Final Fantasy-less title: Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Totally Square-free developer: Game Arts
Why you should ignore Seifer and play this: In a time when movie-quality CG cutscenes were taking over the genre, Lunar stuck to its old-school animated roots and offered up one of the best yesteryear gaming experiences of the '90s. Where there would usually be pissy antiheroes spouting faux-philosophical nonsense, there was a group of cheeky, opinionated, well-developed characters who you actually wanted to be around. Where ugly polygons and exceedingly long battles bored or frustrated classic gamers, colorful and lively skirmishes lit up Lunar's sprite-based world.
It was this easygoing style of play that made the game so appealing. Party members ripped on each other regularly and shot joking insults at everyone around them yet also came off as believable, rounded personalities. The game's linear path, derided by some, made progress easy for those not interested in spending hours upon hours embarking on low-reward side quests. And, believe it or not, talking to all the mindless townsfolk was entertaining, thanks to publisher Working Design's exceptional translation skills. Battles were something to fawn over too, as Game Arts was also responsible for Grandia's lauded combat scenarios.
Released well after FFVII but mere months before FFVIII, it didn't have much of chance to attract a new audience, but those who fell in love with the 1992 Sega CD original did so all over again. Only this time without the awesomely cheesy intro:
