Bonus Coins 7.5/10

Lunar Silver Star Story Complete along with the Tales series are part of that special genre of rpgs that have comedy as a part of the selling aspect and because of that it makes them my favorite rpgs of all time. Let this statement have you judge my taste in games (done judging?) ok great! Very rarely will a video game remake or update be better than the original take for example the terrible ports and remakes of the original Final Fantasy games on the App store (shudders).

Originally released on the Sega CD on June 16 1992 this was one of the killer games ever to be released on that system. Now fast forward 4 years and we have the Sega Saturn release of the game being released in October 25 1996. Now this is the same game as the PlayStation one I played but with some small changes. 2 years after even that we finally see another port of the title at hand released on May 28 1998 (confused reading this yet? ) Famous for doing English releases California based Working Designs took up the challenge to bring this epic rpg to the masses. With a whopping 50 minutes of added animation created by Gonzo The added content and extra cut scenes help tell the epic story. Known for flashy aesthetics and beautiful art by design Working Designs the PS1 version of the game is more infamous due to the amount of extra goodies that came jam packed including a full cloth map, leather bound art book/strategy guide, and the games music soundtrack.

The story focuses on the love story of two youths that set out to see the world and find their dreams. Alex is a young and courageous young man with hopes of becoming the next Dragon Master. Luna Alex’s childhood friend and our love interest for the game wishes to discover more about herself and find her true calling. Ramus the son of the town mayor has no other desire but to get filthy stinking rich tags along in search of treasure the group might discover. Also Nall a strange flying creature wishes to learn about who and where he comes from. Along the way various other characters will tag along and help create this funny epic adventure. Nash a young student at the academy of magic, Mia a young sorceress and rival to Nash, Jessica a healing priestess and my favorite Kyle our cross dressing, perverted, ale drinking, battle basher with mash for brains warrior class of the group. As the game progresses you become enamored in the progress of the characters which is something a lot of games lack these days. Besides the beautiful music composed by the legendary Noriyuki Iwadare the game design and sprites all merge together to make a nice balance and create a nice experience without anything overpowering the other besides the amazing cut scenes.

Lunar Silver Star Story is a very easy to pick up and play rpg and is perfect for casuals and first timers as the menus gameplay and the over the top level design make the game easy but enjoyable. The magic spells, weapons and armors feel earned and arriving to a new city makes you throw away all that hard earned gold to check for new items. I recommend this game and not the originals or the other games that came after besides the sequel Lunar 2 Eternal Blue which also comes in a fantastic collectors package and looks amazing on the shelf next to each other. All the creative teams involved showed that video game remakes can be done right as long as the original passion for the game remains. In a world where some RPGS try too hard to be serious or when the dialog and story are to epic I’m glad this little gem can shine through as one of the funniest RPGS with a very good simple and heartfelt story. Also Lunar 2 wins because the preorder came with a punching hand puppet. Find a copy of these games and get ready for a nice adventure many modern games cannot replicate.

Bonus Coins 9/10

Ok gamers this month’s game has high meaning to me. Not only was this the first RPG I played growing up but this was the game I played that opened up the world of RPG’s in general. I must have at least 3 save files with about 300 hours logged in from all my play troughs. Released in 1999 by squaresoft this was the company’s second attempt at full 3D scaled worlds. Wow first what a significant improvement in graphics whereas final fantasy 7 looks like utter crap it’s amazing what 2 years does. You start the game after the amazing intro cut scene as you wake up as the games main hero Squall. As a student of Balamb garden you enter the SEED mercenary force meeting characters Zell a young high spirited lad with great hand to hand combat skills, and selphie a clumsy red head. Throughout the game you encounter many other interesting characters with nice personalities while squall battles with an ever changing future.

With a new magic junction system in which you must draw out magic from enemies to boost your characters stats makes its first and last appearance. Many fans of the series do not like this new change which was only used for this game. I think however this was a good way to take of some of the grind traditional RPG’s have. You deal with the assassination of Sorceress Eden who is set to become the new president of Galbadia.You obtain powerful summons in the game known as guardian forces or GF they as very powerful early on but become rather useless after the second disk. You can level up and add skills to them as they each poses magical attributes and effects useful in battle. As you continue on you find out the dark secrets and hidden mysteries of the world. During the play through Squall and company will start to feel dizzy and then pass out giving you control over to another side character Laguna and his friends Ward and Kiros as they show scenes from their old lives in the Galbadian military. Turning them into a cowardly bunch into great heroes and protectors with strong values. The fates of these two groups intersect in the later disks. Final Fantasy 8 goes a little crazy on us with the plot in disk 3 dealing with time paradoxes and shifting of timelines. 

The ultimate enemy in the game is sorceress ultimecia who sets out to obtain absolute power at whatever cost. Squalls love interest with Rinoa a brave and smart young woman who only finds compassion in her heart is the center of the power struggle. Powers develop in Rinoa and by end game her role becomes one that can tip the balance of power. Squalls rival Seifer makes various appearances in the game as both he and Squall try to find just what exactly their purpose is. Both outsiders and without a home their bonds go much further than the school rivalry.

There is so much more I can go into depth in this game but I will not the game is old now with 15 years of great history behind it .You can find many speed runs on YouTube. There have also been ports on the PC and also can be picked up on PSN for extremely cheap which I would do because you can play it on your psp and vita! This game came at a great time for me as I played it when I was in school and didn’t really know where my life would turn I can relate to many of the characters and that’s what makes my bond with this game so strong. This is what the industry is about it doesn’t matter what games you decide to say are good and bad my opinions are no better than yours. However with final fantasy 8 being the 3rd best-selling squaresoft game that just holds on its own. If you enjoy beautiful music a balanced and great cast of characters, old school turn based combat and fun addicting card games (triple triad) you really should give this game a shot. That’s all for now until next month! 

Bonus Coins 9/10

Resident Evil 2 on the PlayStation not only managed to break the minds of weak and scared players like myself growing up but also broke sales records for the resident evil franchise and even sales for the entertainment industry. Selling around 380,000 copies within a 2 week timespan it became the hottest selling title on any system at the time.

Released in 1998 with just a little over 2 years from the release of the original Resident Evil 2 takes place two months after the events of the first game. With the release of the t virus into raccoon city all the citizens have been transformed into the undead. With umbrella corporation looking to clean up the mess and contain the outbreak before reaching media attention. You take control of new 2 characters rookie to the Raccoon police department Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield the sister of Chris Redfield from the first game. The game begins putting you right in the action no small talk and no introductions. As you shuffle and run away from the half dozen undead you see on the screen you know things will not end well. With small ammo pickups and few herbs the player must think a little more creatively and use the tactics of running away in the early stages of the game. I think this is awesome because like in any zombie movie only fools stick around and fight the masses of the undead. As you progress you will find various other weapons including the always beautiful and usually 1 hit killer shotgun. Puzzles in this game are a bit easier to understand and get less in the way than in other installments usually requiring the player to find a key or crank to continue. Boss battles are few but are done very well and I actually think this game doesn’t really need any big boss style battles to give it success so it’s a nice surprise when you encounter one. The controls just like any of the original Resident Evil games are like a tank this is one thing that many old games from the time suffer and makes playing them again the true nightmare.

What makes Resident Evil 2 the best in many peoples opinion is the fact that everything blends together to create an experience for the eyes and ears. Shinji Mikami the producer decided to scrap the game and start from scratch with it being over 60 percent in completion. This lead to a redesign and removal of a character and added more storytelling elements and plot to add future titles later. This move ended up being the correct one as there have been various other titles including Resident Evil operation raccoon city showcasing the umbrella special forces as they try to retrieve samples of the G virus. Resident evil 3 Nemesis also takes place during the events of 2 as you play as Jill Valentine from the first game. With various enemies introduced from the first game I think one of the creepiest enemies would have to be the now famous lickers. Able to run fast absorb handgun ammo like candy and do a 1 hit kill if heath is low this makes them dangerous in the game.

Resident Evil 2 is going to be receiving a remake that will release within the next few years. I for one am excited but also remember that nothing can be better than the originals with the exception of Terminator 2 Judgement Day because epic awesome!  Go out get a copy play this game on a dark creepy foggy night and get ready to enter the world of survival horror again.