Lunar Eternal Blue (Lunar 2) - Sega CD or Playstation

[Ivo]

Hi,

we have several threads about the best version of the first Lunar: the Silver Star.
My opinions on Silver Star were that story wise I liked it more on the Sega CD, but the improvements (particularly the gameplay change in not having random encounters) made the PS1 version better overall.

Other than a few snippets in those threads there wasn't a discussion about the sequel, Lunar: Eternal Blue (Sega CD) vs Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete (PS1)
I think there are only 2 versions.

I'm thinking of playing Eternal Blue (like 7 years after I played Lunar), but I doubt I want to play both versions, so I thought to open a discussion about it rather than Silver Star.

I ask that spoilers are kept hidden with the appropriate tags, although feel free to stay vague e.g. "They are the same story but I prefer how it is told in the Sega CD version."

My main question is, does the Sega CD version have random encounters?

Also it was mentioned in one of the Silver Star threads that the MP system is substantially different between the version of Eternal Blue. I care more about gameplay than graphics typically, so this may push me towards the Sega CD version if that version was superior in this regard.

[TheSSNintendo]

Yes, the Sega CD version does have random encounters. The Playstation version, which I prefer, does away with the MP save system, and a certain boss battle is much easier.

[Sarge]

For my money, the Sega CD version is the way to go. I'll try to delve into my reasons a bit later.

EDIT: Okay, so I promised a little verbiage, so here goes. There are mainly two reasons I get really annoyed by the PSX version of the game. The first is way encounters on the map are handled. There are typically tons and tons of enemies, and they are all much faster than your default walking speed, and can move as fast as your limited dash. I think I probably fought more battles in a period of time on average in the PSX version than I did with random battles in the Sega CD version.

The second is the changes to movement in battle. Both enemy and player movement ranges have been expended significantly. While this may help your melee attackers, it also ensures that with a single move, enemies can get to your squishy mages with ease. It really unbalances any strategy that might have existed in the combat, instead turning it into a race to obliterate enemies as quickly as possible with your techniques.

Positives for the PSX version are that it looks marginally better overall, and the anime cutscenes are cool. It removes magic experience, and also using that experience to save the game. I actually liked magic experience. The cost of saving eventually becomes trivial, so removing that was a good move.

Anyway, just my two cents worth.