PSP 25-in-25: Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
Next in our retrospective is BT’s top PSP game of 2010!
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
Players: 1 Offline Player
Publisher: Xseed Games
Genres: RPG
Publisher: Xseed Games
Genres: RPG
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Developer: Game Arts
MSRP: $29.99
Developer: Game Arts
MSRP: $29.99
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony features all new graphics, added gameplay features, and a re-mastered soundtrack so a whole new generation of fans can experience this legendary first entry of the Lunar universe, while added story elements are sure to intrigue returning fans alike.
PSP 25-in-25: Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
Posted By Austin Y. about 3 months ago
Now that we’ve all collected ourselves after yesterday’s controversial entry in our PSP 25-in-25, we can move onto something that is a little less contentious. While not as universally loved and celebrated as many higher profile JRPG series, Lunar is a name that most look back on fondly. The PSP update of the first game, called Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, is not only the definitive version of the game, but probably the best the series has to offer.
At first glance, you might see Silver Star Harmony as yet another cliché anime-esque JRPG. However, unlike a lot of unimaginative titles of the genre to emerge over the years, Lunar has an excuse: it first came out in 1992. Yes, many of the tropes you’ve come to know (and maybe hate) were at least somewhat fresh around the time Lunar: The Silver Star launched, so think of the game as a history lesson, if nothing else.
PS1/Sega CD vs PSP. That’s how you do a remake.
That’s not to say it doesn’t hold up though. Combat is pretty simplistic, with all the standards you’d expect of a turn-based RPG. But the writing is surprisingly good, with a lot of humor that surpasses “funny for a video game” territory. In fact, the whole translation is impressive, even if the basic plot isn’t anything to write home about. The main love story is competently handled though, so if you’re looking for that in a game then you won’t be disappointed.
Honestly, my favorite aspect of Lunar: Silver Star Harmony is the soundtrack. I am someone who appreciates a quality OST, but I’ve never gone out of my way to obtain tracks outside of those by Nobuo Uematsu or Danny Baranowsky. I made an exception for Lunar though, as the all-new PSP soundtrack is amazing, whether it’s an up-tempo fight song or just a humble town theme. I can now officially say I have songs on my iPod with names like “童話。父と母と” and “闇となる理想.” No, that isn’t garbled HTML code. They’re song names.
Back in my day, boss battles meant something.
If you aren’t convinced by me, you can always take Taylor’s word for it, as he gave the game his PSP of the year award for 2010. Since the PSP hasn’t been out for 25 years, I assume that made it a shoe-in for our retrospective. Obvious choice or not, Lunar: Silver Star Harmony is a classic RPG from an era that many gamers hold a lot of nostalgia for, so check it out if you haven’t yet.
You can find more articles in our series 25-in-25 series over here, and stayed tuned tomorrow for another look at a great PSP title!
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony Review
Lunar: Silver Star Story is one of the most beloved and cherished RPG adventures of all time. Silver Star Harmony takes the original game and transforms it into a beautiful re-creation.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony Review
Lunar: Silver Star Story is one of the most beloved and cherished RPG adventures of all time. Silver Star Harmony takes the original game and transforms it into a beautiful re-creation.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony Review
Posted By Taylor H. about 1 year, 4 months ago
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony Review
Lunar: Silver Star Story is one of the most beloved and cherished RPG adventures of all time. Silver Star Harmony takes the original game and transforms it into a beautiful re-creation. Everything from the graphics to the music has been upgraded and improved. Can this remake truly live up to the original masterpiece, or does it fall short, even with modern technology on its side?
| PROS | Graphical and musical overhaul make for an amazing overall remake |
| CONS | The free-roaming world map was removed in this version |
| WTF?! | They still have the fan service bath scene |
From top to bottom, this story is solid as can be. It follows the adventures of protagonist Alex to become the Dragon Master, and chronicles the love between him and a childhood friend, Luna, along the way. Throughout, players are introduced to a wide case oc deep characters, all with thorough back stories. The plot, meanwhile, moves at a nice pace, and where unfortunately predictable, proves engaging at the very least. I personally enjoyed following Alex and Luna, and always wanted to know what would happen as the game progressed. And my God, does the end of this game kick ass!
With this redux of the classic Lunar title, all kinds of loose ends are tied up, there are a few “surprises” along the way, plenty of story arcs are fleshed out, new music remixes make an appearance, and players get to see what I’ll reiterate is the most unique way to end the game I’ve ever seen. (MOMENTARY MINOR SPOILER) It suffices to say that Silver Star breaks from convention and investigates the characters to which players have become attached after the boss dust clears. It may seem cliché to some by now, but let’s keep in mind that the original game is the one that set the standard for this style, and the title that made it a cliché in the first place.
PS1/ Sega CD vs PSP. The PSP version has improved quite a bit.
Above, you’ll see a comparison of the graphics from the Sega CD/ PS1 version and the PSP version. The added crispness afforded by the graphical update casts an old favorite in a whole new light. What I particularly love about Game Arts’ games (with Lunar being no exception) is that the text boxes have ornate, hand-drawn versions of the characters inlay that help to show emotion.
Speaking of hand-drawn characters, the one aspect of this new Lunar that I find more appealing than anything are the cut scenes. Compared to the CG-style interludes that have become a staple in JRPG, the simple (but not simplistic) and subtle hand drawn transitions create a sense of charm and whimsy that add emotional depth to the already-well crafted title. In a way that you can’t quite put your finger on, this stylistic choice adds as a “classic” sensibility to the otherwise updated version of Lunar.
While Lunar SSH is a narrative and stylistic victory, there’s no denying that it’s somewhat lacking in elements of gameplay. Outside of an airship that (frustratingly) lacks controls, there’s no way to traverse the relatively rote overworld, throughout which there’s a disappointing lack of puzzles. Stores, where they exist, are standard: buy weapons, items, and armor, and equip.
9/10
- January 16, 2011 at 01:05pm
It’s good to hear that they made a faithful remake of the original, but does anyone know if it’s better than the Complete version on the PS1? I own SSS: Complete, and want to know if it’d be worth buying SSH if it actually brought anything new to the table.
- January 06, 2011 at 07:49am
First, thank you for writing this review.
Don’t worry about the time it took to make a proper review for this game, though.
People tend to forget that the PSP is still around and, quite frankly, this game and MGS: Peace Walker were the only reasons I bothered to buy a PSP again.Few JRPGs have stood side-by-side with Final Fantasy back in its hey-day and continue to remain awesome even now: Ys (predating the FF series by SIX MONTHS), Mother/Earthbound (1989; granted, Western gamers didn’t get to experience the series until the mid-90s), Lufia (maybe, though I’m not speaking from experience), and of course, the Lunar series.
I’ve stuck around with this series and have acquired nearly every Lunar game ever released in the US with the exception of Lunar: Dragon Song.
(Long story short: Had it, then got rid of it because it SUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKEDDD. I regret it not keeping it now, if only because my collection’s incomplete, but I digress.)On a personal note, I made a quick pseudo-review of the demo ONE DAY before its release. Granted, I made the video for the purpose of spreading the word of this game’s existence (unsurprisingly, mainstream gamers are not familiar with RPGs made outside of Square-Enix, NIS, and Atlus, though they’d probably know only about Persona). Sometimes I wonder if it was enough.
In regards to the removal of a free-roaming world map, keep in mind that, as of Lunar Silver Star Story: Complete, the world map had no random encounters. While it’s quite nice to have the cast travel from point A to point B in “realtime”, it doesn’t serve any real purpose to the game anymore; hence, its removal. Lunar Legend for the GBA was the first game in the series to do this, BTW.
Here’s hoping GameArts and Xseed Games get around to releasing Lunar: Eternal Blue sometime soon. Or at least release some of those outtakes that Xseed promised on the official website to pass the time.
- January 02, 2011 at 12:48am
I actually preorded this game before it came out awhile back and paid the extra to get the collector’s edition box. It was worth the money and is fun to play and that is what matters most. I hope they keep turning out games like this in this new year and in the future afterwords. Gives me a reason to keep and treasure my PSP.
- January 01, 2011 at 10:30pm
I loved this game when it first game out in its original release and I’ve played it at least 2 of its remade forms and still loved it.
Yeah, the story does have an emphasis on the power of love and its cheesy but (and I know the review wasn’t knocking this) you have to look at the time period when the game was first released and the amount of RPG’s, let alone JRPG’s, that were all about the power of love at that time.
The graphic updates are nice and much appreciated. I’ve always seen this game in all of its forms as more of an interactive storybook and these updated visuals give me more of that feeling then I’ve ever had before. And the anime cut scenes (unless they’ve cleaned them up for the update or made more -I can never tell from version to version) are always welcome and add to that storybook feel.
The game was never about globe trotting and that’s always bugged me a bit also, because I like that in my RPG’s but you don’t really miss it a few times through the story (over various remakes). The gameplay over all however has always been fun and will appeal to most traditional RPG players.
The music has always been the biggest strength however and is beyond my words to describe. I want to say that’s why they went to such great lengths to print it to disk with some of the other reiterations of the game.
Overall though I’d give this a 7-7.5 myself. Its still a great game and has been throughout the years but it might be time to make a fresh installment to the series that will make a big enogh mark to see more games come with the Lunar name rather then rehashing this old story.
- January 01, 2011 at 02:51am
It’s good to see a review for this game. I pre-ordered, and didn’t regret it. Sure, I have a few issues with it, the same that Red Fox has already stated, but I really do love the PSP version. I played SSSC when I was a kid all the time for the ps1 and it was my absolute favorite RPG of all time. I’m glad a good game like SSSC has been redone for the latest generation.
- December 31, 2010 at 06:30pm
It’s funny…. After seeing Lunar: SSC as the top 5 PSP games of 2010, ( http://www.blisteredthumbs.net/2010/12/my-top-5-psp-games-of-2010/ ) I was tempted to submit a review of it. Looks like you beat me to it. (I wasn’t feeling up to reviewing essentially the same game, as I had already reviewed Lunar SSSC for my college paper 2 years ago.)
Having long been a Lunar fan, from the original Sega CD titles to the PSOne remakes to even the NDS title, I have to say that when I heard Lunar: SSH came out, I got it right away.
But compared to Silver Star Story Complete, it is not nearly as good. With the exploration filled overmap components removed as well as horrid level design that breaks what was one one map into several smaller maps, a total redubbing that is hit or miss (mostly miss), having the same exact 4:3 cutscenes as SSSC making cutsense awkward when the rest of the game (most of the time) fills out the PSP screen, and the fact that they DESTROYED two fantastic songs, (the opening theme originally titled “Wings,” as well a total mood change to Luna’s boat song “Wind Nocturne”) Lunar: SSH falls short of expectations.
Lunar: SSH has been a slap to the face of die-hard Lunar fans. Xseed Games took the work of Working Designs finest achievements in voice acting in localization with SSS, and turned it into trash.
That being said, I don’t have a clue as to why I cannot stop playing it. The graphic facelift of the character sprites is refreshing, (though the isometric views can get a bit annoying at times,) and the AG moves are a welcome new touch. Changing the inventory system has had mixed results, making it easier to stock up on healing items, but at the same time looses the strategy element of having to choose what items each character would have to equip in their item slots for upcoming battles, and not being able to go through the entire inventory during a battle. Although, I’m really surprised that they kept the bath scenes intact…. at least there’s that!
Hopefully, if and when they remake Lunar Eternal Blue for the PSP, they will learn from the lackluster sales that they have received, and make a great game faithful to the games old school gamers like myself fell in love with, and hopefully get some better voice talent while they’re at it.
I played Lunar: Silver Star Story on the PS1 and loved it
the remake for the PSP just made me love it all over again
I was disappointed to find out about the release too late and was unable to obtain a copy that had the sound track with it already. The original packaging for the PS1 version had so many sweet extras (sound track too) and it was worth every penny.
I remember playing this on my PSP sometime back. I was hoping it would be similar to the PS1 version. For the most part it was, but some things tended to really annoy me about this remake.
The voice work in the game didn’t feel right. I’m glad they got rid of Nall’s chipmunk voice, but most of the voices felt very bland. I remember when you first met Nash in the game. He had this very charismatic, yet full of him self, attitude in his voice. Then in the remake, it was gone. It didn’t feel like the same character.
I also remember the game being fairly challenging back on the PS1. Each character had their own inventory slots, which made choosing what items to bring into battle a lot more strategic. Now its all lumped into one bag that everyone draws from, like Final Fantasy. Also, the inclusion of Limit Break skills made the game really easy. Luna’s limit break made it impossible to lose in the beginning, and the caves to reach Vale were a lot easier than I remember.
If you can get past all that, it is still a good game. The graphics and music are really great, if you ignore the voiced songs. And I can understand their reasoning to change the overworld. In the PS1 version, you would traverse the world map like any RPG at the time. But I don’t ever recall engaging in battle on the overworld map. The new system makes it so you just choose your destination, and boom, you’re there. It kills exploration, but saves on time.
This is the one game in the 25-in-25 list that upsets me the most. Not only did we in Europe miss out on both Lunar games on PS1 (and the wicked sweet special edition box), but we didn’t even get the PSP remake released here!
I know the PSP is region free, but come on, show us some love.
The PC version is the best, enough said.
I have a few bones to pick with this one.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony ticked me off in a few places, and overall is not as good a game as the PS1 version. If you have the PS1 game, save your money. You already have the better game.
They changed ALL OF THE LYRICS. “Wings” sounds horrible now, both with lyrics and with the singer. “Luna’s Boat Song (Wind Nocturne)” was once saddening and melancholy, now it’s something sappy, and the singer isn’t NEARLY as good.
And that brings me to the voice cast that can be described in 2 words: Ear Rape.
Working Designs did a FAR superior job than X-SEED in the vocals localization department. They got some real talent, like John Truitt, the voice of the main villan, as well as many other voices that were fantastic overall. In the PSP remake all the voices have been redubbed, unnecessarily so seeing as they use the SAME EXACT CUTSCENES from the PS1 game. All the lines of dialog that were voiced were the same ones as before, save one scene at the beginning of the game.
They could have at least given the cutscenes a facelift too.
And the overworld exploration that was scaled down from the SCD to the PS1 has been scaled down -yet again- to the point that it’s almost non-existent.
Other than that, great game. But seriously, I hope that X-SEED does a FAR better job with Lunar: Eternal Blue…..
As an afterthought, Between the Sega CD opening and Wings, I still like the original opening the best. The visuals, Though limited by the Sega CD hardware, mixed with the GREAT music from the CD track made for a much more epic opening.
Tom from XSEED Games here!
Just wanted to let you know that we didn’t *make* Lunar: Silver Star Harmony — that was Game Arts, in Japan. We just localized it (translation and editing) and published it in North America.
And we certainly would have used the Working Designs-era voice-acting and music if we could’ve, but you have to remember, that part of the industry is rife with legalities, policies, procedures and politics. It’s not always an option to reuse voice-acting from older versions of a game, and whenever you see a game rereleased or remade with different acting or music than you’re used to, it’s almost always due to legal, political or other internal issues that simply can’t be circumvented.
I mean, if you think about it, it’s a heck of a lot cheaper to reuse old voice-acting than to book a bunch of new actors and schedule time in a recording studio… so unless the old dub is ABSOLUTELY GODAWFUL, not many publishers are going to pony up the money to rerecord something that already exists unless there’s simply no other choice!
I hope you at least enjoyed the non-music portion of the revised localization, though, as well as the special edition bundle bromides, as those were all us!
If you read, I only mention XSEED when talking about the audio. I know who did the localization vs. the actual game design. Much like I know who did what in the Sega CD and PS1 Lunar games. And the decision to change one of the most memorable songs of the PS1 localization, “Wind Nocturne” was one of the really bad ideas, and not getting a comparable singer to sing it was even worse.
Well, again, I don’t think that was actually our decision — I’m pretty sure we HAD to change it, for one reason or another (though that was before I started at XSEED, so I can’t say that with 100% certainty, but there’s no conceivable reason why we WOULD have changed it if that weren’t the case).
And we always try to pick the best voice-actors (and vocalists, when applicable) that we possibly can, but… well, as they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure? Sorry it wasn’t to your liking. We’ve gotten lots of feedback on Lunar from lots of fans, so if Game Arts ever does make a Lunar 2 remake and we get our hands on it, we’ll have a better idea what to watch out for.
That’s all that we can hope for.
Could you possibly put in a good word for a Lunar Magic School remake? It kinda vexes me a bit that there exists a Lunar game I haven’t played…except that DS game.
How dare Xseed bring such a great game to the PSP!
They shouldn’t have even bothered, what were they thinking bringing good Japanese games to America then sullying them with new voices? The audacity!
How dare you Xseed, how dare you.
;P
Also I loved this game and didn’t find any qualms with the acting like this person did. I enjoyed it. But hey, he’s picking because it’s out of love right?
I loved this game on PS1, i bought this again on the PSP, very good.
I still prefer the Ps1 version of the game. The graphics were certainly updated from the older version of the game but they felt out of place. Maybe it is because I was able to experience both the Sega CD and Ps1 version or maybe it was that the graphics (namely the characters) seemed ridiculous.
On a side note: There have been enough Lunar: Silver Star remakes and rereleases. Companies need to start doing service for Eternal Blue.
Hear Hear. 4 versions of Silver Star, just 2 of Eternal Blue (the better game, to boot)? It’s just odd.
I’d ask for a new Lunar game, but considering how the last one turned out maybe not.
I feel the same. I’m hoping XSEED can redeem themselves in making the localized version of Lunar: Eternal Blue. Both games deserve better.
I concur. Lunar 2 was the first JRPG I played that wasn’t either Zelda or Dragon Quest and my favorite PS1 game of all time. I still have the music CD and pop it into my car’s CD player on occasion to relive memories of when anime and JRPGs had this strange class about them that the ones of today don’t quite have anymore (there’s still plenty good of both today though).
Sadly in an interview the company that brought us this remake said they had no plans to give Eternal Blue that treatment mainly because the series isn’t as popular now. Heck, they even say there’s a bigger fanbase for it in the west than in Japan. Sadly this also means no chance for a remake of Lunar Magic School, the one Lunar game we never got.