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Lunar: Eternal Blue

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Game Arts
IndustryVideo game development
Headquarters
Japan
ProductsLunar: Eternal Blue

Lunar: Eternal Blue is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts in collaboration with Studio Alex for the Sega CD. It serves as a direct sequel to Lunar: The Silver Star. The game debuted in Japan in December 1994, followed by a North American release in September 1995, published by Working Designs. Building upon its predecessor, Eternal Blue enhanced both narrative depth and gameplay mechanics. It took full advantage of the Sega CD's capabilities through upgraded visuals, lengthier animated sequences, and more extensive voice acting. Critics lauded the English adaptation and recognized its advancements within the RPG genre on CD-based platforms.

Set a millennium after the events of The Silver Star, the storyline centers on Hiro, a young adventurer who encounters Lucia, a mysterious figure from the distant Blue Star. Together, they embark on a quest to thwart Zophar, a malevolent force threatening global devastation. Their expedition across Lunar introduces an expanding roster of characters, including familiar faces from the previous title. In 1998, the game was reimagined as Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete, released by Kadokawa Shoten for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. Working Designs handled localization for the PlayStation edition in North America. This remake later became available on PlayStation Network for PS3, PSP, and PS Vita in Japan as of September 2015.

An upgraded iteration of Eternal Blue Complete was bundled with Silver Star Story Complete within the Lunar Remastered Collection, launched by GungHo Online Entertainment in April 2025 for platforms including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One.

Gameplay

Lunar: Eternal Blue employs classic role-playing game mechanics featuring two-dimensional character sprites and backgrounds viewed from a top-down angle. Players control characters navigating through fantastical settings, undertaking narrative-driven missions and engaging in combat against various monsters. The gameplay structure closely mirrors that of Lunar: The Silver Star, with story progression delivered via dialogue text and animated cinematic scenes. Advancement depends on completing quests and interacting with non-player characters to move the plot forward.

Combat encounters happen randomly within dungeons and hostile territories, utilizing physical attacks or magical abilities. The battle system is refined to include strategic character positioning before fights and enhanced artificial intelligence behaviors. Characters accumulate experience points to level up and gain "magic points," which unlock new abilities. Game progress can be saved either onto the Sega CD’s internal memory or an external cartridge; notably, the North American release requires magic points as a resource to save data.

Characters

Character artwork was designed by series veteran artist Toshiyuki Kubooka.

  • Hiro – a young explorer skilled with both swordsmanship and boomerangs
  • Ruby – a pink, winged feline creature who shows affection toward Hiro
  • Gwyn – Hiro’s adoptive grandfather and an experienced archaeologist
  • Lucia – a mysterious sorceress from the Blue Star unfamiliar with worldly customs
  • Ronfar – former priest turned gambler who possesses healing magic
  • Lemina – heiress to Lunar’s premier magic guild, motivated by wealth
  • Jean – a dancer concealing a past tied to lethal martial arts
  • Leo – captain of Althena’s guard and devoted servant of the goddess

Additional supporting figures include followers of goddess Althena, who has returned in human form:

  • Borgan – an ambitious magician seeking control over the magic guild
  • Lunn – martial arts master and Jean’s former teacher
  • Mauri – Leo’s sister and romantic interest of Ronfar
  • Ghaleon – once an antagonist, now an uneasy ally known as Dragonmaster
  • Zophar – main adversary; an evil spirit intent on annihilating the world

The English localization preserved essential character traits while introducing humor, vivid expressions, and suggestive language tailored for Western audiences.

Story

While exploring an ancient ruin, Hiro and Ruby uncover the Dragon's Eye gem, which activates hidden traps and summons hostile creatures. They encounter White Knight Leo, who cautions them about the foretold Destroyer. Their investigation of an unusual glow at Blue Spire tower leads them to Lucia, who is on a mission to find the goddess Althena to avert catastrophe. However, the malevolent spirit Zophar siphons Lucia’s magical energy; although Ronfar heals her, she chooses to continue her journey independently.

Hiro’s team intervenes when Leo, driven by suspicion, abducts Lucia aboard The Dragonship Destiny. With new companions Jean and later Lemina joining, they set course for Pentagulia, the sacred city of Althena. Lucia faces off against a counterfeit Althena impersonator and is imprisoned alongside her allies. After Leo assists in their escape, their objective becomes stopping Ghaleon—the self-proclaimed Dragonmaster supporting the false goddess—by reawakening the power of four dragons.

Following the liberation of the dragons, including Ruby, they confront and defeat the impostor Althena who transforms into a demonic form. The genuine Althena had sacrificed her divinity for love. Lucia hesitates to absorb Althena’s power out of fear of losing her own magic. Zophar seizes this power from her; she then teleports Hiro’s group to safety. Ghaleon reveals that his apparent antagonism was a façade aimed at redemption and joins forces with them to vanquish Zophar.

With peace restored, Lucia entrusts the Blue Star to humanity’s care. Hiro reunites with her as they look forward to a promising future for humankind.

Development

The game was created by Game Arts in collaboration with Studio Alex, under the leadership of project director Yoichi Miyagi. Scenario writer Kei Shigema drew creative influence from the concept of a tyrannical deity portrayed in Journey to the West. The development spanned three years with a budget exceeding US$2.5 million and featured dialogue twice as extensive as its predecessor. Early ideas to include older versions of characters from previous installments were ultimately discarded to maintain focus on new protagonists.

Animated sequences overseen by Toshiyuki Kubooka expanded significantly from approximately ten minutes in The Silver Star to nearly fifty minutes of fully voiced animation in Eternal Blue.

The North American release was handled by Working Designs, led by Victor Ireland. This version incorporated localized humor referencing American pop culture and made gameplay adjustments for better balance—such as easing challenging battles—and introduced a "cost" mechanic for saving progress that required players to spend earned points strategically. Additionally, the combat system was improved to retain player commands across turns. The North American edition also featured an embossed cover on its instruction manual.

Audio

Returning composer Noriyuki Iwadare sought to create a distinctive and cohesive musical experience. The soundtrack utilized studio-quality Red Book audio for vocal tracks, while other music was delivered as 16 kHz PCM files along with PCM dialogue and ambient sounds; sound effects were processed using the Sega Genesis audio hardware.

The English localization included an exclusive "Star Dragon Theme" featured in the Star Tower dungeon. The closing theme "Eternal Blue ~Thoughts of Eternity~," performed by Chisa Yokoyama (Japanese) and Jennifer Stigile (English), remains one of Iwadare’s personal favorites. Toshiba-EMI Records issued an official soundtrack album in Japan on February 22, 1995.

Voice

Lunar: Eternal Blue offers more than 90 minutes of voiced dialogue in its cutscenes, a substantial increase from the roughly 15 minutes featured in its predecessor. The game includes fifteen characters voiced by experienced Japanese anime talent such as Rokurō Naya portraying Ghaleon. For the English adaptation, Working Designs cast friends and company members, many of whom reprised their roles or contributed to subsequent entries in the series.

Ahead of the game's launch, a drama album named Lunar: Eternal Blue Prelude was released to promote it, containing character skits and musical tracks. This December release also came with an 8 cm music disc featuring character dialogues and theme songs. Later drama albums under the title Lunatic Parade further developed the storyline and cast.

Reception

Though priced relatively high at approximately US$100, Eternal Blue achieved strong sales in Japan, albeit not matching the numbers of its predecessor. It ultimately became the second highest-selling title on the Sega-CD platform in Japan and ranked third globally.

In the North American market, sales were weaker due to competition from new 32-bit consoles like the Sega Saturn and PlayStation, as well as a declining Sega-CD user base by 1995. Critical reviews lauded its expansive narrative, well-crafted characters, cinematic presentation, quality storytelling, humor-infused localization approach, and gameplay improvements despite some remarks about its linear structure.

The game earned Electronic Gaming Monthly’s Best Sega Mega-CD Game award for 1995. In retrospective assessments, it has been positioned among the top console RPGs and standout Mega CD releases.

Victor Ireland observed that most reviews met expectations except for some critiques from GameFan, which initially commended the translation but later expressed reservations about frequent humorous alterations replacing the original tone—though they still rated it highly overall.

Remake

In July 1998, Game Arts launched Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete on Sega Saturn, followed by a PlayStation edition in 1999. This updated version featured enhanced visuals, rearranged soundtracks, improved animations produced by Studio Gonzo, and expanded narrative content.

Working Designs handled the North American release in 2000 as a collector’s edition that included a soundtrack CD, a behind-the-scenes bonus disc, a detailed game map, and various collectible items.

Reception

The remake garnered favorable reviews for its engaging storyline and robust gameplay despite modest technical advancements compared to contemporaneous titles. GamePro recognized it as one of the finest RPGs of its release year, while Next Generation praised its enduring appeal despite lacking state-of-the-art graphics.

External links

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