Ghost of Two-shima
6 Likes
I teared up ngl
3 Likes
Which is the context of these two games? Never knew about the saga coming up and it looks quite good.
1 Like
Theyāre Saturn RPGs that are better known for their PSX remakes. The US releases are also known for being difficult games thanks to Working Designs changing the balance of various games they localized, but Iād imagine this remaster will have the ācorrectā difficulty level. Theyāre fairly standard JRPGs with your classic āthe legendary four heroes once met all the dragonsā kind of stories, but as you can see theyāve got a great, nostalgic aesthetic and nice music. They have that Sega feel to them still, in my opinion, and also for me they are just formative RPGs I havenāt played in a very long time.
The first game has been remade/ported a few times, but not in a notable way in a while. Thereās a GBA version called Lunar Legend that pares down the game in many ways including ditching the voice acting, naturally. Thereās a full remake on PSP called Lunar: Silver Star Harmony that I donāt recommend because they cut out a lot of what makes it an RPG in the interest of a āhandheld experience.ā I think the last game in the series to come out is the DS game Lunar: Dragon Song, which is arguably the worst JRPG ever made. You lose HP when you run in the overworld.
5 Likes
I donāt know a fraction of what you do about these games, but werenāt they originally on Sega CD?
1 Like
Indeed they were, which makes sense as I didnāt have a Saturn.
1 Like
Theyāve also got cut scenes and character designs by Toshiyuki Kubooka, who I mostly know from the 90ās Giant Robo OVAs. It looks like from the trailer theyāve lovingly cleaned up the cut scenes by the way!
I completely did not have this on my bingo card of future rereleases/collections! The first game in particular is a real favourite of mine from the 90ās but who knows if itās held up well!
3 Likes
To add on to this, the first Lunar game has repeatedly been ported, remastered, or remade over the years: Sega CD to Saturn to PS1 to PC to GBA to PSP to iOS to Android to, now, modern platforms.
Lunar 2 has not been re-released in English in over two decades. It has long been the more neglected title in the series, even though it is the larger and (arguably) better game. So thatās what Iām really nerding out over with this release: itāll be the first time in a long time that I fully replay Lunar 2.
In my head I frequently group Lunar with Grandia (GameArts, so that makes sense), Skies of Arcadia (similar sense of optimism, traveling the world), and maybe Dragon Quest (itās a conventional story thatās well done). I love the worldbuilding. The world is the āSilver Starā (basically our moon) terraformed by the magic of a goddess, Althena. Four dragons protect the world, and a dragonmaster leads those dragons. So the first game is a conventional story of becoming that dragonmaster, with some twists and turns along the way (childhood friends turned to romance, lots of personality among the supporting cast). There is lots of heart and personality.
Then Lunar 2 builds on that with a big time jump (1000 years?) and more going on.
7 Likes
Iāve never actually finished Eternal Blue myself so yeah thatās really exciting for me as well.
Also funny that you grouped it with Skies of Arcadia. Lunar 1 and Skies of Arcadia are my two fondest JRPG memories as I played them both in my friendās basement. I love a lot of RPGs but those are the ones that also have the great controller passing memories attached to them.
2 Likes
yeah I would put the Lunars in the second rank of chill, likeable, and aesthetically nice old rpgs like Skies Of Arcadia and Breath Of Fire 3 etc
5 Likes
This weekās biggest game release is Cosmic Smash VRS getting ported from PSVR2 to PS5. Itās a roundabout way of saying you donāt need VR headset. Would be interesting to hear if the game is enjoyable this way, because the Dreamcast version was cool.
7 Likes
Iāve played Lunar Sega CD a bit and played a good deal more of the PSP remake. You guys are probably right that itās a bit lesser of an experience but I didnāt mind it for the presentation and story.
Are you one of our forums lovely Brazilians? Are you in SĆ£o Paulo? Do you like ARPGs? (diablo-like games)
If so, and you are headed to the Brasil Game Show, theyāre gonna have a demo of Path of Exile 2 on display and able to be played. As a huge POE nerd, Iād love to hear anything about anyoneās thoughts on POE2 if they get an opportunity to touch it!
3 Likes
in this video thereās a wipe effect from the original to the remaster, and i have to say, the original is way more atmospheric.
but whatever, now i have to listen to this song a thousand times.
(itās from soul reaverās opening)
5 Likes
ok i have never played those legacy of kainses but INFORMATION SOCIETY being in the opening is blowing my mind and i at the very least need to give them a look now hahah
3 Likes
really enjoying this golden age of re-releases for accessibility purposes, but otherwise, that Sony stuff is busted for me. Iām having an interesting time at this particular juncture with my views on Sony ā for the past five or so years, Iāve realized through emulation that my gaming tastes wouldāve been way, way better served had my one-console-owning kid self owned a PlayStation or a PS2 rather than a Nintendo. those PlayStations were just so fucking good. even got my very first PSP last year and adore that thing. but aside from legacy stuff, I just have so little interest in what Sony as a publisher is doing nowadays (outside of the very occasional Astro Bot or what have you). hey, itās the most expensive one of these things with the least interesting stuff, come on in. nah, bro.
5 Likes
itās a pretty cool opening
Iām probably going to end up playing those Legacy of Kain games because Iāve heard consistently from folks whose opinions I trust that they Are Really Good Games, but I have to say: I passed on them for PS1 because the aesthetic was (to me) extremely lousy, and twenty plus years has not in any way softened me toward it! The character designs look (again, to me, sorry fans) like some of the worst 90ās comics adjacent Extreme Edgy Character Design!
4 Likes
that they are.
i would say the world is interesting and the soundtrack is good, and in its day it was technically intersting, those are the things it has going for it. i have no interest in revisting it myself.
3 Likes
Thank you oh so, so much for bringing this to my attention!