The Nineties gave us a few of the most celebrated Japanese RPGs of all time, and though the Lunar video games are sometimes missed compared to their contemporaries, they nonetheless embody all the things 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 package deal, providing increased 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 allure to the adventures themselves.
Absolutely animated cutscenes — full with that traditional 90s anime type — at all times helped Lunar resonate on a story stage. They continue to be a pleasure to behold at present, however the remaster’s use of AI upscaling does take the sting off when you discover it. Most gamers in all probability will not even catch on, however there are occasions when the AI does the standard AI factor, creating odd linework or patterns that are not alleged to be there.
And this leads right into a broader dialog in regards to the Lunar video games deserving a higher return. Certainly, different facets of this assortment really feel a bit half-arsed. For instance, now you can double and even triple the pace of turn-based fight, which is nice for the reason that first Lunar particularly is usually a sluggish, grindy sport.
Nonetheless, as a result of fight encounters aren’t random, and you may solely grind for ranges in set dungeons, the method of beefing up your social gathering nonetheless looks like a chore. At this level, why not simply embody extras like an non-compulsory expertise booster? The draw of those previous 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 haven’t any actual alternative however to grind some ranges to even stand an opportunity in opposition to particular bosses — it is onerous to not really feel as if way more may have been achieved to enhance the general move.
It is a disgrace, as a result of as alluded, it is Lunar’s story and characters that reel you in. While 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 sincere, the battle system is fairly primary anyway. It is your normal turn-based affair that does little to excite right here in 2025 — though the spritework remains to be immaculate. Establishing your social gathering’s formation is about as in-depth because it will get, and in each video games, it isn’t till afterward 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 social gathering’s stats creep increased. Possibly that is the nostalgia speaking, however there is a straightforwardness to the stereotypical 90s JRPG that just about feels refreshing at the moment.
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 principally 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 wished a extra… correct translation for this revival, however there is no doubt that the previous script helps set up a real 90s anime aesthetic. The localisation group had enjoyable with this one, and that lighthearted, usually jokey tone bleeds into Lunar’s general id.
Conclusion
The Lunar video games embody all the things that is nostalgic about 90s JRPGs, from the enjoyable characters and vibrant fantasy worlds, to the fantastic spritework and catchy music. That stated, Lunar’s underlying grind could make it tough to abdomen right here in 2025 — particularly when the Lunar Remastered Assortment would not do sufficient to mitigate the sequence’ most tedious facets. It is nice to expertise these video games once more — a totally deserved revival — but it surely’s an actual disgrace that the gathering is not flush with extra useful options.
