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The ''Lunar'' games, made by , was also remade for the Sega Saturn but has seen no North America release in any form. Backed by publisher Ubisoft, Game Arts created a new ''Lunar'' installment for the Nintendo DS , released in September 2005 in North America. The ''Lunar'' series are noted for its high level of NPC interaction, well composed music, and excellent characterisation of the main protagonists. Much of the flavour of the English language versions of ''Lunar'' series games (the sense of humor, bubbly character voices, etc.) is thanks to the colourful translation job done by Working Designs . SERIES OVERVIEW Lunar: The Silver Star See Also: Lunar: The Silver Star Released in Japan in June 1992 and later in North America the following year in December 1993, ''Lunar: The Silver Star'' was Game Arts ' first true console RPG . Utilizing the Mega CD 's graphic capabilities, the game made use of animated cutscenes placed at specific points in the story. This would later become a trademark of the series. This is the first game to tell the story of Alex, a boy who longs to become a Dragonmaster, servant of the Goddess Althena , and champion of justice. Lunar: Eternal Blue See Also: Lunar: Eternal Blue Game Arts' second game in the series was also released for the Mega CD in Japan in December 1994 and the . Lunar: Walking School See Also: Lunar: Walking School This game was only released in Japan for the Sega Game Gear in March 1995. Though it deviates from the play style of the first two games (mostly due to the limitations of the Game Gear hardware), it takes place in the same world, and even though it was released after ''Lunar: The Silver Star'', it takes places hundreds of years before it. In this game, the hero is a girl named Ellie who must solve the mystery of a magic school while stopping the resurrection of a great evil presence known only as "D". Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete See Also: Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete A further enhancement of ''Lunar: Silver Star Story'' initially released for the Sega Saturn in Japan in July 1997 but later ported to the PlayStation in both Japan (May 1998) and North America (May 1999). This version benefited from not only having improved animated scenes, but also had new music composed by Two Five . The American release was renowned for its elaborate packaging. It was later followed by a PC Port in both Japan (1998) and Korea (1999). Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete See Also: Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete Just as the original Lunar benefited from being remade on a new console, so did Lunar 2. Originally released for the Sega Saturn in July 1998 in Japan (Still under the original title ''Lunar: Eternal Blue''), as well as a Playstation port in Japan in the Summer of 1999 and America in December 2000, ''Eternal Blue'' had its graphics, sound, and animation revamped. The American released was given gracious special packaging courtesy of Working Designs. Magic School Lunar! See Also: Magic School Lunar! A remake of ''Lunar: Walking School'' released solely for the Sega Saturn in Japan in October 1997. Once again, the graphics and sound were upgraded, and the battle sequences were made to resemble the rest of the series. New animated scenes were also added where there had previously been none. Lunar Legend See Also: Lunar Legend A re-telling of the story of the first Lunar for the Game Boy Advance released in April 2001 in Japan and in North America the following December. It was the first game to not be published by Working Designs, and was instead handled by Ubisoft , which would explain its unique translation. Though many elements of ''Silver Star Story Complete'' are present, it adds in its own plot points while deleting others. Lunar: Dragon Song See Also: Lunar: Dragon Song Known as ''Lunar: Genesis'' when it was released in Japan in August 2005, ''Lunar: Dragon Song'', released in America the following September, is the first original Lunar game in nearly a decade. It also has the distinction of being the very first traditional Role-playing Game for the Nintendo DS . The story takes place 1000 years before ''Lunar: The Silver Star'' making it the earliest game in the series chronologically. LUNAR 3 Since the release of the enhanced remakes of ''Lunar: Silver Star Story'' and ''Lunar 2: Eternal Blue'', rumors have come and gone concerning the development of a game known only as ''Lunar 3''. In a 1998 interview with Victor Ireland, president of Working Designs, he stated that Lunar 3 was "in development" and scheduled for release (at least in the US) for PlayStation 2 . However, several delays later, no such game was ever revealed by Game Arts or Entertainment Software Publishing , the Japanese publisher of the series. It has been speculated that an english version ''Magic School Lunar!'' would be called "Lunar 3", but this has been proven false as well. REFERENCES |
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