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Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete Review
I screwed up in 1999. Back during the fine summer of that year, I made the horrible mistake of renting Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, playing a meak amount of the game before switching to using the Gameshark, and then considered the game defunct. That was it. After playing the game for less than 2 or 3 hours, I considered the game broke and returned it(which I regret partially due to placing the blame on the video store's owner). And that was it. I never really thought much of it, thought the store owner was insane for keeping the game on the shelf after that, and went about my business. The only thing that I really remembered about the game was the catchy opening theme, which I went back this past year to get, and the fact that the game could no longer be bought normally after 1999 due to Working Designs officially proclaiming it a "Collector's Item" and stopping production of more copies. It didn't really matter to me, though.
And then, on one fine day this past summer of 2001, I decided I should give it one more chance.
After having a unique experience with Ghost in the Shell(the game, not the anime), I learned that various Gameshark codes can cause some serious graphic glitch-ups during video sequences. Taking a chance, I decided to test the theory on Lunar: SSC. No gameshark. Just the way I should have played it.
The game worked fine. The only problems that occured were far later on, when my Playstation reached temperatures that made me wonder at what point I could fry an egg on it. And finally, I played through Lunar: The Silver Star Story. Entirely.
 Graphics. Not exactly the most "super" graphics by Playstation standards for a RPG, but that's why I love it. It's 2D! Thank god the guys at Working Designs decided it'd be best to leave the style of RPG untouched that was in the Sega Saturn and Sega CD versions. Instead of making some almost-human 3D polygonal characters and more graphical wonders/blunders Squaresoft has made their calling now, WD decided it'd be best to leave the overall game the same, but improve upon the cinematics by making them more animeish. The result is a game that looks like it came out in 1992(wait, it originally did...) with impressive anime sequences. In a couple words... I LIKE. 10/10.
Gameplay. Like the style of graphics, the style of gameplay has been untouched. My god, I miss games like these... from beginning to end, I was hooked like a fish. Paper Mario was the last game to do this. That's sad. If all RPGs were made like this nowadays, I'd have alot more to do(and more of a motivation to get a job). *waves his cane in the air* Darn yungun's and thar new fang-dangled Final Fantasies! 10/10.
Plot. Yes, this hooked me as well. When the creators at Working Designs said you get "attached to the characters" on the Making of Lunar CD that came with the game(which, strangely, I don't recall getting the first time I rented it), I didn't believe it would actually happen to me. But, I suppose it did to a certain extent. You know it's good when I walk around during my everyday routine(when I'm stuck, of course) contemplating what could happen next. And yeah, I miss plots like this too... 10/10.
Sound. Working Designs went all-out this time around to make sure things were perfect, and they succeeded quite well. First off, the soundtrack. Great. Nothing really more to say there... the two english vocal tracks(as sung by Jenny Stigle), Wind's Nocturne and Wings(the opening theme), were actually BETTER than their Japanese alternatives. Most anime or Video Game music fans should know that's pretty rare. Thanks to Lunar, I now have an actual favorite song. Yes, I consider myself a nerd for having to specify exactly what it is everytime(Wind's Nocturne, english version)... so sue me. No, wait, I didn't really mean it... Lastly, the use of voice-overs in certain situations instead of regular text is a big plus, without a doubt. Sound obviously gets a 10/10.
 Replay Value. Unlike many Role-Playing Games, Lunar gives you something to work for the second time around! Secret items entitled "bromides", which are basically slightly-risque pictures of all the main female characters you can view as many times as you want(and even equip for a slight stat boost), are hidden throughout the game. I only managed to get 5, and there's about 18 in the entire game. Mmm, Jessica... Also, there's a nice "bathing area" for the girls(the one for the guys can be easily accessed, unfortunately...) that can only be reached by going through a forest populated by the strongest enemies in the game. How nice. For your efforts and two bars of soap, you can see two of the female characters bathing themselves. Err... nice. Fortunately, I just popped the second CD into my computer and viewed them straight from there, saving myself the aggression of battling through that hellhole. ANYWAY... 9/10(hey, that's some nice stuff to play the game again for).
Final Thought/Overall Rating
I REALLY wish somebody would slap some sense into Squaresoft and tell them "WE WANT GAMES LIKE THIS YA DUMMY-HEAD!". Alright, so I wouldn't recommend calling them "Dummy-Head"... but they really should know, RPGs should be like this. I haven't played an RPG from start to finish that I loved every minute of, never got bored, and continuously wondered what lied ahead until now. This thing made my Grandpa Playstation wonder how many years he still has ahead of him. The only thing that ever made me stop playing was A) the Playstation overheating, causing the game to lockup and do many things I'm sure weren't supposed to happen(at one point all the vocal tracks on Disc 1 started playing during battle), and B) lack of cash. Of course, I did finish it though. I thank God I did. If I hadn't, I'd still be renting it, draining up more dough. To sum it up, Lunar ranks up there as one of the best RPGs of all time. 10/10.
Special thanks goes out to Mike for saving my bum in Myght's Tower. If it weren't for you, I would have cheated.
-Grand Master Dragon
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