Hello, gentle readers, and welcome to the RPG Reload Play-Along. Each month, we'll be playing an iOS RPG together, sharing laughs and tears in equal measures. The post on the front page is basically here to announce the game in question and give a few tips on getting started. The real action will be happening here in the TouchArcade forums, where you'll find a thread dedicated to each month's featured game. Sign up if you haven't already, post your screenshots, ask for advice, or just chat about your misadventures with others. We've got a great community of RPG fans here at TouchArcade, so let's make the most of it! As a little incentive, at the end of each month, I will randomly pick one of the participants and send them something small and silly from here in Japan. All you have to do to be eligible is, well, play along with the Play-Along! February's Play-Along of Aralon: Sword and Shadow proved to be another popular one, with the forum thread reaching a whopping 15 pages filled with thrills and chills. Some were replaying the game, while others were digging into it for the very first time, but it seemed like everyone had a good time. Once again, a big old thank you to everyone who joined in the fun. February's winner of the Small and Silly Prize has been drawn from the capricious yet lovable Magic Moogle Hat, and as luck would have it, it's Krotenbandiger! I think everyone involved in the Play-Along can agree that Krotenbandiger's adventures were almost as entertaining as the game itself, so it's nice that the RNG gods smiled upon our proud hero. I'll be in touch via PM on the forums to get your address so that I can send your prize. To everyone else, a new month brings another chance to win a Small and Silly Thing from Japan! Well, I hope the first two Play-Alongs were a good warm-up for everyone, because for the March Play-Along, we're playing something a little longer and toothier. SoMoGa's fine port of the classic Game Arts JRPG Lunar: Silver Star Story Touch tells an amazingly emotional tale of heroism and love, and it's this month's featured game. Since the game doesn't feature a lot of customization, it will be interesting to see how people make their way through it. What it does have is an excellent story ripe for discussion, one I hope we can all enjoy working our way through together. As was the case in previous months, you'll need to grab the game from the App Store if you don't already own it. Then, either log into or sign up for the TouchArcade forums and head on over here to the March RPG Reload Play-Along: Lunar thread to say hello. You don't need to beat the game to qualify for the random draw, but I would like to see at least one screenshot of your progress at some point, okay?
You certainly know how to pick them Shaun. Lunar The Silver Star has long been my favorite RPG since the days of my Sega CD. The story is what really makes it special and the character development is top notch. Great pick!
Argh, I'm really torn over this one. I have had Lunar on my wishlist for about a year and a half, but never pulled the trigger...
Err, I haven't even heard of this one until now. Yet, recommendations seem already to have come in. And I wouldn't want to attract the anger of the RPG gods, would I? Which are currently smiling on me...
I re-downloaded and I got the dreaded This App May Slow Down Your Device message. I've played a little so far and had no problems yet. Oh and if anyone's wondering, my last play through clocked in at 35 hours.
This game has no equal. It's not my favorite RPG, or what I think is the best -- but there's NO game that has this much heart. The characters are simply the best. Period. Oh man -- I'm looking forward to watching this play-along unfold. But is one month enough?
awww yeah. what a coincidence I just re downloaded this today. didn't get very far the first time I tried it but now that I'm older and somehow have more free time I can't wait to play. btw (Shaun you are my fave writer xD i love anime and love japanese games and stuff so this is gonna be fun)
I love Lunar! I already own it on the Playstation and PSP, though, so I probably won't buy it on my phone. But for you first-timers, enjoy the story!
$11 bucks AUD to get a game that was not even on my wishlist radar. Nope, just cant do it. But I wish nothing but the best for all you guys that participate. Have fun guys....and I will be reading all your comments just like I have before with the previous games. #
I'm redownloading right now. I played this back in high school, and it was the first RPG to actually physically send chills down my back. I've heard of people getting the same physical sensation when they played FF7 and experienced the Sephiroth/Aerith scene and broke down into sobbing tears, but for me it was this game. Not tears though - frustration, anger, denial - the whole gamut. Never experienced the same feeling since. I won't spoil it though if you haven't experienced it.
OK, I'll bite. This has been on my wishlist since the day I got my first iDevice (touch 5) ... three years ago? [Edit: almost four (May 2013), it's right there in my "joined" bar.] It's never been on sale, might as well jump in now. I like Lunar 1, though I prefer the second game in the series. Sadly, Eternal Blue hasn't had quite the same popularity on the remake train. Still, I used to replay both games every couple of years back when I had more free time. It should be fun to give this a whirl after not playing it since Silver Star Harmony came out on PSP. Speaking of which, that's the version this is based on, yes? I'll kind of miss the LSSC version of the "boat song" and the presence of the delightfully hammy John Truitt with that being the case, but otherwise it should be fine. Great pick, Shaun.
Eternal Blue is a very close second for me. The only reason Silver Star is higher on my list is because it was the first time experiencing this world and these characters. It was like nothing I had played before so the nostalgia is stronger. Objectively, Eternal Blue is the better game. I still have it for Sega CD but its been years since I played it. I wish my Sega controller cords were longer. I'm too old to sit on the floor to play it again.
Other than the Square-Enix games on the App Store, this is probably my one of my top favorite classic style RPGs I've played on iOS. I haven't gotten too far due to all the DQ and FF games, but I'll see what I can do this month. Also, I highly recommend getting it, and this month is a great excuse!
Friendly note to first-timers: Poison can and will kill you mid-battle. This is not one of those games where you can just watch it take you to 1 HP and deal with it. I burned through the first two dungeons. Selling off some of the initial healing items to get better equipment sped up the process. (You don't really need that first Silver Light; I find it much more valuable to have the Poison Darts on Luna and get better armor before tackling the first dungeon.) I've worked my way through to Saith. Can't wait to get to Meribia, it's one of my favorite town songs in all the games I've played. Tried to upload a screenshot sitting outside Saith, but it failed for some reason. Maybe later.
Sweet! Was a Nintendo boy in the 90's and this was always one of those games I wanted to play so badly. However being in grade 6-7 wasn't able to buy all the games I'd have liked to play. Hadn't started it on mobile yet, and it's been on here waiting for years. It must've been waiting for this play month to finally embrace my first Lunar! Ever any talk of Eternal Blue getting a port?
I'm stoked for this one. Lunar has been on my wish list for awhile now. Looking forward to an RPG with a great story & characters.
Silver Star Story Touch is Silver Star Story Complete minus the gameplay changes Working Designs added in loc, and with voices/songs from Silver Star Harmony. As for Eternal Blue, the last I spoke with SoMoGa, they had been told by Gungho that there were rights issues. Probably the Studio Alex mess.
