Lunar Silver Star Story Comparison | Sega CD vs Saturn vs PS1 vs GBA vs PSP | Port vs Port 

Sega CD Lunar is amazing. There was nothing really like it at the time.

if you actually just want to get to actual comparisons of the ports it starts at 6:00 ish

Almost 5 years late to comment, but only the PS1 and some later versions had on-screen enemies you could avoid. The original Sega CD games were random encounters. Also it wasn't mentioned that the Sega CD version has a drastically different story than all of the ports/remakes. One of your characters permanently leaves the party at a very early stage in the game.

I actually only played the GBA version...now that I've discovered the other versions I'm like man I missed out...but I love the GBA version so much!

Lunar is an AMAZING game. I grew up on the Sega CD & later the PS version. Still always preferred the Sega CD version, it's lower quality in terms of technical stuff but that's part of the charm IMO

Still can't fathom how excellent the Sega CD music score was. Thanks for this vid!

this video was insanely interesting. My first Lunar game was the GBA version and i loved it. I never knew it was a port until i found the PS1 version in college. I remember not really liking it on the PS1, prefering the art style of the GBA funny enough. Even funnier is the fact that the game recently popped into my head, so i was describing it to a friend from work, and he looked it up. Thank to that, i learned about the PSP port that im gonna be playing later today and am very excited for.

Love the idea and thank you for making this! I notice in a lot of your videos you tend to focus a lot on the graphics and sound and not so much the content differences. Going forward I'd like to learn more about the content differences when you compare ports

Very cool video. I loved the PS1 port the most. I never played it when it came out (i was 2 when it was released in the U.S.) played it in 2016 for the first time and i was amazed at just how well it has aged. Still a great title.

What a great video! I love comparisons like this of games that have multiple ports.

Take a drink everytime he says "actually." I will make every attempt to attend the funeral.

I played the GBA, IOS and PSP versions. My biggest gripe with the PSP version is that it had long loading screens between each map transition. Not only that, it also stopped the music as you go through the transition, only for it restart when you've entered a new screen. This problem is really jarring if you had to transverse through multiple map transitions (e.g Kyle's fortress). If it wasn't for that issue, I would think the PSP version would be the definitive version.

One of the best games I've ever played. I played the Sega CD version. It was amazing for the time.

Thank you Kelphelp for an excellent video.

I'm a HUGE Lunar fan! Just finished the game yesterday for the 2nd time in 17 years. I'll be putting my game play on youtube this weekend to document my most excellent victory. I didn't know there was a GBA and PSP version though so I'm very excited. Thx for the vid!

The Lunar plot was so good because they had a novelist help with the story (but I don't know the exact details).

this is an excellent comparison ty

I’d love if someone did a re-translation of the Saturn MPEG edition, as the FMVs are even higher quality than the PS1 version (Low Score Boy has some videos talking about the Saturn and how it works). The Saturn version has more frames of animation because it’s actually more powerful than the PS1, due to having 2 video processors. I wish there was some furigana above the Kanji, so it would be easier to read. It would help if you used RGB Scart for the PS1 and Saturn so you can get the best video output (check out My Life in Gaming’s Chanel for more info).

Kudos for this. I play on PS1 and try to find comparison with GBA, boy I got more than I wanted. Kudos once again

I'm still trying to find a comparison between the Saturn MPEG version and the PS1 version. Apparently the MPEG version looks and sounds better, but by how much? Is it objectively better? Also, I find it funny that the "high quality CD audio" in the early versions is some pretty generic MIDI soundfont outside of the intro.

I own all versions of the game, minus the Mpeg Saturn version, and I think they all have their own pluses and minuses. I like how Legends and Harmony both have the Ramus sprite with brown hair to match his portrait, whereas the older ones have him with blue hair.

Great comparison, thanks man. One thing: You say "actually" a ton, not sure you notice that

Lunar and Lunar 2 didn't get the attention I feel they deserved. They're truly hidden gems. Plus when Luna summons Althena's Fortress it kickstarted my road on puberty.

Informative is the word. You're welcome. Nice video btw good game

Funny enough, my only experience with Lunar was the GBA version and I loved it to death. I probably beat that game 5 or 6 times. Looking forward to playing the better versions!

Hearing that “Alex, Oh Alex” for Sega cd, thank you! Total nostalgia happiness hit me.

Could you do a video like this again but on lunar 2? As this video is really good in explaining everything and giving a final thought on what you might like

"Nash is supposed to come in 5 hours later". Lol, what? Did it take you 5 hours to finish the cave, go to the forest to get the axe and go to Saith? What were you doing that whole time? o_O

I love Lunar so much I appreciate each version for different reasons. I prefer the Sega CD overall as it was the original and ground breaking for the time. I think it holds up well against a lot of the SNES greats of the time, but never got the recognition because it was on a Sega peripheral that not many people had. The PS1 version finally made the game available to the masses albeit much later. To be honest I even like the GBA version for a nice light, portable version that you can pull out and play in short bursts. The PSP version is ok...the graphical overhaul is nice and the sound is good but it's a loadfest. Good video guys. Thanks.

I actually bought my PlayStation because I loved Lunar on Sega CD and heard that it was ported over. I LOVED the packaging including the cloth map it came with. I swear in the original you could not see the enemies when walking around though. I thought it was random and I didn't like that in the PSOne version.

The PSP version has a brand new prologue not epilogue. Though I haven't beaten the game yet so perhaps it could have one in then end?

Love the Lunar series, just started lets play on my channel of Silver Star Harmony to complete a 20 year journey!

I didn't know the gba version was a downgrade port as that is the first and only Lunar I played. This explains why I could never find any video's of the game I remember. Personally I preferred the more cartoonish and expressive sprites of the GBA title. I would also say I prefer the map as it is the GBA, if there are no battles or hidden dungeon walkable map is excess data you don't need.

The Sega CD version of Lunar The Silver Star, (and its sequel Eternal Blue), is the best in my opinion because it was the original version and made it worth having a Sega CD.

What do you guys think, should i play it for sega cd or ps1 for the first playthrough?

What an awesome video. Impressive. New sub!

just from this video I would say I prefer the Sega CD version based on the music alone. To me the PS1/Saturn ports both sound cheesy compared to it.

If your going to compare these versions. You should indicate some of the flaws in the psp port as well and changes specifically that people will want to know, such as a reduced script, easier dungeons and gamplay mechanics and probably perhaps one of the largest difference is no over world. Other wise good job.

Nice one mate 👍🏻

The intro for the Sega CD version was better than the rest

Great video, sub earned

THe first one I started with is Lunar SSSC on the PS1. My first playthrough must have been 65 hours total. I went through withdrawl when it was all over lol. Only because the dialogue and characters just really grew on me. I dont think the first sega CD games aged as well, other than the great soundtracks. Id go with the Playstation one versions for best content. Its the music that really makes this series in general and Id hate for it to be forgotten, there must be a way to get all these games as a complilation or someting on Steam or somewhere. Due to circumstances I dont think we will see a Lunar 3. I think it may be up to the fans to make the game that they want, this franchise deserved more than to let it sit in limbo as it has. At least a remake for EBC since the other one has had enough already.

Ty for making this video! I might have missed it, but I'm trying to figure out if there is an official 2-disc version that was released for the PS1 port. I'm seeing that there is a 4-disc one and a 2-disc one, but I'm just trying to make sure I'm not getting scammed when buying the 2-disc version.

wow I had no idea the sega cd and saturn and ps1 versions of the game were so different from the GBA version. I have only ever played the GBA version, and I loved it, though I do remember it being short. Im convinced I have to replay one of the other ports of the game now. I saw that its available on the google app store for my phone. is that version any good?

Outstanding

hooo those discord notif sounds messed me up

Sega CD version for me. Prefer the music too but it was the 1st version I played. Although the cutscenes and sound may not be impressive by todays standards, at the time my mind was blown. There was nothing like it at the time and cd gaming had just came out

does FMV look better on the saturn than the ps1 with the mpeg card?

I like the Sega CD version the most, especially its soundtrack.

I’ve played the PSP version during my final school year back in 2010. Loved the heck out of it. I’d recommend this one. Too bad they didn’t make a remake of the second game.

I played this game over 20 years ago on ps1. But i want to re play for a refresher. Are there spoilers in this vid?

having seen this now, im kinda sad i started off on the GBA version. Makes me want to play the first few versions before playing the PSP version

The sega cd version was my first rpg. Rented it based off the box art. Ended up buying it that weekend before returning the rental. So to me itll always be my favorite rpg and story. Never played the saturn or gba ports.

So Lunar Legend on the GBA is just a port of Silver Star Story and not it's own stand alone entry in the series?

There's a pretty good English translation for the Saturn version of the game currently, so you get the best of both worlds with the Japanese voice acting and English text. They are apparently even working on adding subtitles to the cutscenes. My personal favourite version of the game though is the PSP version. A lot of my friends complain about the lack of an overworld but to me it was just there to pad out the play time rather than adding anything to the story.

Years later I want to plug the Apple version, which now works on - iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Mac, with iCloud save and sync. As a Mac and iPhone owner, I can play on my desktop but also take it on the go and resume where I left off. When the game came out in 2012 (the iOS port), it wasn't very good. But the developer has been supporting it a lot, the most recent update was yesterday (June 2023, for those reading this in the future). The main thing is the options and the way they've tied the game together. The storyline is taken from Silver Star Story Complete (Saturn/PS1). However, the FMV and voice acting are the higher quality versions from Harmony (PSP). Visuals are based on the Saturn, with the PS1's transparencies added. You can choose between Saturn (low-res), a high-res option that maintains the original charm but looks cleaner, and a wide-screen (16:9) version of the latter. It looks stunning. The Saturn famously had higher quality audio than the PS1 version (the latter used MIDI synth which is why it fell off, the same blunder used in the original PC port of FF7). You can choose between 32-bit (Saturn) or 64-bit (PSP) audio. They have a difficulty setting, choosing between easy (Saturn) or harder (PS1). Working Design was famous for making the localized release more grindy, so this is a way around that. You can select the classic Sega CD UI or an upscaled UI. And for the Japanese purists, for the first time you can switch between English and Japanese voice overs. There are more settings I'm missing, but to me this has become the definitive version. With the recent flurry of updates, I think they're gearing up to port this to other platforms. In the meantime, Apple users have an amazing exclusive in terms of gaming, something you really can't say too often. The same company that ported Lunar to iOS also ported Vay (Sega CD). They are the only two games from the developer. They lost their web domain and, if it weren't for the constant updates to Lunar, you'd think these guys went out of business awhile back.

When he was saying that the saturn version is superior. I couldn’t tell the difference at all. This is likely one of those moments where they need to be side by side.

I know I'm 5 years late, but I'm glad this video slid into my recommended list. Great video on one of my favorite rpg series. My personal favorite version is the sega cd, but I'd say the best one is ps1. The sega cd version is the 2nd rpg I ever played and it blew my 10 year old mind at the time.

Hey,is there a way to change the PSP version to Japanese voices instead of English?

The best version was the Sega CD version. The Playstation version (Saturn version, I guess, according to this video) had better graphics, but butchered the dungeons and the world map, and completely rewrote the dialogue. It was drastically different. The world was nowhere near as big, the dungeons and world map were all reduced in size.

I only played and owned the PS1 version, bought the collector's edition back in the day, but I gotta say, I love the music from the Sega CD version, if you could take that and put it over the Saturn version, perfection!

Thanks for the comparison video. For me personally the psp version is my choice, which is fitting since I've only owned that version, but have played through it probably at least 3 times already. I really enjoy it, a shame the 2nd game wasn't also put on the psp though. I never had a Sega CD, or a Saturn, but I did have a Playstation. I was just into different games back then like die hard, tomb raider, resident evil, etc. I didn't get into rpg titles until I played chrono trigger on Playstation, then final fantasy games. Lunar was a bit out of my price range when I did get interested, so I unfortunately had to pass on that and other great Playstation rpg games. By the time I could afford it I was already into Dreamcast and Playstation 2 games.

Are there any other RPGs that have been remade three times? How many games have been remade three times?

I didn't like how they handled the music in the PSP version. Specially the Battle Theme and Mysterious Cave, these sound like ''discount versions'' of the arranged tracks from Lunatic Festa.

I have a strange sort of complaint about professional voice acting, even though its "better quality" it also feels more phoned in/generic in part as due to their experience etc you expect a higher quality performance plus you can often tell an actor from their voice as they rarely change from one voice with a slight accent change and many times a budget team of non professionals feels like the effort and love is there.

Sega CD is superior version ..easy.. hands down.

Honestly, if they were to combine the Sega CD version and the PSP version it would be the most definitive version

I thought you guys would talk about differences made in the story between the versions, such as how Luna stayed behind in the original Sega CD version, but stays with the group in subsequent versions (until she gets abducted).

Amazing work, thanks a lot

Maybe if sega usa let rpgs come out here we would still have them around

Currently playing Lunar PS1 version on my modded PS1 classic and will play the Sega CD version of Lunar 2 after.

Personally, having played the GBA as a kid and the PSP version a few years ago. I feel as though the PSP version is the best version of the game.

For me the PS1 version is the definitive one. If the Saturn MPEG version was ever brought here I might weigh the pros and cons, but I can't read Japanese. The PSP version has its strong points, and I love the new lyrics for the songs, but something about the visual design makes the environments feel very small, and some of the voices actually don't hit right for me. Better acting, but worse casting choices, at least in a few cases.

Would you guys say the complete for saturn is the superior version?

I only ever played Lunar 2 Eternal Blue, and on the Playstation at that. One of my favorite gaming memories.

Suh-weeet video bro!

This is exactly the video I was looking for, even in 2022. Thanks guys! And you actually say actually as much as I actually do! Much love~ :D

Only ever played the GBA version. Don't remember a blasted thing about it either, lol. If I ever do look into this again I think it would be the PSP version.

I like the ps1 version the best. Respect to the sega M though.I just beat this yesterday. It’s seriously one of the best stories! This is in 2022 too!

I grew up with the Sega CD version and it's still one of my all time favorites of any console generation. However, I just picked up a PSP version and started playing it the other day. It was so different and fresh I had to boot up my Sega CD version to compare. I'm enjoying the PSP version as it feels like completely new. But the Sega CD version is near and dear to me. :)

Noone addresses the narrative differences. Oh Sega CD Luna never left on the adventure. She stayed behind until it was too late. PSP Nash joins early and has even more ulterior motives. The narratives between the versions are substantial. I wish there was a video that broke down the plot differences

BEST ENDING SEGMENT EVER

lunar silver star could be on a graphing calculator and still be an amazing game

I just realized that I played the GBA version. Totally forgot about it, but not looking at it i remember the charcter sprites

I love Eternal Blue. The main character Hiro looks like an older version of Alex.

Played the GBA version first and loved it, even though it felt minimal. Played the PSP version second and really enjoyed it, but didn't love the character design. Playing the PS1 version and I really like it, maybe my favorite version. Felt like a good full story, love the sprites and the fmvs.

Where is the sega cd version?

As for my opinions. I'll admit, I did not grow up with any of these games, so I have no nostalgic attachment to any of the games. If I had to chose which ports I like the most, I have to give it to the handheld versions, as in the PSP and the GBA versions. The PSP version for the better graphics, sounds, voice acting, added story elements, and the smoother gameplay. And the GBA version for being one of the better RPG GBA ports, and is still impressive despite many exclusions made. And I gotta say, despite it not having any animated cutscenes, the animations for the sprites more than make up for it, and they still have show the character's personalities in a decent way during the cutscene's. If the game needed to make changes so that it could fit on the hardware, I'd say this was the right call. What wasn't the right call however, was the music and sound effects. The amazing soundtrack from the other ports is pretty much butchered and crumbled into pieces in the worst way possible. One of my least favorite aspects about the GBA was that it was a 32 bit console, using 8 bit sound effects. As much as I love the system, it really didn't do the music justice. But still, for a port that I can take with me and play in short bursts, it does it's job well enough. But the PSP version, in my opinion, is the superior port. I already gave reasons why, so I won't go over those again, but I will address something here. The voice acting. I think the voice acting is much better than both the original and PS1 versions. I really am not a fan of the original voice acting since it was made during an era when video game voice acting was notoriously bad. Granted it does have it's charm, but the redub was very welcome, meaning I can enjoy the story with much better performances with actors I really enjoy. I think the only reason why so many people prefer the original voice acting is mainly due to nostalgia bias, and/or finding the bad voice acting really charming in a so bad it's good kind of way, which honestly bothers me. It's like when the PSP version of Castlevania Symphony of the Night was given a completely new English dub with a new script and given actual voice actors. Now granted, I did like the original voice actors of the original PS1 version, and Robert Belgrade is definitely my preferred voice for Alucard, but I did enjoy Yuri Lowenthaul's take on the character, and the other performances were good all around. It's sort of a Godzilla dub situation, where allot of people prefer the bad dubs made for the Showa series, but criticized Funimation's dub of Shin Godzilla because it was "too good", and wanted the dub to be bad so they could make fun of it. Basically, I prefer the redub on the PSP port of the game more than the original, and the PSP version is my overall preferred way to play the game.

I actually really enjoy the working design voice acting part of the reason I hate the PSP port it's because of the voice acting

The Sega CD version has some crude humor, and seems to be geared more towards adults. I originally played the psx version and quickly realized that lunar wasn't gonna stick around, it seemed to have only one shipment of games and the used market only saw one copy at each store. Talk about rare. Pick this game up even if it's beat up. I sold my original lunar copies to a friend who still has them ! And it was amazing seeing all the original content. No wonder I bought this over anything else back then !

Which port is for me? The mobile version, because I don’t have $200 to spend on a video game. Besides, it has controller support, so I don’t have to use the clunky touch UI. I get the feeling this port was “beneath you”, but you should have called it out for folks on a budget. Enjoyed the video regardless. Thanks!

Ha, i played the gba version. I remember going into gamestop and someone raving about this game. Good times

I want Harmony so bad! It looks amazing!

I loved the Sega CD version. I played the shit out of it. I am disappointed with 1 thing of the PS one version. The world map exploring for the PS One version is disappointing.

Akira Ishida is also involved in a couple of Hentai. Same here: I can read Japanese, but I'm slowly learning to read Kanji. I never understood why Eternal Blue never got a second Remake.

i've never played this series bc i always thought it wouldn't interest me and the sheer ammount of versions confused me, so this was a nice video to see, maybe i'll give this series a chance (because i played a little bit of the ps1 and gba ones and did NOT like them.)

I actually took the music from saturn edition and put it in the sega cd edition its actually a nice mix.

Lunar Sega CD my favorite game of all time. I have to play the PS1 one day. I do have it working perfect on an emulator. Subscribed. Anyone talking about Lunar deserves a subscription.

Always a fan of the Sega CD original. PS1 was cool but it disappointed me by getting rid of random battles. The enemies on the map thing just always felt lame to me. I played the PSP version recently after hearing good things.. it's not really bad but the dungeons seem really compressed and the overworld is basically gone. The art style drawn at a weird angle really took some getting used to too. It was good to see it in a new way, but the Sega CD is still the way to go. Glad the PS remakes are there too since it probably got a lot more eyes on the series. I got Lunar sort of randomly. I'd never heard of it before but had a Sega CD and a girl at a used game shop was helping me while I was trying out Sega CD games. She asks if I happen to like RPGs, and I said yes. She went off somewhere and came back with Lunar.. I bought it quickly, and my Final Fantasy playing Nintendo friends (I was one too!) we're jealous of this awesome Sega CD rpg..

I had a friend growing up that had the special edition of the PS version. The box and art on it looked so amazing and I wanted to play it so bad, but he would never let me borrow it since the definitive edition was "so expensive" and he was worried I would break it or something. I had to wait until I was old enough to buy it myself to play it. Part of me never forgave him for not letting me experience this game sooner lol