I remember the first time I played Lunar Eternal Blue on Sega CD the animated cut scenes were beautifully drawn and spread throughout the game. The storyline of Lunar Eternal Blue fit in perfectly with the plot of the original game. And with exception to its predecessor (Lunar the Silver Star) there was no RPG like it. When I heard a remixed version of this game would be released for the Sega Saturn I was rather excited so here is my opinion on Lunar EB Remix for Saturn.

The game while different in many ways stays very similar to the original in terms of graphics, Story and the music itself (not the orchestration which is quite a bit better than the Sega CD original). All of these changes are both good and bad in some aspects. First off the graphics while improved could have been better especially in the town and map design. Second The music is basically the same songs as the original but it sounds much better on the Saturn. It makes me wish there were new songs and more in game music. Third the story stays basically the same as the original with minimal changes. This is a good thing in that the original story was so great. However it left me expecting more plot twists.

There are quite a few things that are very different from the original Lunar EB. First the gameplay system in Dungeons allows you to see your enemies (Ala Grandia) and attempt to avoid fights. Unfortunately it's hard to get around and avoid encounters and sometimes they do not even touch you but you're pulled into a battle. While this can be annoying it is far superior to the the random attack setup in most RPGs. There are no enemies in the overworld anymore, only in certain areas. When you enter an area where there is enemies your party slows down dramatically in terms of their on screen movement. To make up for it by holding the top right button your party speed up for about a second or two which helps in trying to evade enemies and avoid encounters.

The battle system itself has changed a little with Icons showing your commands rather than words. The backgrounds are either airbrush drawn or scanned photos and look very nice.During fight scenes the characters animate a little bit better and have more life to them. This goes for both enemies and your group. There is a definite improvement over the original in this regard.

The cutscenes are also different. They are full screen and move at a high frame rate. However they are blocky in some spots. The scenes themselves have been changed, some now have computer animation while other scenes have been removed completely. Such as the scenes with Borgan, Lunn, Mauri, the scene where Lucia is tied up in the basement of Pentagulia, and part of the first ending of the game. These missing scenes are quite a disappointment to myself as well as some other Lunar fans I have talked to. There are also quite a few completely new scenes which adds a little more fun to the game. However the new cutscenes don't seem to make up for what is missing. I was expecting new scenes anyway and was shocked and suprised to see any cutscenes missing.

The Dungeon design while not graphically that much more impressive has been improved. The dungeons are smaller and are quicker to go through. This means less encounters and you have a MUCH easier time navigating. In the original Lunar Eternal Blue I had gotten lost numerous times in the long complex dungeons, caves, castle, ruins, and even sewer. The redesigned areas make a huge improvement. Not that the levels are small but there not as complicated or a massive. Some have critized that this makes the game easier, however I like not having to spend so long navigating through enormous dungeons.

Overall this is still a great game. While I was a little disappointed in the minimal amount of changes within the game, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. If you're a Saturn owner who has played Grandia and is looking for a good import RPG, this is the game to pick up. Diehard Lunar fans may be a little disappointed by the missing animation and lack of overall changes in the game however. Hopefully Working Designs will port the impending Playstation version of this game to the states so that English speakers and people who haven't played the Sega CD original can experience this wonderful game.

--DragonmasterDan