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Lunar Silver Star Harmony is a remake of the classic PS1 RPG Lunar: Silver Star Story. The PSP sees a lot of ports and remakes, some good and some bad. Being a part of the PlayStation family, it seems obvious to use the handheld to bring some of the RPGs of days gone by back to life, in the form of an updated remake. Meaning it will bring an entirely new audience to the series. The Lunar games have had their ups and downs though, and the series has not always been at its finest. The original game was fantastic, although very tough. The sequel wasn’t as hard or as memorable, but was an overall fun experience. Then things went quiet, until Lunar Legend, a GBA version, was released.

Lunar Legend was…not quite up to par. Of course no one expected it to be an exact port of the PS1 game, but what people got was a gimped, sub-par version, with many battles removed, dungeons shortened or removed, and difficulty lowered so much, the game could be completed in two days tops. Then came Lunar: Dragon Song for the DS, a prequel to the original game. A broken battle system and boring story brought this game down, and thus crushed our hopes of ever getting a great Lunar game again.

Well here we are 11 years after the release of the original, and we finally have a proper Lunar game that does the series justice. This remake is everything you could ask for and then some. Just how good is it? Let’s take a look at the HOTs and NOTs of Lunar Silver Star Harmony.

HOT

Improved graphics.
All the graphics have been revamped for this game. The original Lunar was released in 1995 on the Sega Saturn, so it comes as no surprise that the game looks very dated. The sprite animations were minimal at best, and while it was good at the time, its very dated in today’s terms. Game Arts has done all new sprite animations and it really makes the game pop. The sprites are bright and colorful, and are rendered very well. Each one leaps off the screen and are full of personality. The environments have also been improved. The trees, the buildings, everything looks better and the colors are much more vibrant. This game looks very pretty, and it’s some of the best I’ve seen on the PSP in terms of 2D sprite animation.

Improved music
Along with better graphics comes better music. All the original tracks remain, but have been rerecorded, so no more midi mono tunes. The original tracks remain intact, but now sound much better. There’s really not much more to say, just that you’ll love what you hear. The sound effects have also been improved, with more added in to give the game a more realistic sound design. The voices have also been rerecorded. The voice actors do their best, but the animation hasn’t been changed, so you still get the occasional fast-talking moment. At times, voice actors will go through a few sentences without stopping for a breath just to keep up with the animation. Still, the voices are fitting, although it is odd to hear different voices coming from these characters, especially Nall.

Gameplay is still solid.
The most important thing has remained almost completely untouched. While the graphics and music may have been dated, the gameplay of the original was solid, and has been ported over perfectly. The battle system is turned-based, and still requires your character to move into the right position to hit the enemy. This is classic RPG action at it’s finest.

NOT

Somewhat simplified
For all its improvements, the game does have a few flaws. The biggest flaw is that this game is easier than the original, but for some this may not be a bad thing. The original game was brutal, and offered no mercy. It had some balance issues, and yes, it forced players to grind at times. This game has improved the balance issues significantly, so players won’t have to mindlessly grind just to earn a few levels to take down one boss. I noticed that even just the first dungeon in this version, I was able to make it through in one go, no deaths and no having to grind at the dungeon entrance. So like I said, it is easier, but for those unfamiliar with the game, or those who didn’t enjoy the challenge level of the original, this could be a positive.

Nothing New

Being a remake, people shouldn’t expect anything new from this game. You do get a bit more back-story on the history of Dragonmaster Dyne, which is awesome, but for the most part this is the same game. While this isn’t a bad thing, it may be a tad disappointing to someone looking for something new in terms of RPG gameplay. The style of game is very old-school, so for those looking for something similar to newer RPGs, you might find yourself a bit bored with the battle system. Still, I don’t consider this a bad thing per se, since this is a remake, gamers shouldn’t expect an overhaul of the game design.

VERDICT

Overall, Lunar Silver Star Harmony is the Lunar game we’ve wanted for years. It’s a faithful remake of the classic RPG that has everything we loved about the original, while removing most of what we hated. Is it the most original RPG? No, not by a long shot, but no one should expect it to be. It’s just a solid remake with excellent graphics, acting, and gameplay, and will fill the need for RPG junkies looking for something new.

Although the PSP is starting to lose its shine as the Next Generation Portable is coming later this year, there are still games out there worth picking up for the PSP. To name a few, The 3rd Birthday and the much awaited follow-up title to Dissidia, Duodecim Final Fantasy are both solid PSP titles. For those who enjoyed Dissidia back in 2009, Duodecim is here to bring back some of your favorite Final Fantasy characters in the series and offer a new type of gameplay and characters.

What are the major differences between Duodecim and Dissidia? Is Duodecim a worthy sequel, and does it warrant your hard-earned money? Let’s take a look at the HOTs and NOTs of Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy to find out!

HOT

New Playable Characters
In addition to the characters we’ve played in Dissidia, Duodecim adds eight more characters from the Final Fantasy universe. The new characters in Duodecim such as Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, Laguna in Final Fantasy VIII, Yuna in Final Fantasy X, and Vaan from Final Fantasy XII, will carry most of their signature moves and attacks. There are several hidden characters in the game that are unlockable by finishing certain tasks and they are usually worth the effort. Similar to the first title, these new characters will have their own story to tackle and just like an RPG, you can customize their equipment before heading into each battle.

Same Battle System w/ New Assist Mode
Nothing has changed in the way the battle system works in Duodecim. For those who played Dissidia, gamers can still switch from action to an RPG style when it comes to the battle system. To win a fight, you must carry more brave points than your opponent and do a finishing attack to win. To carry more brave points, attack the enemy with the circle button, and with every attack you land you essentially steal their brave points. If you’ve been playing Dissidia recently, Duodecim’s battle system should feel very familiar.

A new addition to the battle system of Duodecim is the ability to have an assistant when battling. Just like in some fighting games, other characters can jump in to assist you in taking down an enemy. In Duodecim, you will have an opportunity to do this whenever you are in the middle of an intense fight with your opponent. The attacks that the assisting characters will have are pre-determined. The only way that you can summon the assisting character is by increasing the assist meter by continuously attacking the opponent successfully. While this is only a small addition to the fun and addicting battle system of Duodecim, it makes a big difference by allowing for new combinations and more exciting combat.

New Story Mode
Recent Final Fantasy games that Square Enix released have lacked a world map. In Duodecim, Square Enix finally brings the world map back in the story mode of the game and allows us to fully explore the world of Duodecim. Just like in the past Final Fantasy games featuring a world map, there are on-screen enemies that you will have to fight, treasure chests to discover, and areas to explore. Exploring the world map will bring back old memories from classic Final Fantasy games for anyone who is familiar to the series.

The areas that you will enter from the world map will bring you to the same chess board-type level progression where you will have to move from one location to the next until you reach a marker that clears the level. Instead of getting DP, you will now earn KP, which stands for KUPO POINTS, which you can use to trade with the Moogles that you meet on the world map. These Kupo Points are obtained by clearing a level and winning a fight.

New Extras
Duodecim offers a lot of extras for players to enjoy. Duodecim Prologus, set for release before Duodecim, will give players an opportunity to have Aerith from Final Fantasy VII transfered over to the retail version of the game where she can be used as an assist character. If you’ve been keeping the Dissidia save file in your memory stick, transferring the save data to Duodecim will transfer the equipment and levels that the characters have on the first game.

A new feature that is noteworthy is the ability to create a quest, share it to everyone via MogWeb, and play it. In the new feature, players will have the power to create their own battles, change the length of time of each round, set background music, choose character icons in the dialogue boxes, and a lot more. Whenever you are done with the quest, you can upload them via MogWeb and let everyone in the world play your creation.

NOT

Story is Weak
Dissidia has never been a story-oriented game that Final Fantasy fans will appreciate. In Duodecim, the story is as weak as the first one. There are different scenarios that you will have to go through and their story is not as strong as the ones you will find in a Final Fantasy game. It’s pretty much the Cosmos versus Chaos, just like in Dissidia. To finish the story mode, you will have to play through all the scenarios of the characters in the game and go through the chessboard type gameplay.

Mediocre Voice Overs
While the presentation of Duodecim is as impressive as the first one, the only thing that kills the moment when watching those CG cut scenes are the voice overs. We’re not really used to hearing voices from classic Final Fantasy games, but in Duodecim characters such as Kain, Tifa, and Laguna have mediocre voice overs. While they don’t completely ruin the experience when watching some scenes, there will be some hardcore Final Fantasy fans, like myself, who will not appreciate their voices. If you’ve played Final Fantasy XIII, you will be happy to hear that they managed to retain Lightning’s voice.

Feels like Dissidia…
When a sequel comes out for a game, it must give us the feeling of a completely new game, while at the same time maintaining its connection to the previous title. In Duodecim, I felt like I was playing Dissidia. Sure, new characters and the assist character features are nice additions to Duodecim, but they’re not big enough for me to really notice that they are there. The only addition that I’ve really noticed and appreciate is the ability to make quests, but the success of that new feature depends on players taking advantage of it and making the community grow.

VERDICT

Just like its predecessor, Duodecim: Final Fantasy offers the same amount of fun for an enjoyable experience. The new assist and playable characters that the game has to offer are a nice addition for anyone who loves brawling with other Final Fantasy characters. Similar to Dissidia, Duodecim fails once again in crafting a good storyline, and essentially it’s pretty much the same game as Dissidia. If you’ve been thinking of getting into the Dissidia series, I suggest purchasing the first one and only picking up Duodecim if you are really interested in experiencing the new additions.

[Editor’s Note: Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy was reviewed on the PSP platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]