Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete

"The RPG you find once in a lifetime"

Ok, where do I start? How can anyone ever put in just a simple review the words needed to describe this game. It is like no other I have eve played. Once a big hit and one of the most rememberable games for the late-great Sega CD, finally Working Designs decided to bring this long-lost hit back for the Playstation. Words cannot express how excited that made me. The story line is one of the greatest love plots ever to grace a video game (or movie for that). The way the love plot unravels is genius to say the least. Every part from the introduction to the amazing ending wreaks of love. Even the way the unspoken dialogue was used left emotions for simple characters that I and many many friends agree have never before been accomplished in any game. And the deep relationships weren't just felt between the two main characters, Hiro and Lucia. Countless times you could just feel the care each of the characters felt for one another. Ruby, with how she was obviously in love with Hiro. Lemina, with how she started caring about nothing more than money and the magic guild, and over time just couldn't leave the group. Ronfar with his undying love for Mauri. Jean, with her mysterious background and dark past. Leo, with his want of justice. I think anybody who ever plays this game will agree, this is the best setup of characters ever created for a video game.

The battles, while old school, were still amazing. Although some were hard, for the most part once you have figured out how an enemy works and it's weaknesses and strengths, it is a breeze. The boss fights gave you something to spend all that time running through the woods, caverns and dungeons building up levels, hoping to gain that spell that would turn the tables for you in the battle you are about to fight. The character AI was a nice touch as sometimes it gave you an idea of how to fight that battle. Rarely have I won boss fights using just the AI but I have been able to study the way the bosses fight by watching my characters take control of themselves to wage war. And the simple command interface made the whole easy to learn.

The animations in the game. WOW. The animations are so ingenious there are times when an animation has just passed and you are left worried, scared, sad, happy, laughing, or just plain flat out amazed. Looking at the old 2D title's animations and then examining the new animations makes you thank god for Playstation. I can't say much more of the animations without containing a few spoilers so I won't. Let's just say that the animations at times leave you with so much emotion you feel as if you are one of the characters.

The graphics. OK. This is the only reason this game got a 9 out of 10. The graphics are not far off from the original, and we all remember how the Sega CD's graphics compare to the Playstation. I don't want to spend too much time concentrating on the graphics, for I feel as if I am defiling one of the best games ever created. I do believe that if the characters were sharpened up just a little bit more it would have been acceptable. There where times when the camera would zoom in in battle and I could count the on screen polygons. Out of zoom view isn't that bad, but it still falls far from where they should've been. It is a classic and Working Designs were trying to bring it back as a classic. But the graphics could have been sharpened a lot without losing any of that classic feel.

The magic. This is one of every RPG gamer's favorite parts of an RPG. Who doesn't remember playing an RPG fighting battle after battle to gain that last bit of experience that would level you up and get you that last incredible spell that you have seen in strategy guides and heard your friends talk about? The way you gain magic in Lunar 2: EB uses the classic way of gaining spells. Leveling up. Which means if devoted enough and have a lack of a life, you can actually acquire every single spell for your character near the beginning of the game. It would take a very long time but unlike the Final Fantasies and many other RPG's of our time, you don't have to be at certain points in the game to gain magic spells. While some may see that as a minus to gameplay, I see it as a plus. Who wouldn't like going up against Borgan with the strongest spell in the game and just laughing as he tries his hardest to cause any damage with the intense spells flying at him from all directions?

The soundtrack from the game was even more spectacular than the preceding game. And the added soundtrack CD you get with the game is a wonderful add on. I love getting to sit and here my favorite songs from my portable CD player on long car trips whenever I want. If you remember, the original game had the two songs that were actually sang on it. Well now, you have all of them. Some of the orchestrated songs in the game have so much emotion in them that at times the music alone will give you that feeling of anger, that feeling of sadness, or that feeling of being a champion. The songs are placed at just the right times in the story line.

The world of Lunar is one of the most magnificent RPG worlds ever. There are many many towns and dungeons to explore, as well as secrets.

The humor in Lunar 2: EB was fantastic. With up to date jokes and hints about things such as politics, and other big news topics. The way that some characters are utterly rude while others are incredibly nice and many have nothing but little jokes and funny references keeps you wondering what they will say next. Most of the time while playing an RPG I talk to only those that I must talk to and that's that. In Lunar 2 I find myself talking to everybody. Everybody has something unique to say. This should be incorporated into all RPG's of the future.

Oh, and the story isn't done once you beat the main boss. After the end credits and everything, on the load game screen is a new load game titled Epilogue, which allows you to finish the story and see the real ending of the game. The epilogue also allows you to gain all of the secrets in the game that were locked before. One of which includes a device that allows you to warp to any tow you have visited. Another that gives you access to watch animations from the storyline by revisiting the places in which those animations took place.

The add ins in this box set include a map, a leather bound game guide, figurines, the ''making of Lunar 2: EB'' playstation disk, and as mentioned before, the soundtrack in it's own (paper) case with a slip for you to put your demo of Lunar 2:EB. This just upped the collectibility of this game majorly. Many of the people who I know (including myself) have bought two separate copies. One to play and one to hold on to as a collector's item.

The way that they use the memory card is also another big plus. No more maximum 15 saves to a card. Lunar 2:EB makes it so you can place two saves to each block, making the max 30 saves to each memory card. WOW! Finally a game where I don't pretty much have to buy it it's own separate memory card. Sorry Sony.

To sum it up, Lunar 2:EB is the game that cries for more. And with the announcement that WD is making a Lunar 3, that cry may soon be heard. If you don't have this game, and I stress this highly, GO BUY IT NOW!!!

Well, that's my two cents (and btw, my first review ever).
Now go get your copy and play away.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/26/01, Updated 05/26/01