Lunar: The Silver Star
From Sega Retro
- For the Sega Saturn version, see Lunar Silver Star Story.
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Lunar: The Silver Star | |||||||||||||||
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System(s): Sega Mega-CD | |||||||||||||||
Publisher: Game Arts (JP), Working Designs (US) | |||||||||||||||
Developer: Game Arts, Studio Alex, Working Designs (US) | |||||||||||||||
Supporting companies: Cube | |||||||||||||||
Peripherals supported: CD BackUp RAM Cart | |||||||||||||||
Genre: RPG[1] | |||||||||||||||
Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||
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Lunar: The Silver Star (ルナ ザ・シルバースター) is a role-playing game developed by Game Arts for the Sega Mega-CD and released in 1992. It was translated by Working Designs and released in the United States in 1993. The game made use of the CD format to feature high quality audio, full-motion video, and voice acting to narrate a fantasy story set in a magical world. It was critically and commercially successful, becoming the best-selling Mega-CD title in Japan,[6] and it is often considered one of the best RPGs of the 16-bit era.
It is the first game in the Lunar series of RPGs, and it was followed by Lunar: Eternal Blue, released in 1994. Game Arts released an expanded remake, Lunar: Silver Star Story, for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation in 1996.
Contents
Story
The game takes place in the fantasy land of Lunar, a small habitable world orbiting the massive, barren blue planet (known as the Blue Star), forming a loose parallel between the game's world and the Earth and its moon. Centuries before the start of the game, the Blue Star was rendered unlivable by years of war. The powerful and benevolent goddess Althena relocated humanity to the Silver Star, the world of Lunar, and entrusted four dragons to safeguard the elements of the new world. From this point on, those who would use the power of the dragons to serve the goddess and protect the world were known as "Dragonmasters," and no such Dragonmaster was more revered than Dyne, a legendary hero who defended the goddess and succumbed to an unknown fate.
The stories surrounding Dyne's exploits would form the life model for a young boy named Alex, the game's protagonist and central character, who aspires to become a Dragonmaster himself. At the behest of Ramus, eager son of the town mayor, Ramus and Alex embark on their first real adventure, with Alex's adopted sister Luna and their talking flying pet Nall, to the mysterious Dragon's Cave in search of a valuable diamond. Making their way through the cavern, the group meets Quark, an aged dragon who senses great potential in Alex and urges him to complete the trials of other dragons to become the next Dragonmaster, champion of the Goddess Althena, and protector of the world. Quark shows an interest in Luna as well, remarking that she has a familiar aura about her.
Gameplay
The game is a role-playing game with an overhead perspective. Alex and his companion Nall must navigate towns, fields, and harsh environments. Other characters join and leave the party throughout the game. Short video and audio interludes accompany the game's narrative.
The game has an overworld that contains towns and dungeons. Towns contain stores where the player can exchange silver, the game's currency, for weapons, armor, and other items as well as interact with non-player characters to learn more about the world and glean hints about how to progress. Dungeons have the party fight toward story-based objectives that move the plot forward, finding treasure along the way. Players may find weapons, equipment, and assorted items during gameplay that increase the effectiveness of characters in battle, such as causing more damage to opponents and increasing their stamina.
While traveling in the overworld or dungeons, players randomly encounter enemy monsters that must be defeated or avoided to progress. At the start of an encounter, the player can choose to fight, run, or consult Nall to gauge the strength of the enemies. Battle sequences are turn-based, and the positioning of allies and enemies adds a strategic element. A character can only move a limited distance in a single turn before attacking, and characters only able to strike enemies if they are close enough to their target or using a ranged attack. Characters have different movement ranges, and some characters can attack twice per turn. The player issues a commands to each controlled character in their party, which are then carried out in sequence until the battle ends. Characters can be commanded to attack the enemy, cast a spell, use an item, flee into a corner, stand their ground, or run from the battle entirely. The player can also choose AI to allow the computer to control the character for that turn.
When all the enemies are defeated, the characters are rewarded with experience and silver. Characters who are defeated or who ran from battle do not receive experience at the end of the battle. Characters who are defeated in combat are rescued by Nall and return to the party with one hit point after the battle completes. If the entire party is defeated, the game ends; the player may choose to load a previous save file or restart the game at an automatically saved checkpoint.
Characters increase their levels from gaining experience, which teaches them new abilities and improves their statistics:
- Max HP: The character's health. The character is forced to withdraw from combat when his or her health is exhausted.
- Max MP: The character's mana. Casting spells costs mana, and a spell cannot be cast if the character lacks sufficient mana.
- Atk Pwr: The strength of the character's attacks.
- Def Pwr: The character's defensive power against physical attacks.
- Agility: The character's speed, which affects turn order in battle.
- Anti-Magic: The character's defensive power against magic attacks.
- # of Atks: The number of times that the character can attack during a single turn (if within range of an enemy).
- # of Moves: The number of spaces that a character can move in a single turn.
Outside of battle, the player can invoke a menu to use magic or items, equip items, view each character's statistics, or change the AI behavior. The party has a large shared inventory for storing items. Each character has his or her own inventory, which is smaller. Characters must equip items such as weapons, armor, and jewelry into their inventory to make use of them, and they can only use consumable items (such as healing items) in combat if they have been added into their inventory before battle. The AI behavior can be changed to allow the computer to use magic or items when controlling each character in battle. The player can also use Nall to load or save the game at any point outside of combat, change the turn order of the party, and drop items from the shared inventory.
Overworld
Certain landmarks appear in the overworld to assist the party in between battles.
Characters
Alex and Nall are always present in the party. Other members join and leave according to story events. The party can contain up to five members at a time.
The levels at which spells are learned vary sometimes depending on random chance.
Alex (アレス) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The main character. A young boy from the small farming village of Burg who plays a harp and dreams of becoming an adventurer. He idolizes the Dragonmaster Dyne, a legendary hero who defended the Goddess Althena and succumbed to an unknown fate. He is a capable fighter with high speed, attack, and defense. In addition, after completing the Trial Cave, he learns a number of powerful fire and light spells and some healing abilities.
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Nall (ナル) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A small, winged creature resembling a white cat who has been with Alex since birth. Nall accompanies Alex for his entire journey. In battle, he is a noncombatant who can be called upon to assess the difficulty of the enemies when deciding whether to fight or run. He also saves allies from death by carrying them away when they are defeated in battle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Luna (ルーナ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alex's childhood friend and love interest. She was adopted by Alex's parents when she was very young, and they have been close friends ever since. She is renowned for her singing voice, which has the unique ability to heal. She learns a number of songs for healing allies and controlling enemies.
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Ramus (ラムス) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The son of the town mayor who dreams of one day opening his own shop. He begins Alex's adventuring career by having him fetch a priceless diamond from the Dragon's Cave, but he leaves early in the adventure when Alex decides to travel to Vane to study magic. He is an adequate fighter early on with strong defense, though he is soon surpassed by Alex. He does not learn any magic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nash (ナッシュ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An arrogant magic student who is junior premier of the floating city of Vane. He has a crush on his fellow student Mia. He is a powerful mage who learns lightning magic, though he is eventually surpassed as a spellcaster by Alex.
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Mia (ミア) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Another junior premier of Vane, though much more reserved than Nash. She is the daughter of Lemia, one of the Four Heroes. She learns several fire and water skills, and she learns some unique abilities that steal health and mana from enemies.
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Jessica (ジェシカ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A tomboy who is training to be a priestess. She is the daughter of Mel de Alkirk, the governor of Meribia and one of the Four Heroes. Her father is a beastman and her mother was a human. She often finds herself at odds with the chauvinistic Kyle. She is proficient with healing magic.
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Kyle (キリ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A headstrong and womanizing bandit. He is the protector of the Nanza Barrier, a fortified town separating the civilized areas from the frontier. He is a strong fighter with high defense who learns abilities that mostly enhance his own combat prowess.
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Ghaleon (ガレオン) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A powerful sorcerer and teacher of Nash. He is one of the Four Heroes. He joins Alex in his quest for a brief time. He is a highly skilled spellcaster with offensive magic demonstrating mastery of all the elements.
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Laike (レイク) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A powerful swordsman and expert adventurer who acts as a mentor to Alex. Like Ghaleon, he is very powerful and joins Alex for a brief time.
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Tempest (テムジン) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tempest and his wife Fresca are plains-dwelling fighters. They live in the small village of Pao, which is being ravaged by a disease. Tempest briefly joins Alex and his party to search for the Goddess' Seal to cure the disease afflicting their village.
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Items
Weapons
Armor
Chest Armor
Gloves
Headgear
Shields
History
Release
According to Victor Ireland of Working Designs, the Mega-CD version of Lunar: The Silver Star sold 50,000 units in the American market.[7]
Legacy
The game has been remade as Lunar: Silver Star Story for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation in 1996, Lunar Legend for the Game Boy Advance in 2002, and Lunar: Silver Star Harmony for the PlayStation Portable in 2009.
Production credits
Japanese version
- : Youichi Miyaji, Mitsuhiro Mazda, Kazunari Tomi, Kei Shigema, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Toshiyuki Uchida, Satoshi Uesaka, Takashi Hino, Ayano Koshiro, Hiroaki Okabe, Hiroyuki Koyama, Toshio Akashi, Takahiro Okano, Yuzo Sunaga, Takahiro Ohura, Akitoshi Satoh, Shunji Suzuki, Hajime Satoh, Sadao Kobayashi, Meiko Wada, Masatoshi Azumi, Masahiko Ikeya, Akiko Satoh, Harue Ohno, Daisuke Itoh, Kenzaburou Hirai, Katushirou Hirai, Itie Satoh, Makoto Satoh, Takeshi Takakura, Nobuaki Okachi, Mariko Uemura, Ari Kamijoh, Mr. Tom, Takeshi Miyaji, Tetsuya Amabiki, Kazuyuki Ohata, Toshimichi Masubuchi, Yoshihisa Segawa, Rika Okabe, Harumi Uesaka, Masae Satoh, Akira Kashiwagi, Hideki Kanai, Tsukasa Nishino, Kazuhiro Nakazawa
- Cube: Isao Mizoguchi, Noriyuki Iwadare, Hiroshi Fujioka, Yoshiaki Kubodera, Dougen Shibuya
- Studio Page One: Eiji Minami
- Vocal: Mayumi Sudou
- Voice Actor: Kikuko Inoue, Rokurou Naya, Kouichi Kitamura, Rei Sakuma
- Studio Ash: Souichi Tsuji
- Copyright©1992 Game Arts/Studio Alex
US version
- Cast
- Alex: Ashley Angel
- Luna: Rhonda Gibson
- Nall: Jackie Powers
- Quark: Hal Delahousse
- Ghaleon: John Truitt
- Producer: Victor Ireland
- Translation: Ryoji Mori, Hiroko Mori, Sayuri Howard, Victor Ireland
- Proofing: Andy Hedman, Don Shirley
- Assistants: Don Shirley, Dean Williams
- Audio Re-Recording: Bill Staeck, Bill King, Victor Ireland
- Opening Song
- Lyrics: Victor Ireland
- Performed by: Shiya
- : Youichi Miyaji, Mitsuhiro Mazda, Kazunari Tomi, Kei Shigema, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Toshiyuki Uchida, Satoshi Uesaka, Takashi Hino, Ayano Koshiro, Hiroaki Okabe, Hiroyuki Koyama, Toshio Akashi, Takahiro Okano, Yuzo Sunaga, Takahiro Ohura, Akitoshi Satoh, Shunji Suzuki, Hajime Satoh, Sadao Kobayashi, Meiko Wada, Masatoshi Azumi, Masahiko Ikeya, Akiko Satoh, Harue Ohno, Daisuke Itoh, Kenzaburou Hirai, Katushirou Hirai, Itie Satoh, Makoto Satoh, Takeshi Takahura, Nobuaki Okashi, Mariko Uemura, Ari Kamijoh, Mr. Tom, Takeshi Miyaji, Tetsuya Amabiki, Kazuyuki Ohata, Toshimichi Masubuchi, Yoshihisa Segawa, Rika Okabe, Harumi Uesaka, Masae Satoh, Akira Kashiwagi, Hideki Kanai, Tsukasa Nishino, Kazuhiro Nakazawa
- Cube: Isao Mizoguchi, Noriyuki Iwadare, Hiroshi Fujioka, Yoshiaki Kubodera, Dougen Shibuya
- Studio Page One: Eiji Minami
- Studio Ash: Souichi Tsuji
- Special Thanks: Cindy, Youichi Miyaji, S. Schmitt, Mike's Music & Sound, Jane Chaney, Sega, ...and You!
- "Wheaties" Is a Registered Trademark of General Mills, Inc. Used with Permission.
- Copyright 1993 Working Designs
- Game Arts/Studio Alex
Magazine articles
- Main article: Lunar: The Silver Star/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: Lunar: The Silver Star/Promotional material.
Physical scans
Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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82 | |
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Based on 26 reviews |
Technical information
ROM dump status
System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
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✔ |
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517,298,880 | CD (JP) | T-45014 | ||||||||||
? |
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498,555,792 | CD (US) | T-127015 |
External links
- Sega of America webpage: Mega CD
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://sega.jp/fb/segahard/mcd/soft_licensee.html (Wayback Machine: 2019-06-10 17:56)
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1992" (JP; 1991-12-07), page 12
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 GamePro, "January 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 258
- ↑ http://www.workingdesigns.com/museum/sega_cd/ourgames/index.html (Wayback Machine: 2002-08-13 22:47)
- ↑ https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video.sega/c/K13rcfhdLO0/m/0lVPzsWqd4oJ
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1994" (JP; 1993-12-08), page 32
- ↑ htt (Wayback Machine: 2000-08-19 16:52)
- ↑ File:Lunar Silver Star MCD credits.pdf
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 168
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "July 1992" (JP; 1992-06-08), page 35
- ↑ Consoles +, "Avril 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 144
- ↑ Edge, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-02-24), page 75
- ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "January 1994" (US; 1993-12-21), page 115
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 51
- ↑ Famitsu, "1992-07-03" (JP; 1992-06-19), page 40
- ↑ GameFan, "Volume 2, Issue 1: December 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 27
- ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 2 February 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 85
- ↑ Hippon Super, "July 1992" (JP; 1992-06-04), page 39
- ↑ Joypad, "Juin 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 59
- ↑ Mega, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-17), page 37
- ↑ Mega Force, "Juillet/Août 1994" (FR; 1994-07-04), page 90
- ↑ Mega Fun, "02/94" (DE; 1994-01-19), page 46
- ↑ Mega Play, "December 1993" (US; 1993-1x-xx), page 68
- ↑ Mega Power, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-17), page 78
- ↑ MegaTech, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-20), page 38
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-01-28), page 50
- ↑ Sega Power, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-03), page 62
- ↑ Sega Pro, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-01-27), page 46
- ↑ Sega Zone, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-27), page 52
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 84
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 108
- ↑ Video Games, "3/94" (DE; 1994-02-23), page 74
- ↑ VideoGames, "February 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 62
Lunar games for Sega systems | |
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Lunar: The Silver Star (1992) | Lunar: Eternal Blue (1994) | |
Lunar Silver Star Story (1996) | Mahou Gakuen Lunar! (1997) | Lunar 2 Eternal Blue (1998) | |
Lunar: Sanpo-suru Gakuen (1996) | |
Sampler Discs | |
Lunar: Eternal Blue Hibaihin Auto Demo (1994) | |
Lunar Silver Star Story Hibaihin Auto Demo (1997) | |
Lunar related media | |
Lunar: The Silver Star Koushiki Guide Book (1992) | Lunar: The Silver Star - Lunar no Sekai to Kouryaku Guide (1992) | Lunar: The Silver Star - The Official Strategy Guide (1994) | Lunar I and II Koushiki Settei Shiryoushuu (1995) | Lunar: Eternal Blue - The Official Strategy Guide (1995) | Lunar Silver Star Story Kanzen Kouryaku Guide (1996) | Lunar Silver Star Story Game Guide Book (1997) | Mahou Gakuen Lunar! Koushiki Guide Book (1997) | Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Kanzen Kouryaku Guide (1998) | Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Koushiki Kouryaku Guide Book (1998) |