Beloved Remastered JRPG Series Coming to All Platforms from GungHo Online Entertainment America on April 18th!

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - January 14, 2025 - GungHo Online Entertainment America announced that the LUNAR Remastered Collection — a collection of two JRPG classics: LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete — will be released physically and digitally on April 18, 2025, for the PlayStation 4 (compatible with PlayStation 5), Xbox One (compatible with Xbox Series X|S), Nintendo Switch™, and on Steam.

Digital editions will be available for $49.99 USD / €49.99 EUR, while physical editions offer an alternative for the collectors:North America: Physical editions will be available exclusively through Amazon for $54.99 USD. A purchase link will be shared soon.

Europe: Physical PS4 and Nintendo Switch™ editions will be available through our partnership with Clear River Games, priced at €54.99 EUR. Follow @clearrivergames on social media for updates.The physical editions will feature reversible covers showcasing two new key arts for LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete, both illustrated exclusively for the LUNAR Remastered Collection by Toshiyuki Kubooka.

Originally developed by GAME ARTS for the PlayStation 1 (PS1), the LUNAR Remastered Collection brings the beloved JRPG classics to a new generation with modern enhancements. This remastered edition features a new English voiceover, wide-screen support, high-definition pixel and animated art, and quality-of-life updates, such as customizable battle and strategy settings for streamlined combat. Two additional language options are also introduced, making the game more accessible to fans worldwide.

Whether you’re a long-time fan or a newcomer to the LUNAR saga, this remastered collection will captivate you with its romantic storytelling and breathtaking soundtrack that has made this series a timeless classic. This remaster not only preserves the heart of the original games, but also showcases the LUNAR series’ influence on generations of JRPGs to follow.

LUNAR Remastered Collection Key Features:Strategic Turn-Based Action: Play through two magical worlds in LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete as you fight it out in turn-based battle style, where each character’s speed, distance, position, and attack range must all be accounted for.

Powerful Voices and Captivating Animated Sequences: Immerse yourself in battles with fully-voiced attacks and incantations in either Japanese or an all-new English voiceover by playable characters and enemies. Not to mention, the stylistic animated sequences that still capture the hearts of players today.
Relive the Classic or Go Remastered: Choose between classic or remastered mode — an option that allows fans to travel back in time to the games’ PS1 releases, or see them in a new light with wide-screen support, revamped PS1 pixel art, and high-definition animated cutscenes.

Two New Language Options: LUNAR Remastered Collection not only includes Japanese and English subtitles and sound, but also two new subtitle language options: French and German.
Speed up Battle + Improved Strategy Settings: Save time and speed through battles with the flip of a switch! Additionally, new options have been added to the original strategy settings for streamlined combat.

About LUNAR: The Silver Star

Originally developed by GAME ARTS, creators of the GRANDIA series, LUNAR: The Silver Star was met with wide critical acclaim upon its first release on the SEGA CD in 1992. As its first hit game, LUNAR: The Silver Star remains the best-selling SEGA CD title of all time in Japan. Relive the tale with Alex Noa – a young and resilient fighter who recently passed the White Dragon’s trial–as he embarks on his journey to become a Dragonmaster. As Alex revels in his success in passing the trial, a mysterious Magic Emperor unexpectedly enters the fold, aiming for world domination. With young Alex determined to become a Dragonmaster, will he and his companions band together and succeed in saving the world? The PlayStation 1 version, LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete, is included in the LUNAR Remastered Collection, which will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch™, and Steam in Spring 2025. For more information, visit the official website: www.lunarremastered.com

About LUNAR: Eternal Blue

After the success of LUNAR: The Silver Star, GAME ARTS developed LUNAR: Eternal Blue. Originally released in 1994 for the SEGA CD, LUNAR: Eternal Blue takes place one thousand years after LUNAR: The Silver Star. It follows the story of Hiro, an inquisitive archaeologist, and friends as they journey to help a mysterious girl from the Blue Star, Lucia, to seek out the Goddess Althena and stop Zophar – a relentless and evil God of Destruction who plots the demise of Lunar – from wiping out their existence. The PlayStation 1 version, LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete, is included in the LUNAR Remastered Collection, which will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch™, and Steam in Spring 2025. For more information, visit the official website: www.lunarremastered.com

LUNAR SILVER STAR STORY
©1992 GAME ARTS
©1996 KADOKAWA/GAME ARTS/JAM ©1998 KADOKAWA/GAME ARTS
Original PS version game developed by ALFA SYSTEM

LUNAR2 ETERNAL BLUE
©1994 GAME ARTS
©1998,1999 KADOKAWA/GAME ARTS
Original PS version game developed by VANGUARD

Remastered ©2025 GungHo Online Entertainment America, Inc., GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc.
Character design TOSHIYUKI KUBOOKA

ABOUT GUNGHO ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA

GungHo Online Entertainment America, Inc. (GOEA) is a multi-platform developer and publisher dedicated to delivering fun & unique titles like Puzzle & Dragons, Ninjala, and LET IT DIE. GOEA is the US division of GungHo Online Entertainment (GOE), whose studios include leading developers SUPERTRICK GAMES, GAME ARTS, and Gravity. GOEA distributes games for consoles, handhelds, mobile devices, and PC. GOEA is located in Redondo Beach, CA. For more information, visit www.gunghoonline.com.

© GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc.

ABOUT CLEAR RIVER GAMES

Clear River Games is a multi-platform publisher with a passion for classic retro games. Based in Karlstad, Sweden, the company was founded by Freemode, a part of the Embracer Group. Their vision is to bring the joy of experiencing vintage retro and revived classic game franchises to players around the globe. Clear River Games focuses on publishing high-quality classic game franchises, modern retro, pixel art, and indie games that inspire gamers, bring back great memories of the past, or help discover new great games, making them accessible both physically and digitally to players worldwide.

Article by: Susan N.

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Grandia 2 HD Remaster - PC Review

Grandia 2 HD Remaster by developer GAME ARTS, Sickhead Games LLC and publisher GungHo Online Entertainment America, Inc.—PC (Steam) review written by Natasha with a purchased copy.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

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RPGs are just one of many genres out there in the gaming world, but they have to be one of my favourite to play. Long stories, favourable characters and beautiful score pieces, Grandia 2 seems to fit perfectly into this category, but unlike the first Grandia, I didn't get the pleasure of playing this title until much later in my life. Excited about another game being made for the series, I couldn't wait to finally play my next adventure.

Grandia 2 was, once again, developed by Game Arts. Many of the original staff that worked on the first game, as well as the composer Noriyuki Iwadare, returned to create the second and was released in Japan on the Dreamcast back in 2000. In 2002, it was finally translated to English and released on the PS2 worldwide. However, this time around, the theme of the game decided to focus on a more mature and darker tone as well as the first fully 3D graphics in the series.

The Story

The story is set in another fantasy world thousands of years after a great battle between the God of Light, Granas, and the God of Darkness, Valmar, who shook the earth. Valmar nearly succeeded in destroying the planet, but was sealed away and his soul was split into pieces across the world. For years the church of Granas has worked to keep the seal on Valmar by preforming a sacred ritual. Unfortunately, our young protagonist Ryudo, the Geohound, finds that his escort mission to guide the lovely Elena, Songstress to the Church, doesn't go the way they planned. Darkness is let loose once again and it is up to our new group of heroes to fight off the many forms of Valmar.

Exploration of the World

The world of Grandia 2 is massive, but unfortunately we still only get to pick and choose where to go. Option like towns, fields and dungeons are still our main source of exploration.

Your safe havens are the towns, which are chalk full of inns, save points and equipment shops. If your party is is running on fumes don't hesitate to rest up or double back to stock up on useful items and armour. This time around your item capacity is shared throughout your party. Unlike in Grandia 1, where you had to jump from character to character to access items, the second game decided to just pool everything together into one giant bag of holding. Far more convenient now than before.

If you aren't the type of person that likes long lengths of text box conversations or just can't remember where you're suppose to go next, don't panic, because the game returns with the compass that'll always point you to your next objective. This mechanic also came with an upgrade from the previous game. You'll now have the option to choose different points of interest. This mainly appears in towns, pointing you to either the nearest hotel or shop, but it will also work in fields or dungeons in showing you where you entered from or where you need to exit. Not only that, but it's equipped with a green circle that fades away the closer you get to your objective. Handy for those who have a hard time remembering things.

Field and dungeon traversing is pretty much the same from the first Grandia. Large open, maze-like, environments with plenty of hidden treasures to be found. Even with the 3D graphic upgrade I still tended to get lost sometimes, but taking the time to explore every nook and cranny might reward you with some nicer healing items, weapons or armour.

Combat

Grandia 2 has a turn-based combat system when you encounter enemies. Simply running into your enemies will active the fight, but make sure to watch your back as they can ambush you. You can also gain a preemptive strike if you sneak up on them first, this is very helpful in gaining the upper hand at the start of most fights (this will not work during boss fights).

Once you've entered a battle you'll notice a bar on screen. This bar keeps track of enemies and party rotations on whose turn is coming up next. It works exactly the same as it did in the first Grandia. There's a wait period, a command section and an action point. While the enemy is waiting for their turn you can use this opportunity to push them back further down the bar, but note they can do the same to you.

Command allows you to select your action of choice, either Attack, Skills/Magic, Defend, Item, Flee, Etc... After choosing what you'd like to preform it'll either act immediately or take time to charge. While charging up an attack you are vulnerable to Counters and Cancels. Cancels are the worst since the enemy has a chance to completely knock you out of your concentration and send you flying all the way back to the end of the rotation. So take the time to think carefully where your enemies are and what their next move is.

Unlike in Grandia 1, you had to have Mana Eggs in order to buy new magic. However this was changed in the sense that as long as you hold a Mana Egg in your possession you'll have access to its power... for a price. This time around, when you finish a fight, not only will you gain Money and EXP (Experience Points), you'll also pick up MP and AP (Magic and Ability Points). These points can be converted into new spells and skills, which you can access in your menu page. As long as you have the points you can unlock new moves or even enhance old ones to make them stronger. I found this to be a far more practical system than having to wait to get back to a town in order to upgrade my magic.

There is one more bonus that may just be specific to this game. If you notice that you have the lovely Miss Millennia in your party you're in for a treat. Each time she is attacked by a monster you'll notice a green or red haze circling around her character portrait. Eventually it'll spin out of control and she'll enter Berserk Mode. During this mode she will become stronger, but you'll lose the ability to control her as she will act on her own. This is both useful and annoying since it would be nice to use this mode during tougher fights, but it can be activated at any time, even during normal combat.

I did notice a small bug pop up when entering a battle. Some of the party members wouldn't load properly on screen and they would be completely white from head to toe. It doesn't happen often and looks to reset itself after the battle is over, but it did throw me for a loop when I'd start a fight and the character decided to cover themselves in flour... weird!?

Visual and Music

Since this is a next gen game, back when it first released, it's graphics and music got a handsome upgrade along with it. As I mentioned earlier the composer from the original game has returned to deliver us another fantastic masterpiece of a soundtrack. Fully orchestrated and brimming with life to lift all the moments in the game. Unfortunately, I've noticed that when a track plays I catch the effects of it fading away and then looping back to the start of the song. I never noticed this editing issue with the first title, which comes as a surprise when I seem to be catching these mistakes in the second game.

The sprites have been changed to 3D models that remind me of Final Fantasy 7's (the original) cardboard bodies and thanks to the HD remaster the detail of each characters design are cleaner and more prominent. I do have a small issue with them having no mouth on their models (Even FF7 had months on their up close scenes) when I hear them talking to each other but no lips are seen. Hope they can get their message across through their eyes cause each scene looks more and more like a serious staring contest.

All map areas have been blandly designed equally the same as the first game. You're in a forest. There's a tree, here's a tree and a dirt trail to guide you in possibly the wrong direction? Better check my compass. They're not terrible just very generic. I was hoping with the second game they'd spice things up, but I mean, don't fix what's not broken, I guess?

Pros and Cons

There are more issues I have in Grandia 2, than I do with the first game. All minor faults, but they stick out to me none the less. Poor splicing of the music, no mouths on the characters, blank character models showing up in fights and bland repetitive environments. But we are gifted with a great dark and rich story telling, engaging combat and beautifully orchestrated music, to boot. So I find this game to be well balanced between the good and the bad.

To conclude, Grandia 2 HD does a great job in brightening up all the pixelated programming from the past and smoothing things out for the future. Characters are hilarious and memorable and the story will keep you deep in thought along the whole journey. Though it does have minor flaws in certain areas, this series continues to bring the magic and adventure we crave to play. I'm giving Grandia 2 HD an 8 out of 10.

Score: 8 / 10

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Grandia HD Remaster - PC Review

Grandia HD Remaster by developer GAME ARTS, Sickhead Games LLC and publisher GungHo Online Entertainment America, Inc.—PC (Steam) review written by Natasha with a purchased copy.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

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When I was a younger and aspiring gamer I used to search for gaming music back on the freshly discovered YouTube, and would look up top RPG soundtracks in the search bar. One of the many titles that kept popping up in peoples lists was a game called Grandia. After listening to its amazing soundtrack I realized I needed to own a copy of this game. So I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the name of the game I wanted to buy at my next convention.

Grandia is an RPG developed by Game Arts and published by Entertainment Software Publishing on the Sega Saturn. It was first released, exclusively in Japan, back in 1997 but was eventually ported to the PS1 in 1999. The game was created with most of the same staff that worked on the Lunar series, including the same producer Yoichi Miyagi and composer Noriyuki Iwadare. So if you ever feel like these games are similar that might answer one of your questions. Thankfully after several years this game still sits on an unforgotten pedestal and has been given an HD remaster for the PC and the Nintendo Switch (Editor's Note: That I still have to play...).

The Story

The story focuses on a boy named Justin, who dreams of becoming the next big adventurer, like his deceased father before him. He believes there is a much bigger world beyond the End of the World, a insurmountable stone wall that surround most of the land, that no one has ever returned from. Together, Sue, his childhood friend, and Feena, a seasoned adventurer herself, they will discover the hidden secrets of their world and many new friends and enemies along the way.

Exploration of the World

The world in Grandia is quite massive. Though you don't get the luxury to free-roam on the world map the game does make everything feel big with large towns and multi-layered fields and dungeons.

Villages and town are equipped with inns, shops and key story points throughout your adventure. While resting at Inns you'll be able to rest and recover your party, go into your stashing bag where you can keep all your items that don't require your immediate attention, since your on-person inventory is limited to 12 items per character, and Save your game progress, which I recommend doing frequently since there is no auto-save feature.

There's always one shop in town that'll sell you just about anything you need from weapons, armour, consumables and magic. Note that you can't just buy magic freely, you will need what's know as a Mana Egg in order to purchase types of magic. These Eggs are normally found in fields or dungeons so make sure to keep a close eye out for those blue crystal shaped Eggs. There are four types of elemental magic you can learn Fire, Water, Wind and Earth. All characters can eventually learn all four with time.

Sometimes the game won't always point out your next objective in the story and being in town can make that difficult. Your given a compass that'll normally point you to your next story point, however it doesn't work in town. Talking to NPC seems to do the trick so make sure to chat to all those friendly faces. Once you have everything you need you'll be set to take on the monster infested areas.

One of the biggest advantage to exploration is making sure you take the time to walk around any field or dungeon. There are items and coins everywhere and can sometimes be either strong weapons or helpful healing items. Remember that compass I mentioned? Well it's super helpful while you're exploring since it'll always point you in the direction of your next objective. Your top-down camera can make things difficult though since it doesn't always give you the best view. It can be a bit frustrating if you feel like your going in circles, the environment looks the same wherever you turn, but I find that sticking to a wall got me around pretty well. You''ll also notice a blue marker pop up once in a while. These markers will expand the camera, giving you a nice view of the area, so if you get claustrophobic try taking a peek through those markers.

Combat

Grandia's combat is turn-based with enemy encounters. To start a fight simply run into a nearby enemy, but watch your back since the monster can get an ambush on you if you're not prepared. Once the battle starts you'll notice a small bar along the bottom right of the screen. This bar works as your turn count, showing you whose coming up next. There is a waiting period, command and action shown on the bar.

While enemies are waiting to take their turn it's a great opportunity to knock them back on the scale by damaging them. Each time someone takes damage their icon will fall behind. This affects both monsters and party members.

In the Command area of the bar, you'll be given access to a list of option such as Attack, Critical Attack (high chance of missing) Defend, Observe, Move, Flee, Items, and Specials. Depending on which option you choose they'll either act on them immediately or have to charge up in order to use them. That's where the Action comes in and allows you to preform your Command.

Commands such as Attack, Critical Attack, Defend, Observe, Move, Flee and Items are pretty self explanatory, however Specials are a bit more unique in this game. By selecting the Specials you'll have access to a few choices like your Special Attacks and Magic Levels 1, 2 and 3. Special Attacks consume SP (Special Points) while magic eats up MP (Magic Points). All these attacks can be upgraded to something more powerful the more times you use them. Take Justin's V-Slash, the more you use it the stronger it gets. You can find out how powerful your skill is with the star icons that are displayed below the Attack name. This also applies to all your magic spells. Along with strengthening these Attacks you will also level up your Weapon skills and Elemental Power. You can keep track of all these levels in the menu option, which will even show you what power level you'll need to focus on in order to learn a new spell or skill.

I find you will have to juggle around a lot of different fighting styles during battle, but grinding is key to unlock new and more powerful techniques. Finally at the end of each battle you'll gain EXP (Experience Points) that'll help in levelling up your characters. EXP is pretty scarce in this game so remember to grind, grind, grind!

Visual and Music

Visually the graphics in this game blow me away. For a game that came out back in the late 90's it's one of the most artfully appealing titles to look at. The game was designed in a 2D style world, with a few exceptions of buildings and organic material being in 3D, it does a good job in holding its own.

Every character sprite is so expressive and colourful, even the environment doesn't lack in standing out. It's refreshing to see all the different stencils of each characters facial animation. They are adorable to watch during text conversations. Both the Japanese and English release of the game had voice acting that I found to be quite tasteful, grinning from ear-to-ear during all the comical scenes in the game.

The game does give us some animated cut-scenes that are beautifully hand drawn, accompanied with a LIVE ORCHESTRA! I hardly remember many titles back on the PS1 that had a fully orchestrated soundtrack. The music definitely pulls on my heart-strings, enhancing each moment in the game. The HD Remaster to the game really brings out all those colours and smooth away the hard pixelated edges, making everything crisp and clean.

Pros and Cons

To be honest the only issue I had while playing the game was that once in a while during a cut-scene, the character sprites would have a strange line running directly through them, moving half of their bodies two inches off. Exploration can be a bit dull at times, but if I don't wanna get slammed by bosses and baddies I need to take the time to fight and collect items. Everything from the story to the combat, environment, music and general flow of the game is fun from start to finish.

To conclude, Grandia HD is as classic as classical RPGs are going to get. It's packed full of adventures, emotional moments, memorable music and addictive combat. It does a fantastic job in making sure each and every battle is plentiful with all the options available to use. Nothing got me more excited then listening to my favourite character, Sue, spit out one-liners like “YEOW! IT'S HOT!” or “RAH-RAH!” *Watches little girl pulls out pom-poms and starts cheering for her teammates in the middle of the battle with her pet Puffy* If you're looking for a rocking good time, Grandia is the game to play. I'm giving this game a 9.5 out of 10.

Score: 8.5 / 10

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