is still completely engaging. If you play more than 30 minutes into the game I can almost guarantee that you will be caring about the characters and wanting to know what happens next. And that my friends, is why Lunar: The Silver Star makes the list.
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