Rating

A-

Specific Ratings

GameplayA
GraphicsA-
Learning CurveA
Replay ValueB-
SoundA

Pros and Cons

Pros
  • Simple controls and menus. Pick up and play within 3 minutes.
  • Nifty animation sequences.
  • The graphics and sound exude a lot of charm!
  • The Story. The Characters. The World.
Cons
  • The game is very linear.
  • Feels a lot like playing the first game.

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (PlayStation)

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Summary

A classic PSone RPG that got the amazing Working Designs treatment. Looking for an epic in RPG gaming? Look no further...

Images

Description

In Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, you are Hiro, the grandson of a famous archaeologist. Longing for adventure since childhood, your desire is granted when you accompany your grandpa to investigate nearby ancient ruins. When you meet Luccia, a gorgeous girl from another world, at the ruins, you embark on an adventure to find the Goddess Althena and to save the world from the menace of Zophar.

While Eternal Blue is set at a time frame several hundred years after the events of Lunar: Silver Star, it is unnecessary for the Gamer to have played the prior game in order to fully enjoy Eternal Blue. Indeed, this game is filled with brand new locations, settings, and characters. At times, it seem like the previous world of Silver Star has faded into distant memories of several generations pass.

The characters are well developed. Each character has his individual personality, and such distinct characteristics come out in conversations between the characters. There are footages of animation inserted throughout the game, with voice acting for the characters. Top notch animation that any anime fan would love!

The controls are REALLY simplistic; a veteran RPG player could dig into the game right away and play, without reading the game manual. The game controls are very intuitive. Sometimes, simplicity is the best and most pure way to play. Why complicate things? Lunar plays like a dream... letting the gamer forget about the "game" and just soak and relax. It's time to melt into the story and world.

Like all classic RPG's, your characters in Eternal Blue gain experience the traditional way -- by fighting monsters via random encounters. As you accumulate experience points through combat, your characters advance in level and gain new abilities. You also need to save the money obtained from monsters to buy equipment. Fortunately, there is no level requirement to use weapons and armor. However, certain types of equipment can only be used by specific characters. Nothing too different from any traditional RPG. Every gamer familiar with the mold will slip right in... remember, Lunar 2 original debuted on the Sega CD back in the day. Back when "traditional" RPG's meant rolling dice.

The one major flaw for Eternal Blue and one minor one. It's biggest flaw lies in it being too linear. Like its predecessor, Lunar: The Silver Star Story, as you progress through the game, you find there is only one possible path to take. And like its predecessor, there is also only one possible ending. The minor flaw is that this game plays out exactly like the previous game. There are similar characters to first Lunar, similar situations, similar environments, and similar villains. The goal is practically the same, as well. If you've just finished playing Lunar: The Silver Star Story, you may want a break before tackling Eternal Blue. The Replay Value is fairly low considering these factors. But really, the story is so good, in both games, that the linear gameplay shouldn't bother most. And things could be much worse than sharing similarities with such an amazing game as The Silver Star Story.

The American distributors for Eternal Blue, Working Designs, threw in a ton of goodies into the American release of this game. Contained in a thick, bulging box, there is a replica of Luccia's necklace, a music soundtrack containing all the music for this game, an extra disc showing how the game was made, a color map, a leather-bound art-book/instruction manual, and standees. If you're a fan of anime RPG's, or have played a Working Designs game, you will definitely want to check out Eternal Blue. It might cost you over $40, but it is well worth it. This is a classic that every RPG fan should play.

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