Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete is the latest remake of a classic Sega CD RPG by Working Designs.  As with the first game, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, Working Designs pulled out all the stops in making this latest edition new, fresh, and exciting.  It's hard to ‘remake’ a game that's now 6 years old, but the strength of Lunar is not in its graphic prowess, but in arguably the best RPG story in console history. 

What’s cool about the sequel is it expands greatly on the history of Lunar and continues from the events of the first game.  This is done to such an extent that the first game almost seems like an introduction story to the second game.  It’s not till the second game that the player is introduced to the real villain who never even made an appearance in the first Lunar.  Tying the two stories together is the reappearance of several characters from the first game which successfully provides continuity with the previous events.  However, the heart of Lunar 2 lies in the interactions and growth of the various characters.  It’s their relationships which makes this game such a classic and endearing tale that -- even 6 years after its first incarnation -- makes Lunar 2 among the best of RPGs ever created. 

Graphics are old-school ,to say the least, with sprite-based characters seen in an overhead angle as they go around the world map, towns, and various dungeons.  While environments are colorful, there is no real 3D here.  Battles are side-scrolling with the enemies appearing on one side and your characters on the other side.  As menu commands are input, the characters and enemies move to attack each other.  Spell effects, while adequate for the game, are not much compared to today’s RPGs.  What was really spruced up was the animation sequences.  Not only are they now full screen and a lot longer, but now there’s an impressive mix of CG.  Almost every major event of the story is told through these anime sequences, which really serve to get the player familiar with the characters and their emotions. 

The music consists of some of the best compositions done for a game of this type.  It was a great idea for Working Designs to include the full music CD in the elaborate package.  Almost every tune is good and memorable, including the two vocals and the awesome Zophar theme.  In addition, there is a considerable amount of voice acting both during the anime cut sequences and during in-game talking. Some voices, like Ruby's, can be annoying but others are very well done and fit the characters well.  Sound effects are not too noticeable and usually stay in the background or have to do with fighting or spell effects.  

The gameplay is pretty standard RPG fare.  The story flows from section to section where you need to overcome some challenge or task to move on.  Each town has armor and weapon upgrades that you need to buy with money gained from fighting enemies.  Battles include menu-driven combat with the usual attack, defend, item, or AI options.  Each character has specific mobility which dictates how far they can move and how many times they can attack during any one turn.  This means the battles require considerable strategy because movement can spell the difference between victory or defeat.  Magic types are also specific to character and become stronger with earned experience.  The menu system is very easy to learn and convenient with only one button to press in order to save anywhere.  The battles can get very difficult with enemies attacking multiple times but careful planning and conservation of healing items will bring victory to any team. 

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete is a great showcase for Game Arts as well as the special packaging and treatment by Working Designs.  While the simple graphics and gameplay may not appeal to those players introduced to RPGs after the release of Final Fantasy VII, for many more, this game will always hold a special place in gaming history.

The memorable story continues to fascinate millions.