Magazine Coverage
Lunar: Eternal Blue (Sega CD)
Magazine Text
WHEN FEELING BLUE AIN’T BAD
LUNAR: ETERNAL BLUE ROCKS THE SEGA CD
Feeling blue because it’s been a while since you played a good RPG on your Sega CD? Working Designs has a cure for you in Lunar: Eternal Blue, the sequel to last year’s award-winning Lunar: The Silver Star. Eternal Blue reaches 1,000 years forward into the world of Lunar and carries you on a series of epic adventures to rescue the goddess Althena from the evil Zophar. The disc features all the game play and AI features that made the first game a hit, along with 50 minutes of animated illustration, new monsters, and more than one and a half hours of recorded dialogue.
FUN BY DESIGN
Few game developers have mastered the RPG on Sega CD as well as Working Designs. This small Redding, California, game company has earned a heavy rep for finding top-rate Japanese RPGs and redesigning them for American gamers. In-house facilities include a complete voice and Foley recording studio and a music studio with full MIDI output. The designers can even juggle the source code and add material that didn’t make it into the Japanese version. Often, the finished product bears as much resemblance to the original game as an F-16 does to a glider.
Eternal Blue has the hallmarks of the series. The heroes are an adventurous, boomerage-toting lad (named Hiro, of course) and Ruby, a flying, catlike, smart-aleck pet that is actually a baby dragon. A young girl named Lucia has emerged from the crystal within the Blue Spire. The goddess Althena is nowhere to found. The evil force that first appeared in The Silver Star is racing you to find her. You must unite Lucia and Althena, and battle your way through the many quests that make up the adventure. There are towns, villages, towers, and dungeons to explore. Along the way you learn powerful spells, acquire mystical weapons and armor, and make many friends who join and sometimes abandon your party. You can save your progress on a CD Backup RAM Cart.
While the anime, voice, music, and interface are well above standard, we have to mention the squashy, three-quarter-view characters who, once the cartoon has ended, looks like a heavy-G dwarf riding a pogo stick. We realize that small sprites are the standard for this game genre but hope that Working Designs will take a step ahead and create full-sized sprites-or at least sprites scaled for proportion-as the company develops for the Sega Saturn.
In all, Lunar: Eternal Blue is a perfect choice for a Sega CD RPG. It will provide enough adventuring and quality gaming to get you into the holiday season, when the Christmas crop of new games will be the talk of the town.
IMAGE CAPTIONS
Hiro and Ruby are both linked to Lunar’s survival.
The Blue Spire is one of many towers and dungeons you must explore to beat the game.
Lucia is much more than she appears to be. Her initial magic allows you to whup big monsters easily. Use it to build experience while you can. She loses it soon after joining your party.
Lucia will implore you to help her find the goddess Althena. But others in the goddess’s employe, like Duke Leo, think Lucia is the fabled Destroyer. So to help the goddess, you must oppose those who support her. We didn’t say it would be easy.
Use each character’s strengths accordingly. Hiro is strong at battle. Old Gwen is much better at healing. You can’t control Ruby or Lucia.
Commentary
Making games is hard and Working Designs does a lot in its localization to the United States, but I felt they put a little more credit to them especially when it goes on the section of the sprites. Game Arts developed the game so there’s not a lot that can be done there.
It was sad at how hopeful Sega Visions is when they mention the games Working Designs would be making the Sega Saturn, considering their very public breakup shortly after this release.
Posted on: 22 October 2024
