Part 1: The Prologue

The Prologue



Let's get started. Here's the song that plays over the save screen.


"She called the new world Lunar.

"Time and circumstance soon forced Althena to populate Lunar with people from the Blue Star. And, just as on the Blue Star, life was held in a delicate balance.

"Through times of peace, war, chaos, and battle, the Blue Star loomed large as the only constant in the new world.

"Thousands of years passed, burying the origin and purpose of the Blue Star in the sands of time.

"Eventually, the inhabitants of Lunar forgot why the Blue Star was there, or how it came to be...

...until a girl awakened that could join the two worlds... or tear them apart forever."

Instead of a hilariously cheesy intro (I know, I'm sad too) we get a bit of backstory. In the beginning of the PSX version, this little bit of exposition is voiced. But not in the original, so you'll have to provide your own. Maybe you can do a funny voice!



The second we start the game, we're treated to a little cutscene.









And right off the bat we're presented with a pretty unfamiliar location. Unless I just missed the ladies in crystals living in arctic palaces in the first game. Those are easy to overlook.



Naked ladies no less! Oh dear. I hope there aren't any children reading! Otherwise they might see her completely featureless nudity.



You think she's cold? It looks cold out there. She doesn't seem to mind, though. Maybe her crystal has central heating?



Or perhaps, she's deep in slumber.













Yeah, that'd wake me up too.







So, uh, silly question. How do you get out of a floating crystal?





Oh. Of course.







Uh. Okay, now she's naked and floating in the middle of a vast, empty room. What is she going to do now?





Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense.



As we end that enigmatic scene, the credits play.





Many of you may not particularly care to sit through the credits, but I include them for two reasons. One, the music is quite nice. And two, there's an interesting little story being told with the ancient-looking murals here.







None of this is readily familiar to us, as this doesn't resemble anything we know from the first game.





However, we can guess the gist of the story.









It'll have more context, though, as we progress.



And now we return to our mysterious naked lady.











Wait, she's just gonna go outside buck-ass naked? Not even a pair of gloves or a shawl or something? I know people are sometimes a mite forgetful when you're shaking off early-morning grogginess, but this is ludicrous.



We shift scenes to the outside.







For a while, she just stares at the bleak, barren wasteland in front of her.






: This is not the time for my awakening.



Oh NOW you notice that it's cold.


: Something's gone terribly wrong.






: Oh no! Lunar!



The scene ends as the player inevitably asks a million questions. But don't worry; those will be answered with time.* For now, we shift our gaze elsewhere.

_{*Well, most of them.}