History VideoGame / Lunar

First developed for the UsefulNotes/SegaCD, at a time when role-playing games were a niche outside of Japan, it became a SleeperHit in the console's short lifespan, ending up as its second highest selling title. A sequel came, entitled ''Lunar: Eternal Blue'' (no numeral), and the series has been producing remakes and spin-offs ever since, with the UsefulNotes/PlayStation remakes, ''Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete'' and ''Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete'' being the best known to English-speaking fans.

* ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'' -- [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega CD]] (1992/1993)
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Story'' -- UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn (1996)
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete'' -- UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn (1997, Japan only, required an add-on card called the MPEG adapter) UsefulNotes/PlayStation (1999/2000), PC (1999, Japan and Korea only)
** ''Lunar Legend'' -- UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance (2002/2002)
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Harmony'' -- [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] (2009/2010)
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Story Touch'' -- UsefulNotes/{{iOS|Games}} (US: 2012)

* ''VideoGame/LunarWalkingSchool'' -- UsefulNotes/GameGear (1996)

* ''VideoGame/LunarDragonSong'' -- UsefulNotes/NintendoDS (2005/2005)

** ''Magic School Lunar'' on UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn is a major expansion of ''Lunar: Walking School'' on Game Gear, with more characters, more magic, more chapters... more of pretty much everything. [[NoExportForYou Japan only, though.]]
** ''Lunar Legend'' for UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, also built on ''The Silver Star'', swaps in some plot points from the Japan-only novels and adds a collectible card element.
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Harmony'' for the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] builds on ''Silver Star Story'' a bit, including more {{Mythology Gag}}s and inverted {{Continuity Nod}}s. (For example, one person will mention that Ramus' shop will stay in business for centuries. It lasts for a millennium, as seen in Eternal Blue.)

** Inverted, played straight and Justified. The Blue Star is always visible and is always huge in the sky. This is because Lunar is actually the Blue Star's moon that's been terraformed (the Frontier and the ground that the [[spoiler: Azure City/Fortress of Althena]] passes over becomes rather moon-like).

** Another one is in the epilogue sequence in ''Silver Star'' (at least in ''Harmony''). [[spoiler: Alex's MP meter ''disappears'' since he gave up his magic to save Luna, just as Dyne did 15 years prior.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* InterspeciesRomance: Kyle and Jessica in the first game, Ronfar and Mauri in the second. In the ''Childhood's End'' manga, [[spoiler: Alternate Phacia]] was involved in one, to the horror of humans and the Vile Tribe alike.

* {{Feelies}}: The ''Complete'' remakes on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation came with mini-strategy guides, cloth maps of the overworld, and a life-sized replica of Lucia's pendant (in the case of ''Eternal Blue'').

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lunar_rpg_logo.png]]

* NiceHat: There's more characters with these than without. Hats, bandanas, hair ribbons, helmets, hoods...

* TrueBlueFemininity: Several female character designs reflect this, to the point of [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair having blue hair]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The series is pretty staid by Japanese standards, with blue as the major departure, but adds green and pink in later games.

* StandardStatusEffects: Nash and Jean have status-inflicting magic.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lunar_silver_star_CD.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Bold claims, but we love it anyway.]]

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Ever wondered how this series got away with a Teen rating with all those bathing scenes? Not to mention some of the bromides, which range from "showing some skin" all the way to "voyeurism."

** Also, we first meet Hiro as he's hanging upside down and being a bit of a [[{{Adorkable}} of a lovable dork]]. [[spoiler:The final non-credits scene has him hanging upside down on Lucia's hibernation crystal, smiling and waving at Lucia like the most adorable dork ever.]]

* AlienSky: Inverted, played straight and Justified. The Blue Star is always visible and is always huge in the sky. This is because Lunar is actually the Blue Star's moon that's been terraformed (the Frontier and the ground that the [[spoiler: Azure City/Fortress of Althena]] passes over becomes rather moon-like).

* BagOfSharing: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] (in all the games up to the ''Eternal Blue'' remake): Each character can carry a set number of items, and only those can be accessed in battle. Any extras can be left with Nall/Ruby.

* {{Beergasm}}: There is quite a bit of alcohol consumption in the series. Almost every town contains an AlcoholHic [=NPC=], and in ''Silver Star Story/Harmony'' many of them go out of their way to sing the praises of the local brew.

[[redirect:Franchise/{{Lunar}}]]

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lunar_silver_star_CD.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Bold claims, but we love it anyway.]]
The time was the early 90s; the console -- the obscure UsefulNotes/SegaCD. It was starved for quality software of any sort, let alone {{R|olePlayingGame}}PGs, which were still a niche genre outside of Japan. Along came a game called ''Lunar: The Silver Star'', developed by Creator/GameArts. It became a SleeperHit despite the Sega CD's short lifespan, and was one of the best-selling games in the console's history, paving the way for a sequel, entitled ''Lunar: Eternal Blue'' (no numeral). The series has been in a cycle of remakes and spin-offs ever since, with the UsefulNotes/{{Playstation}} remakes, ''Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete'' and ''Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete'' being the best known to English-speaking fans.

All the entries in the series are set in a common [[TheVerse 'verse]] -- the eponymous world of Lunar. It is a [[StandardFantasySetting stock swords-and-sorcery fantasy world]], [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism high in idealism]], that draws a lot of attention to its neat AlienSky dominated by an object called the Blue Star. The twist is that [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Lunar is a moon]] -- one that was empty and lifeless until a [[PhysicalGod goddess]] transformed it and moved people there from the Blue Star... according to legend. But [[AllMythsAreTrue all legends are true]]. The reasons (and long term effects) of this become vital plot points.

While technically impressive in their Sega CD iterations, the games of the Lunar series have come to be standout classic [[EasternRPG JRPGs]]. All the elements of epic adventure, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat, and fantastic music are there in all the ways you expect, but they're functioning at their maximum potential. The blend of engaging characters (designed by Toshiyuki Kubooka), the earnestness and sense of fun, the savvy localization (originally by WorkingDesigns, with the requisite injection of [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth wall-breaking humor]]), and the acclaimed soundtrack combine to land it a spot among the greats of RPG history.

The series' release list is as follows, with remakes grouped and split release dates comparing first Japanese release date to the U.S. date:
* ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'' -- [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega CD]] (1992/1993)
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Story'' -- UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn (1996)
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete'' -- UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn (1997, Japan only, required an addon card called the MPEG adapter) UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}} (1999/2000), PC (1999, Japan and Korea only)
** ''Lunar Legend'' -- UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance (2002/2002)
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Harmony'' -- [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] (2009/2010)
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Story Touch'' -- {{iOS|Games}} (US: 2012)
* ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'' -- Sega CD (1994/1995)
** ''Lunar 2: Eternal Blue'' -- Sega Saturn (1998)
** ''Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete'' -- [=PlayStation=] (1999/2000)
* ''VideoGame/LunarWalkingSchool'' -- UsefulNotes/GameGear (1996)
** ''Magic School Lunar'' -- Sega Saturn (1997)
* ''VideoGame/LunarDragonSong'' -- UsefulNotes/NintendoDS (2005/2005)

There are variety of other Lunar-related media that never left Japan - novelizations, manga, [[AudioAdaptation drama CD]]s, even a short anime film made for ''Magic School Lunar!''. Given the decline of the series, [[NoExportForYou they will probably stay that way]], leaving American fans to rely on [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes other methods]] if they want to get their hands on them. The one exception is the ''Silver Star Story'' novelizations, which are available in English via Kindle.

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!!The ''Lunar'' series and related media provide examples of:
%%Please only include tropes that occur in multiple games or side-games in this list.
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: There's one under Meribia which appears in ''The Silver Star'' and ''Eternal Blue'' both. And yes, it's filled with monsters. In ''Eternal Blue'', Ramus turns it into a tourist attraction called the "Tunnels of Carnage."
* AdaptationDyeJob: A few occurred between the Sega CD games and their remakes.
** Luna's eyes are usually brown in ''Lunar: The Silver Star'', especially in promotional art, but have been blue since ''Silver Star Story''.
** Lucia and Jean were textbook examples of CurtainsMatchTheWindow, with the former having blue hair and blue eyes, and the latter having green hair and [[GreenEyes green eyes]]. In the remake they were both broken out of it, as Lucia's eyes were changed to [[GreenEyes green]] and Jean's were changed to [[BrownEyes brown]].
* AerithAndBob: Alex, Jessica, Kyle... Ghaleon?
* AlienSky: Inverted, played straight and Justified. The Blue Star is always visible and is always huge in the sky. This is because Lunar is actually the Blue Star's moon that's been terraformed (the Frontier and the ground that the [[spoiler: Azure City/Fortress of Althena]] passes over becomes rather moon-like).
** Worth noting: the Blue Star looks ''exactly'' like Earth. You can clearly identify Africa, Europe, and North America in various shots. The backstory detailed in the ''Eternal Blue'' remake makes it clear that this is Earth ''AfterTheEnd'', and even includes a cutscene that shows the final battle where Earth is destroyed.
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Phacia]] in ''Silver Star Story Complete'' and [[spoiler:Leo]] in ''Eternal Blue''. [[spoiler:Ghaleon in ''Silver Star Story Complete'' is an arguable case, what with [[WellIntentionedExtremist his noble intentions]], but he acts like a CardCarryingVillain most of the time.]]
* ArtEvolution: The art has changed a lot over the years. Toshiyuki Kubooka, the series character designer/animation director, has links to the anime production company Creator/StudioGainax, so in the early 90s the art resembled [[Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater Nadia]]. In the latter half of the 90s Lunar took on an [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Eva-like]] look...and has gone in other directions from there.
* AssistCharacter: Nall and Ruby both fill this role in battles. They spend most of the time flying around in the background, but will jump in to help at the end of some turns.
* BagOfSharing: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] (in all the games up to the ''Eternal Blue'' remake): Each character can carry a set number of items, and only those can be accessed in battle. Any extras can be left with Nall/Ruby.
** Played straight in the ''Eternal Blue'' remake and every game since.
* {{Beergasm}}: There is quite a bit of alcohol consumption in the series. Almost every town contains an AlcoholHic [=NPC=], and in ''Silver Star Story/Harmony'' many of them go out of their way to sing the praises of the local brew.
** A number of player characters indulge at several points as well, most memorably Kyle, although Jessica, Ronfar, and Jean show signs of inebriation at various points as well.
* BigFancyHouse: The Guildhouse in Vane, which also serves as the home of the Ausa family. By the time Eternal Blue, it's still standing despite the Guild itself (and with it, the Ausa family's money) being almost gone. But by that point, it has a large, unpatched hole in the roof...
* BookEnds: Scenes at the end of ''Eternal Blue'' recall ones from the beginning. Lucia appears in the Blue Spire; Lucia returns home from the Blue Spire. [[spoiler:Lucia awakens on the Blue Star, sensing trouble on Lunar; Lucia awakens on the Blue Star because Hiro has come to stay with her.]]
** Also, we first meet Hiro as he's hanging upside down and being a bit of a [[{{Adorkable}} of a lovable dork]]. [[spoiler:The final non-credits scene has him hanging upside down on Lucia's hibernation crystal, smiling and waving at Lucia like the most adorable dork ever.]]
** The ''Silver Star'' remakes add book ends. The game begins at Dyne's monument, and reprises that scene after the credits roll.
* BoomStick: Mages tend to have staves as their primary weapon, which attack through spells rather than hitting the enemy.
* ABoyAndHisX: Both of the main games have flying "cats" that are constant companions to the main character; Nall in ''The Silver Star'' and Ruby in ''Eternal Blue''. They are [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snarkers]]-in-chief for their respective games and they share the same BerserkButton - don't call them cats.
* BrokenBridge: Multiple games in the series include railroading that involves a literal bridge, but the most noteworthy example is an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] in ''Silver Star Story'': It's an actual bridge, and your party members are the ones who do the breaking.
* CallOfTheWildBlueYonder: Ghaleon's big brother in ''Tales of the Vane Airship'' starts building his airship after developing a fascination with the flight of birds. Young Ghaleon only starts to understand the appeal of flight once he decides to finish his brother's project.
* CallingYourAttacks: Attaching voice clips to special moves was the new hotness when the ''Lunar'' remakes were first made, but the characters don't strictly call their attacks by name - magic spells, for instance, get {{invocation}}s. Everyone yells different things for different attacks; some will spout a CatchPhrase.
* CapcomSequelStagnation: 2/3rds of the series are different versions of ''The Silver Star'' or ''Eternal Blue''. There are three exceptions - the GaidenGame ''Lunar: Walking School'', its remake ''Magic School Lunar!'', and the {{prequel}} ''Lunar: Dragon Song''.
* CatGirl / PettingZooPeople: The beastpeople, who are all over the map on this one. ''Silver Star''[='=]s catgirl is a ''half''catgirl, and her features are rather elven. Leo and Mauri in ''Eternal Blue'' are more obvious beast people.
** Elaborated upon in [[http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/lunarqa.txt an FAQ from a Japanese artbook]]:
-->22. Why are Mauri and Leo different from other people?
-->They're of the beastman race, like Master Mel and Jessica of Lunar I. There seem to be many types of beastmen - Jessica and Mel seem to be cat-types; Mauri and Leo, dog-types.
-->Well, then, you might say, are there hippo-types and seagull-types? Umm... sure, why not; it'll be interesting <g>.
* CombatMedic: Lunar healer characters come from the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' cleric mold - let 'em CarryABigStick or an EpicFlail and they can crack heads. Jessica can hold her own with maces and claws. Ronfar too, but it's usually better to give him crests that enable magic spells.
* ConspicuousCG: The ''Complete'' remakes feature animation sequences by Studio {{Creator/GONZO}}, and this trope is their calling card.
** ''Silver Star Story (Complete)'' and ''Harmony'', have a computer modeled ship from the [[AwardBaitSong "Wind's Nocturne"]] song sequence and the exterior of TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.
** ''Eternal Blue Complete'' has many computer modeled objects, such as the building where Lucia sleeps on the Blue Star, most shots of the Dragonship Destiny, and [[spoiler:Zophar's first form]].
* ContinuityNod: There's a whole series of books in ''Eternal Blue'' which details what happened to the cast after the first game, and a number of returning locales.
** Several books throughout Silver Star Story foreshadow Eternal Blue. One book in Damon's Tower openly references Zophar and the plot of the sequel, though it stops short of naming him.
** During SSSC's PlayableEpilogue, Lemia remarks that her descendants might not be as charitable as she or Mia. Hoo boy...
* CoolBigSis: Jean plays this role to Alice in the ''Childhood's End'' manga.
* CoolSword: Everybody knows that HeroesPreferSwords, and the ''Lunar'' series doesn't disappoint on that front. (Unless it's a GaidenGame or ''Dragon Song''.) The coolest sword in the setting is Althena's Sword, the weapon of the Dragonmaster.
* CrystalDragonJesus: The people of the Lunar world worship Althena, a benevolent goddess who [[spoiler:is reborn as a human and then returns to godhood every now and then, until she decides to embrace mortality forever]]. Depictions of the the Church of Althena vary from game to game in terms of the quantity of Christian elements.
** While ''The Silver Star''[='=]s religion has ancient Greek trappings, ''Silver Star Story'''s Temple of the Goddess may as well be a Christian cathedral. (''Silver Star Harmony'' dials this down.)
** All iterations of ''Eternal Blue'' are blatant examples, featuring missionary churches and "the end is nigh" preachings.
** Underneath the trappings of Christianity, worship of Althena parallels {{Buddhism}} and other Eastern beliefs. In particular, the Four Dragons are quite literally a Crystal Dragon version of TheFourGods, and the Four Heroes can be considered the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitenno_%28samurai%29 Shitennou]] of Althena. One of the inspirations for ''Eternal Blue'' was the introduction of ''[[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Journey into the West]]'', in which Sun Wukong, despite all he had achieved and all the power he commanded, could not escape Buddha's palm. The writer (WordOfGod) considered it an insult to the 'power of humanity' that he could simply do nothing.
* DarkIsEvil: The Magic Emperor is described using dark magic, Zophar is described as a dark god that is revived by the dark side of humanity.
* DefendCommand: One of the commands in battle. Amusingly, in ''Eternal Blue Complete'', Lemina's defending animation has her open an umbrella and hold it in front of her like a shield.
* DemiHuman: The beastpeople and the Vile Tribe both qualify as this, both with varying levels of humanity.
* {{Determinator}}: As a rule, the series is keen on HeroicSpirit. It's also keen on NearVillainVictory, because there's no better way to demonstrate HeroicSpirit than [[ScrewDestiny rising up against impossible odds]].
** In ''The Silver Star'', Alex, Mia, and Jessica don't let the end of the world get them down, giving {{Rousing Speech}}es (well, not so much Alex,) to raise Nash's and Kyle's morale.
** The entire party of ''Eternal Blue''. In fact, this is referred to as the "power of humanity": the ability to absolutely ''never'' give up, no matter how hopeless everything seems, so long as there is still ''anything'' left to fight for.
* DisappearedDad: There's a number of missing parents in the series, but one of particular notice is the father of Mia, the husband of Lemia Ausa... or any male in the Ausa line, for that matter. While he's simply never mentioned in the game, bonus materials turn this into a JustifiedTrope, explained best in Lemina's backstory novel: the heiresses of the Ausa family keep their romances and marriages a secret from the public, to separate their family life and their responsibilities to the Guild as much as possible. Suddenly, it makes sense why there's no mention of Lemia's husband, and why the series makes a point of avoiding confirmation on whether or not Mia and Nash hooked up.
** Which means there's plenty of open territory for fan speculation about who Mia's father is. One popular theory is that it's Ghaleon, but the ''Tale of the Vane Airship'' manga suggests that it's more likely to be Dyne.
* DubNameChange: Name changes are common in the two main games; generally, fans accept them as [[{{Woolseyism}} effective alterations]]. On the other hand, ''Lunar: Dragon Song'' averts this trope - the names of the main characters match their Japanese counterparts pretty faithfully.
** ''The Silver Star'' favored prosaic name changes. Ahres (アレス; derived from the English word "earth") became Alex, Killy (キリー) became Kyle, Temzin and Pilya became Tempest and Fresca.
** ''Eternal Blue'' took the opposite approach, making names more exotic. Rainus (ライナス pronounced like Linus) became Lunn and the Masked White Knight became '''Mystere!'''
* EarthThatWas: The humans of Lunar all came from the Blue Star, which is now a frozen wasteland.
* ElementalPowers: Some characters will have elemental magic in their special abilities. Ghaleon has one of each, except for Lightning.
** [[PlayingWithFire Fire]] and [[AnIcePerson Ice]]: Mia Ausa and Lemina Ausa.
** [[ShockAndAwe Lighting]]: Nash
** [[BlowYouAway Wind]]: Hiro
** [[DishingOutDirt Earth]]: Leo
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Spelled out in ''Eternal Blue'' with five elements, and color-coded crests for each: Earth (orange), Fire (red), Lightning (yellow), Ice (blue) and Wind (green).
* EvilAlbino: [[spoiler:Ghaleon]] is one of the greatest examples you could ask for. Some close seconds would be the three women from the Vile Tribe from ''Silver Star Story'', who all have either silver or blonde hair and red eyes.
** By the end, though, [[spoiler:Phacia]] turns out to be more of the [[HeroicAlbino heroic variety]]. [[spoiler:Ghaleon]] would also qualify at points.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The Magic Emperor [[spoiler:Ghaleon]], who could not understand why [[spoiler:Althena and Dyne chose to relinquish their powers]], and Zophar, who [[spoiler:underestimated the power of humanity]].
* {{Fanservice}}: The various "bromides" (pictures) of the female cast members in the ''Silver Star Story'' remake. There's a purchasable version in the original, but you can't do anything with it, aside from equipping Nash with it (for +1 defense).
** ''Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete'' makes Lucia an InnocentFanserviceGirl.
** There's also the hot spring scenes in the first game. Naturally, the female bath is considerably harder to reach than the male bath.
* FantasyPantheon: Althena, goddess of love, beauty and song, and her Four Dragons, keepers of the world's mana and judges of aspiring Dragonmasters.
* FantasticGhetto: The Frontier, a locale that appears in both ''Lunar 1'' and ''Lunar: Dragon Song'', is an inhospitable desert to which the enemies of Althena's children are exiled.
* {{Feelies}}: The ''Complete'' remakes on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation came with mini-strategy guides, cloth maps of the overworld, and a life-sized replica of Lucia's pendant (in the case of ''Eternal Blue'').
* FloatingMask: D, the personification of Demon Castle D in ''Lunar Walking School'' and ''Magic School Lunar!'' appears as a mask, although its design changes between the Game Gear and Saturn versions.
** The Five Princes of the Black Star added to ''Silver Star Harmony'' also take the form of masks.
* FortuneTeller: Royce in ''Silver Star Story'', Lemina in ''Eternal Blue''.
* TheFourGods: The color of the four dragons of Althena are White, Red, Blue and Black. Even more explicit in ''Dragon Song'', in which the White Dragon is tiger-like, the Black Dragon is turtle-like, the Red Dragon resembles a phoenix and the Blue Dragon looks like a [[DragonsUpTheYinYang Chinese dragon]].
* FuroScene: The sole reason why the Althena's Spring locations exist.
* GaidenGame: ''Lunar: Walking School'' / ''Magic School Lunar!''.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: A couple of subtle instances of this, involving Lucia in ''Eternal Blue''. First and most obvious, when you first get her, she can solo the enemy encounters with ease. Once she's cursed by Zophar, she's helpless in combat and over the course of the game gets better as the party gains levels.
** Additionally, despite being a pure spellcaster she doesn't have an MP display...and then you realize, oh yeah. She's basically a PhysicalGod. ''She has'' '''''infinite''''' ''mana'', or at least the source of her power is so fundamentally ''different'' from the other mortal party members that the game doesn't even ''bother'' tracking it.
** Finally, you'll note that she's on AI control all the time (partially to avoid having the player abuse that infinite mana pool). As the story progresses, her AI will change. At first she focuses on using her massive [=AoE=] to blast everything in her path; after she's cursed, she does nothing but run away from enemies; when "forced" to travel with Hiro & co., she focuses on buffing herself and attacking; but after she has second thoughts about abandoning the party, she starts using her buffs and heals on everyone, but with a bias toward Hiro (even over herself).
** Another one is in the epilogue sequence in ''Silver Star'' (at least in ''Harmony''). [[spoiler: Alex's MP meter ''disappears'' since he gave up his magic to save Luna, just as Dyne did 15 years prior.]]
* GenkiGirl: Jessica and Lemina.
* GenreSavvy: Despite all his [[WellIntentionedExtremist noble intentions]] and [[AntiVillain hidden moral ambiguity]], for most of the game the [[EvilOverlord Magic Emperor]] acts like an [[CardCarryingVillain utterly evil bastard]], complete with {{Evil Laugh}}s, LargeHam moments and a worrying tendency to go out of his way to [[KickTheDog mock the hero]] when arguably he should be busy [[TakeOverTheWorld conquering the world]] or something. Why? Apparently only because he knows that that's what villains are ''supposed to do!'' Or it's just [[EvilFeelsGood that much fun]].
** Even more prominent in ''Eternal Blue'': [[spoiler: Ghaleon]] is back, somehow, and is acting in an even more obvious, villainous way. He resumes mocking the heroes and laughing evilly like nothing ever happened. [[spoiler:However, the whole point this time around is that it's all a ''show''; Ghaleon is trying to con his "boss" into thinking he's evil by playing the role of TheDragon, when he is in fact engaging in a BatmanGambit to destroy Zophar forever by getting all the pieces exactly in place.]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Ever wondered how this series got away with a Teen rating with all those bathing scenes?
** Not to mention some of the bromides, which range from "showing some skin" all the way to "voyeurism."
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: There are more that a few bosses for bosses sake in the Sega CD games, but many are cut from the remakes.
** Subverted in the Sega CD version of ''Eternal Blue''. The Phantom Sentry is a one time boss that appears out of nowhere, makes some cryptic statements, and disappears just as quickly, never to be seen again until the PlayableEpilogue, in which he becomes very important.
* GodivaHair: Employed in FanService [[FuroScene bathing scenes]] throughout the series.
* GuestStarPartyMember: Tempest, Laike and Ghaleon in ''The Silver Star''. Gwyn in ''Eternal Blue''.
* HealingHands: Jessica and Ronfar's magic.
* HealingSpring: ''Lunar'' was ahead of the curve on averting the TraumaInn trope, which was ubiquitous in the 90s. Instead, every game offers a free means of regaining health between missions - either NPC healers (''The Silver Star'', ''Magic School'') or goddess statues (''Eternal Blue'', all the remakes) located in towns.
* HeroicMime: Alex comes pretty close to being one of these in ''Silver Star'', but averts it with a few lines of dialogue here and there. Hiro in ''Eternal Blue'' averts it quite thoroughly.
* HilariousOuttakes: WorkingDesigns always included some after the credits, even ''Lunar: The Silver Star'', had one. Xseed produced some outtakes for ''Silver Star Harmony'' as well.
* HubCity: Meribia, the largest city in the setting, is the [[MerchantCity commercial capital]]. The [[FloatingContinent flying city]] of Vane is the magical/academic capital; its citizens call it the center of the world. Both of the cities are cool enough to get their own introductory cutscenes in ''The Silver Star'', and they're important locations in ''Eternal Blue'' as well.
* HyperactiveSprite: The player characters constantly walk in place in most games in the series. The exceptions are ''Magic School'', ''Dragon Song'', and ''Silver Star Harmony''.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: Jean, for the first portion of the game, fights with dancer fans. ''Bladed'' dancer fans.
* InformedAbility: Luna and Lucia's singing is supposed to be incredibly beautiful... but at best, it's decent. It's even ''worse'' with the bar maids in ''Silver Star Story''.
** Creator/KikukoInoue's singing as Luna in the Sega CD version was pretty convincing.
* InterspeciesRomance: Kyle and Jessica in the first game, Ronfar and Mauri in the second.
** In the ''Childhood's End'' manga, [[spoiler: Alternate Phacia]] was involved in one, to the horror of humans and the Vile Tribe alike.
* InTheHood: In ''Silver Star Story'', Royce the FortuneTeller plays this straight, wearing one to give her a dark and mysterious appearance. On the other hand, Jessica averts it, wearing a hooded cape for the sake of a [[Franchise/FinalFantasy White Mage]] look. In ''Eternal Blue'', Lemina initially wears a hood, to both hide her identity and play the part of a mysterious fortune teller... and the rest of the characters call her weird for it.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Both Alex and Hiro.
* KnightInShiningArmor: The Dragonmasters.
* LargeHam: The head writer and president of WorkingDesigns has been accused of not being able to distinguish between drama and melodrama, leading to an abundance of Grade A ham. Conversely, however, a large portion of the English fanbase cites this as no small part of the charm of the Working Designs versions.
* {{Leitmotif}}: ''Lunar: The Silver Star'' is not big on recurring musical themes, but ''Eternal Blue'' and the remakes sure are. Themes keep popping up in BGM throughout the games (and the general consensus is [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome they're pretty darn good ones, too]]). Most notably, each game has a main theme which will show up in the introduction, the credits, and plenty of times in between. The ''Silver Star Story'' theme is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4ExYiNEhJU Wings]], and the ''Eternal Blue'' theme is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyRjnTONtBs Rondo of Light and Shadow]]. Many of the characters will get their own themes as well, which are listed on the [[Characters/{{Lunar}} Characters Page]].
* LeftHanging: Fairly deliberately done to a few of the wider "mythos" plot points, especially in ''Eternal Blue''. [[spoiler:For example, they never completely explain the relationship between Althena and Lucia - it looks like they could be related, and Lucia herself says "Althena led the people to Lunar, while I..." and then just leaves it there as stuff happens. Also, since it is pretty obvious that the Blue Star is ''Earth'', the exact origins of Althena, Lucia and Zophar are never explained. It seems like ''they'' all know the answers, but player is never privy to them. And exactly what is the origin of the Vile Tribe and their relationship to Zophar? He seems to have some control over them, Ghaleon especially (what with the ''resurrection'' thing and all) but this is not elaborated on at all.]] Some of these may be deliberate {{Sequel Hook}}s, but since ''Lunar 3'' has been in DevelopmentHell since 1996...
** The [[spoiler:Althena/Lucia relationship]] in particular is popular target of fan speculation. [[spoiler:Lucia and Althena know each other's purposes, and are similar enough that Lucia can assume Althena's powers. Lucia seems ''deeply hurt'' that Luna-Althena chose to become mortal (read: Lucia will never see her again). Luna-Althena, for her part, was clearly concerned about how Lucia would take it, to the point that she recorded a message explaining the situation, her reasoning, and some words of encouragement for Lucia. So what the hell is their relationship? Sisters? Mother-daughter? They're ''obviously'' very similar physically, and at the start of the game Althena is the only person Lucia actually cares about... so ''what are they''?]] We've now hit the twenty-year mark on this and fans ''still'' don't have any straight answers or payoff on the question, [[AllThereInTheManual not even in the extra material]].
*** The closest answer the fans will (probably) ever get came from [[http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/lunarqa.txt an FAQ from a Japanese artbook]]:
-->3. What's the connection between Althena and Lucia? When Althena was on the Blue Star, where was Lucia?
-->Althena, Lucia, and Zophar are all probably the same type of entity. We call them gods, and while that's a possibility, the truth seems to be a little different. So, then, what are they? Well...we don't really know. C'mon, this isn't sci-fi; gimme a break if I can't be clear on everything <g>.
* MagicalIncantation: In the ''Childhood's End'' and ''Vheen Airship Story'' mangas, it's stated that humans need to use either incantations or prayers to use magic. When someone can cast magic without this, it's a dead giveaway that they're actually a member of the Vile Tribe.
* MagicalSociety / WizardingSchool: The Magic Guild of Vane, which serves as a school as well as the governing body of Vane. Also, in ''Eternal Blue'', the new city of Neo-Vane, now with more FantasticRacism against {{Muggles}}. Also, the titular magic school of ''Magic School''.
* {{Magitek}}: This trope pops up from time to time, and is most pronounced in the original ''Silver Star''.
** The Grindery, the {{Big Bad}}'s giant BaseOnWheels in ''The Silver Star'', is depicted as an unholy union of magic and machinery.
** There's nothing unholy about the Dragonship Destiny in ''Eternal Blue''. It's such a CoolBoat that {{NPC}}s everywhere admire it.
* MelancholyMoon: With the Blue Star in the place of the moon, making it more like Melancholy Earth. The acclaimed Boat Scene in the ''Silver Star'' remakes is what this trope is all about, though.
* MetalSlime: Cute, fuzzy creatures called Chiros, known in older translations as Ice Mongrels. They (along with their {{Palette Swap}}s, called Shiros/Ice Pups) yield above average experience in the ''Silver Star'' remakes, but in ''Eternal Blue'' and ''Eternal Blue Complete'' they are hard to encounter, hard to kill, and the XP is insanely good.
* MysteriousWaif: Luna in the first game, Lucia in the second.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
** Vile Tribe.
** In the Sega CD version of ''Eternal Blue'', the CorruptChurch is called Althena's {{Cult}}.
* NearVillainVictory: A staple of the series.
** In ''Silver Star'', the Magic Emperor's goal is control Althena's human incarnation. He succeeds, and takes over the world for about twenty minutes before the heroes come and kill him.
** In the remakes his goal is to have there be a god, which he succeeds in until [[spoiler:Alex convinces Luna that she can become human again.]]
** Both versions of ''Eternal Blue'', Zophar, despite [[SealedEvilInACan being sealed away]], pretty much rules the world. The Four Dragons are sealed away and his minions have pretty much created a CrapSackWorld. Once he gets released, Zophar successfully hijacks Althena's power, but the heroes stop him before he can [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt create his "age of darkness"]].
* NiceHat / EveryGirlIsCuterWithHairDecs: There's more characters with these than without. Hats, bandanas, hair ribbons, helmets, hoods...
* NonHumanSidekick: Nall, Alex's [[strike:pet]] friend, who provides most of the game's jokes when interacting with townsfolk. Ruby in the second game, who does pretty much the same, but also breathes fire [[MarsNeedsWomen and has a crush on Hiro]].
* OddballInTheSeries: ''Dragon Song'' attempted to update the series gameplay, but its plotting and characterization are rather sparse. This seems an odd path to take with a series that's known for old-school gameplay and well developed stories and characters.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Kyle claims to do this in ''Silver Star Story'', but Ronfar in ''Eternal Blue'' is a better example. He uses this to try and duck out of helping Hiro, pretending to be a useless, HandsomeLech of a [[TheGambler Gambler]] and not responding to the name 'Ronfar', up until he notices how serious Lucia's condition is.
* OfficialCouple: Alex and Luna in the first game. Hiro and Lucia in the second.
** With {{Beta Couple}}s of Kyle and Jessica, Nash and Mia in the first as well (sort of). Ronfar and Mauri in the second.
* OneWingedAngel: A veritable auto-include, but some games in the series play with this trope.
** ''The Silver Star'' played it straight and gave the final boss a second, monstrous form, complete with epic LargeHam transformation.
-->"''Cower''...in ''fear''...as I demonstrate my '''''TRUE'''''...'''''POWER'''''!"
** The ''Silver Star'' remakes...[[spoiler:avert this. No monster form. No multiple stages. Just one incredibly hard-hitting WellIntentionedExtremist.]]
** The confrontation with the BigBad in ''Eternal Blue'' is an ideal example of the trope, with three (or four?) stages, including ClippedWingAngel.
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: Heroes must be judged worthy to carry Althena's Sword, though the means of determining worthiness varies from game to game.
** In ''The Silver Star'', Alex must fight a DualBoss against the Dragon Angels to get Althena's Sword. In the remake the Dragon Angels were AdaptedOut, and the trial by combat was replaced with a good old sword-in-the-stone scenario. The champion's sword was [[ExcaliburInTheRust right under everyone's noses all along]].
** In ''Lunar 2'', Nall is the keeper of Althena's Sword, and he eventually decides to give it to Hiro [[spoiler:but only ''after'' he succeeds in saving the world.]]
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The baby ones look like winged cats. The grown ones are anything but reptile-like.
* PaperThinDisguise: Played (ahem) straight by Kyle in the first remake, but played for laughs by 'Mystere' (Leo) in the second remake.
* PalsWithJesus: [[spoiler:Luna A.K.A. the Goddess Althena]] And of course, Lucia.
* {{Physical God}}dess: Althena. Also Lucia, when her power isn't drained.
** Also Zophar.
* PlayboyBunny: There are bunny girl [=NPCs=] in both ''Silver Star Story'' and ''Eternal Blue''. In the latter, there's even a martial arts dojo full of these, training in the art of Bunny Fist.
* PortalPool: The Springs of Transmission used used to enter Vane in ''The Silver Star'' and ''Eternal Blue''. The entrance to the Goddess Tower in ''Eternal Blue''. ''The Silver Star'' had another one as the entrance to the Frontier.
* ThePowerOfLove: That's what it's all about!
* PrettyInMink: Fur trim is a favored costume element, especially in ''The Silver Star''.
* RandomEncounters: Played straight in the original games, but completely averted in the remakes.
* ShoutOut: Many of the Working Designs jokes consist of {{Shout Out}}s of various kinds.
** XSEED's translation of ''Silver Star Harmony'' has a ShoutOut to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest'' in the form of Nall having a dream about getting a silk bag from a graveyard duck during the camping scene in the Lost Woods:
-->"Zzzzz...grave...yard...zzz...duck...
-->...zzz...give me...the...bag..."
** "Delays are temporary, mediocrity is forever." This line in ''Silver Star Story'', uttered by Myght, is an allusion to WorkingDesigns' frequent [[ScheduleSlip release schedule slips]]. {{Xseed}} kept it in ''Silver Star Harmony''.
** "'''Mystere'''" introduces himself with the line "[[Film/GalaxyQuest Never give up! Never surrender!]]"
** [=Xseed=] brought back Jennifer Stigile to perform the songs in ''Silver Star Harmony''. 'Nuff said.
* SmurfettePrinciple: Averted throughout the series. Which is fairly impressive, in light of the fact that the games were first released in the early 90s.
** ''Silver Star'' had a respectable four-to-three ratio of lead characters, and that's only if you count Nall. This gets a tad diluted, though, considering one ends up as a [[DistressedDamsel damsel-in-distress]] for the majority of the game, and most of the [[GuestStarPartyMember Guest Star Party Members]] are male.
** In ''Eternal Blue'', on the other hand? If you count Ruby, there are actually more female lead characters than male. In fact, you spend the majority of the game with a party of four women and only two men!
* StandardStatusEffects: Nash and Jean have status-inflicting magic.
* StatusBuff: All characters with swords usually have a spell to boost their stats as well, while mages will usually have a spell to boost the stats of another character.
* SummonMagic: The spells of the four dragons.
* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: Several in the form of the Dragonmaster's equipment, collected piece by piece.
* [[ThatsNoMoon That's No Moon]]: Inverted: yes it is! According to the CreationMyth of the setting, the Goddess Althena made Lunar habitable and populated it with people from the Blue Star, Lunar's omnipresent WeirdMoon. [[AllMythsAreTrue All myths being true]], the Blue Star ''isn't'' a moon, (the fact that it's called a star has to do with "star" being an acceptable equivalent for "planet" in Japanese,) but Lunar actually is.
* TrueBlueFemininity: Several female character designs reflect this, to the point of [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair having blue hair]].
* UnusualEars: Name a beastperson, any beastperson. Both of the main types are seen in their species.
* UnreliableNarrator: A meta example. The changes between the Sega CD, PSX, GBA and PSP versions of the first game have many glaring differences in the storyline. There's no official word on which one is canon.
* UpdatedRerelease: Lots of 'em.
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete'' is a major overhaul of ''Lunar: The Silver Star''.
** ''Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete'' refines the scenarios of the original ''Lunar: Eternal Blue'' and shifts cutscene placement around.
** ''Magic School Lunar'' on UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn is a major expansion of ''Lunar: Walking School'' on Game Gear, with more characters, more magic, more chapters... more of pretty much everything. [[NoExportForYou Japan only, though.]]
** ''Lunar Legend'' for UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, also built on ''The Silver Star'', swaps in some plot points from the Japan-only novels and adds a collectible card element.
** ''Lunar: Silver Star Harmony'' for the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] builds on ''Silver Star Story'' a bit, including more {{Mythology Gag}}s and inverted {{Continuity Nod}}s. (For example, one person will mention that Ramus' shop will stay in business for centuries. It lasts for a millennium, as seen in Eternal Blue.)
* UselessUsefulSpell: Status effects in general.
* VillainousBreakdown: Subverted with [[spoiler:the Magic Emperor Ghaleon in SSSC since despite his final defeat, he still succeeded in awakening the goddess within Luna]]. Played straight with [[spoiler:Zophar]] in the second game [[spoiler:who, after getting defeated by Hiro and co. for the second time, completely loses it and declares he will destroy everything]].
* WretchedHive: The line is [[ShoutOut quoted]] in ''Silver Star Story'' by an [=NPC=] next to the pub in Saith.
** The first town in ''Lunar 2'', Larpa, embodies the trope more fully. It is ''cheerfully'' given over to drunken carousing, petty theft, and racketeering. (That last one is mostly courtesy of the [[SleazyPolitician crooked mayor]].)
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The series is pretty staid by Japanese standards, with blue as the major departure, but adds green and pink in later games.
----

* FantasyPantheon: Althena and the four dragons.

* ''Lunar: Walking School'' -- UsefulNotes/GameGear (1996)

** In ''Lunar 2'', Nall is the keeper of Althena's Sword, and he eventually decides to give it to Hiro [spoiler:but only ''after'' he succeeded in saving the world.]

** Worth noting: the Blue Star looks ''exactly'' like Earth...
*** When they say exactly, they mean exactly. You can clearly identify Africa, Europe, and North America in various shots. The backstory is gone into much more in the Eternal Blue remake. It is VERY clear that this is Earth ''AfterTheEnd''. You get to actually see the final battle where Earth is destroyed in a cutscene.

* BrokenBridge, [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]: It's an actual bridge, and your party members are the ones who do the breaking.

** [[spoiler: The Blue Star is the planet [[EarthThatWas in question]]...in some parts of VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar, you can distinctly make out Africa and Scandinavia..]]

* TheFourGods: It is probably not a coincidence that the color of the four dragons of Althena are White, Red, Blue and Black.