Harmony of the Silver Star: it’s been something like 9 years since I played the Silver Star Story Complete on the PSX.  I remember when I got the game and it left such an impression on me (being about 15 at the time).  After the spark of other classics I played at the time: Final Fantasy 6 and EarthBound, Lunar defined the ‘classic’ fantasy RPG feel to me.  With a big heart that came through in the voice acting, cut scenes and music, I fell in love after finishing it and picked up Eternal Blue later on.

Anyway.  I’m enjoying Harmony of the Silver Star.  I was worried that the game would fall flat to me in some aspects in my later years, but the teams behind the localization did a good job keeping the humor and spirit from the original.  In a town named Reza, the whole joke between the dialogue with these NPC hicks — is that they are a dinky incestuous town.  Puns and sexual innuendo are frequent and the dialogue with your main characters is playful and you grow attached to their distinct personalities.  I don’t remember Alex being so ‘silent protagonist’ in the PSX version.  He hardly ever speaks beyond the opening hour or two.  But I’m remembering why I like the silent protagonist — a modest hero with few words.  Kyle steals the show with his wild and reckless personality, and Nall talks a lot!  He’s a coy mother fucker, I like ‘em.

The presentation is spot on and though the game is easy, I find some difficulty in advancing quickly through, which gives me some fun to hurry along.  I figure the more I hurry, the faster the challenge will meet my party.

I’m on my way to the Red Dragon Cave but I’m currently chasing a pink fluffy thing in a stream-filled meadow area.

Onto Raiden IV.

I’ve been spending more time than I thought I would with this one.  I’m not a huge Raiden guy aside from my time with Raiden Fighters Jet.  The first one pisses me off to all hell.  I liked Raiden III from what I played of it but I didn’t get too dedicated.  After I cleared the first loop in Raiden IV, I thought it didn’t take that much time to accomplish.  So I’ve been exploring the 2nd and final loop.  And I gotta say, it’s a blast.  With the 2nd loop, you have to get even more serious with memorizing how to handle yourself throughout the game.  The bullets go at least doubly faster.  I’ve been practicing the stages and the bosses in boss rush, primarily.  Dying early on in a real attempt can be frustrating, so I’ve limited myself to the amount of real runs I’ll do for the sake of saving time for practicing.

Right now I can reach 2-3 in X360 Mode.  My goal is to reach the true last boss.  Defeating him, I am not sure, yet.  No one has accomplished this feat on the NA Leaderboards, Arcade nor X360 Mode I believe.  I wish more people would play this game, it’s just fantastic and the more I play it the more I like it.  That spread shot is so damn satisfying.

Also, playing this game with my HRAP has been a real joy.  The two feel like a match made in heaven, it must be the slower ship speed or something.  Though I have accidentally tripped my bombs off, multiple times.  Dang you, Ultra Sensitive Sanwa buttons!  *Yay! Ultra Sensitive!*