Lunar: Silver Star Harmony

Lunar: Silver Star Harmony is another retelling of the story of Alex, a young adventurer who, together with his cat-like companion Nall, sets out to fulfill his dream of becoming a Dragonmaster and gradually discovers that his fate is bound to that of the entire world of Lunar. The core story is based on the original 1992 game Lunar: The Silver Star and its remake Silver Star Story Complete, but Harmony for the PlayStation Portable goes further with its changes than any previous version.

Compared to the older remake, Harmony adds new animated sequences, a completely reworked English dub, an adjusted combat balancing system, and several minor story scenes and side quests that were missing from previous versions. The graphics run at the PSP display's higher resolution, and the soundtrack was partly re-recorded, so even players who know Silver Star Story Complete by heart will notice tangible differences in both pacing and content. This makes it the most extensive and up-to-date version of the classic story within the whole series.

By 2009, the Silver Star story had already gone through several incarnations — from the original on the Sega CD, through the Silver Star Story Complete reworking on PlayStation and Saturn, to this portable version for the PSP. Harmony thus also serves as a summary of how GameArts kept returning to its best-known story, expanding it a little further with each version. The English script for this version was newly prepared by studio Xseed Games, which took a more faithful translation approach rather than the older, much more loosely adapted dub players were used to from earlier localizations of the series — as a result, the game's tone shifted somewhat toward a more serious feel compared to older releases.

Why play: An ideal choice for players who want to experience the classic Silver Star story in its most complete form, with modern dubbing and on the go on the PSP. Fans who know the game from older versions will appreciate the new scenes and adjusted combat as a reason to return to the story again.

Why play it: For players who want to experience the classic Silver Star story in its most complete form, with modern dubbing and on the go on the PSP, this is an ideal choice; fans of the older versions will appreciate it too, thanks to the new scenes and adjusted combat.