Funny voice-acting/script, nice music, goofy time. Not worth the money.
Lunacy is an FMV adventure game. Usually that means you are in for an awful time (see: WARP's games, like D and Enemy Zero). However, Lunacy is actually quite playable and entertaining.
The game bucks the trends of most FMV games with giving your character, the "infamous Fred" a real runner's pace. It's actually really funny watching him (or rather, the camera) gun it about town. Even funnier when the camera does some mad stunts like barreling backwards down a hallway, sprinting down a ladder, and jumping laterally backwards from said ladder - Fred has got skillz. The point being is that this fast movement gives the illusion of speed to the gameplay, and even though it is an illusion, it is so much better than D or Enemy Zero's tip-toeing through the environments.
Another thing Lunacy has going for it is its utterly goofy script, with extremely wooden and bizarre delivery. The "infamous traveler" Fred sounds like a whiny goober, and you'll get used to hearing his pathetic exclamation "Oh, it's useless!" as you solve the game's obtuse puzzles. The real star is Lord Gordon, the self-proclaimed "master of dirty tricks," who won't let any "moon tricks" stop him from becoming king of Moon City. If you couldn't tell, I can't stop laughing at how stupid all of these characters are - in fact, one character spends the entire game calling you "stupid" or "loser", so he's naturally the most likable one in the game.
For as much as I rag on the game, I am at least invested in what's going on, because it is so bizarre. The Town of Mists is so chock full of plot twists it makes Shu Takumi's Ghost Trick's sheer pile-up of coincidences in its final chapter seem like a low-tier M. Night Shyamalan movie. It's all good fun to show to friends, as they won't understand what's going on.
If this all sounds positive, it is, in a backhanded-compliment sort of way. However, if I was judging this game solely by its presentation, it would get a great "cult-hit" mark. Unfortunately, like most FMV games, Lunacy has a lot more "video" than "game."
For starters, the maps you navigate are extremely confusing. Both Misty Town and Moon City are full of twisting corridors and curving paths, and it is extremely easy to get lost, which compounds your aimless sprints down these various hallways. The latter is more obnoxious, since it contains teleportation to various parts of the map, and it is very hard to keep your bearings.
Secondly, and most egregiously, the sequence of events are completely obtuse and non-obvious. You will have to consult a FAQ several times, because the game does not make it clear what to do. After cutscene X, examine a random flower in the flower shop (on the other side of town) to learn interesting fact Q, that allows your idiot of a character to piece together information you figured out a half-hour ago. It's irritating because you want to play the game, not look over your shoulder at a FAQ or map of the town to figure things out. Be prepared to save on the second disc, since the stakes are raised considerably, and puzzles are life-and-death matters! These puzzles are craftier and more mind-bending and satisfying, and the strange vistas and environments give the game a unique and interesting atmosphere. It only barely makes up for the monotony of running around, trying all your items on random spots of the game. Barely.
If this were a $20.00 saturn game, it'd be easy to recommend. Go cheap or watch it on youtube!Read full review
