Date: December 22, 1994
Platform: Sega CD
Developer: Game Arts Co., Ltd. / Studio Alex / Vanguard Works
Publisher: Working Designs / Game Arts Co., Ltd.
Genre: Adventure / Role-Playing
Theme: Fantasy
Franchises: Lunar
Adaptation: Inspiration

Summary:

A classically styled Japanese RPG, the game centers around a small band of heroes traveling the world of Lunar via a World Map. Scattered throughout that overworld map are towns, cities, and outposts where the player can interact with NPCs, buy new equipment and items, and heal themselves at Goddess Shrines. These areas act as respites where the player can progress the story in a narrative fashion. Dungeons, shrines, temples, and many other dungeon-like areas are also scattered throughout the overworld map of Lunar. In these areas, the player can progress the story through fighting enemies and bosses. The player will also fight in Lunar's overworld map while traveling from one place to another. The game is largely linear but the player can backtrack and even, after a certain point, travel around the world of Lunar if they so choose.

The fighting system is menu driven and turn-based. Each turn, the player can either issue commands to each character in their party or allow the computer, through a pre-fight A.I. option, to fight for them. The player can have up to five characters in their party at any one time. The only character the player can't control is Lucia. Lucia will change her fighting techniques as the story progresses. Her health is dictated by Hiro's health. Each character can fight by performing a normal attack, using magic, defending themselves, using an item, running away, or the player can let the computer decide what that specific character will do for that turn with the A.I. option. The character's location relative to the enemy will determine if, and how well, they will be able to attack that enemy. Melee characters require close proximity to the enemy while magic users and ranged characters can fight at a distance. The characters' locations can be determined by the player in the options screen before or after a battle. The player can also set up multiple tactics in the game's option menu that can be selected at the start of each battle. If all of the characters in the player's party die the game ends.

Each character is defined by a number of stats that determine how they perform in battle. These stats will improve as the player fights more enemies and gains more and more experience points. After a certain number of experience points are earned, the characters will level up. Each level comes with increased stats and, occasionally, new abilities. Each character has a certain number of hit points and magic points. The character passes out (or dies) once their hit points reach zero. Each magical ability uses a specific allotment of magic points. When a character's magic points reach zero that character can no longer use magic. As the characters level up their hit points and magic points increase. After each battle, Hiro's companion Ruby is given magic experience points (MEP). MEP is used to save the player's game (which can be done anywhere as long as the player has enough MEP). MEP can also be used to increase the levels of each magical ability each character has. As a magical ability increases so does its usefulness.

Lunar: Eternal Blue was developed by Game Arts and Studio Alex, with project director Yoichi Miyagi returning to oversee the production of the new game. According to scenario writer Kei Shigema, the game's concept of an oppressive god came from the image of Sun Wukong, hero of the Chinese epic Journey to the West, being unable to escape from the gigantic palm of the Buddha. Shigema stated that "it was a picture showing the arrogance of a god who is saying, 'In the end, you pathetic humans are in my hands.' The moment I understood that, I thought, 'Oh, I definitely want to do this,' it'll definitely match perfectly. So we used it just like that." Eternal Blue took three years and over US$2.5 million to produce, and contains twice as much dialogue as its predecessor. The game's development team originally wanted the game to be set only a few years after The Silver Star, and would feature slightly older versions of the previous cast along with the new characters, yet discarded the idea when they thought the new cast would lose focus. Like its predecessor, the game contains animated interludes to help tell the game's story, which were developed in-house with Toshiyuki Kubooka serving as animation director. While The Silver Star contained only ten minutes of partially voiced animation, Eternal Blue features nearly fifty minutes of fully voiced video content.

Source: https://www.giantbomb.com/lunar-eternal-blue/3030-14733/