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If you were a Sega CD owner back in the day, you would have spent a lot of money on an add-on that didn't seem to get much respect. Nevertheless, you could weather all of the jokes about FMV games and barely-enhanced Genesis ports because you were privy to a well-kept secret: the JRPGs were great. The Lunar games were every RPG-loving Sega CD owner's dream, should they have been lucky enough to get their hands on them, and now we can see why with the Lunar Remastered Collection with the first two games.

However, it's a bit of a miracle they exist. The PlayStation remakes of those two Lunar games put them in front of a much wider audience. Things were looking golden for the series, but for whatever reason things faltered. Developer Game Arts moved on to the Grandia series, Western publisher Working Designs shut down after a few bad bounces, and it seemed like every attempt to get Lunar going again met with misfortune. Even getting the existing JRPGs reissued proved to be difficult due to some complications with the rights. The first Lunar game has popped its head up now and then over the years, such as with a PSP remake titled Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. The PlayStation remake was ported to mobile devices. The sequel Lunar: Eternal Blue has not appeared again since Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete on the PlayStation. That was almost a quarter of a century ago.

With that in mind, the mere existence of Lunar Remastered Collection is worth celebrating. For whatever nits I may have to pick, and I have a few, just having Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete widely available on your platform of choice is great. These remakes already included a bunch of improvements to the originals, and they hold up extremely well. This collection makes a couple of excellent quality of life improvements that you are free to use or ignore. The presentation has also been put through the remastering process, but this too is all optional.

One major new feature is the ability to speed up battles. There are three settings, and you will likely never want to stay at the original speed. Lunar's battles were always rather slow to play out, so this speed setting is a godsend. The other cool addition is a more flexible inventory system. You don't have to have items in a character's personal inventory to use them in battles anymore. There are various graphical settings you can tweak as well, and you can play either game with remastered widescreen visuals or in the classic 4:3 style with crisp pixels. Saves carry over, so you can swap between the versions as you like.

Indeed, the only change that isn't optional here is the English voice acting. The original cast's work isn't included for either game, presumably due to rights issues. Instead, we get a completely new set of voice actors. They all do a generally good job, though I would be lying if I said I didn't miss some of the more iconic performances like John Truitt's Ghaleon. Since the games mainly use the original Working Designs localizations, the actors are stuck with the lines as originally written. It sometimes sounds awkward. If it bothers you too much, you can always switch over to Japanese voices.

The JRPGs themselves are both awesome, especially considering the context. I personally prefer Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete to the first game, but you should play both. The plots and characters of both games are so far ahead of most of their contemporaries that they still come off well a decades later. The pacing of both games is brisk, and the battles are satisfyingly challenging. Some of the gameplay mechanics play it safe, but everything is done to a high enough level of quality that it's hard to complain.

I would have liked more granular options similar to those in the mobile version of Lunar. The difficulty of these games varies wildly by the version, and it would be nice to be able to tweak that like you can on mobile. Since these games use the PlayStation versions as their base, the shimmering issue they have persists here. Some aspects of the localization also feel dated, mostly due to Working Designs' penchant for pop culture references.

Even with some flaws, Lunar Remastered Collection is a great way to play these two JRPG classics. If you haven't played them before, I strongly recommend doing so. Those who have played them probably don't need me to give them a push. Welcome back, Lunar.

Lunar Remastered Collection will be available on April 18th, 2025 for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam.

The post Review: Lunar Remastered Collection Revives Two Classic JRPGs appeared first on Siliconera.

GungHo announced the release date for Lunar Remastered Collection, the compilation of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete for the Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It will launch on April 18, 2025. People will be able to get it physically and digitally.

Depending on which version you get, the price will be different. All digital copies will be $49.99 (€49.99), regardless of platform. A physical copy costs $5 more, bringing the cost up to $54.99. GungHo noted Amazon will be the only place to get it in the US and Canada. The company didn’t note if there will be any limitations on platforms, though it did note that only Switch and PS4 versions will be available at Clear River Games in Europe for €54.99. Regardless of region, the retail copy covers will feature reversible art.

This is one of many rereleases of the two games. The original Lunar: The Silver Star appeared on the Sega CD first. There were then a number of remakes like Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and PC. That was followed by the GBA remake Lunar Legend and PSP one Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. 

There were fewer remakes of Lunar: Eternal Blue. After the Sega CD release, a Sega Saturn and PlayStation version called Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete debuted. 

The Lunar Remastered Collection release date is April 18, 2025. People can find it on the Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with Switch and PS4 physical copies confirmed. 

The post Lunar Remastered Collection Release Date Set appeared first on Siliconera.

I have a general lack of interest and excitement for Sony's regular State of Play series of showcases going over PlayStation, in particular PS5 and PSVR 2, game announcements. They often pale in comparison to other similar presentations from competitors and, of course, the company's own signature event showcases. However, the recent Tokyo Game Show (TGS 2024) State of Play is the exception, as I believe it is the best one yet.

The core of what makes this TGS 2024 State of Play the best one so far is two-fold. The first is that Sony offered a little bit of something for almost everyone. It felt like a mini-PlayStation Showcase. The State of Play kicked off with a solid intro, revealing free DLC coming to Astro Bot. This is a smooth way to remind players of one of the recent Game of the Year contenders and show some love to those who already beat it.

From there, the State of Play had the right mix of brand new announcements and updates for existing games. New information about and gameplay details for games like Dragon Age: The Veilguard and PS5 version of Palworld were welcome announcements. Then there are reveals of intriguing games like Hell Is Us, the stunning The Midnight Walk, and surprisingly fascinating ArcheAge Chronicles.

If that isn’t enough, we got release dates for titles like Fantasian Neo Dimension, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, and Dynasty Warriors: Origins. If you are a PSVR 2 owner, this State of Play even justified owning the VR headset a bit more. There were significant and welcome announcements of games like Metro Awakening and Hitman: World of Assassination too.

That is all before including the two showstopper headliners. Monster Hunter Wilds looked fantastic yet again in its latest trailer. Fortunately, this State of Play revealed the release date, which is quite soon. But above all else, there is Ghost of Yotei. The final announcement came out of nowhere and was a shocking surprise. Ghost of Tsushima still remains the most stunning game I’ve ever played, and Ghost of Yotei looks to follow up on its predecessor.

No matter what, there was something for everyone in this TGS 2024 State of Play. If you like JRPGs, there’s that. If you like VR, there were some solid options. And if you are looking forward to biggest blockbuster third and first-party hits, that was also here. Sure, not every game appeals to everyone. In fact, only really two new game announcements were for me personally: Ghost of Yotei and Lunar Remastered Collection.

However, the spectacle of the presentation and general lineup all worked so well. Even the games I didn’t care too much about stood out with well-executed trailers. This State of Play is the first of its kind to remind me of the good old days of attending Sony Press Conferences at E3. Plus, it helps that this State of Play was far more interesting and better balanced than any to date.

That said, the competition wasn’t that impressive. The best State of Play before this one, in my opinion, was held in May 2019. It had the right mix of new announcements and re-reveals. The headliners were games like Final Fantasy VII Remake, MediEvil, and Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. Again, all staples that appealed to everyone. Even that particular State of Play wasn’t that substantial or long. And to make matters worse, most of the State of Plays since then have been significantly worse.

Fortunately, this most recent TGS 2024 State of Play changed all that. It feels like a mini-PlayStation Showcase with something for just about everyone. I just hope Sony is able to keep up this level of quality and announcements with the next one.

Tokyo Game Show 2024 is running from September 26-29, 2024. The TGS 2024 State of Play aired on September 24, 2024.

The post 2024 Tokyo Game Show State of Play Is the Best One Yet appeared first on Siliconera.

During the September 24, 2024 Sony State of Play event, it was revealed that an early PlayStation JRPG will be getting an enhanced visual rerelease. Fans of classic turn-based JRPG titles will get a chance to see both of the PlayStation Lunar series entries updated visually and enhanced for modern hardware.

The Lunar Remastered Collection features the remasters of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete in a single package. The enhancement includes updated visuals, a widescreen mode and standard resolution, and other features to be detailed in the future.

You can take a look at the announcement trailer here:

This is the first time the Lunar duology has been seen worldwide since the ports of the original appeared on PlayStation Network in 2015. These two games are classic fantasy JRPGs who, in their Complete versions, received expansive character writing updates and enhancements to the stories. Players who are fond of the fantasy JRPG style will now have a chance to play both games for the first time in nearly ten years.

This along with many other announcements, were main events to the State of Play event, including new looks at Monster Hunter Wilds, and a release date for the updated remaster for Fantasian, Fantasian: Neo Dimension

Lunar Remastered Collection will release on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in Spring of 2025.

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