Customer Reviews

Lunar Legend

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Anyone remember the Sega CD? I do (I still have mine) and one of the best games for that Genesis add-on was Working Designs' Lunar: Silver Star. Eventually it would make its way onto the PS1, and it has now arrived on the GBA with varying results. Lunar Legend is a re-telling of sorts of the original game with varying differences; such as characters showing up in different places, cities being designed different, and parts of the plot and storyline have been changed. The full motion anime cut scenes and full orchestral score obviously couldn't make the cut onto cartridge format (the anime cut scenes have been replaced by anime cels which pop up now and then), but the overall graphics of different towns and character designs are much improved over the original. Battles are much better as well by being faster paced, better animated, and more character detail than ever before. New options have been added such as the Arts Gauge and a new card collection, and menus are easier to navigate through than before, except the shop interface can be a pain now and then. All in all, if you missed out on the Lunar phenomenon that older gamers beared witness to years ago, Lunar Legend is a good pickup. Then again, if the original Lunar was a beloved game of yours, this GBA conversion won't add anything since it's missing most of it's original charm (and the overall epic feel), but nonetheless this game is still a more than solid pick up.

Before I start, let me just say: This is the best RP I've ever played. If you are interested in why I like it so much, keep on reading. But if you don't want to hear me rave, you'd better leave now...

---THE STORY
The emphasis of Lunar Legend is the on story. It's kinda like being in a movie, or a choose-your-own-adventure. You get to move your character around, occasionally pick what to say. But the main point is seeing the story unfold below your eyes, and it's done wonderfully. Battles are easy, puzzles are few, and you don't even have to walk between towns, so it's not exactly a challenging game. There are about six main characters and they all have their own personality. By the end of the game you really know them. I mean, I could imagine what each character would do in any given situation. When they talk, you can see their faces, and their faces change expressions - really letting you know when their mad, or sad, or whatever. They each have their own story, their own reason for joining you on your quest. And the plot itself is huge. You travel back and forth on one mission then another across the whole world - but it never gets tedious because you do not actually have to walk from one area to another, and people will say different things everytime you visit an area. Overall, the story will keep you enthralled as you play out the game.

(No, I'm not going to actually recount the plot to you. Just play the game!)

---GAME MECHANICS
The controls of the game couldn't be simpler, and the graphics are good in my opinion. Your little sprite is really cute. The music is also good.
-BATTLES: The battles are turn-based and work very nicely; there's an auto which makes your party simply attack the enemies until they die, a strategy system which lets you set a skill or whatever, but then automatically chooses targets for you, and of course a manual control system. You can switch between them during battle. Every character has animations for each skill and each type of weapon. The battles are shown from the side, which there is nothing wrong with. The only complaint I have is that old enemies are often recolored to become new ones, which is a little cheap. However, it doesn't really affect the game.
-WEAPONS, ETC: One possible complaint is that there is no way to change people's class or anything, but I think it makes it simpler. You get to choose weapons, clothes and armor anyway, which is often complicated enough.

---GOLDEN SUN
A lot of people have compared Lunar Legend to Golden Sun, so I just have to put in my two cents about it, since I happen to own and have beaten both games. Except for the fact that they're both fantasy RPs, the two games are very different. I'm not going to put Golden Sun down now, but Lunar Legend is better on all accounts.

---TIPS
When you play the game, here are some things you'll want to know before its too late:
-When you're selling Ramus' dragon diamond, keep on saying no until the shopkeeper offers you a book.
-Before you fight the monster in the sewers (the last bridge is the one where the switch is pretty far off), unequip all of Ramus' items. This is a pain since it makes him useless in the fight, but he will leave you forever afterwards and you'll lose all the stuff
-Before you go into the White Dragon Shrine the second time, remove all of Luna's items (especially the heal ring, which you probably gave her but it would be a shame to lose), because she'll go missing and she wont come back until the end of the game.

-FINAL BOSS STRATEGY
Most battles will be easy, but this one will be very hard if you don't know the strategy, so I'll just quickly sum it up for you. The most important thing is to have Alex use his dragon attack to heal everybody almost every turn. It's the only way to keep your party alive. Make sure you have someone, like Jessica or Nash, give him mental drops.

Ok! That's the end of my raving! I was going to include a section on the different characters but it didn't fit in the 1000 word limit. Bleah. Anyway... Now go buy that game - I doubt you will regret it!

By the way, I'm a thirteen year-old girl, just so you know.

Big fans who played the original versions of Lunar 1 before this will probably not be pleased with this GBA installment, but it is a great way for newbies to the series to be introduced to the story and world of Lunar. I started out with this game, and loved it immediately. I beat it within a week. The battles are somewhat bland (I never did like the Final Fantasy battle system, and Legend's battle system reminded me of it), but the rest of the game was great. The cute sprites are a big improvement from the earlier versions; however, I wish that, instead of using anime-cels to portray what are supposed to be cutscenes, they had played it out with sprites.

Either way, Lunar Legend is fun, and it is worth it to get.

I was going to take away one star for the glitches, but I really, really love this game, so much so that it overshadows the bad side; The first glitch I noticed was that Burg turns a weird, brown color sometimes after the player returns to it from the Weird Forest; it goes away if the player exits and comes back, though, so it doesn't affect gameplay. The second one is the glitch that occurs when trying to use the dragon feather to exit dungeons in dungeons that can't be exited. Instead of a simple "it can't be used" type of message, it will try to use it and the character will freeze. Nothing more can be done at this point other than restarting the game pak and loading a previously saved game.

Oh yeah, there is a third glitch, but it's rather useful; reloading a game will cause all characters to have full health and magic points again. Incredibly useful for being stuck in dungeons and needing leveling up!

The graphics are excellent. I didn't know those little sprites could do so much. Alex actually moves his mouth while shouting at Ghalleon! Luna flails her arms and legs when she's captured! Characters' dialogue expressions (that's what I'm calling those pictures next to their dialogue when they talk) change according to their mood.

I love all the characters; they all have real concerns and nice quirks, helping to make them all individuals. Most of the townspeople even say different things as the story progresses.

The storyline keeps me playing almost nonstop. New things happen all the time instead of just repetitive dungeon hopping. I suppose this fulfills the side quest craving

this game is the best game since Golden Sun. i love that game too. but this games storyline is so compelling.I couldnt put it down when i bought it. i bought it on my birthday and now ill never forget this game. Becoming a dragonmaster is so cool and the spells you get are great. Great game and its the most interesting game i played yet. get this game if you want a great game.

Okay, "Golden Sun," it's not, but it's a great RPG, with a fairly in-depth story, nifty character sprites, awesome anime-style scenes, and some pretty decent gameplay. The only downside for hardcore RPG gamers is that the story is fairly linear--no wandering aimlessly and what little puzzles there are, are simple--I personally think they made it a little easier for the younger GBA owners, hence the ability to collect cards ("Yu-Gi-Oh," anyone?).

If you're looking for a great story, cool spells, neat monsters and nice graphics, then look no further. If you want "Golden Sun," go buy the sequel.

since so many people have already explained the plot im just gonna give you the reasons why i love this game, for one I am a huge anime freak so the anime inspired visuals won me over imediatly. Secondly..while many people I know hated the simplicity of the game it didnt turn me off at all..its not meant to be compared to final fantasy or golden sun..its also a nice touch to be able to save whenever and wherever you want to.The only bad thing about it is that its TOO SHORT....but its one heck of a fun ride

If you want an RPG for your Gameboy Advance besides Golden Sun that can actually stand up to those found on the console then Lunar Legend is the RPG for you! While it isn't nearly as good as its release on the Playstation or even Sega CD it is worthwhile for a handheld.

The first thing about Lunar Legend that's cool is that for the GBA the graphics look great! The game doesn't lag much and it looks smoother than most GBA games do. It reminds of the look it had on the Playstation... only better suited for the GBA.

Lunar has a typical storyline that isn't too hard to follow but it has been reveered as a classic. What makes the story interesting is not the way it unfolds, but its characters. Without a doubt Lunar has characters that you may not like at first but over time you grow to love them. The characters are extremely well developed and you get time to know these characters.

The game features random battles and much like the console RPGs, have you going from place to place. The random battles are nice but this brings about a problem for Lunar. The game is relatively easy. Most battles won't take long but the random encounters become tedious because they don't take long and they're too easy.

In battle you can have your characters select commands such as to attack, use magic and the like. The battle system is fairly easy to learn but again the game is too easy. Even the bosses in the game are easy. For someone who played the Playstation or Sega CD version they may find the game to be dimmed down a bit too much.

The sound in Lunar isn't special really. It can be rather annoying actually. The spoken dialogue isn't too bad though and it really brings out the essence of the game. Unfortunately the story isn't dragged out by full motion anime cutscenes like before since the GBA isn't really capable of doing such a thing. The dialouge is also humorous and constructive and again shows why the story is so engrossing.

Lunar isn't really a long game though. It's rather short. In fact it can be completed in 15-18 hours. The game has extras such as an art gallery and collecing a 150 cards but nothing extreme is offered.

Overall, for the GBA this is a great RPG to play. It won't keep you busy for several hours or weeks on end but on a trip its nice to have along.

The Good
+Awesome Graphics
+Good storyline
+Loveable characters
+Easy to learn battle system

The Bad
-Can't say the same for the sound as the graphics
-Short game
-Too easy
-Not very many extras and such to keep you busy
-While the storyline is good it isn't original

Even though the game is considerably shorter than it's PSX version, or the fact that the translation is pretty bad(there must've been over 70 errors in that game!), or that it's music just doesn't sound any good(even with headphones!), or that the battle system has been changed lots, or the fact that it's much more easier, or even the fact that the bath scene is missing, it STILL manages to be a fun little game! The way most of the characters meet in this game is different from how they met in the PSX version, and many other things have changed as well. The game still is fun, and its nice to watch the little super-deformed characters fight against the 'cute' looking deformed monsters. Alex seems to be ALOT more talkative in this game, which I liked. All the characters are just like they are in the original version, which won't disappoint veterans to the Lunar series. Plus, when Luna sings in this game, you really do hear her sing(which is the only voice sample in the whole game). Either way, this game is a good time killer. And if you're new to RPGS, this is a good start, since it isn't hard(except for that final boss). Though something is quite weird... In Lunar Legend, most of the characters occasionally swear and say suggestive things, just like in the other Lunar games. Even Luna once tells Nall, "What's with that horny look on your face?". And this game is rated 'E'? Looks like the ESRB haven't been doing their homework... :)

I have to say, the Lunar series (along with the Final Fantasy sereies) is my favorite. While it's not as good as the older version, it's still great.

There are little pictures that pop up at times to give you a better feel for what's happening. A few things I found different were some of the KylexJessica parts (I was really looking forward to their bickering-and they even cut one part out!) and two certain characters are actually married, which I don't recall them being in the PS version.

The White Dragon Cave is not a dungeon, and you just walk right in. Which isn't all too bad. There's a new trading card addition, good luck finding any non-cross dressing Kyle cards
^-^.

There's also a gallery you can go to and check out the cut scene pictures. I've also found that there are indeed some bromides, in pretty much the same place as the PS version.
The characters are re-drawn and look even better. Although the music isn't quite as good, it's still there.

All in all, it's up there with my favorites, even if it has a few gaps. It's worth every penny ^-^