The Lunar Remastered Collection is GungHo’s effort to bring these cult-classic JRPGs to modern platforms. The goal is to keep the charm of the originals while updating the visuals and adding quality-of-life improvements to meet modern standards. These games are beloved for their memorable characters, deep storytelling, and fun (if slightly dated) gameplay. They’re also known for blending gameplay with smooth animated cutscenes, which makes the world feel more alive.
The collection includes two mainline games from the PS1 era, now on PC and current-gen consoles. The original Lunar: The Silver Star and its sequel, Lunar: Eternal Blue, first launched on Sega CD before getting PS1 and Sega Saturn ports with extra content and upgrades. Over the years, the games saw more re-releases, including a scaled-down GBA version and a PSP update with a new prologue. But this remastered collection sticks to the PS1 versions, skipping the PSP additions.
One cool new feature is the option to play either the original versions or the remastered ones. If you want the classic experience, it’s there—but if you’d rather enjoy the updated look and feel, that’s an easy switch in the menu. The first game follows Alex, a boy who dreams of becoming a Dragonmaster. After hearing rumors of a dragon in a nearby cave, he sets off to investigate. Along the way, he learns his friend Luna is tied to the goddess Althena, and he follows in the footsteps of his childhood hero, Dyne, to awaken the four dragons and fulfill his destiny.
The gameplay is pretty standard, similar to old-school Dragon Quest games. The remastered visuals give the graphics a fresh look, making them easier on the eyes, though some might not like the new filtered style of the sprites. Luckily, you can turn the smoothing effect on or off. The game also includes quick save and load, but the best quality-of-life change for me is the fast-forward feature during battles, especially with the auto-battle system. Let’s be honest—fighting random dungeon enemies gets boring after a while (at least for me), so auto-battling helps skip the grind, and speeding things up makes leveling much less tedious.
Strategy-wise, the remaster lets you tweak your party’s behavior, though it’s pretty basic—you can set them to focus on offense, defense, or a balanced approach. Battles use a front-and-back row system, where tougher fighters take the front while support characters hang back and attack from a distance. There are no random encounters; instead, enemies roam the map and charge at you to start fights.
The spell system is fun, with each character learning elemental magic as they level up. I also enjoyed the dragon trials, which mixed puzzles and combat challenges. The full-motion videos still look great and blend smoothly into the gameplay—there are a lot of them during key story moments. Even though Lunar: The Silver Star’s gameplay feels a bit dated now, its presentation and story hold up well and make it worth playing.
The sequel, Lunar: Eternal Blue, takes place years after The Silver Star. This time, you follow Hiro and Lucia as they battle Zophar, the god of destruction, to prevent the world’s end. I enjoyed this entry’s funnier writing and stronger cast. While it references the first game’s events, the story feels less grand in scale—starting lighthearted but diving into darker themes like immortality and humanity’s extinction. With multiple endings to unlock, there’s good reason to replay it.
Like its predecessor, Eternal Blue uses plenty of full-motion videos during key story moments. The core gameplay stays familiar, but with small upgrades: the auto-battle is now an AI command system, combo attacks are added, and Hiro’s armlet lets him absorb enemies’ elemental powers. The world map is bigger, featuring new travel options like an airship, plus hidden dungeons and side content to explore.
The PC version of the Lunar Remastered Collection is simple but hassle-free—it runs smoothly, even on Steam Deck. While some fans might stick with emulated versions, this official release offers both classic and remastered modes, with better visuals, widescreen support, multiple languages, and new English voice acting. Despite the barebones PC port, these two JRPG classics are worth playing, even if turn-based combat isn’t usually your thing.
Lunar Remastered Collection Game Information
- Price: $49.99
- Publisher: GungHo
- Developer: Game Arts
- Platform: PC (Reviewed)
- Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher
