is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese console role-playing game developed by Studio Alex

Studio Alex

Studio Alex was a Japanese video game development firm. It was founded by respected programmer Kazunari Tomi, a former employee of Nihon Falcom whose credits include Sorcerian, Star Trader, and Dinosaur...

 in association with Game Arts

Game Arts

is a Japanese video game software developer located in Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, they have since expanded their enterprise to produce for a number of game console and handheld systems...

 and published by ESP Software

Entertainment Software Publishing

Entertainment Software Publishing , or ESP, is a computer game publisher. It was created in 1997, primarily as a support company for the developer studios that made up GD-NET...

 and Kadokawa Shoten

Kadokawa Shoten

is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...

 for the Sega Saturn

Sega Saturn

The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...

 in 1997. It is an enhanced remake

Enhanced remake

A video game remake is a game closely adapted from an earlier title, usually for the purpose of modernizing a game for newer hardware and contemporary audiences. Typically, a remake shares essentially the same title, fundamental gameplay concepts, and story elements of the original game...

 of Lunar: Walking School

Lunar: Walking School

Lunar: Walking School is a console role-playing game in the Lunar series released for the Sega Game Gear in Japan in 1995. Since then, no international versions or translations have officially been released, though an unofficial English translation was released in 2009...

with updated graphics, newly added anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 cutscenes, and a more complex story.

Magic School Lunar! was released about the same time as other Lunar series

Lunar series

The Lunar games, made by Game Arts and published in the United States by Working Designs, and later, Ubisoft and Xseed Games, are a series of console RPGs...

 remakes, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, originally released in Japan as simply , is a console role-playing game developed by Game Arts and Japan Art Media as a remake of Lunar: The Silver Star...

and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete is a retitled version of , a Japanese role-playing video game. It is the sequel to Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete. Originally released in 1998 for the Sega Saturn console in Japan, it was ported to the PlayStation in 1999 and translated for the North American...

, and though it was mildly successful it was never made available outside of Japan. It continues to be a collector's item for fans of the series.

Story

The story for Magic School Lunar! is very similar to its original version: Elie, a girl from the quiet town of Burg, is selected to enroll in a prestigious magic school located on a drifting island called Ien. Together with her best friend Rena, she makes her way to the school and has many adventures while learning magic and exploring new areas to which Ien Island drifts. Gradually, Elie and her friends get caught up in a plot by a villainous sorcerer to unleash an ancient evil on the land.

Though Magic School Lunar! was released after Lunar: The Silver Star

Lunar: The Silver Star

is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and Studio Alex for the Mega-CD console. Originally released in Japan on June 16, 1992 to critical acclaim, the game was translated and released in English by Working Designs the following year...

, it takes place hundreds of years before it, and although few references exist to tie the two games together, it undoubtedly subscribes itself to the same folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

.

Gameplay

Several enhancements were made to the game that take advantage of the capabilities of modern hardware. While the first game was limited to the hardware restrictions of the Game Gear, the new Saturn version boasted a larger color palette, more sophisticated music and sound effects, and the ability to handle full-motion animated sequences placed sporadically throughout the story. The use of a Saturn Memory Card

Memory card

A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...

 could also ensure more save slots.

The game handles itself very much like a traditional console RPG, with turn-based battles which yield experience points required for leveling up, giving the characters access to new abilities and enhanced statistics. The first-person perspective battle interface of the Game Gear version is replaced by a simplified version of the signature Lunar battle system. Character sprite

Sprite (computer graphics)

In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...

s are visible on the battlefield and animations for spells and attacks have been considerably upgraded. A number of multi-character combination attacks have been added as well.

Playable Characters

Voice:

The 13-year-old heroine of the story, Elie is a friendly, rather reserved girl from the town of Burg. For most of her life she worked as a farm-hand on her family's estate, spending time with her best friend Rena. However, her family has fallen on hard times, and when the opportunity for free room and board at the magic school arose, her father signed her up right away. New to the remake, Elie has a mysterious ability of flight. She is also skilled in fire magic.

Voice:

Elie's best friend from childhood, also 13 years old. Unlike Elie, she's very vocal, and despite her upbringing she has a penchant for wearing fancy clothes. Food is one of her favorite things - both preparation and consumption. Rena is self-conscious about her height, but won't let anyone push her around about it. She specializes in healing magic.

Voice:

A 14-year-old beastwoman who attends the school with Elie and Rena. Naturally athletic and a skilled fighter, she's also quite handy with lightning magic. Senia's brash and outgoing nature makes her fast friends with Rena, but she has a gentler side as well - she is in love with her childhood friend Azu.

Voice:

A new character introduced for the remake. A strong fighter who is only semi-skilled in magic, Blade makes up for his shortcomings in casting with skilled swordplay. Blade seeks "true manhood" through studying at the magic school, and tends to be stubborn and selfish.

Voice:

A shy, mysterious boy who enrolls in the school after the other characters. He defers to Elie and the other girls despite the fact that, at age 14, he is older than them. Gifted with strong magical abilities, he excels in his studies, yet much about him is unknown. Win has a crush on Rena, but she is often infuriated by his meekness.

Voice:

Senia's childhood friend, newly playable in the final chapter of the remake. He is not a student of magic, but is a strong physical fighter nonetheless. Azu is very protective of Senia.

Voice:

The scout for the Ien magic school, he goes out every year in search of promising new students. Glen is one of the most senior members of the magic school faculty. He wields powerful magic, but is playable only for a short while.

Non-playable characters

Voice:

The leader of a group of bullies who attend the school, Anchi is a crafty trickster

Trickster

In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...

 who relies mostly on his speed and wits. He and his two lackeys are rivals to Elie, Rena and Senia, and often get into shouting matches with them.

and

Voice: and (respectively)

Anchi's friends and fellow miscreants.

Voice:

A dark-haired woman who is secretly a member of the Vile Tribe, a group of dark magic users banished to the uninhabitable Frontier years ago. Her attractive appearance hides a cruel personality, and she possesses magic that allows her to control humans. Together with Memphis, she plans resurrect an ancient evil.

Voice:

Power-hungry leader of the Vile Tribe and an extremely accomplished sorcerer. Together with Barua, he is plotting the revival of the Demon Castle D in order to destroy Ien and eventually subdue all of Lunar. Memphis has an expanded backstory in the remake, including a mysterious link to Glen in his past.

The personification of an ancient, living castle that was sealed away long ago, D resembles a floating mask. Memphis has broken the seal on D, but it has not yet regained its full power.

External links

• LunarNET Magic School Lunar! Section