Lunar: Dragon Song

Lunar: Dragon Song is an entry in the long-running Japanese RPG series Lunar that wasn't made as a remake or a sequel to the classic Silver Star or Eternal Blue stories, but as a brand-new, standalone story set in a different part of Lunar's world. The player follows the young hero Jian, who along with a party of companions tries to stop a dark threat endangering the world – in both theme and structure, the game stays true to the romantic, character-focused stories the Lunar series is known for.

Unlike the older entries, which came out on consoles and handhelds with a turn-based combat system, Dragon Song shifts on the Nintendo DS to combat that plays out in real time within a confined arena, where the player controls the character's movement directly with the D-pad. This change was received with mixed feelings among series fans – the game plays markedly differently from the previous turn-based entries and relies more on quick decision-making than on tactical turn planning.

Studio GameArts, which has been behind the Lunar series since its very first game in 1992, tackled the Nintendo DS's two screens for the first time with Dragon Song, but unlike the older entries, reactions from both players and reviewers were mixed – many fans missed the emphasis on well-thought-out tactics the previous Lunar games were known for. Dragon Song thus remains more of a minor side branch of the series than a representative entry. The move to handheld also brought smaller changes outside of combat – part of the menus and spells are controlled with the stylus on the bottom screen, another unusual element for a series that had until then been tied purely to button-based controls.

Why play: The game makes sense for Lunar fans who want to see what its first handheld outing with a different combat system looks like, as well as for Nintendo DS JRPG collectors looking for a less common title. Anyone expecting a continuation of the classic Silver Star or Eternal Blue stories should keep in mind that this is a standalone side story, not a follow-up to the older entries.

Why play: For Lunar fans curious about the series' first handheld outing, as well as collectors of unusual DS JRPGs, it makes sense, but anyone expecting a continuation of Silver Star or Eternal Blue will find only a standalone side story here.