Ah, full motion video (FMV) games. How the world loves to hate you. Lunacy was not your typical FMV game. The events here are played out with animated video rather than actors. Yeah, it is pre-rendered animation but it is EARLY rendered quality. While I remember back in the day wanting to play Lunacy when it came out here in the United States (thanks Gamefan) I have seen more than enough on YouTube. I still want to try and help Fred find himself, just the quest is not as high on my list anymore.
Lunacy tells the tale of Fred. Fred has amnesia. Other than this fact, the story has a lot in common with the movie The Mummy as far as situation the hero is in. Fred has found himself in the clutches of the ruler of Misty Town. This ruler is not a nice guy by any means. Fred, after being condemned to death by the evil ruler, has been offered a chance at saving his life. All Fred has to do is find the entrance to some mystical City of Moons (Hamunatra in The Mummy).
The action in Lunacy is kind of ingenious. Pretty much everything is full motion video clips. Movement is limited to forward/back, left/right and investigate. Everything that is available to you in a certain scene has been pre-loaded so it is quickly displayed. In the second disc there is a bit of “choose your own adventure” situations to face while the first disc is fairly linear.
Lunacy was not exactly a barn burning success when it was released late last century. That is a shame because there is a fair bit of uniqueness to the proceedings.
Lunacy has not been re-released on any newer platforms so if you want a copy you are going to have to hit Ebay. What I want to know is, are there any FMV fans out there?