Lunar Remastered Collection Coming to Modern Platforms in 2025

Lunar and its sequel, a pair of RPGs that appeared on the Saturn, are getting remastered for modern platforms for an expected spring 2025 release.

Lunar Remastered Collection was announced Tuesday during Sony’s State of Play livestream. While the presentation was focused on the forthcoming PlayStation 4 and 5 versions, the collection also is set to be made for the Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.

The trailer showed off new visuals and a new English dub that uses the original games’ script.

Their publisher, GungHo Online Entertainment, said today in a press release that the PlayStation 1 versions of Lunar and Lunar 2 will be used as a base, which is unfortunate considering those versions lack extra graphical effects that were in the earlier Saturn releases, such as warping fog in the woods in Lunar 1, or the complex heat haze effect in Lunar 2’s fire dragon cave. (Thanks to Misty/MsTea, who’s working on a Magic School Lunar translation patch, for pointing all of that out over on Cohost!)

Lunar: The Silver Star and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue originally were made for the Sega CD in 1992 and 1994, respectively, and were translated into English and published in North America by Working Designs. The developer, Game Arts, then remade them for the Saturn in Japan and released them together in a set called Lunar: Silver Star Story in October 1996. Working Designs had been set to translate and release that set in North America but canceled their plans after a falling out with Sega of America in 1997.

Then in May 1998, Game Arts ported Lunar: Silver Star Story to the PlayStation, and a year later Working Designs released a localization of that version in North America. That release is apparently being used as a base for the new collection.

In their press release, GungHo outlined the remasters’ new 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 reach 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 timeless and stylistic animated sequences that will 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.

It’s unclear whether any of the original actors from the PlayStation cast are returning for the modern remasters. Nor is it known yet whether the original Working Designs script is being used. SHIRO! has reached out to GungHo for clarification.

The official website seems to indicate that new French and German text options will be available in addition to English and Japanese. Audio options only will include English and Japanese, though.

Over on SegaXtreme, Mr. Conan has been working for years to insert the English text and dub from the PlayStation release into the Saturn version. Anyone who’d like to play through the games on their Saturn can download patches for Lunar: The Silver Star, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue and Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, which is the MPEG Video CD Card-compatible version that hit Japanese shelves in July 1997.