Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete

"A true masterpiece for hardcore RPG gamers"

The day that I bought and played Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, was the day that I realise that there were more original and better RPG than those that contain the Final Fantasy name. This game not only has beautiful artwork, but comes with goodies that make its value even better. One of the greatest RPG's ever made, and I will tell you why.

Story: 10
This game takes place 1000 years later after the first Lunar game (Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete), but I will not tell you what happened in the first game because I do not want to spoil that game's plot. You are Hiro, a young adventurer who loves going into ruins and searching for treasure and adventure. You have a companion named Ruby, a baby red dragon, such like Nall in the first game. When entering a certain tower, you encounter Lucia. Hiro is immediately drown to her beauty. But things get heated up, when the knights claim her to be as the "destroyer" and state that she must be destroyed. Hiro is now on an adventure of a lifetime, figuring out who this beautiful woman is, and will soon realise that this strange encounter is one that could determine the fate of many. The story is pretty good. Although it seems underdeveloped to few, you need a background of the first game to fully understand the game. A few plot twists here and there. The story isn't that unique, but its enough to make the game memorable.

Graphics: 10
Any modern RPG gamer would look at my rating and look at the graphics of the game and slap me. The game itself does not have good graphics, unless its a short movie clip. But the colors are vibrant and you can tell which is which. Every enemy seems to have a higher form that has a color difference in the appearance, but most of them are well done. The character designs are incredible. The drawings for characters such as Leo the White Knight are unique. Overall, think SNES rpg graphics but better and you got Lunar 2's graphics.

Characters: 10
One of the best things of this game is the characters. Every one has a unique and different story. Hiro is your "hero" and has the personality of a protagonist with a bit of comedic sense. Lucia is your "hero's girl" who at first seem distant and cold, but change. Then you have a drunk priest and a dancing girl. Things don't get as weird as that. But you will see many unique characters spread throughout the game. If you are a fan of old school RPGs, this is definitely a good buy.

Music: 10
When a game company packages a soundtrack of the game, the game is bound to have a great musical score. Although my disc was damaged due to adhesives (why me?!?!?!) the music is incredible. There are great "happy" songs, and depressing songs and your usual battle themes and "there are enemies afoot" songs. The dungeon themes and world map themes really set the mood of the game.

Character Voices: 8
One of the game's flaws is that some voices and remarks are extremely annoying. I had a friend over once and I kept using Hiro's boomerang attack and he repeatedly says "DODGE THIS!!!!". Although not really annoying, I am confused why they must say their remarks every time and not occasionally. But some battle cries are pretty entertaining. Like Ronfar's "Lady luck be kind!!!". The voices match the personality of the character. Overall, the game's character voices are fine.

Gameplay: 9
Now to the main component of the game. Every character has unique attacks. Hiro has magic and physical skills. He seems to be more in tune with the wind element. Ronfar has healing spells and a few attack skills. But each character is not limited to their initial skills. there are accessories that can give them more skills or better stats. You can even mix the accessories for even more skills. The battle is done on a plane that is half the screen. Your characters stand on one side and the enemy on the other. You have several choices. You can either attack, move, or use an item or spell/skill. When you attack, you move a certain distance. If your enemy is near, you can attack it. If not, you will stop at the maximum move range of that character. Also, when the game progresses, each character (besides the magician) increases their number of attacks. The spells range from attack, support, or healing. Items in this game have improved. In the first Lunar game on PS1, you can carry only a certain number of items, not depending on what they were. For instance, you can carry all healing herbs and nothing else. But in this game, you can carry a set number of items. When you target a enemy, they will be shaded a certain color. Red means the intended action is not effective. Yellow means that the intended action is neutral. Green means that the intended action is very effective. Using this to your advantage can help you in the long run, as some enemies have obvious weaknesses but some do not. Ruby will also help out in random battles, healing or attacking. Battles in this game are not random. Enemies are seen on the field. If you touch the enemy sprite, you will then fight them. One of the best things about this game that makes it better in my opinion than the first game is that you can run for a short time. This may not seem important, but it will let you avoid many encounters, thus you having a well rested team before a boss battle.

Difficulty:
The game is not that hard. Any average gamer can beat the game with a few problems but nothing that makes the insane. A few boss battles however, require skill in order to overcome them. The game is average in play time. I played it for 40 hours on my first run through.

Replayability: 10
This game has alot to offer. There are many collectible pictures, some that seem a bit mature but isn't. There are alot of things to do after the main game. The world of Lunar 2 is pretty big with alot of stuff to explore.

Conclusion: If you call yourself an RPG gamer, BUY this game. I don't think you can ever rent this game. This game is very rare. If you see one on the shelves, buy it. It won't be there in the next hour. Also, if you are one of the lucky people who bought a COMPLETE set, with the goodies such as the map, pendant, soundtrack, consider yourself lucky for life. This game has alot to offer, has a great story and musical score, the characters are very well done, and the battles are entertaining. One of game history's masterpieces.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/05