Will Lunar finally see a new installment? It's up to the fans!
It has been more than a decade since Game Arts and Working Designs collaborated to bring gamers Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, and it is still difficult to find another video game that manages to recreate its appeal.
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (and its sequel -- Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete) didn't rely on flashy graphics or advanced gameplay mechanics. In fact, its basic turn-based combat and 16-bit graphics seemed almost archaic in comparison to other popular, role-playing games of the time like Xenogears or Final Fantasy VII.
Regardless, Lunar cultivated a prominent following using three things: its story, its audio and its localization. The story's cast of motley heroes were all uniquely amiable and sympathetic, the voice acting and soundtrack was exceptional and the localization job (performed by the now defunct Working Designs) endowed the script with the sharp, charming wit that made it so memorable and endearing.
It's been almost five years since the last installment in the series, the prologue Lunar: Dragon Song, and now Lunar: The Silver Star is being remade for Sony's PlayStation Portable. With a new title (Lunar: Silver Star Harmony), upgraded graphics, revamped gameplay and much more, Game Arts and publisher XSeed Games are looking to remind RPG fans what a true, role-playing classic looks like.
I had a chance to talk with Masato Dobashi (Producer at Game Arts) and Jimmy Soga (Product Manager at XSeed Games) and ask them a few questions about Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, PlayStation Network, Grandia, punching puppets and, of course, the possibility of Lunar 3 arriving sometime in the near future.
Special thanks to Jimmy Soga, Masato Dobashi, Scott Fry and the tireless team at One PR Studio, XSeed Games and Game Arts.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony launches for PlayStation Portable on March 2, 2010. Be sure to check in later this week for our full review.
A large part of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete's success was due to the localization and voice acting performed by the now defunct Working Designs. Is Lunar: Silver Star Harmony using their script and voice work? Or are they using Working Design's localized script from the Sega CD version? Or is everything completely from scratch?
Jimmy Soga (Product Manager of XSeed Games): As you mentioned, the localization done by Working Designs was a large part of Lunar being so popular in the US so we definitely didn’t want to lose that charm which Lunar brings. For Lunar: Silver Star Harmony we used the Working Designs script as our base and changed some parts where we thought it would make the flow better. We also took out any 90’s pop culture references.
For the voice cast we hired a whole new set of voice actors but we did manage to get the singer, Jennie Stigle, to come back and sing the opening song and the famous boat song.
The graphics have been updated in Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, but what other changes can gamers expect? Will there be any significant changes to the storyline?
JS: In Lunar: SSH, the graphics as well as the music got a total overhaul, with new added story elements and a new battle system. The additional storyline is not something that will change the entire story from Lunar: SSSC but more of an expansion on the parts that were only talked about before. This is now playable to better understand what happened in the past.
The new battle element is a system called Arts Gauge. It’s the same system that was in the DS version and is something like a limit break. Once your party members have a full gauge during battle they will be able to unleash special attacks and/or support magic which will be very useful during boss battles.
Part of Lunar: Silver Star Harmony's appeal will be the nostalgia factor. What steps are being made to ensure this Lunar remains faithful to the Lunar played by fans more than a decade ago? What steps are being made to ensure it stays fresh and accessible to newcomers?
JS: Since the main game is the beloved Lunar: SSSC I think fans will enjoy reminiscing about that great game. However, with new graphics, text touch-up, new voice cast, and the additional story elements, the long time fans as well as the new comers can enjoy the fresh new look of this timeless classic.
It was totally awesome to see Game Arts hasn't forgotten its roots and are making an elaborate collector's editions for Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. Can we expect to see a new line of Lunar boxing puppets being sold as well?
JS: Unfortunately there will be no puppets included in the Limited Edition this time. However for this Limited Edition we will have a completely re-mastered soundtrack CD and 13 actual bromide cards which can be found in the game. The bromide cards are one of the dearest items for Lunar fans and we thought it would be great to make them into actual physical cards for this title.
Are there any plans to bring Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete or Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete to the PlayStation Network store?
Masato Dobashi (Producer at Game Arts): We don’t have any plans as of now. However we do recognize that the demands from the fans are high. There have been so many cases in the past that a project came to life because of the voices of the fans so we’ll see how it goes.
Can we expect to see PlayStation Portable remakes of other Game Arts games like Grandia or Lunar 2: Eternal Blue?
MD: There haven’t been any plans on this either at this time. However we at Game Arts always think of ways to please the fans as a priority.
We haven't heard anything about Lunar 3 since 2001. Are there any plans on finally giving gamers a true sequel instead of a prequel or remakes?
MD: This is undecided at this point as well. Lunar 3, huh? It sure is an attractive idea. I dream about it sometimes but I guess whether it’ll become a reality or not will depend on the fans.
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Comments
I love the Lunar series but I don't own a PSP so I won't be playing Lunar: Silver Star Harmony unfortunately... I hope there is a Lunar 3 though and would buy a PSP for a new Lunar game.
What selits said. I'm tempted to buy a PSP for this, but I already played it for playstation like ten years ago. if it was on PSN, i'd buy it instantly. already bought grandia --give me grandia 2 and lunar, game arts. please?
L2:EBC on PS1 will always be one of (if not the) greatest JRPG's I've ever played, and it'll always hold a very special place in this gamer's little heart. I've wanted a sequel for years, and right when L3 was talked about, that's when Working Designs went under and hopes of L3 were dashed. A sad, sad day.. but I'll gladly be buying my collector's edition copy of SSH and supporting the possibility of Lunar 3 in the future. Developers need to realize just how much demand is out there for gamer's favorite classic games to get reboots/sequels with new hardware.
LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3 LUNAR 3!
GIVE IT TO US, GAME ARTS. PLEASE!?
where is my fav game series ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so many remakes all i want is all the old cast back again that woiuld make me so happy lunar is the best old school ever
@Xandet
Didn't Game Arts and Working Designs part ways earlier? Like Grandia II I think wasn't localized by Working Designs (though it was still badass).
I miss Vic Ireland. He even had an awesome name.
Of course everything depends on the fans!!
And you got insider information...awesome!
some interview. only three questions with the producer and the rest with the product manager. who bothers talking to product managers? they're just PR people
@HAHA 3 questions
Jimmy Soga is THE head guy at XSeed considering the company is made up of like 20 people.
Who else was he supposed to interview instead of the TOP guy at the publisher and the freaking producer at Game Arts?
HAHA 3 questions, maybe you should get your head out of your ass and try to interview someone in Japan. This is like the first interview I've read about Lunar 3 in like five years. And any news is good news.
Go google Jimmy Soga and tell me he's just another PR person there, retard.
Jimmy Soga is just a PR person? God, I hope you don't ever write about video games. Soga is like the go to guy at XSeed. You'd know that if you weren't busy playin with yourself all day.
"depends on the fans" prologues and remakes how inspiring. I think it depends on game arts to keep us interested with something interesting. I love lunar silver star story and eternal blue but, this is the second sss remake and clearly not for the real fans of the originals or even the original remakes.
Talking about fans, were ready and willing to give the next grandia or lunar game a go. However if the plan is to remake old games with slightly better graphics on obscure platforms you might as well close up shop now.
If in 5 years you expect me to buy another lunar remake while making lunar 3 depends on the fans remarks your plainly out of your damn mind.
HAHA 3 questions, you're dumb as hell if you think a Product Manager is just another PR person.
I surely hope that the writer in this article isn't the one responding to all the idiotic comments with more idiotic comments. N4G users are losers, just ignored them.
How lame would that be, right? (Except for now, of course). Blatant flames and trolls means the article was a success -- if no one is hating, that means no one is reading.
Thanks for your feedback!
i stand by my position.
1) heck Jimmy's email is pr@xseedmarketing.com. why bother talking to pr people when you have access to the developer? developers are always more credible than the publishers.
2) the headline is misleading because dobashi's answers only take up a small portion of the "interview". jimmy does not work for game arts
3) the headline is also obvious. practically every game depends on the fans
The franchise died years ago. Get over it. It's not coming back.
ive been wating for lunar 3 awhile. Game Arts.. please let us have it
ive been a fuccin fan since i first brought the game home wen i was 11 i had tha silver story package with tha booklet nd stuff, loved it. nd then eternal blue loved it even more wit tha necklace nd other stuff. then waited for long time for another lunar game but then came tha crappy lunar song for gba. but tha remake of silver story for tha psp was a hit loved every thing about it but still love tha original. wish nd hope for a part 3
its really frustrating that a new final fantasy comes out every year mand while its been 14 years and we still dont have a new, quality version of lunar 3. Game Arts has to realize that they will sell 10x more lunar 3 games, as long as its on a console, then they will sell of any other remake they come out with. SSH isnt going to bring any new fans to the series and old fans like myself arent going to go out and buy the game for the 3rd time especially when they difficulty level has been tuned down. Its going to take more time, energy, and resources to make a whole new game but financially it will be worth it...besides it'll give them a whole new game to make remakes of a few years down the road!
Lunar 3 would be a nice add to the series. But sometimes stories get thrown out of proportion. By the third game, the story most likely wont be as crisp as the original. In Eternal Blue, there was references that fell back to Silver Star and that alone made Eternal Blue good. Im for a Lunar: The Four Heroes game. A game that goes back before Silver Star. A game that shows the whole story of Dyne of the other three heroes. What was the enemy they faced? Zolphar? That would be cool. Then that would even put more meaning into Eternal Blue. Could even have a part in the game when a young kid named Alex actually met Dyne during his adventure but was to young to remember.
@anonymous that would be awesome! Good Idea. I would love for Lunar 3 to have Ghaleon as one of the main characters that you actually get to USE. And Dyne would be sweet. I think the story would be interesting and captivating....one can only hope. I have beaten Silver Star and Eternal Blue about 10 times each lol so i am dying for a new one!
I would do anything for Lunar 3
I played the original lunars on sega cd, and was forever hooked at the opening of silver star. Eternal blue is the greatest game of all time. I own multiple copies of every game, remake, prequel every available strategy guide ever made, and a working console for all of them. Lunar fans are an extreamly loyal bunch and would do anything for lunar 3. I believe saying its up to the fans is a cop out. The fans want it, the demand it, but I don't believe game arts, or anyone can make a new lunar that is up to the standards that we expect of this series. It would at least take re assembley of studio alex, with Yoichi Miyagi, Kei Shigema, Victor Ireland, and I would even say Zach Meston as the driving forces behind it. I believe the series is dead, not because the fans are not behind it, but because game arts is scared.
I have to agree with segacd, It would be hard if not nearly impossible to make a game to compete with Lunar 1 and 2. I have replayed them many times and they are one of them games you can't seem to put down. They flood you with memories of the first time you played them and the voice acting in them is unequaled by any game to date. So if you are saying its up to the fans myself and others have been yelling/begging for Lunar 3 since we completed Lunar 2: Eternal Blue!!!!
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