Eternal Blue reprises the setting back in the magical world of Lunar, a thousand years after the era of Dragonmaster Alex crushed the evil ambitions of Ghaleon and rescued Luna. As the story progresses, we are introduced to Lucia; a mysterious young woman awakened by the Blue Star to seek out the evil force which endangers the world of Lunar. Troubled by a deep secret, Lucia's emotional makeup fluctuates and begins to take on a new dimension after her encounter with Hiro (the protagonist of the story). Driven by his quest to unlock the secrets within the ancient ruins, will Hiro discover the link between his world and the Blue Star? What of Lucia's mission? Will it cause the destruction of Lunar? Many questions will arise, and the imminent synergy which binds the two worlds will soon be unveiled.

Using the same integrity, personality and magic which made the possession of Silver Star Story Complete a treasured title has not only been retained, but includes an abundant number of enhancements over the Japanese version and demo packaged with Vanguard Bandits. The first improvement which I immediately took note of involves the style in which the anime sequences have been executed. Unlike the original, Eternal Blue makes use of full screen cinematics in contrast to the letterbox format and features a higher degree of CG effects which enhance the entire experience. Along with various lighting and shadow effects, the animation has been improved considerably, specifically, resolutions have increased from 256x224 to 320x224. In addition, various nuances during battle have been tweaked; notably the attack probability on monsters (red represents the least likelihood of inflicting damage, yellow is neutral, while green indicates the highest outcome of damage success). Teeming with 2D excellence, Lunar 2 echoes the classic era when 3D graphic engines were reckoned to ideals and lore and titles of this form were abundant.

Within the short period that has been spent with Eternal Blue, I've been captivated by the overall manner in which the game presents itself. While it consists of dramatic overtones, it's not saturated to the point where it takes itself too serious. In it's localization for the domestic market, various pop-culture references (i.e. Who Wants to be a Millionaire?) have been implemented to which, depending on your gauge of humor, can be found amusing. I always enjoyed these personal touches as in my opinion, these small elements formed a connection between the fiction and reality.

The musical composition is quite enjoyable, featuring catchy tunes orchestrated in excellent midi quality, even greater than Silver Star Story. The menu system is very intuitive, spell selections are automatically referenced to the last magic ability cast. In addition to Dual Shock support, improved save functionality, along with new secrets and hidden bonuses; Eternal Blue delivers to the hardcore gamer of the 2D quotient.

Set for a street date of November 29th, including an appetizing set of extras for collectors, there should be little doubt that this title should be a part of your PlayStation library. In my initial impressions, it's safe to say that Lunar 2 succeeds in living up to its moniker as being "a complete package of magic, adventure, full of intriguing characters and offering hours of entertainment". In our upcoming review, we'll elaborate on the elements that incites one to return to the magical world of Lunar.

· · · Bahn