Lunar: Silver Story Harmony is a game first released on the Sega CD as Lunar: The Silver Star. According to Wikipedia, it's the best selling game for that console in Japan. The PSP remake updated the visuals, gave us a slightly different translation, and (I think) changed the order of a few things. This was my first dip into the Lunar franchise, and I have to say, I don't know how I feel about it.
The bad:
What's with the sexualization of children? The onsen scenes, the bromides, and the skimpy outfits all made me feel gross. I don't know how old Royce is, but Jessica, Mia, and Luna can't be older than fifteen. The guys get into the creepiness too, but that's probably not a counterargument. I'm not going to say anything, but I'm looking at all the devs sideways. Were these in the SCD version?
Something I groaned about several times in the updates: mob variety. There were only about ten monsters in the entire game, and you'll be seeing them in every dungeon. The only difference is what color they are. Tactics are the same for every enemy.
Another thing that makes mob variety bad is how bland dungeons are. There are almost no puzzles anywhere. Every dungeon is a small maze with no gimmicks or memorability. The sewers are the only one that comes to mind, and the area with the MP stealing chests. But I don't remember where that was, so... The final dungeon tried something with its forced combat and teleporter nonsense, but it was too little too late to mean anything to me.
For a game with an emphasis on music, I wasn't big on the OST. A lot of it is my own peccadillos about peppy, upbeat songs, but I thought a lot of town themes were the same note plays on a different melody. Even the instruments were similar. It's a lot of flutes, so maybe the remastered version just got stuck in a rut? And the tiny amount of tracks means you're going to be hearing them pretty often.
I hate Nall. Why does he get more lines than anyone else, especially the supposed main character? And he's a one note guy! All he talks about is fish with the occasional comment about pretty girls. I don't understand why he's the center of attention in a game where he's unnecessary. Replace half of his something for Alex to say, and Alex becomes a more well rounded person. He needs it. And if you want a quazi silent protagonist, give the other party members more stuff to say to make them better!
Because the other characters need it, too. Most ofo them are pretty bland themselves. Kyle's only trait is his hedonism.
Jessica seems torn between two personalities: The prim-and-proper woman her mother was and the pirate king Mel is. But we don't see much of it. She's clearly more like her father, but I guess she wears her mother's clothes?
Nash is a wannabe eugenicist, but he never overcomes that. I guess he does after that scene before we kill Xenobia, but that's a very touchy subject that I remove to handwave away. But he is a kid, so...
Alex is a kid who wants to be a hero and then bang his sister.
Mia is a genuinely good character, at least. She's the daughter of a hero, sheltered (it seems) in the chambers of the guild, and the heir apparent to it all. But she doesn't think she can do it. She's stuck with her own emotions and confidence, and saving the world brings it out of her. But as long as she has he friends, she knows she can do it.
The mixed:
The battle system has a lot of fun things going for it. I loved the idea of the quazi strategy squares on the battlefield. We can move our characters around to avoid AoE damage or set ourselves up for an attack next round. And every character has their role, which is the most important thing I want in combat. But it's not without its flaws. There are very few skills to use. Nash only gets three attack spells, all ofo which are of one element. He also gains some status effects, but I never used them because it's an RPG. Mia has two types of damage, but her Fire Charge attack is the only one you should for boss fights. Alex and Kyle also only have one attack to use in any particular scenario. Jessica, though, only has healing spells. She can never do damage without her Special Art or by getting into the front line, which you don't want your healer to do. There's no need to wonder if changing your strategy will be worthwhile, risk to be hard, or things to try, so it makes battles feel the same. Monotony isn't fun. And to make matters worse, enemies don't even have elemental weaknesses, so it doesn't matter anyway!
The plot is so obvious. I knew most of the twists just watching the opening cinematic, and before we finally got control of Alex. I knew Nall would turn into the dragon, Luna was Althena, and Alex would want to bang his sister. Ghaleon, a hero from fifteen years ago, being the main villain threw me for loop, though. I knew he'd have something to say in it, but just not how big. Luna turning evil was also pretty fun to see.
The good:
I liked the Vile Tribe. Their outfits need some work, but there's some decent depth to them. The three sisters being ununited at the end was a fun twist. And each sister has a different reason to follow Ghaleon was nice. One wanted to be recognized, another wanted power, and one came to her senses just in time.
The world of Lunar is filled with a lot of characters. Each city feels different than the others, even if one is based on a strange trope of inbreeding. Burg is a quiet mountain town, but Mariba is a bustling metropolis. Nanza, a thief's fortress, is filled with miscreants and the opposite of the quirky inventors in Iiuk. And it has a good backstory about the Blue Star in the sky, it's birth from the Goddess, and even some future hopefulness of returning.
Now, it looks like I hated Lunar. Buuuuuttttt, I kinda enjoyed it. I'm not gonna say it's a good game or something every gamer should play, but it was just fun enough. The low difficulty of Lunar, the straightforward dungeons and combat, and the obvious plot twists make me think this is a beginner's RPG. If you're interested in plot heavy stories but can't spend sixty hours on something with too many mechanics, then this is the game for you. I also need to remember that this was originally on the Sega CD. Sega CD was between the Genesis and the Saturn in 1992. Technology, especially the futurist CD, was a new thing then. Developers were figured a lot out, and Lunar hit some spots that Nintendo couldn't at the time. If you can look past the creepy scenes, which you probably shouldn't, and the strange outfits by our villainesses, then pick up the first Lunar game. I wonder the original/PS1 version is less sexy? I know the music is true to the SCD, so give it a try and tell me. I don't see me moving on to Eternal Blue, but I might skim some of the extra stories around Alex and friends. There's a lot of it!
For google sheet record keeping:
Playable Characters:
Alex - 7
Luna - 7
Ramus - 5
Nash - 6
Jessica - 6
Mia - 7
Kyle - 7
Tempest - 3
Side Characters:
Dad - 4
Mel - 6
Lemia - 6
Laika - 7
Myght - 3
Villians:
Vile Tribe - 7
Ghaleon - 8
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