Part 2: Indiana Jones Would Call That Reckless

Chapter 1: Indiana Jones Would Call That Reckless

Well, all that was kinda confusing. So let's switch scenes.











: Did you say something, Ruby?



: Oh, great. Don't tell me you're hearing voices now!



: But...
: Hurry up and get the Dragon's Eye! The time's almost run out on the trap!
: Trap?! What trap?!





: Woooah! This trap!
: Uuuah! Why didn't you tell me about that earlier?!
: I did but you were too wrapped up in getting jewel to listen!
: Oh, yeah, the jewel. Hold on, I've almost got it.



: Hurry Hiro!



: There! I got it!

: What's that rumbling?
: Oh no! The exit's closing!



: Let's get out of here!



: Aaaah!



: Hiiiroooo!

Well, the blue guy is dead. Hope you weren't too attached to him or his smashing cape.



: Oh Hiro! Hiro! You don't die on me. You just can't die!
: ...I'm okay, Ruby. It's just a few bruises.
: Okay, that's it! No more exploring for us; I've had it! We always end up getting in some kind of-
: Shh! Listen!
: What?!



: Aaah!
: Come on Ruby! Let's get out of here!

The flame monsters chase our heroes around, which isn't all that interesting to look at in still-frame. If you wanna see it, you can watch the video.



I could take this time to try and explain the situation and better introduce you to these two, but Hiro does that for me.

: Well, looks like you've caught us in another messy situation! Oh, by the way, if you haven't figured it out, my name is Hiro, and the flying cat is named Ruby. She says she's actually a baby Red Dragon, but I don't know if I quite believe her. She doesn't care though. We've been friends for what seems like forever!

If you've played the PSX version and watched the video, you may have noticed that Hiro sounds different. Yes, that is a different voice actor! In the Sega-CD version he's voiced by Mark Zempel, but in the PSX version he's voiced by Chad Letts. By the way, Working Designs didn't change anyone else in the cast, not in this game nor in the original (well, what voice actors the original Lunar 1 had). Yes, the kid they got to shout the two voiced lines Alex got? They got him back in the PSX version. But they re-cast Hiro. Huh.

_{Although I should mention that while Hiro was the only one re-cast, many of the voice actors re-dubbed their characters.}

Oh and Hiro still hasn't shut the fuck up.

: My grandfather Gwyn is an archeologist who taught us how to explore ancient ruins like this. Well, not exactly like this, ha ha. Grandpa'd have a coronary if he saw me in this kind of danger! But, you get the idea. I think it's so cool that these dungeons and ruins that time forgot can be found and explored by someone like me! This world is full of wonderful legends. The Blue Star - from which our ancestors supposedly came. Tales of Dragons and heroic Dragonmasters! A magic city that flew in the sky! And the Goddess of love and beauty - Althena. All those places and legends have to be true. I believe them more every step I take in places like this. The world I live in today is the result of things that happened long ago. Someday I'll gather enough information from ruins like these to prove that and maybe even get to see the Goddess Althena!

Christ boy. That's like.... 500 millions times more dialogue than Alex got in the first game. That's possibly more dialogue than Alex get over in any other version of Lunar 1 - combined!

: Hey Hiro! Bust a move! I think we lost 'em!

Thankfully Ruby brings an end to this monologue and we end this little bit.



: Whoa!







Oh now you're going quiet?

: But, we scored a big reward this time, and that makes it all worthwhile! Oop! We'd better be getting back to Grandpa's house before he worries...

And now we finally get control. First off, let's take a closer look at our chatty new leads.



Looks pretty much the same, but the AI function is gone. Which is too bad, as AI actually works in this game, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Also, Hiro is dirt poor. Even Alex had some money to start with.

Unlike Alex, he at least starts with skills.



The magic system has been drastically overhauled from the original. For one, instead of a confusing list we have a big bright GUI. And we finally have fucking hint text! Hurray for knowing what the spells do before you use them!

I'll go into the magic system in depth a bit later, but for now Hiro has two skills. One is his Boomerang spell; it's a single-target Wind spell, nothing special. The ability below it is Poe Sword (which has nothing to do with the author - I think) which costs one more MP and does a bit more damage, but it's still a single target attack spell. Yes, Hiro starts with two abilities that do the same thing but with a minor cost/effectiveness difference. There actually is a reason for this, but it's a bit complicated and I'll explain it later.



Hiro also had the common sense to come prepared with some basic equipment, herbs, and even an MP restoring item called a Starlight! The item management has also been rehauled from the first game. Now characters have weapon slots distinct from their personal inventory. This means that I don't have to unequip my helmet to carry another herb into battle.



Like the first game, our flying companion also gets their own inventory. However Ruby gets a much larger inventory in this game. While Nall could only carry 30 some odd items, Ruby can carry twice or maybe three times that.

This is changed in the remake. While the Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete has an inventory system similar to this one, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete has an entirely different system. In the PSX version of Lunar 2, items do stack and you use one inventory. However, you're only allowed to carry twenty of any item. This is actually somewhat more restrictive, as you're given a fair amount of inventory space in this version. But at least you don't have to shuffle so many inventories.



Here's our level 1 hero. A couple of changes from the original. Now magic power is wisdom, and actually appears on the stat screen. Luck now exists, the "range" replaces "# of moves." Also, the stat screen tells us how our equipment impacts our stats; the numbers on the right are our stats after equipment. You may notice Hiro gets an extra attack. That's from his Dagger.



Like in the original, Ruby is more our... party accountant than an actual member. Not only does she have the big inventory, but she also saves our game. Ruby also gets a few new commands in the menu. Again, I'll explain "magic" and "tactic" later, when they're more relevant. "System" is just saving and loading the game.



What's this? More cutscene?

: Wha- what's that noise?



: Whoa, Hiro, getta load of that!


: It's incredible, but what the heck is it? It looks like a ship, but it moves without wind or sails!


: Hey you! Yes, you over there! What are you doing in this area?
: _{Who the heck does this joker think he is?!} We might as well ask you the same thing mister!
: I wasn't talking to your cat, I was talking to you boy!
: Heellooo? Time for your eye exam! I am not a cat!
: _{Knock it off Ruby! You're going to get us in trouble!} My name is Hiro, and this is Ruby. Identify yourself!

You know, it occurs to me as I'm transcribing this dialogue that I can recall a large amount of this by memory, or I'm only off by a word or two. ...I'm kinda sad now.





: Certainly. I am White Knight Leo, leader of Althena's Guard. And this is the Dragonship Destiny. Now then - listen up. You kids need to evacuate this area. A confrontation is going to take place. I don't want any civilians caught up in the middle of this thing. Return to your home immediately. Move it!

Geez, what a bossy betty! And we're totally not civilians! We've got, like, a knife and some herbs.


: Helmsman, set a new course! Destination: The Blue Spire.



: Hah! That guy seemed a little full of himself if you ask me! But he did say he was the leader of Althena's Guard... *gasp* I wonder if that's the same Althena you told me about?

Do- do you know any other Althenas?

: Oh well, no telling now; he's gone. And good riddance. Anyway, we better get back home before Grandpa comes looking for us!

All right then; time to finally get out onto the world map! Get used to this song if you ever play yourself



Home is just a short trip, just go south, west, then up.

Like in the original, you do fight encounters on the world map. This is not true in the remakes. In the remake they add a small dungeon area on the way home; that's where you meet Leo. Here in the original, though, I just get into two fights.



Also get used to this.

Again, this menu has been overhauled a bit from the first game. But it's pretty straightforward. CMND is Command, and it just lets you input commands. Tact is Tactics, and we'll talk about that once there's more than one party member. AI... actually does what you think it does. In the first game, the AI command was basically the attack command under another name. But in Lunar 2 onward, it actually puts your party under command of the AI. It's actually more useful in the first game. There's no reason to ever select the AI command unless you have just stopped giving a shit, at which point I'd say just press reset you idiot.

You may also notice that each of those Sand Sharks (and the game provides the name for me without making me press a command first!) is doing something different. Yes, this was the game that introduced tells! The Sand Shark buried in the sand will dive at us.



Like so.

And the Shark that is resting above the sand will shoot rings at us.



That does a fair bit more damage, by the way. Make sure you kill those guys first.

These guys are nothing special. Hiro can take them out in two hits, and weaken another with his third hit.



And Ruby will finish off our weakened foe for us.

No, you can't command Ruby, however if an enemy has around four HP or less, she'll finish them off for you. This is actually really, really nice right now, although as you can imagine the usefulness of that drops off fast. It's certainly better than restoring four HP to a weakened ally like Nall did. (But nowhere near as good as randomly reviving allies like Nall did in the remake...)



I swear Hiro looks like he's punching himself in the face.

I hope I don't need to explain what EXP is, and S is just silver (or, ya know, money.) M, however, is Magic Experience. Let's take another look at Ruby's commands, specifically "Magic."



The reason Hiro has both the Boomerang and Poe Sword skill? Boomerang is technically magic*. Wind magic, specifically. In order to get more Wind Spells and better versions of Wind spells, you have to spend Magic Experience to level it up.

Hiro's Poe Sword, on the hand, belongs to a different class of skills. They belong to the Blade skillset, and he will gain more Blade skills as he levels.

It's a bit of a cumbersome system. Each magic class requires a lot of Magic Experience to get noticeable results, and certain characters don't get much use out of it. For example, I usually never bother putting anything into Hiro's Wind spells, as his blade skills are infinitely superior. I'll try to use them a bit more in this play-through, but they're still probably not going to see much use.

This is completely removed from the remake. All characters' spells level up as the character does. Although it does share some similarities with the old system - it'll be easier to explain a little later down the road. While I do understand why it was removed, I kind of wish they kept it and instead revised the system so it's a bit more forgiving and less cumbersome. Oh well.

*_{Sokka must be thrilled}

In any case, it's a short jaunt. Hiro didn't even gain a single level. I might have used an herb.



And there is home sweet home. Although I think we might have a visitor. Let's say hi!



Oh! Uh... hi guys. Wow, this seems a bit awkward.



Oh. Guess we... shouldn't be here.

: You'd better leave before Lord Leo returns from Gwyn's house!
: Hiro? What is Lord Leo doing at Grandpa's house? He'd better find out!

...interesting. I thought he was going to the Blue Spire. Making a social call first?

Oh, and he won't actually force us to leave. We can mill around as much as we want.


: It is equipped with a mighty White Dragon cannon at its bow.

Sweet. Althena really knows how to get just the right present, doesn't she?


: I saw her once, and I'll never forget it... That milky skin, the curve of her hips,... those smooth supple br... ...uh, never mind!

It seems like Working Designs was still doing that "ellipses + comma" thing. That really annoys me for some reason. Is it just me?

_{I'm mostly going to edit it out anyway, but JUST SO YOU KNOW}

Well, they won't throw you off, but they won't let you see any of the fun stuff, so there's no point in hanging around. Let's go see what's going on.



It's an odd little house that Hiro and his grandpa live in. But it's got some swanky tunes.



And they have a statue of Althena.

These are also new. In the first game, you restored HP/MP through stone markers or circles you found on the world map. Or you'd go to a shrine of Althena. In Lunar 2 and in most Lunar games since, you only have statues of Althena. They restore HP and MP. They're usually found in towns, although sometimes you'll see them in dungeons.

After a bit of a refresher, we head inside.



Sure enough, Leo is here.


: You can't possibly expect that I know all its secrets! Besides, what interest could you possibly have in the spire?
: Blue Stars, secret riddles, pah! What an easy life you lead, archaeologist! My work is much more serious than that. A destroyer is coming to our world. And the Blue Spire is the point at which it will originate! Goddess Althena has given direct orders to eradicate the Destroyer.
: The Goddess Althena? A devil at the tower of blue? Bah! Nonsense...

Wait, are you "bah"ing the Goddess? My, how times have changed.

: Regardless of whether you believe me or not, I need your help. We attempted to enter the tower, but it was sealed with some kind of magic. We must find a way to enter the Blue Spire. And, since you are the "expert" on it, you and you alone can provide the answers I seek.

The conversation ends here, and now we gain control again.


: Lord Leo is the top crusader for Goddess Althena. He is one of her Four Heroes. The Destroyer doesn't stand a chance!

You know, Althena establishing some formal way of keeping peace makes some degree of sense. I mean, how often are you going to run across abnormally persistent farm kids when the world is threatened? More often than I think, apparently, but still. Just wish her chosen crusader wasn't a big pile of dicks.


: Ah, yes... welcome back, kids! We have guests today! This is Lord Leo, chief of Althena's Guard. He wants to know about the Blue Spire.
: Yes, and as I was about to explain, I don't have time for a history lesson. All I want to know is one simple thing... how does one enter the tower? The entrance has apparently been sealed for generations.
: Ah, yes, well... that is... that's the million silver question, isn't it? I'm not exactly sure, but it seems to me that if one were to take the...
: I don't have the time to act on hunches, old man! If you don't know the way in, I'll just have to destroy the whole spire with the Destiny's dragon cannon!

...dude, take a chill pill! Didja really think this guy just happened to know the way into a sealed tower that no one has entered for generations, and then chose not to enter it? A guy, let me remind you, that explores old places for a living. C'mon.

: Hiro, have you been off at the Dragon Ruins again? I've told you time and again to stay away from that place! It's plumb full of monsters and very dangerous if you're unsure of what you're doing.
: ...uhm, Hiro, let's not tell him about the jewel we found, okay? I think he'd pop a cork if he knew what we actually did at the ruins...

Run around and monologue for fifty hours? Well, I'd be a bit put out by that too.

Well, guess we gotta talk to captain douchebag. Let's go.





Hey Ruby! Not cool! Immature gay jokes are MY turf, got it?

: Was I talking to you? Anyway, as I was saying, I know a good man when I see one. Why don't you quit this old archaeology thing and come to work in Althena's Guard?
: Why would Hiro want to trade freedom for servitude? He won't work for you!
: You are starting to get on my nerves, little one. Didn't you ever learn to speak only when spoken to? Hiro, it's an open offer, just keep it in mind.

And think, this could be your boss! Exciting!

_{Eh, I've had worse.}

: Oh, for your safety, you should stay away from the Blue Spire. A big battle's coming. I can feel it...



And with that he finally decides to fuck off.



Couldn't put it better myself.

: I can't believe that the Goddess has come to us again as a human... and is giving orders directly to Lord Leo... very strange, it's not s'posed to.. and this... this... destroyer thing... something's up, m'boy, that's for certain. And I don't like the smell of it! Not one bit.... no, not one...

Could you rephrase that? I don't speak ellipses.



Or just leave. Whatever.


: Something's happening at the... the... ...hurry lad!




: Looks like it goes into the heavens, toward the Blue Star...

It's just sparkling. Probably a trick of the light, like swamp gas reflecting off a weather balloon or something.



Okay that's probably not swamp gas.







: And I've never in all my years seen anything quite like this. I wonder if a destroyer has come to our world, as Leo has been saying... If that's true, then we're all going to be in a mess of trouble.
: Then, I'd better go to the Blue Spire and see just what's happened.
: What?! Have you been taken with a fit of insanity? If that's is destroyer in that tower, he'll make short work of you!

Nah, we got a dagger, man. It's cool.

: But Grandfather, we have to know so we can warn Leo!
: Ah... yes... I suppose you do have a point there...

I suppose our horribly flayed corpses would be a pretty good warning sign.

: Well, then, go get my weapons in the basement, and I'll get the things we'll need from the house. I'm not letting you go in that place by yourself, that's for certain...



: Hiro, are you sure that going to the Blue Spire is such a good idea? I mean... what if there is a destroyer there now?
: ...

Ah, don't sweat it! What's the worst that can happen? Other than... ya know, the obvious.

Next time we're gonna make the trek and maybe even meet this "destroyer!" And not die horribly (probably)!