Go Fanboy - Everyone Has A Favorite

Walking into this one I was almost as excited as I was worried. Like many gamers, I’ve played my share of Lunar titles. Also like most I thought that the series had done well in its previous jumps from Sega CD to Playstation and Saturn. Things went a little sour however when GameArts made their first attempt at a portable Lunar title with Lunar: Dragon Song for the DS. The game was an all around flop do to being so watered down. But here we are with the portable version of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete in the form of Harmony. This isn’t just some rushed port with a new coat of paint slapped on though.

As mentioned before, some people may be hesitant about picking up a portable Lunar title out of fear of another slender version of “Lunar light”. There’s nothing to worry about when it comes to that. Harmony is far from light and actually packs on a few pounds of quality in the form of better looking hand drawn characters that look better and fit the backgrounds due to their increase in size. Yes, the towns, inns, and everything have been redrawn as well and look great. About the only thing that hasn’t been updated visually are the cut-scenes, which didn’t really need to be. The classic anime scenes are ripped right out of Silver Star Story Complete, so they’re in 4:3, but even the lack of widescreen isn’t a bother.

In addition to the visuals getting a tune-up (or complete overhaul in this case), the audio has also been polished to a beautiful shine. (Can sounds be shiny? Sure!) All of the original tracks made the leap to Harmony, except they sound great now. Players new to the series won’t even realize that everything is updated from a game almost 18 years old. Even though the original Lunar game debuted on the CD format, there was a lot to be desired. So much like the visuals, the sound in Harmony will give veterans of the series the feeling that GameArts finally gave Lunar the proper treatment. There are even more sound effects to fill everything out and pull gamers in. Voice-acting is superb with the only complaint being that at times the actors seemed rushed. But that was literally the only issue I had. Some fans of the old Working Designs games may have an issue with XSEED’s script, but in my opinion, I think it works great today. The story is still the same, just with some different wording.

The gameplay, which is what matters most, has been ported perfectly and remained untouched for the most part. As mentioned, the script has been updated by XSEED, but you still set off as Alex with Luna and your flying cat thing - Nall on and epic quest. The turn-based battle system is classic Japanese gaming at its best. You position your party member correctly in order to land attacks and it moves at a nice pace. The game’s balance is much improved as well. This may once again annoy the faithful, but even fans of the older games know the grinding got a little ridiculous at times. Now things are balanced as to allow for the faster pace. One reason this is good is that it’s on the PSP. XSEED should get some credit for factoring in portability and ease of play.

All in all, Lunar Silver Star Harmony could be a lesson in how to do a good remake. A lot of the time companies will grab a license or sign a deal to do a rerelease and just shove it out the door. Maybe that’s why the rewritten script is a good thing to me. XSEED actually put some effort into this PSP port. Younger gamers may be slightly shocked by the turn-based battle system as it can come off as slightly antiquated. Personally I love it. I miss the old-fashioned turn-based JRPGs. So while this title won’t break any new ground in the role playing world, Harmony offers a lot of game in a small package. It’s a solid remake containing graphics updated with care, excellent voice-acting, and strong RPG gameplay that should be in your PSP right now.