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Lunar: Silver Star Harmony Hands-On

Lunar gets another remake, but at least it's coming to North America later this year.

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The first Lunar game by Game Arts has gone through several remakes already, but this hard-to-find game will soon be available on the PlayStation Portable with revamped graphics. It was originally supposed to be shown at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, but we were able to get a quick hands-on of the Japanese version at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show.

Who's Making This Game: The game is being developed by Game Arts and will be published in North America by Xseed Games.

What the Game Looks Like: As charming as 16-bit and 32-bit games are, Lunar: Silver Star Harmony will have updated new graphics, making it look similar to the Star Ocean PSP remakes. The backgrounds and characters have been redrawn and look great while still staying true to the original designs. The cutscenes and character portraits retain the anime look, but the background and new in-game character designs stand out the most because of all the detail and shading.

What There Is to Do: You play as the character Alex, who is a young boy that idolizes the legendary dragonmaster Dyne and hopes to become a well-respected adventurer one day. Early in the game, you'll wander to a nearby cave with your friends, Ramus and Luna, as well as your catlike companion Nall. There, you'll be face to face with a wise old dragon named Quark, who sees the potential in Alex and urges him to venture out into the world to become the new dragonmaster.

How the Game Is Played: Our demo at TGS gave us a quick run-through of the cave scene, which gave us an idea of how the game is going to look and play. The game looks similar to the PlayStation version, where enemies can be seen onscreen and battles will start once you've come in contact with them. Like the traditional role-playing games of the past, you'll level, upgrade your gear as you go through the story, and watch sporadic cutscenes.

What They Say: The classic masterpiece has now been reborn on the PSP as Lunar: Silver Star Harmony with all new graphics, added gameplay features, and a remastered soundtrack. A whole new generation of fans can experience this legendary first entry of the Lunar universe while returning fans will be intrigued by the added story elements.

What We Say: We're extremely excited to get our hands on the English version, which is expected to be released later this year. The game looks fantastic from what we've seen. For those who have not played the original Lunar, it was a very special game when it came out in the early '90s. If you're into old-school RPGs, this is definitely one that you shouldn't miss.

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