The Nineties gave us among the most celebrated Japanese RPGs of all time, and though the Lunar video games are sometimes ignored compared to their contemporaries, they nonetheless embody all the pieces 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 bundle, providing larger 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 simple attraction to the adventures themselves.
Totally animated cutscenes — full with that basic 90s anime fashion — at all times helped Lunar resonate on a story stage. They continue to be a pleasure to behold right now, 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 everyday AI factor, creating odd linework or patterns that are not alleged to be there.
And this leads right into a broader dialog concerning the Lunar video games deserving a greater return. Certainly, different features of this assortment really feel a bit half-arsed. For instance, now you can double and even triple the velocity of turn-based fight, which is nice because the first Lunar particularly could be a gradual, grindy recreation.
Nonetheless, as a result of fight encounters aren’t random, and you’ll solely grind for ranges in set dungeons, the method of beefing up your celebration nonetheless looks like a chore. At this level, why not simply embrace extras like an elective 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 The draw of those outdated titles is not to relive their inherent tedium — it is to absorb the environment of a style’s bygone period.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 problem spikes these video games have — as in, you don’t have any actual selection however to grind some ranges to even stand an opportunity in opposition to particular bosses — it is exhausting to not really feel as if way more might have been accomplished to enhance the general stream.
It is a disgrace, as a result of as alluded, it is Lunar’s story and characters that reel you in. Whenever you’re not mindlessly battering the identical monsters in the identical dungeon again and again, these are rather well paced RPGs that funnel you throughout a reasonably memorable fantasy world.
And to be trustworthy, the battle system is fairly primary anyway. It is your commonplace turn-based affair that does little to excite right here in 2025 — though the spritework continues to be immaculate. Establishing your celebration’s formation is about as in-depth because it will get, and in each video games, it is not till in a while that fight calls for strategic nuance past therapeutic when your HP is low.
Having stated all of that, there’s nothing fairly just like the gradual satisfaction of seeing your celebration’s stats creep larger. Possibly that is the nostalgia speaking, however there is a straightforwardness to the stereotypical 90s JRPG that just about feels refreshing at the present time.
You realize 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 usually unchanged on this assortment, regardless of the fully rerecorded voicework (which, we’re completely satisfied to report, is stable all through).
We perceive why JRPG purists may need needed a extra… correct translation for this revival, however there is not any doubt that the outdated script helps set up a real 90s anime aesthetic. The localisation crew had enjoyable with this one, and that lighthearted, typically jokey tone bleeds into Lunar’s total identification.
Conclusion
The Lunar video games embody all the pieces that is nostalgic about 90s JRPGs, from the enjoyable characters and vibrant fantasy worlds, to the wonderful spritework and catchy music. That stated, Lunar’s underlying grind could make it troublesome to abdomen right here in 2025 — particularly when the Lunar Remastered Assortment does not do sufficient to mitigate the sequence’ most tedious features. 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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