Lunar Remastered Collection was provided by GungHo Online Entertainment for review. Thank you!
There have been a lot of classic, noteworthy JRPGs I missed over the years, and with recent re-releases, I have finally had a chance to try them out. Last month, I got to finally experience Suikoden and see the impact it had on JRPGs, and while it has some dated concepts now, it was still awesome to see what made the game so unique at the time. Another JRPG series I have really wanted to try is the Lunar games, which have been described as one of the Best RPGs ever, and I got to find out for myself if the content stands with that high praise thanks to the Lunar Remastered Collection.
This remastered collection contains Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and Eternal Blue Complete, the two expanded mainline games in the series. They were released in 1992 and 1994, originally for the Sega Saturn, but were eventually re-released on the PlayStation 1 with their "complete" editions with extra content. Both entries have been remastered with updated visuals for both in-game visuals and animated cutscenes, widescreen support, newly recorded English dubs, new musical arrangements, and some quality of life improvements like speeding up combat, customizing CPU behavior for auto battling, and the option to change the inventory management system so everyone shares a combined inventory.
When going back and playing these older games, it's good to keep in mind the time period they are from. With this being a remaster and not a remake, a lot of the elements from the original release make a return, for better or worse. However, some of those quality of life additions really help make it more playable, and there are a few I am so happy about.
The combat sees the biggest set of improvements, with new additions to help dictate how your allies behave during battle. Of course, you can manually control them in the standard JRPG turn-based battles you encounter, but with the auto battle, we can now more clearly define what they do. I ended up relying on auto battles the more I played, and having this option to more closely define how my allies conduct themselves was a great addition. I am also thankful for being able to speed up battles, since going at the regular speed could take some time.
Lunar Remastered Collection's combat and general gameplay are standard for classic JRPGs and don't stray too far from the beaten path. You choose whether to attack, defend, use magic or items, or flee battles. The most notable change from other JRPGs is needing to move your character within a certain range of the enemy to land certain attacks, but the rest is generally the same as others in the genre. Progression and equipment systems are also quite familiar. You get experience and money from defeating monsters, which level you up and increase your stats, and you can use money at shops to buy more items and equipment to make yourself more powerful.
Both Lunar games don't break any new ground currently, but I do like the presentation. Watching battles in auto battle mode is more entertaining than in other older games due to units moving around the field, and the simplistic nature of equipment and progression is easy to comprehend. The inventory and shop menus can be a little confusing to navigate, with some text blending into the background and the overall UI layout being a bit clunky, but it's manageable.
I also want to take a moment to appreciate that the enemies you fight are also seen in the world. Fights don't just pop up out of nowhere; you can try to avoid monsters running about and skip over fights.
One change that I think really helps with playability is the inventory. You can swap between classic or "remastered" inventory types, letting you choose between each character having a separate inventory or shared. With the extra work that goes into giving items to specific people I want them to have, I much prefer the shared or "remastered" type, and being able to change it on the fly is great.
The only other element I feel is worth talking about is movement. You will travel around the world and discover new cities and locations, and for the most part, it's pretty standard. The movement system is a little hard to control in close spaces like forests and caves, and I found myself getting stuck on rocks or random pillars.
While the gameplay is on the basic side, the story more than makes up for it. Both games sport an engaging and enjoyable story that has some unexpected moments. Lunar 1 follows Alex's quest to become an adventurer like his idol, Dragonmaster Dyne, while Lunar 2 follows wannabe explorer Hiro. Both stories are enjoyable to play through, and I was quite surprised by some of the events that happened throughout. I did get lost once or twice since there's no hand-holding to tell you where to go next, but the directions given aren't hard to follow if you pay attention to the conversations you have.
The characters are also really enjoyable to learn about. They have decent chemistry together and are just a hoot to interact with. I like the splicing of animated cutscenes, the voice acting is solid, and the balance of humor and serious elements is great. I loved the opening of Lunar 2, where Hiro and his partner/dragon Ruby fall into ruins and get chased by monsters and boulders, making quick turns and trying to escape. It was hilarious.
While you can save at any time throughout the game, I was also a bit surprised to see that both the classic and remastered versions of each game can access the same save files. This means you can play in the remastered version of the game, save your progress, and continue in the classic version that has older visuals and animations and the classic 4:3 aspect ratio. It's small, but I like being able to go back and forth.
There should be absolutely no problem playing Lunar Remastered Collection on the Steam Deck, regardless of which version you choose. It hits 60 FPS while sticking around 6.5W - 7W battery drain and works well with the controller. However, there are a couple of little oddities here and there to keep in mind.
The game's settings, whether it be the classic or remastered versions, are very scarce. There are almost no changes we can make other than resolution and Post FX, which means we are a little stuck. The game defaults to 60 FPS and can't be changed, so we need to set our SteamOS FPS/Hz rate to 60. I also found that the remastered game doesn't support 16:10 resolutions, defaulting to 1280x720, but the animated cutscenes do stretch to the top and bottom of the screen. A little weird, but nothing game-breaking.
Outside of these, it will be no problem playing through both Lunar 1 and 2 on the Steam Deck, in both classic and remastered versions:
Both Lunar 1 and 2 have different settings to help make the game more playable, though there isn't much for accessibility. You can change how your inventory is sorted, how items are managed, whether messages come out faster and advance by themselves, toggle vibration and spell names, change audio language from Japanese to English, and toggle subtitles.
The game doesn't support 16:10 resolutions or cloud saves, but it does have controller support. There are no HDR settings.
The Lunar Remastered Collection finally gave me the chance to experience two of the best JRPGs from the SEGA CD, and I was not disappointed. The story and characters carry the experience, and both Lunar 1 and 2 hold up in this regard. I was taken by the world, and while the gameplay feels a bit generic and UI clunky compared to today's standards, it isn't aggravating and has its charms. It's a good idea to keep the fact that this is a remaster of a 25+ year old game in mind, and if you can, you will not be let down.
The game also runs flawlessly on the Steam Deck, easily hitting 60 FPS with under 8W of battery drain for over 8 hours of battery life. There aren't many settings to change, but there isn't much that needs to! This is a Best on Deck game, and one worth playing on the go.
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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The Lunar Remastered Collection is a fantastic way to experience these classic JRPGs, even if it feels dated at times, but it's a joy to play on the Steam Deck!
