Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete

"A superb follow-up to Silver Star Story"

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue is the sequel to the classic Lunar: Silver Star Story. The basis of this game takes place in the world of Lunar 1000 years after the events from the first game. A mystical and mysterious being going by the name of Lucia arrives from the blue star in her search for the goddess Althena. Why is she doing this? What is set to happen? These questions can be answered as you progress through another fantastical adventure that is full of bubbly charm and sinister evils lurk in the background. Meeting with a young adventurer called Hiro and his little flying buddy Ruby, they embark on a journey of discovery and searching for the truth...

GAMEPLAY

The game battle system plays exactly like the previous game in the series. It is turn-based and your characters are set in a battle field where you and the monsters take turns attacking each other. An interesting feature that sets the battle system slightly different to other turn-based RPGs is the fact that both you and your opponents must walk towards to monsters in order to physically attack them (magicians are safe from this feature) which adds a more strategic twist to how you approach the battles. If you want to attack an enemy in the back row using your sword, would your character be able to move there in time? Or would it be more affective to leave back-row creatures to your magicians? And there is the lovely auto option so you can breeze through easy battles without really lifting a finger. With all said, the gameplay does suffer slightly from the notion that you can generally breeze through battles using your best skills over and over but it is not something that you should fret and worry over.

General controls are as easy to use as ever and now there is also an expanded group inventory so that you don't need to worry about inventory space that hinders some other RPGs. Everything is as standard as they come. Shopping, inns and houses where apparently the inhabitants don't mind strangers wondering in and stealing their goods from under their eyes... they're all there.

Lunar 2 is just as linear as Lunar: Silver Star Story. You are fed through a series of events in order and you do not have a lot of opportunity to stray from your set path. RPG fans who likes their games to be much more non-linear may not like the nature of Lunar 2. Nevertheless, the game is immensely enjoyable in characterization and the story itself.

GRAPHICS

As old-school as it gets. Lunar 2 loses none of the nostalgic charm of previous version of this game and this port adds new cut-scenes that were not present in the older versions and these scenes really do bring the game to life in the portrayal of a magical world.

MUSIC/SOUNDS

The upbeat music of the series yet again presents the world of Lunar 2 in its most colorful. The battle music in particular adds an edgey sound that really does create tension within the battles themselves. Since you would be listening to the battle music throughout the entire game, it is definitely helpful for an RPG to have repeated music (in this case, battle music) to be addictive to the ear of the player. And music from the Lunar 1 makes their appearance which brings out the most nostalgic amongst Lunar fans. There is not a bad quality to the soundtrack to this game and it shows.

The voice-acting in the game is generally good, and so much damn better than some other games (Resident Evil comes to mind, easily). Personalities of each character are shown through the voices, from the reluctant and monotone (in a good and fitting way seeing as Lucia has not communicated with humans before) voice of Lucia, the greedy nature of Lemina is expressed through her high-pitchness (in comparison to the others in the gang) and so on and so forth. Working Designs DOES listen! If you do not like voices in battles, you can simply turn the option off... as simple as that! But I do enjoy the voices and there are more variety in this game than in Lunar 1.

OVERALL

Lunar 2 continues the series' tradition with flair and professionalism from the producers. It sticks by this tradition and won't let it go, and some may argue, all the better for it. Beginners to RPGs would find a lot to enjoy with the Lunar series as much as veterans because general controls in and out of battles are friendly to anyone of any skill towards RPGs. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue is, in my opinion, a fantastic follow-up to the first game with a storyline that is somehow similar and yet also different to Lunar 1. Lucia is not a simple rehash of Luna, and her complicity and alien grasp of the human world helps shape up a more detailed storyline than the prequel.

Anyone looking for a good, fun old-fashioned RPG would find Lunar 2 a complete joy to play. The world of Lunar is vivid and keeps true to its roots. Working Designs have really put out all the stops to create a package that is really value for money. The hardback color manual, the extra making-of-Lunar 2 disc, the soundtrack disc and other extras make this pacakge worth your while.

PROS

- Likable characters and a fairly simple yet engaging storyline that manages to relate back to the first game and make believable connections.

- The cliche 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' applies here. Lunar 2 does not steer away from the system used in the first game and traditionists will welcome the fact that there's little change.

CONS

- Most of the battles can be beaten by simply using the strongest attacks available. Perhaps there should have been more room for more variety in terms of battle strategy?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/20/03, Updated 02/20/03