Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)That's right, this game is absolutely solid! I'll readily admit that I belong to the old school RPG players who strongly believe that the garbage that many companies try to give us is just that, garbage. It must be understood that the PSX version is actually a rehash of the SEGA CD (which I'm proud to own) with a more animations and extra video this game does shine . . . if reviewed on it's own.
Needless to say, I was very surprised that Working Designs decided to go ahead and release an aging game on a near dead system (never mind the recent release of the Playstation 2). And yes, despite popular opinion, this game is NOT NEW. Because of it's age and the ultra "cool" eye candy that more recent RPG games have to offer, this game will most assuredly, once again, become a cult classic.
Unlike many games, this game actually has a history. Every one knows that the SEGA CD was a major failure in terms of sales. But what most people don't realize is that the original Lunar was a raging success. Several hundred thousand SEGA CD's have been sold in Japan, while the same number plus 50,000 Lunar games have been sold. The same holds true in the US as well. What that means is that every single person who bought a SEGA CD also has one or more copies of the game. Lunar 2 wasn't quite as successful but still managed to hit the 1:1 ratio of owners. And I'm sure that many people, including myself, bought the SEGA CD ... based solely on owning the Lunar games.
So why buy the PSX version of the games? Easy, despite the fact that the game is based on traditional sprite based characters, the game actually has a STORY. One of the things that game companies today are suffering from is the attempt to create a game with so much eye candy with 3D polygon graphics, Pre-rendered backgrounds, and special effects that the story literally disappears. Worse still, is that some games attempt to make up for this by adding so much dialog that even an "auto fire" feature on controllers wouldn't get through it all before you return from a trip to the store with a new game. However, Lunar is perfect. The story unfolds at a perfect pace, not too slow and not too fast. Video is a reward and not used as "filler" to help the story along. the only thing that could cripple this game is the lack of 3D polygons or full use of SGI pre-rendered backgrounds. But with a story like Lunar's, who needs the eye candy?
So I guess we get to the story. One thousand years after Lunar: Silver Star takes place. Evil has crept across the land again (Or has it? Is there a plot twist there?), now it is up to Hiro and Ruby to help a young girl to contact Athena (Who actually appears in the first game as well under a different name. Now really! I can't spoil that plot twist for you, can I?) to help rid the land of the evil Zophar. In their many adventures (or would that be misadventures?) your band of character meets and joins up with a myriad of characters including Lucia, who is innocent to the things around her. Lemina, who is pretty much a selfish, greedy brat who wields powerful magic. Jean, who is a beautiful dancer who has a deadly battle tactic. Ronfar, who is pretty much a .... (Pay attention to his innuendoes) and Nall, who . . . um . . whoops, Ha ha. Another branching plot line.
With twice as many plot twists as the original the game certainly feels very long. And with good reason. Play through the first time. And the game let's you think you "beat" it. Reload the saved file and you have to play through again, backwards (more or less)! This game is lovable and a classic. The entire series harbors many secrets both in game and real world. Do the research and you'll be surprised. I was.
I would not be very surprised if this game fails. I've shown this game to people who never played the original and all I got was a "ho hum" response. When I showed the same person the garbage that other companies put out with zero story and tons of eye candy they instantly want to borrow the game. Trust me, buy or at least rent the game. The sprite based characters won't be fantastic but you'll like the story as it unfolds. You'll be surprised.
Tigerpomme
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Product Description:
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue is old-school role-playing goodness at its very best. From the story to the simple battle system, it doesn't bore players with the details that can make newer role-playing games unbearable. No, Lunar 2 won't impress anyone with its likewise old-school graphics, but that's not the point. This game is fun.
The story in Lunar 2 doesn't take itself as seriously as other role-playing games, which contributes to the fun. The game's hero, Hiro, and his sidekick Ruby must help a young girl locate the goddess Althena. The quest turns out to be long, spanning three disks, most of which hold full-motion video cutscenes.
The video sequences in Lunar 2 are probably the best part. They mix Japanese anime with computer graphics and are completely stunning. The in-game graphics, on the other hand, are ported straight from the 16-bit Sega CD, with a few enhancements, so those who like eye candy should consider themselves warned. --Robb Guido
Pros:
Light and fun
Super movie sequences that mix anime and computer graphics
Outdated graphics
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