Lunar: The Silver Star

Description

Lunar: The Silver Star follows Alex, a boy from the quiet town of Burg who dreams of becoming a Dragonmaster like his hero Dyne. Joined by his childhood friend Luna, treasure-hungry pal Ramus, and the flying cat-like creature Nall, Alex’s journey begins as a simple trip to the White Dragon’s cave but quickly escalates into a world-spanning quest to unite the four Dragons, confront the sinister Vile Tribe, and protect the Goddess Althena from a rising threat.

The game’s presentation was a revelation for its time, containing animated cutscenes and voice acting brought key moments to life, rare for early ’90s console RPGs, accompanied by redbook audio delivered a rich, fully orchestrated soundtrack by Noriyuki Iwadare and team.

The mix of anime-style art by Toshiyuki Kubooka and in-game pixel graphics gave it a distinctive, storybook feel. Gameplay is classic top-down JRPG of towns, overworld exploration, and random encounters leading to turn-based battles where character speed determines action order. However, the Mega CD’s storage allowed for more dialogue, richer world-building, and a cinematic pacing uncommon in the era.

Commercially, it became the best-selling Mega-CD title in Japan and garnered a following in the West after Working Designs’ 1993 localisation. Its success spawned a direct sequel (Lunar: Eternal Blue) and multiple remakes. Retrospectively it remains one of the defining CD-era RPGs.