Lunar: Genesis First Impressions

Post by **GhaleonOne** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 4:40 am

Hello everyone; I'm taking a break from playing Lunar: Genesis right now to give a few of my initial impressions regarding the game. This isn't a full review (that'll be once I complete the entire game), but a review of the game thus far.
 
 For now, the review will be here as a news item. Soon it will be moved to the Meribian Times section and replaced by an appropriate link below. But for the time being, here it is. KF
 
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 Lunar: Genesis - First Impressions
 
 I'm about five hours into Lunar: Genesis (Lunar: Dragon Song in the United States) and I can say I definitely do enjoy it. Here I'll list my initial impressions on various aspects of the game. Once I complete it, I'll post a full review with my overall reactions; but for now, I'm sure folks are eager to hear how the game is (particularly from a reviewer that understands what's going on in the game, but that's another point).
 
 This review is subdivided into seven sections: Story, Atmosphere, Music, Graphics, Gameplay, Miscellaneous, and Overall Impression. If you don't want to read through it all, just skip to the end at Overall Impression. Since these are initial impressions, and not an overall review yet, I've avoided giving numerical scores.
 
 1) Story: Very Good
 
 The storyline thus far seems to be shaping up nicely. I've completed going through the Delri Temple* and am on my way to Healriz. One of my favourite aspects of the original TSS was how the story began very personal, allowing you to familiarize yourself with the characters before thrusting you into a save-the-world scenario. Lunar: Genesis does likewise: you begin as a courier, delivering a package to a neighboring town. The story unfolds from there, and the adventure begins.
 
 So far, it's also not confiningly linear. There are occasions where it's necessary to backtrack and explore, and the courier jobs you do through Gad's Express make for good side quests spread throughout the game. Their difficulty (and feasibility) ranges, so they're designed to be spread out throughout the game. The jobs that are listed so far involve collecting items and delivering them to certain townsfolk, though that may change and you will receive jobs related to the main storyline. One hint, though: don't sell off items you pick up when fighting in Normal Mode until you've looked through the job postings. There may be some stuff you have that you'll have to deliver anyway, saving some time and fighting.
 
 Another fun little thing: there are some small puzzles spread throughout. Nothing too complex yet (no Alundra level, e.g.), but minor ones that add another element to the game. There's one inside of Delri Temple, for instance, where the dragon statues outside hint at what you have to do inside.
 
 * Note: some names may change in the course of translation. Delri Temple versus Delri Shrine, for example.
 
 2) Atmosphere: Excellent
 
 The atmosphere definitely evokes the classic feel of the Lunar world. The isometric overview is different, as are proportional sprites. Nevertheless, it plays how a Lunar game should, in terms of story and battle progression, among other elements.
 
 Fans of the originals will appreciate some familiar locales, including the Wierd Woods and White Dragon Shrine. The <a href="http://www.lunar-net.com/ds/world.php">Lunar: DS World</a> section has more information in that regard. The visuals and layout for towns and dungeons is still in the same style as previous games, slightly modified to fit the different angle. Above all, the music, while not done by Iwadare (as far as we know), is very much in the same vein as other Lunar games. If you appreciated the themes in SSS or EB, you should like these.
 
 Lastly, there's still an element of exploration involved. Although the town locations are selected on a screen, each town has enough locations to where exploring each town still takes, well, exploring. The plus side is that you can also cut straight to the point and go where you wish, or you can sidetrack and talk to all the NPCs first. The exploration value doesn't approach the level of TSS (nothing does, honestly), but it's certainly better than Lunar: Legend and perhaps even on-par with SSS.
 
 3) Music: Very Good
 
 The music is one of the better aesthetic points of the game. The opening theme, town themes, dungeon music, and battle music are all very Lunar-esque, and appropriate for their individual setting. If it wasn't Iwadare who composed them, it was certainly someone who was aiming for the same style.
 
 Plus, you can listen to any theme you've previously heard in the game through the menu. There are 59 tracks total.
 
 4) Graphics: Average
 
 The only high point of the graphics is that the backgrounds are in the same style as previous Lunar games, as are most of the character images. The main departure is the isometric view which doesn't detract from it at all once you begin playing. But, there's nothing too remarkable about them.
 
 5) Gameplay: Slightly Above Average
 
 Gameplay is hard to evaluate since some things are done well, others are lackluster, and others fall in between. I'll start with the first.
 
 There are a lot of convenient, one-touch things in the game. Hit Y to consult with your party and be reminded of your immediate goal (useful if you've had to take an extended break from playing). Hit R to switch between Virtue and Normal Mode on the field. Hit any of the self-explanatory buttons on the touch screen to do the same, plus access menus. The touch screen was also very well utilized; any menus could be navigated very easily via point-and-click. I expect future RPGs on the Nintendo DS will follow suit, as it makes menu navigation much more fluid.
 
 There are down sides. First, the battles are untargeted, except perhaps if you can choose between aerial and land-based creatures. I'm big on strategy games, so this was a little irksome. The encounter rate is low enough to where it's not a huge deal, however. Second, using the microphone to run from battles is downright gimmicky. Blowing into the mic is the 'run' command, but it's the only function the microphone serves in the entire game. It would've been just as well a menu option instead.
 
 As for others which fall in between... First, the HP drain while running is overstated. The rate of HP loss is quite slow, and doesn't prove to be a problem in town areas (where you can refill at a goddess statue anytime). In the field, running can be used to catch up to or run from monsters, but used in short bursts makes the HP loss almost negligible--particularly at higher levels.
 
 Second, the dual battle system takes some getting used to, though it presents a new level to the game. Virtue Mode allows you to gain EXP and open blue treasure chests after clearing enemies from an area (there's a checkbox which shows how many are left). Normal Mode lets you pick up items and cards--items which can be sold, cards which can be used in battle or against other players. This isn't as cumbersome as it sounds, since: (A) You level up quickly (I'm at Level 11 right now), balancing off the need to occasionally switch from Virtue to Normal Mode. (B) Your primary source of income is work as a courier--which allows the story to affect gameplay, an element I think is too lacking sometimes in RPGs. Selling items for money gains just enough to purchase healing items (and, as I said, it's best to hold onto them until you find out they're of no use for Gad's Express deliveries). (C) The clock which counts down gives you about 40-50 seconds on average between encounters (which is quite decent); although it can be annoying to have any time limit within which to find the next enemy, I haven't run into any major problems with this (if it passes a minute, that just revives one enemy elsewhere on the map). My current m.o. is to use the Virtue Mode on my first run through, and Normal Mode whenever I have to come back through a place.
 
 Third, each of the cards has a special effect. You can use them, but it saps up a little strength from the card which could otherwise be used in "Scratch Battle". Plus, you can only have one at a time of each monster. If you don't care about the wireless Card Battling, it won't matter, however.
 
 6) Miscellaneous: N/A
 
 There's just one idiosyncracy about it that slightly annoys me, but shouldn't really affect your enjoyment of the game. There's an overabundant use of kana (phonetic characters). The text is aobut 95% kana, with only basic kanji (symbolic characters) being used. I'm sure this is good for any firs'years, but it looks funny reading through all kana with only a few simple kanji breaking it up and speeding along the reading. But, that's my preference, and if you're buying the domestic release it's not even going to be a concern.
 
 7) Overall Impressions: Very Good
 
 This game is proving to be very enjoyable. The storyline is progressing well so far, affected by being a courier, the menu and one-click features are convenient, the sidequests are a fun little aside, and, above all, the atmosphere is very much within the Lunar world. It actually feels more like a Lunar game than Magic School ever did.
 
 The dungeon encounters are spaced well and not too frequent nor infrequent. The Virtue Mode adds another level of thought to the game, though it takes getting used to the thought of clearing out an area of enemies if you want to open up one of the chests there (some areas don't have the blue treasure chests, so it's unnecessary). The only other dull gameplay elements (losing HP while running, using the mic to flee battle, etc.) do detract a little bit, but not enough to where it affects enjoyment of the game.
 
 Above all, I highly recommend the game. However, if you don't understand enough Japanese, I do strongly recommend you wait a few weeks until the domestic release comes out, as otherwise you'll spend half your time muddling methodically through towns and dungeons. If you're a hardcore Lunar fan, sure, go ahead and buy both the Japanese and US versions. But, Lunar: Genesis is a lot more enjoyable if you know what's going on. KF

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