Customer Reviews

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete Official Strategy Guide

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Working Designs is known for releasing a quality Strategy Guide for their games. Unfortunately, they never print that many copies. While Lunar 2 is a pretty straightforward game, there are a ton of little things that the player will easily miss without this guide. Working Designs has not just given you a brainchild for getting through Lunar 2, they've given you a friend. And I say this almost literally. The guide is written in a very conversational tone and is filled to the brim with Pop Culture references and humor. Although, fair warning, if you're a parent this isn't the kind of guide you let your kid read. As there is some profanity and crude humor afoot.

The guide begins with all the lengthy preliminary stuff. While most guides usually stick all the appendices in the back, the Lunar 2 guide puts them all in the front. It begins by introducing you to all the characters and then waste no time jumping into the items section where they'll show you all the weapons, armor, crest, etc. They also show a little picture of each character who can equip the item. Afterwards there's an index that shows you where every item in the game is found and then it gets into all the magic. Telling you when characters learn them and the like. It also details all the crest combinations. Then it details all the monsters. This bestiary will tell you everything you need to know about every monster. What attack they'll plan and how to spot it before your turn and even how to take them down in a short summary.

Afterwards we get into the walkthrough which is a fantastic treat in and of itself. One of the best compiled walkthroughs to be seen. Each area always shows a map and on the map it shows you were all the items are located and there are also callouts. They'll also show you the enemies and a box detailing what they do and how to defeat them. However, what works particularly well with the walkthrough is the organization. Throughout the maps you'll constantly see notes like "Check 5 Page 112". Turn to page 112 and you'll see exactly what you're supposed to do at Check 5. It's straightforward and detailed.

The walkthrough is perhaps too detailed, though. There's a lot of stuff in this 300+ page guide. Throughout the walkthrough you'll find Storychecks. These tell you what you have to do as well as explain the story to you. Needless to say they're spoilers but you KNOW they're spoilers. There are also anime checks. Each time an anime cutscene shows the guide shows you the actual script. Complete with all the lines and stage directions. Lastly there are Retrochecks. These show you the major differences between the original Sega CD version of Lunar 2 and the reissue.

If there was any big problem I had with the guide it would simply be that the boss strategies are repetitive. They're good strategies but the author might as well have copied and pasted the strategy each time. It always says the same thing. "Hiro should use Poe Sword Every Turn..." Although, the author is well aware of this, as he jokes about it as well.

And that's the best part about the Lunar 2 guide. It's got a crazy sense of humor. It doesn't take itself too seriously. Underneath just about every screenshot is a caption and most of the time they're funny. The walkthrough gets you through the game but has a little fun of its own while doing so. While sometimes it does digress, the author clearly knew his audience. The humor is taken a step further. There are comics scattered throughout the walkthrough called "Lunatic Parade." Finally, there are developer interviews. Not nearly as many as there were in the Lunar Silver Star Story Complete Guide, but there are a few that are worthwhile.

The guide also comes complete with stickers of all the bromides and some for your memory card. There's also a poster offer but that's long expired by this point in time.

The only major issue with this guide, really, is getting a copy. It goes for outrageous prices. As I write this review, prices have exceeded 200 dollars. Regardless of whether you are a collector or not, no strategy guide is worth plopping down that kind of money (with it you could buy a handheld game console). It's an excellent strategy guide; one of the best ever written. But save your money.

There are a couple of other little things that separate this guide from others. The first being it's a hardback guide. The second being that it actually has a dustcover, and the dustcover is reversible. Also, there are ribbons for you to use as a bookmark.

It's an excellent guide. If you love to collect strategy guides, this one is a keeper. However, getting a hold of it is near impossible.