The Nineties gave us a number of the most celebrated Japanese RPGs of all time, and though the Lunar video games are sometimes neglected compared to their contemporaries, they nonetheless embody every part magical about that period.
The Lunar Remastered Assortment is a welcome revival, then. It bundles Lunar: The Silver Star Story and Lunar 2: Everlasting Blue into one handy package deal, providing greater decision visuals, some (comparatively minor) high quality of life enhancements, and an all-new English dub.
By way of storytelling and characterisation, each video games nonetheless maintain up. Granted, the overarching plotlines aren’t something particular — chosen heroes, almighty dragons, a rising evil — however there’s an plain appeal to the adventures themselves.
Totally animated cutscenes — full with that basic 90s anime fashion — all the time helped Lunar resonate on a story degree. They continue to be a pleasure to behold at present, however the remaster’s use of AI upscaling does take the sting off when you discover it. Most gamers most likely will not even catch on, however there are occasions when the AI does the standard AI factor, creating odd linework or patterns that are not speculated to be there.
And this leads right into a broader dialog concerning the Lunar video games deserving a greater return. Certainly, different facets of this assortment really feel a bit half-arsed. For instance, now you can double and even triple the pace of turn-based fight, which is nice for the reason that first Lunar specifically is usually a gradual, grindy sport.
Nonetheless, as a result of fight encounters aren’t random, and you may solely grind for ranges in set dungeons, the method of beefing up your social gathering nonetheless looks like a chore. At this level, why not simply embody extras like an non-compulsory expertise booster? The draw of those outdated titles is not to relive their inherent tedium — it is to absorb the environment of a style’s bygone period.
Given what number of issue spikes these video games have — as in, you haven’t any actual selection however to grind some ranges to even stand an opportunity towards particular bosses — it is exhausting to not really feel as if far more might have been completed to enhance the general circulation.
It is a disgrace, as a result of as alluded, it is Lunar’s story and characters that reel you in. While you’re not mindlessly battering the identical monsters in the identical dungeon again and again, these are very well paced RPGs that funnel you throughout a reasonably memorable fantasy world.
And to be trustworthy, the battle system is fairly fundamental anyway. It is your customary turn-based affair that does little to excite right here in 2025 — though the spritework continues to be immaculate. Establishing your social gathering’s formation is about as in-depth because it will get, and in each video games, it is not till afterward that fight calls for strategic nuance past therapeutic when your HP is low.
Having mentioned all of that, there’s nothing fairly just like the gradual satisfaction of seeing your social gathering’s stats creep greater. Perhaps that is the nostalgia speaking, however there is a straightforwardness to the stereotypical 90s JRPG that nearly feels refreshing at the present time.
You understand what else is nostalgic? Lunar’s English localisation — a script so 90s that it even manages to reference cultural occasions of the time. From what we will inform, the dialogue is generally unchanged on this assortment, regardless of the utterly rerecorded voicework (which, we’re pleased to report, is stable all through).
We perceive why JRPG purists might need needed a extra… correct translation for this revival, however there isn’t any doubt that the outdated script helps set up a real 90s anime aesthetic. The localisation workforce had enjoyable with this one, and that lighthearted, usually jokey tone bleeds into Lunar’s total id.
Conclusion
The Lunar video games embody every part that is nostalgic about 90s JRPGs, from the enjoyable characters and vibrant fantasy worlds, to the wonderful spritework and catchy music. That mentioned, Lunar’s underlying grind could make it tough to abdomen right here in 2025 — particularly when the Lunar Remastered Assortment does not do sufficient to mitigate the sequence’ most tedious facets. It is nice to expertise these video games once more — a completely deserved revival — however it’s an actual disgrace that the gathering is not flush with extra useful options.
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