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Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
Playstation
Reviewed: 11/17/03

Packaging

             Lunar 2: Eternal Blue was originally released for the ill-fated Sega CD. Years later, after its predecessor, Lunar: The Silver Star, got some Playstation remake action (under the name of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete), this second game was given the same treatment. Goodies such as a harbound instruction manual/mini guide, sountrack CD, and even a replica of Lucia's pendant, among other things were bundled with the game in a "complete" version, and some improvments to the gameplay were also made. So how did it fare?   

          Lunar 2 tells an excellent story. Much like Breath of Fire III, it's a sweet mix of lightheartedness and serious emotion. The tale begins with an intriguing anime sequence, followed by an animated introduction to the main character, Hiro. From there, the plot proceeds to climb a ladder that starts on the level of "easy going," and finishes in a state of such high intensity and emotion, your heart will sink.   

At first glance, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue is a game many gamers would pass up without a second thought, due to the 2D graphics. However, the graphics do not hinder the game in any way, and those who view older RPGs with an eye of respect will find the visuals quite nice. Truth be told, Lunar 2's looks actually serve as a sweet change of pace from the ongoing competition to see who can produce the shiniest landscapes.

But unlike the graphics, the audio just doesn't cut it. The sound effects are okay, and what you'd probably expect from an older 2D game, but the music is lacking in quality. Through the entire course of the game, I only remember really liking one tune, which makes the enclosed soundtrack CD pretty useless. Like Grandia II, many tracks are recycled and annoying over time.

On the upside, Eternal Blue packs some high-quality gameplay. The dungeons and puzzles provide many hours of rewarding 2D RPGoodness. The game certainly has some difficulty to it, but the spirit of joy is rarely lost. The battles run with the same system as Lunar:SSSC, with geography and range playing active roles in the fight, which is to say, characters and enemies all appear in predetermined places on the battle screen and each action has a certain range. While character is not something to keep in constant check, some bosses gave powerful attacks that can destroy a clustered party, so moving around may be wise.

The battles have far more interesting perks, though. For example, y'know how most RPGs give you some magic spells that become useless after 5 hours? Well, in Lunar 2, magic spells evolve with character growth, meaning a spell will change for the better as levels increase. For example, a weak magic attack with a small range can eventually become a powerful attack-all spell.
Lucia gets busted by the man. 

Through all this, players are privileged to be a part of the awesome cast. All of the cast members (with one exception) have different, likable personalities, and you will find yourself seriously caring about each individual one of them.

In addition, the dialogue in the game is fantastic, and represents a great localization staff. The talk among characters can get hilarious. For anyone with a sense of humor, Lunar 2 is sure to please.

Also, Eternal Blue Complete features exciting, high-quality anime scenes. They play at all the best times and assist the characterization as well as add extra intensity to key story segments. The fact that a sidequest enables you to collect and replay all of the many movies is a good bonus.

Piling on a sort of replay value is the appearance of the "Epilogue Mode." After the game is "finished," players are given an ending, but also the ability to keep playing, which entails traveling the world to reassemble the crew, then checking out some bonus dungeons and eventually getting the game's second ending.

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete is a grand experience. Sure, the packaged goodies in the PS version kinda drive up the price, but the total cost is worth paying for just the game by itself. $65 is a small price to pay for this game of games.   

 -Heath "NR" Hindman 

Score Breakdown
Overall
9.2
See Our Review Criteria
Gameplay 9.5
Story 9
Graphics 7
Sound/Music 3
Replay Value 8