Lunar: Eternal Blue (1994). Play online

Summary

Lunar: Eternal Blue on the Sega CD feels like a true step up from its predecessor. The game crams the disc’s capacity with richly detailed sprites, full‑screen animated cut‑scenes, and voice‑acted dialogue that makes the fantasy world feel alive. Noriyuki Iwadare’s soundtrack even includes a Red Book audio vocal track, while the rest of the music uses crisp 16 kHz PCM for a surprisingly lush soundscape. Every area, from snowy peaks to damp dungeons, showcases the console’s superior graphic palette.

The battle engine got a solid overhaul: you can pre‑position your party, and the AI behaves more intelligently during encounters. Victory yields experience, MP and “save points,” but the North American version adds a quirky cost system that requires spending battle‑earned points to write your progress. Working Designs’ translation shines, retaining humor and character while making the massive 50‑minute voiced content feel natural for English‑speaking players. Development stretched three years and over $2.5 million, packing double the dialogue of The Silver Star and turning the CD format into a storytelling showcase.

Storyline

Set a thousand years after The Silver Star, Lunar: Eternal Blue follows Hiro, a young explorer, who meets Lucia, a visitor from the distant Blue Star. Their adventure quickly becomes a fight against Zophar, an all‑powerful being bent on destroying the world.

Hiro and Ruby discover the Dragon's Eye in an ancient ruin, triggering a trap that forces them to flee a collapsing temple. White Knight Leo warns them of the prophesied Destroyer, and the duo uses the gem to enter the Blue Spire tower where they encounter Lucia, who seeks the goddess Althena. Zophar appears and drains Lucia's magic, prompting the group to seek former priest Ronfar’s aid to heal her before she departs alone.

Hiro, Ronfar, and Ruby rescue Lucia from Leo’s ship, join circus dancer Jean and Lemina, and journey toward Pentagulia, the holy city of Althena. There they uncover a false Althena, free the four dragons, and battle the impostor’s forces, reviving the dragons to aid their cause.

After intense training and receiving Ghaleon’s sword, Hiro leads the final showdown against Zophar. Lucia, having resisted absorbing Althena’s power, is freed and returns to the Blue Star, hoping to entrust it to humanity. Hiro later reaches the Blue Star himself, and together they look toward a hopeful future for both worlds.