What was the most memorable part of the Lunar series to you? Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through TH-cam membership by clicking the JOIN button above!
The most memorable part of the Lunar series, I would say, are the dragons due to how important they are to the story. I also found them to be very cute in their younger forms as the games imply how they resemble cats before maturing into a full-grown dragon.
My favorite memory was the absolute FRUSTRATION of killing Galeon only to be murdered by Luna as you ascend the steps. I didn't realize her attacks where doing real damage and I ACTUALLY DIED...after hours of struggling to defeat the final boss, I died during a scripted cutscene and had to do it all again. Next time, I kept munching on berries as I went up the steps. Also "ALTHENA, LEND ME YOUR POWER" was burned so deep into my memory I didn't remember where I heard it until I saw this video. Thank you Xygor, thank you for doing this one.
This was the first game I went on a hunt for. Hundreds of shops, miles, and thrill of the hunt. Man that era was GOLD. Seriously probably my third favorite game of all time. In all ways possible, I AM Ramus.
I got my Playstation 1 super late in the game, so I could only get Lunar 1 as a used game. But I found Lunar 2 brand new in-box. INSTABUY. Young me was a fan for life after all the stuff that came with the game. After I procured the SegaCD versions of the original games, I was like, "oh boy, the originals!! :D" Came to find the first game very glitchy and simplistic, but Lunar 2: EB on SegaCD had hand-drawn pixel art for cutscenes. I've never seen anything so primitive be so gorgeous. If anybody reading this hasn't seen the cutscene collection from the SegaCD version of Eternal Blue, do yourself a favor and see how far ahead of its time it was.
I grew up playing the Lunar Series. I got excited when I heard that a new RPG game on Kickstarter has Noriyuki Iwadare, John Truitt, and possibly Jennifer Stigile. It's called Godshard Chronicles.
Silver Star Story Complete and Eternal Blue Complete are some of my favorite games. I called a doctors office for my job once and the main theme for Eternal Blue was the waiting music. Brought back so much nostalgia.
Lunar remains as one of my most favorite JRPG series there ever is, which I played mainly on the PS1 It is a wondrous, magical classic and journey. I got Silver Star Harmony, but I feel it didn't match much with the PS1 classics. Lunar is a gem that should never be forgotten.
Thank you for doing this retrospective. The Silver Star Story and Eternal Blue both hold a special place in my heart. The thing I remember most is the leather booklet that came with Silver Star and the strategy guide for the game itself. Great memories!
Legendary series. The greatest well made games ever. From music, cutscenes, gameplay, voice etc. It's like a Disney classic movie but in video game version. You will remember it forever
I enjoy the animated FMV scenes. They aren't Studio Ghibli of course but they do hold a lot better than the CGI FMVs of the same era. It's also amazing that a console game from the 90s has voice acting that holds up so well. I can count the number of games on one hand with that distinction.
The way Alex voice sounds more aggressive in battle when using his skills after he gets the dragon master gear was the best! My dog was Hella serious about saving Luna.
I'm sure someone somewhere said it, but the psp game was actually the 4th remake. The 3rd remake was Lunar Legend for the gba. I know it's the least liked among them, but for a kid in love with the psx game having a portable lunar to play was pretty awesome. Also loved the sprites in that version. Can't deny that the psx version is supreme though. Absolutely favorite game, I replay it every couple years.
One of my all time favorite game series. Lunar 2:EBC was my favorite video game for a very long time as a young kid. The world & characters this series portrays are so effen memorable, they're basically imprinted on my soul. One of the saddest days of my life was when I was forced to move out of my original house and had to leave the two complete box sets behind. I regret that I didn't insist on keeping my PS1 game collection, but so goes life. I'm replaying Lunar:SSSC on my laptop now with a rom that takes out the gameplay changes that Working Designs did to make the game easier for a western audience. It still has that charm. The games are like a time capsule of the late 90's rpg golden age. All the silly pop-culture references are polarizing to some, but to me they just take me back to feeling like an innocent kid again with no worries other than playing video games with my brother & neighborhood friends. and the music... The glorious music! It was the first game I played where I took notice of the OST and how much it elevates to whole package. Replaying it now, I'm genuinely shocked that I remember all the little melodies that the game has. Yes. I will always tear up at the boat song scene. I'm 33 years old and couldn't help but sing along with Luna when I watched the cut scene the other day. They don't make games this wholesome anymore. These games are a global treasure. I look forward to one day trying to get my children to play it so I can see everything come full circle. ...I'm not crying, you're crying...
This is one of my all time favorite hidden gems of the 4th and 5th generation of gaming. I fell in love with Lunar Silver Star and Eternal Blue on the Sega CD. When Working Designs brought both games over to the PlayStation fully remastered with incredible extras I bought them. I still have all 4 games (Sega CD and PlayStation) in my collection and they're all mint. Addendum- I would buy a remake/remaster of both titles right now if they were made. Further, I would definitely pick up a new game if it were offered for the Series X, PS5, and or Switch on day 1. Let's make it happen already! Fun Fact: During your first fight with Ghaleon in the original game he can't be killed. He's way over powered and it's best to just let him beat you without wasting any items. However, if you're playing Lunar Silver Star Story on an original PlayStation or emulator you can use a GameShark to even the playing field. If you get Alex and his party to level 30 you will wipe the floor with him. What's interesting is when you do this the game doesn't know what to do and locks up. I always thought that was a funny thing to do in Lunar.
Lady luck be kind!!! Love these 2 games. Fantastic music!! I have several of these songs on my thumb drive to bust out in the car. Thank you for another great video!
17:50 Apparently, the reason for the lack of LUNAR 3 was that the team that was actually responsible for writing the story and characters of LUNAR - Studio Alex - was sued into bankruptcy by Game Arts in 2003 after roughly six years of escalating tension. Originally partnered, Game Arts refused to pay royalties to Studio Alex for the LUNAR remakes after Studio Alex missed deadlines for their Saturn port of GameGear's LUNAR: Walking School. As co-owner of the LUNAR IP, Studio Alex sued Game Arts for those royalties, but Game Arts countersued Studio Alex for breach of contract, and the much smaller Studio Alex drowned in legal fees and damages. Game Arts retained full rights to the LUNAR IP and then, intentionally or unintentionally, buried the franchise with Dragon Song.
"Not Ghaleon, dear Quark...." *_Magic Emperor Ghaleon!!_* "Ghaleon, no!!" :O Oh~, no~. Ghaleon, *_YES!!_* >:D One of the best scenes in all of gaming. John Truitt's performance as Ghaleon is simply iconic.
I was 13 years old when I played Lunar. Even then, I realized this twist was coming. But, the music and voice acting was so on point that I still remember it very clearly to this day. What a magical pair of games!
Great work on this vid. I lucked into getting used copies of both Lunar: Silver Star and Vay at a local Blockbuster back in the day. The extra bit of life that Working Designs put into the NPCs always makes me chuckle, even when it really shouldn't. Heh.
Thank you for covering these!!! Lunar is my favorite game, and I love seeing it get the recognition it deserves! My favorite scenes are easily the boat song in SSSC, and the scene where Lucia drops the pendant in front of Hiro in Eternal Blue. Trying to avoid spoilers for anyone reading this. 😅 Great video!
The very first time I saw the opening cinematic played, I had goosebumps. Starting out slightly haunting, but then the crescendo into rest was simply amazing. Thats what really sold me....
Lunar & Lunar 2 are my all-time favorite games ever! I was single at the time & worked nights! I found out about the game from going to my local Blockbuster! I rented the Sega CD & Lunar for a whole month because I loved it so much! The opening line of the white dragon calling Alex blew me away! I bought a Sega CD, & Lunar several months later! I bought Lunar 2 as soon as it was released! I replayed them tons of times! These two games are the 1st games ever to make me cry! I would die if they were remade! Great vid, thanx for this! ;)
One of my favorite gaming memories was playing Lunar: The Silver Star after hearing and reading about it so much. The cost of a Sega CD was prohibitively expensive but my family managed to rent the system for one weekend. Between Sonic CD and Lunar, my brother and I must have stayed up a good 48 hours straight playing those games. We ended up keeping the console longer than intended, but never did finish either of the games. I'm looking forward to playing through Lunar fully at some point soon. Thanks for the great walk down memory lane, Xygor. The content is excellent as always.
This game is a gem. I think the anime cutscenes hold up extremely well, better than its contemporaries. FMV is still cool to watch, but all of them look dated.
Quark's gigantic "diamond" is one of the many memorable parts for me. Honestly, one of the first games I played all the way through without stopping. Eternal Blue is also a gem. I was infatuated with this since I learned about it on the Sega CD. This needs a remake release and Eternal Blue needs an update lie the PSP!
I love Lunar so much. While by no means the first JRPG I played it was one of the ones that solidified my love for the genre and even after all these years is still a standout. It did so much right. Amazing characters, a wonderful story, great soundtrack and fun gameplay. The story stands out especially for its positive focus. I also love how the video skipped over Lunar Legends for the GBA. Can't entirely blame anyone for that. It was a remake that effectively followed the major story beats of Silver Star Story but was, not great, to put it mildly. But I can't personally ignore it as it was something I picked up on a school trip and introduced me to the Lunar games. Legends itself wasn't great but it is what led me to look into and play the original. So I am thankful for its existence. I hope that anyone who is seeing this video and hasn't tried the games out is inspired to do so. It is time well spent. As for me I am about due for another playthrough of Silver Star Story or Harmony (I am okay with either version) and Eternal Blue.
I played silver on ps1. I didn't realize that they made a sequel to it. It was my first rpg, after that game I remember I played ff7. Thanks to my big bro buying these games.
For those people looking for a series similar to Lunar I highly recommend Falcom’s Trails series. Especially if you enjoy talking to NPCs as they to will also change their dialogue after every major event.
I'm here from the future to tell you how wise you are, as the two most inspirational 2025 moments are remakes/remasters of Lunar and Trails in the Sky, both coming from GungHo.
Lunar 2 was my first real RPG when I was 12 and holds such a special place in my heart. The animated cutscenes and voice acting did so much to make me love the characters. I have both games and Arc the Lad series all complete on PS1. Some of my favorite games I own.
The absolute most memorable moment in silver star story complete for me is the boat ride from saith to meribia. Luna’s song and the night sky in that scene was magical to me as a kid. I’ll never forget it. Or this game for that matter.
This was one of my favourite RPGs on the Playstation. I still remember the metal mullet masher. And that still makes me smile when i think about it. Thanks for doing this justice, IMO.
This was great! Thanks for making it! The big reveal about the identity of the magic emperor blew my mind as a kid. The battle system for both was so fun. Learn, tweak, and rejig strategy for every dungeon to find the optimal way to approach your each enemy.
Currently playing through Lunar 2 with retroachievements. I haven't played in about 15 years, and I'm so happy the game is as good as I remember it being. I'm having a great time, and fast forward is making it so much less slow!
This was one of the my very first RPGs and it has FOREVER held my heart. It just never gets old, it just has a wonderful charm, characters are fun, art is good and colorful, and the music and those animated cut scenes were just a cherry on top.
I was really obsessed with Lunar when I was younger, I still have my copies of 1 & 2 and the boxes :D. Was so excited for the Nintendo Ds Lunar but ah.. we all know how that went...... I never got the puppet, store scammed me on it as they took the mand sold them apart from the game. As a kid not much I could do lol. But I heard alot of game stores did that with the puppets.
You probably remember the delays from WD when it came to the NA rerelease. I had bought a sega cd and ebayed a copy of Eternal Blue in about March of '99 and played it heavily while waiting for L:SSSC. The day it arrived at Electronics Boutique was easily one of the best days of my life. I had just got my drivers license and I was thrilled that driving to pick up my copy of Lunar would be my first real self determined errand. I recall so much about that day but I won't bore with the details. Anyway, L:SSSC will always be special to me because it really was a singular time in my life and games. There were a lot of great games in summer of '99 for PSX but between this and Thousand Arms I am hard pressed to pick my favorite JRPG that year. It definitely wasn't FF8 for me :) love your channel, man. Thanks for making these.
Not many people know that Lemina is a descendant of Mia/Nash and Hiro looks exactly like an older version of Alex. Lucia is the successor to Luna/Althena.
Very memorable series! Was another jewel in the PS’s pantheon of classic RPG’s and also fed my obsession for anime as a kid during that time when it wasn’t as available here in the states.
Great video! I have Lunar Eternal Blue Complete and I love it. Still from time to time I go back and check the box with all the stuff that came in. Unfortunately I lost the sound track disk, hope I can find it some day.
In the 1st game one moment that was kind of nice was your friend letting you take items from his shop for free at the end of the game. The full package with the box and the art book were so fantastic. In the 2nd game I really liked having to get the party back together for the Epilogue… or not heh. The music in these games are phenomenal, and I liked that it didn’t need to be a huge time investment (even though there are plenty of secrets to find.)
@@nickfarace9339 The amount of times I just put on a new CD to listen to and played against a board full of CPU players in this game is somewhere between "woah" and "that's kinda sad" depending on your point of view haha
I absolutely loved this game. My wife and I played through it several times. I love the opening song into from the Sega CD. And our most memorable moment was when a certain character dies while crossing a bridge. That was the first time a video game actually made me cry. Lol it was such a strange feeling.
I've lived long enough to see "Lunar" go from being a popular JRPG series to a forgotten relic kids today know nothing about. So, this is what being old feels like, eh?
This game felt long enough (lunar 1) I would argue that it was challenging enough for an RPG. Definitely enough grinding for me 😂 I love this game so much! Very well done!
Lunar is where i was first introduced to the trope of the sequel being nearly identical to the first. I was alittle dissapointed when i started Lunar 2 especially since i spent $70 on it in 2002. Now i think about how i keep thinking of these games. So much fun. Great characters. Gorgeous animated cut scenes.
I love Lunar, it's sad that 2 never got the attention it deserves after PS1. Lunar is like nostalgia in a bottle for me, seeing or hearing any part of it puts me on an instant nostalgia trip. xD
Always great to see someone give attention to this series, thank you for making the video. I would like to make a couple of little corrections to it, though; The Punching Puppet Ghaleon you mentioned was a bonus for Eternal Blue Complete rather than Silver Star Story Complete. You may be thinking of Punching Puppet Alex which was going to come out when the PC version of SSSC was suppposed to. You got it if you purchased both EBC for PlayStation and the PC port of SSSC, however the PC port was cancelled so Alex was never released. Next, about Lunar: Magic School. The original GameGear game title would be translated to something like "Lunar: Walking School". This was changed to Magic School for the Saturn version. Minor detail but thought I'd mention it. Anyway, thank you again for the video. I hope someday, somehow, Lunar 3 happens.
Wow, this takes me way back! Lunar 1&2 along with Albert Odyssey gave me some of the most fun Ive ever had with RPGs. Working Designs was on FIRE back in the day. I really miss them. :'(
I still miss Working Designs even though I am not really into JRPGs anymore. As you mentioned, their presentation was bar none and each game felt like a love letter to their fans. I was fortunate enough to have experienced them when they were still around. I remember getting my first job just so I could buy Silver Star Story, Eternal Blue and Alundra on PS1 and playing the crap outta them after school.
Xygor love your content! You do a great job of covering the game it's lore it's content playability and hidden features! I especially like the Final Fantasy 6 video and watched it quite a few times lol. I may catch some Flack for this But ultimately I'm looking out for you. It has an ER sound not an AR. Like the lunar cycle.
My most memorable moment was also the reason I feel like the original Sega CD games were best, at least from a gameplay perspective. My first time through Lunar 2's original release, I was still fairly young and the game was no joke on it's challenge. Likely one of the hardest dungeons (at least when you don't remember you can leave and go back to town to recover) is the haunted mansion. I was pretty much falling apart on the boss of that place after a long battle, and ended up down to just Ronfar. In a last ditch effort, I went for a basic attack, and to my surprise the boss went down. I should probably note, Ronfar is one of my favorite characters of all time (used his name as a screen name for a while) so this felt like the ultimate badass moment. I don't think there is a single thing in all of the games I played that stuck in my mind as that one. I LOVE challenging RPGs for moments like that alone.
I know Wind's Nocturne is the original song but i ABSOLUTELY love Luna's Boat Song the English version the most. The person who wrote the song for it knew the original Japanese lyrics woulnd't work well in english so re-working the song was genius! Plus it speaks about Luna's character so well about how lost she feels in life and how shes following Alex because she can't bare to be away from him for fear of losing him to his dream. It's such an amazing rendition that captures her characters plight so well.
Both versions are great, but I agree with you. The remade version is better in my opinion and to this day still ranks as one of my favorite video game songs/music.
The most memorable thing for me was learning Galion was the Magic Emperor and the death of the White Dragon. Since he was a mentor-like figure for us, it came out of no where. Fighting the Vile Tribe was fun. Lastly, the ending when Alex had to go get Luna. Never knew the harp would help. NOTE: The PS version introduced a new boss experience system where the boss stats were based on Alex's level. So they higher Alex was, the strong the boss. Generally, it was better to keep Alex's level low to make the bosses easier overall. Level grinding was pointless. I keep getting the "I was there during the before-fore times" as I write this. The Sega CD version came out when I was in 6th grade. I played that game and the music on it so much. Loved that game.
Lunar is getting a remaster to steam and all modern consoles. I used to have the box sets for Playstation but they were stolen years ago and are expensive to buy again. I can't wait to be able to play again.
When I was a kid we were too poor to buy any kind of system, so I hung out at a neighbor's house who had a playstation and we spent all day playing and for my birthday my older brother bought me a pirated copy of this game which I still have. The story of Lunar is something that will stay with me forever.
I remember going to a friends house, and he had this game in a display and he said I absolutely have to play it, that it’s his favorite. I never got the chance to this day, and I have always meant to. I was excited that it’s being ported as I will finally get the chance without emulation. From just looking at it I’m not sure why it stands out to people
I never played any of the other lunar series except "Lufia the ruin of lore" on GBA. I really enjoy it. The game is such a hidden gem. I'm looking forward to try the lunar series.
You missed out on Lunar Legend, the remake of Lunar Star Story for the GBA, which was a great remake with updated visuals and really nice sprites! The animations in that game were also fantastic and smooth as butter....
Starting up the Sega CD "Lunar the Silver Star" as a young lad around 1994, getting that corny early 90s intro with singing... SINGING! ... and cinematics. Then the first scene with Nall yelling "Alllleeeex....ALLLEEEEXX" with actual voice acting! Blew me away. And the mounds of text and dialogue making it feel like a living world. The Silver Star Story versions were great too and technically superior (except for the music, the Sega CD version had better music quality), but the original stuff on Sega CD was jaw dropping considering the time period.
This game was incredible and I have nothing but fond memories of playing it back in the day. The PS1 had some amazing JRPG's. The two most memorable aspects of the PS1 games were the characters and definitely the music. I wish they would get ported to PC or current consoles.
I remember putting this in layaway at Kmart not knowing a thing about it. Well, I was greatly surprised with the game when I finally took it home and played it. One of my favs
Great video, as always. Would have loved to see a compare and contrast between the Sega CD and PSX versions just so viewers could see how much was changed from The Silver Star and SSSC, as well as how much more polished both games were (especially the removal of the Magic Point System in Eternal Blue). Absolutely agree that Ghaleon was one of the best antagonist if the 90s, part to do with the voce acting work performed by John Truitt. The Silver Star was also ported to the GBA as Lunar Legend: while the game starts different, it ultimately ends the game and adds limit break style attacks; not really worth a playthrough in my opinion. Another fun fact is how amazing the stragety guides were for both versions, particularly the one Eternal Blue Complete; an absolute masterpiece.
What was the most memorable part of the Lunar series to you?
Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through TH-cam membership by clicking the JOIN button above!
I music and story were always what got me, still listen to the SSSC and EB soundtracks to this day.
The most memorable part of the Lunar series, I would say, are the dragons due to how important they are to the story. I also found them to be very cute in their younger forms as the games imply how they resemble cats before maturing into a full-grown dragon.
i got ya :D just did sir
Sample my goods!!
My favorite memory was the absolute FRUSTRATION of killing Galeon only to be murdered by Luna as you ascend the steps. I didn't realize her attacks where doing real damage and I ACTUALLY DIED...after hours of struggling to defeat the final boss, I died during a scripted cutscene and had to do it all again. Next time, I kept munching on berries as I went up the steps.
Also "ALTHENA, LEND ME YOUR POWER" was burned so deep into my memory I didn't remember where I heard it until I saw this video.
Thank you Xygor, thank you for doing this one.
Still have the pendant, hard bound book, and the smaller box with the standees displayed on my shelf all these years later.
Great! They sure did include a lot of awesome extras.
same
Wow, the pixel art in this series is insane!
It was really nice!
This was the first game I went on a hunt for. Hundreds of shops, miles, and thrill of the hunt. Man that era was GOLD. Seriously probably my third favorite game of all time. In all ways possible, I AM Ramus.
I got my Playstation 1 super late in the game, so I could only get Lunar 1 as a used game. But I found Lunar 2 brand new in-box. INSTABUY. Young me was a fan for life after all the stuff that came with the game.
After I procured the SegaCD versions of the original games, I was like, "oh boy, the originals!! :D" Came to find the first game very glitchy and simplistic, but Lunar 2: EB on SegaCD had hand-drawn pixel art for cutscenes. I've never seen anything so primitive be so gorgeous.
If anybody reading this hasn't seen the cutscene collection from the SegaCD version of Eternal Blue, do yourself a favor and see how far ahead of its time it was.
I grew up playing the Lunar Series. I got excited when I heard that a new RPG game on Kickstarter has Noriyuki Iwadare, John Truitt, and possibly Jennifer Stigile. It's called Godshard Chronicles.
Lunar by far is my most memorable series. No game means as much to me as Lunar does.
Same, Lunar Eternal Blue Sega CD as well. Best games ever made.
I really hope these games get released again someday. Both of them are absolute classics.
They remastered grandia 1 and 2 so let’s hope they get somebody to remaster lunar 1 and 2.
Your mom is an absolute classic
The video literally says it’s been rereleased multiple times lmao
Lunar has been made at least 4 times now
Sega genesis mini 2 Japanese exclusive only
Silver Star Story Complete and Eternal Blue Complete are some of my favorite games. I called a doctors office for my job once and the main theme for Eternal Blue was the waiting music. Brought back so much nostalgia.
Lunar remains as one of my most favorite JRPG series there ever is, which I played mainly on the PS1 It is a wondrous, magical classic and journey. I got Silver Star Harmony, but I feel it didn't match much with the PS1 classics. Lunar is a gem that should never be forgotten.
That blooper reel at the end of lunar 2! Blew my mind. Such a good game
Thankfully, they are doing a Lunar collection remaster now, coming out in spring of 2025. If this does well, a Lunar 3 can finally come true!!
Thank you for doing this retrospective. The Silver Star Story and Eternal Blue both hold a special place in my heart.
The thing I remember most is the leather booklet that came with Silver Star and the strategy guide for the game itself. Great memories!
and Lucia's necklace in EB
Legendary series. The greatest well made games ever. From music, cutscenes, gameplay, voice etc. It's like a Disney classic movie but in video game version. You will remember it forever
I enjoy the animated FMV scenes. They aren't Studio Ghibli of course but they do hold a lot better than the CGI FMVs of the same era. It's also amazing that a console game from the 90s has voice acting that holds up so well. I can count the number of games on one hand with that distinction.
The way Alex voice sounds more aggressive in battle when using his skills after he gets the dragon master gear was the best! My dog was Hella serious about saving Luna.
I'm sure someone somewhere said it, but the psp game was actually the 4th remake. The 3rd remake was Lunar Legend for the gba. I know it's the least liked among them, but for a kid in love with the psx game having a portable lunar to play was pretty awesome. Also loved the sprites in that version. Can't deny that the psx version is supreme though. Absolutely favorite game, I replay it every couple years.
One of my all time favorite game series. Lunar 2:EBC was my favorite video game for a very long time as a young kid. The world & characters this series portrays are so effen memorable, they're basically imprinted on my soul. One of the saddest days of my life was when I was forced to move out of my original house and had to leave the two complete box sets behind. I regret that I didn't insist on keeping my PS1 game collection, but so goes life.
I'm replaying Lunar:SSSC on my laptop now with a rom that takes out the gameplay changes that Working Designs did to make the game easier for a western audience. It still has that charm. The games are like a time capsule of the late 90's rpg golden age. All the silly pop-culture references are polarizing to some, but to me they just take me back to feeling like an innocent kid again with no worries other than playing video games with my brother & neighborhood friends.
and the music... The glorious music! It was the first game I played where I took notice of the OST and how much it elevates to whole package. Replaying it now, I'm genuinely shocked that I remember all the little melodies that the game has.
Yes. I will always tear up at the boat song scene. I'm 33 years old and couldn't help but sing along with Luna when I watched the cut scene the other day. They don't make games this wholesome anymore. These games are a global treasure. I look forward to one day trying to get my children to play it so I can see everything come full circle.
...I'm not crying, you're crying...
Thanks for your memories!
@@Xygor Thanks for the video!
This is one of my all time favorite hidden gems of the 4th and 5th generation of gaming. I fell in love with Lunar Silver Star and Eternal Blue on the Sega CD. When Working Designs brought both games over to the PlayStation fully remastered with incredible extras I bought them. I still have all 4 games (Sega CD and PlayStation) in my collection and they're all mint.
Addendum- I would buy a remake/remaster of both titles right now if they were made. Further, I would definitely pick up a new game if it were offered for the Series X, PS5, and or Switch on day 1. Let's make it happen already!
Fun Fact: During your first fight with Ghaleon in the original game he can't be killed. He's way over powered and it's best to just let him beat you without wasting any items. However, if you're playing Lunar Silver Star Story on an original PlayStation or emulator you can use a GameShark to even the playing field. If you get Alex and his party to level 30 you will wipe the floor with him. What's interesting is when you do this the game doesn't know what to do and locks up. I always thought that was a funny thing to do in Lunar.
Lady luck be kind!!! Love these 2 games. Fantastic music!! I have several of these songs on my thumb drive to bust out in the car. Thank you for another great video!
I played the PS1 version. I loved this game. One of my favorites.
17:50 Apparently, the reason for the lack of LUNAR 3 was that the team that was actually responsible for writing the story and characters of LUNAR - Studio Alex - was sued into bankruptcy by Game Arts in 2003 after roughly six years of escalating tension. Originally partnered, Game Arts refused to pay royalties to Studio Alex for the LUNAR remakes after Studio Alex missed deadlines for their Saturn port of GameGear's LUNAR: Walking School. As co-owner of the LUNAR IP, Studio Alex sued Game Arts for those royalties, but Game Arts countersued Studio Alex for breach of contract, and the much smaller Studio Alex drowned in legal fees and damages. Game Arts retained full rights to the LUNAR IP and then, intentionally or unintentionally, buried the franchise with Dragon Song.
Thanks for all these details!
Such nostalgia! This series, Legaia, and Wild Arms are some of my favorite RPGs that don’t get much love.
"Not Ghaleon, dear Quark...."
*_Magic Emperor Ghaleon!!_*
"Ghaleon, no!!" :O
Oh~, no~. Ghaleon, *_YES!!_* >:D
One of the best scenes in all of gaming. John Truitt's performance as Ghaleon is simply iconic.
Agreed, best voice actor!
I was 13 years old when I played Lunar. Even then, I realized this twist was coming. But, the music and voice acting was so on point that I still remember it very clearly to this day. What a magical pair of games!
I used to play the Gba release of Silver star and loved the way combat worked. It was rad.
Great work on this vid. I lucked into getting used copies of both Lunar: Silver Star and Vay at a local Blockbuster back in the day. The extra bit of life that Working Designs put into the NPCs always makes me chuckle, even when it really shouldn't. Heh.
Thank you for covering these!!! Lunar is my favorite game, and I love seeing it get the recognition it deserves!
My favorite scenes are easily the boat song in SSSC, and the scene where Lucia drops the pendant in front of Hiro in Eternal Blue. Trying to avoid spoilers for anyone reading this. 😅 Great video!
Thank you, glad you like it! And glad you have good memories from these games as well.
The very first time I saw the opening cinematic played, I had goosebumps. Starting out slightly haunting, but then the crescendo into rest was simply amazing. Thats what really sold me....
Lunar & Lunar 2 are my all-time favorite games ever! I was single at the time & worked nights! I found out about the game from going to my local Blockbuster! I rented the Sega CD & Lunar for a whole month because I loved it so much! The opening line of the white dragon calling Alex blew me away! I bought a Sega CD, & Lunar several months later! I bought Lunar 2 as soon as it was released! I replayed them tons of times! These two games are the 1st games ever to make me cry! I would die if they were remade! Great vid, thanx for this! ;)
And we can't forget the Bromide collection, many of our first introductions to waifu farming.
One of my favorite gaming memories was playing Lunar: The Silver Star after hearing and reading about it so much. The cost of a Sega CD was prohibitively expensive but my family managed to rent the system for one weekend. Between Sonic CD and Lunar, my brother and I must have stayed up a good 48 hours straight playing those games. We ended up keeping the console longer than intended, but never did finish either of the games. I'm looking forward to playing through Lunar fully at some point soon.
Thanks for the great walk down memory lane, Xygor. The content is excellent as always.
This game is a gem. I think the anime cutscenes hold up extremely well, better than its contemporaries. FMV is still cool to watch, but all of them look dated.
There's two, and the sequel is better than the first.
I grew up with Lunar on my sega cd. This was my first RPG and I will always love it.
My favorite ps1 rpg game
Quark's gigantic "diamond" is one of the many memorable parts for me.
Honestly, one of the first games I played all the way through without stopping.
Eternal Blue is also a gem.
I was infatuated with this since I learned about it on the Sega CD.
This needs a remake release and Eternal Blue needs an update lie the PSP!
I love Lunar so much. While by no means the first JRPG I played it was one of the ones that solidified my love for the genre and even after all these years is still a standout. It did so much right. Amazing characters, a wonderful story, great soundtrack and fun gameplay. The story stands out especially for its positive focus.
I also love how the video skipped over Lunar Legends for the GBA. Can't entirely blame anyone for that. It was a remake that effectively followed the major story beats of Silver Star Story but was, not great, to put it mildly. But I can't personally ignore it as it was something I picked up on a school trip and introduced me to the Lunar games. Legends itself wasn't great but it is what led me to look into and play the original. So I am thankful for its existence.
I hope that anyone who is seeing this video and hasn't tried the games out is inspired to do so. It is time well spent. As for me I am about due for another playthrough of Silver Star Story or Harmony (I am okay with either version) and Eternal Blue.
Thank you for these memories!
Thanks for the video! It surely is one of the most overlooked JRPG. I got to know the series with Lunar Legends for GBA
I played silver on ps1. I didn't realize that they made a sequel to it. It was my first rpg, after that game I remember I played ff7. Thanks to my big bro buying these games.
For those people looking for a series similar to Lunar I highly recommend Falcom’s Trails series. Especially if you enjoy talking to NPCs as they to will also change their dialogue after every major event.
I'm here from the future to tell you how wise you are, as the two most inspirational 2025 moments are remakes/remasters of Lunar and Trails in the Sky, both coming from GungHo.
Lunar 2 was my first real RPG when I was 12 and holds such a special place in my heart. The animated cutscenes and voice acting did so much to make me love the characters. I have both games and Arc the Lad series all complete on PS1. Some of my favorite games I own.
I love eternal blue! Jean is my favorite character!
I love that you could put in disc 1 and hear the bloopers after you beat the game lol
The absolute most memorable moment in silver star story complete for me is the boat ride from saith to meribia. Luna’s song and the night sky in that scene was magical to me as a kid. I’ll never forget it. Or this game for that matter.
My favorite series of all time!!!
This was one of my favourite RPGs on the Playstation. I still remember the metal mullet masher. And that still makes me smile when i think about it. Thanks for doing this justice, IMO.
I actually have the complete set. Map and everything. Found it randomly and snatched it up. Never regretted it. One of my favorite games.
I remember playing the original on Sega CD. It’s always stuck with me and in my top 5 RPGs. Great memories!
This was great! Thanks for making it!
The big reveal about the identity of the magic emperor blew my mind as a kid.
The battle system for both was so fun. Learn, tweak, and rejig strategy for every dungeon to find the optimal way to approach your each enemy.
Great video. Eternal Blue for the Sega CD is by far my favorite JRPG. Working Designs was a true gem.
Loading up silver star story and hearing that opening song for the first time is a core memory for me.
Currently playing through Lunar 2 with retroachievements. I haven't played in about 15 years, and I'm so happy the game is as good as I remember it being. I'm having a great time, and fast forward is making it so much less slow!
Always great to go back and experience and old classic like this!
This was one of the my very first RPGs and it has FOREVER held my heart. It just never gets old, it just has a wonderful charm, characters are fun, art is good and colorful, and the music and those animated cut scenes were just a cherry on top.
I was really obsessed with Lunar when I was younger, I still have my copies of 1 & 2 and the boxes :D. Was so excited for the Nintendo Ds Lunar but ah.. we all know how that went...... I never got the puppet, store scammed me on it as they took the mand sold them apart from the game. As a kid not much I could do lol. But I heard alot of game stores did that with the puppets.
You probably remember the delays from WD when it came to the NA rerelease. I had bought a sega cd and ebayed a copy of Eternal Blue in about March of '99 and played it heavily while waiting for L:SSSC. The day it arrived at Electronics Boutique was easily one of the best days of my life. I had just got my drivers license and I was thrilled that driving to pick up my copy of Lunar would be my first real self determined errand. I recall so much about that day but I won't bore with the details. Anyway, L:SSSC will always be special to me because it really was a singular time in my life and games. There were a lot of great games in summer of '99 for PSX but between this and Thousand Arms I am hard pressed to pick my favorite JRPG that year. It definitely wasn't FF8 for me :) love your channel, man. Thanks for making these.
Not many people know that Lemina is a descendant of Mia/Nash and Hiro looks exactly like an older version of Alex. Lucia is the successor to Luna/Althena.
Very memorable series! Was another jewel in the PS’s pantheon of classic RPG’s and also fed my obsession for anime as a kid during that time when it wasn’t as available here in the states.
Great video! I have Lunar Eternal Blue Complete and I love it. Still from time to time I go back and check the box with all the stuff that came in. Unfortunately I lost the sound track disk, hope I can find it some day.
Thank you!
You did a really good job on this.
Thanks!
In the 1st game one moment that was kind of nice was your friend letting you take items from his shop for free at the end of the game. The full package with the box and the art book were so fantastic.
In the 2nd game I really liked having to get the party back together for the Epilogue… or not heh.
The music in these games are phenomenal, and I liked that it didn’t need to be a huge time investment (even though there are plenty of secrets to find.)
The duology is getting a remaster, like Grandia 1 and 2.
I watched the ogre battle vid. It was great. I watched your Suikoden vid. Excellent. I see a Lunar video? You just got a new subscriber.
Thanks, glad you like them!
I absolutely love these game and replay them every few years. I think my favorite character is obvious.
Did you ever play the secret game on the "Making of..." disc? I even played the heck out of that haha.
I did! I played it alot too
I did! My siblings and I got into so many heated matches haha.
@@kristind5641 Nice! love that other people remember it as fondly as I do!
That shit kept me and a friend busy for an entire summer.
@@nickfarace9339 The amount of times I just put on a new CD to listen to and played against a board full of CPU players in this game is somewhere between "woah" and "that's kinda sad" depending on your point of view haha
I absolutely loved this game. My wife and I played through it several times. I love the opening song into from the Sega CD. And our most memorable moment was when a certain character dies while crossing a bridge. That was the first time a video game actually made me cry. Lol it was such a strange feeling.
Lunar fucking slapped, I'm lucky that I had a Sega CD. I even had a geocities page littered with lunar artwork. Such a damn good game.
Thanks for this! I now know about the petition and have definitely signed it!!
i loved how they based the boss stats off urs so u couldn't out level them and outside learning a new special they posed the intended challenge.
I've lived long enough to see "Lunar" go from being a popular JRPG series to a forgotten relic kids today know nothing about. So, this is what being old feels like, eh?
This game felt long enough (lunar 1) I would argue that it was challenging enough for an RPG. Definitely enough grinding for me 😂 I love this game so much! Very well done!
Thanks for the feedback!
Lunar is where i was first introduced to the trope of the sequel being nearly identical to the first. I was alittle dissapointed when i started Lunar 2 especially since i spent $70 on it in 2002. Now i think about how i keep thinking of these games. So much fun. Great characters. Gorgeous animated cut scenes.
So many good memories indeed! Glad you remember all of that stuff. Thanks for chiming in.
Great video. I got both games still =D complete
Same here!
I love Lunar, it's sad that 2 never got the attention it deserves after PS1. Lunar is like nostalgia in a bottle for me, seeing or hearing any part of it puts me on an instant nostalgia trip. xD
So true! Maybe it will get revived someday.
I don't remember how I came across this as a kid, but Lunar 1 and Lunar 2 are still my favorite ps1 game to date.
For reviewing my absolute favorite game.. you have earned my sub..
This series was so 90s anime and so authentic for that time period
Always great to see someone give attention to this series, thank you for making the video.
I would like to make a couple of little corrections to it, though;
The Punching Puppet Ghaleon you mentioned was a bonus for Eternal Blue Complete rather than Silver Star Story Complete. You may be thinking of Punching Puppet Alex which was going to come out when the PC version of SSSC was suppposed to. You got it if you purchased both EBC for PlayStation and the PC port of SSSC, however the PC port was cancelled so Alex was never released.
Next, about Lunar: Magic School. The original GameGear game title would be translated to something like "Lunar: Walking School". This was changed to Magic School for the Saturn version. Minor detail but thought I'd mention it.
Anyway, thank you again for the video. I hope someday, somehow, Lunar 3 happens.
Wow, this takes me way back! Lunar 1&2 along with Albert Odyssey gave me some of the most fun Ive ever had with RPGs.
Working Designs was on FIRE back in the day. I really miss them. :'(
Victor Ireland was an absolute genius.
Awsome retro You deserve more subs!
I appreciate that!
I still miss Working Designs even though I am not really into JRPGs anymore. As you mentioned, their presentation was bar none and each game felt like a love letter to their fans. I was fortunate enough to have experienced them when they were still around. I remember getting my first job just so I could buy Silver Star Story, Eternal Blue and Alundra on PS1 and playing the crap outta them after school.
I played this game as a child on the ps1 like 1998 and today in 2024 I play it on my iPhone with glee.
Great video! When we were kids, Lunar was a real sight to behold
Xygor love your content! You do a great job of covering the game it's lore it's content playability and hidden features! I especially like the Final Fantasy 6 video and watched it quite a few times lol. I may catch some Flack for this But ultimately I'm looking out for you. It has an ER sound not an AR. Like the lunar cycle.
I played Lunar Legend for GBA back in the day. Need to revisit this franchise someday!
My most memorable moment was also the reason I feel like the original Sega CD games were best, at least from a gameplay perspective.
My first time through Lunar 2's original release, I was still fairly young and the game was no joke on it's challenge. Likely one of the hardest dungeons (at least when you don't remember you can leave and go back to town to recover) is the haunted mansion. I was pretty much falling apart on the boss of that place after a long battle, and ended up down to just Ronfar. In a last ditch effort, I went for a basic attack, and to my surprise the boss went down. I should probably note, Ronfar is one of my favorite characters of all time (used his name as a screen name for a while) so this felt like the ultimate badass moment. I don't think there is a single thing in all of the games I played that stuck in my mind as that one. I LOVE challenging RPGs for moments like that alone.
The fighting and the music.
Right on!
Still my all time favorite… these 2 are the most underrated and lovely RPG came out in the 90s!!! I hope Lunar 3 will still come out…
I know Wind's Nocturne is the original song but i ABSOLUTELY love Luna's Boat Song the English version the most. The person who wrote the song for it knew the original Japanese lyrics woulnd't work well in english so re-working the song was genius! Plus it speaks about Luna's character so well about how lost she feels in life and how shes following Alex because she can't bare to be away from him for fear of losing him to his dream. It's such an amazing rendition that captures her characters plight so well.
Both versions are great, but I agree with you. The remade version is better in my opinion and to this day still ranks as one of my favorite video game songs/music.
The most memorable thing for me was learning Galion was the Magic Emperor and the death of the White Dragon. Since he was a mentor-like figure for us, it came out of no where.
Fighting the Vile Tribe was fun.
Lastly, the ending when Alex had to go get Luna. Never knew the harp would help.
NOTE: The PS version introduced a new boss experience system where the boss stats were based on Alex's level. So they higher Alex was, the strong the boss. Generally, it was better to keep Alex's level low to make the bosses easier overall. Level grinding was pointless.
I keep getting the "I was there during the before-fore times" as I write this. The Sega CD version came out when I was in 6th grade. I played that game and the music on it so much. Loved that game.
Lunar is getting a remaster to steam and all modern consoles. I used to have the box sets for Playstation but they were stolen years ago and are expensive to buy again. I can't wait to be able to play again.
Both of these gems were so good that I remember actually feeling bummed out for an entire week after finishing them.
This game got me into JRPGs, i still have both for my playstation
I still have the original 2 ps box sets of silver star and eternal blue. I still treasure them
Great! Me too.
When I was a kid we were too poor to buy any kind of system, so I hung out at a neighbor's house who had a playstation and we spent all day playing and for my birthday my older brother bought me a pirated copy of this game which I still have. The story of Lunar is something that will stay with me forever.
I remember going to a friends house, and he had this game in a display and he said I absolutely have to play it, that it’s his favorite. I never got the chance to this day, and I have always meant to. I was excited that it’s being ported as I will finally get the chance without emulation. From just looking at it I’m not sure why it stands out to people
I never played any of the other lunar series except "Lufia the ruin of lore" on GBA. I really enjoy it. The game is such a hidden gem. I'm looking forward to try the lunar series.
You missed out on Lunar Legend, the remake of Lunar Star Story for the GBA, which was a great remake with updated visuals and really nice sprites! The animations in that game were also fantastic and smooth as butter....
One thing that must be mentioned is that “music” plays a huge role in the first game’s thematic tones.
Starting up the Sega CD "Lunar the Silver Star" as a young lad around 1994, getting that corny early 90s intro with singing... SINGING! ... and cinematics. Then the first scene with Nall yelling "Alllleeeex....ALLLEEEEXX" with actual voice acting! Blew me away. And the mounds of text and dialogue making it feel like a living world. The Silver Star Story versions were great too and technically superior (except for the music, the Sega CD version had better music quality), but the original stuff on Sega CD was jaw dropping considering the time period.
Thanks for leaving these memories, love to read them and remember them!
This game was incredible and I have nothing but fond memories of playing it back in the day. The PS1 had some amazing JRPG's. The two most memorable aspects of the PS1 games were the characters and definitely the music. I wish they would get ported to PC or current consoles.
Yes, it was a great system for RPGs!
I remember putting this in layaway at Kmart not knowing a thing about it. Well, I was greatly surprised with the game when I finally took it home and played it. One of my favs
Great video, as always. Would have loved to see a compare and contrast between the Sega CD and PSX versions just so viewers could see how much was changed from The Silver Star and SSSC, as well as how much more polished both games were (especially the removal of the Magic Point System in Eternal Blue).
Absolutely agree that Ghaleon was one of the best antagonist if the 90s, part to do with the voce acting work performed by John Truitt.
The Silver Star was also ported to the GBA as Lunar Legend: while the game starts different, it ultimately ends the game and adds limit break style attacks; not really worth a playthrough in my opinion.
Another fun fact is how amazing the stragety guides were for both versions, particularly the one Eternal Blue Complete; an absolute masterpiece.
Great episode. I love your channel.