Lunar: Eternal Blue/Regional Differences

This is a sub-page of Lunar: Eternal Blue.

Oh dear, I do believe I have the vapors. This page contains content that is not safe for work or other locations with the potential for personal embarrassment. Such as: Nudity.

Script

These are not cherry-picked examples of the most striking alterations to the script - the changes are pervasive. Lunar: Eternal Blue's Japanese dialogue reads like typical dialogue from a contemporary JRPG. A lot of aspects that don't fit this paradigm were rewritten by Working Designs. Despite this, the game's manual describes the localization as being fairly faithful to the original:

"For LUNAR:Eternal Blue, only minor things were changed from the original Japanese version, simply because the Japanese version was so incredible."

(Source: Lunar: Eternal Blue US manual, p. 37)

Names

For the most part, the English version retains the names from the Japanese version (characters, cities, etc.). The characters are an interesting case, though. While their English names are, with one exception, more or less accurate renderings of the Japanese names, the Japanese credits offer radically different English spellings:

Japanese	JP Spelling	US Spelling		Japanese	JP Spelling	US Spelling		Japanese	JP Spelling	US Spelling
ヒイロ hiiro	Hiero	Hiro		ルーシア ruushia	Lucier	Lucia		ルビィ rubyi	Ruby	Ruby
ジーン jiin	Jean	Jean		ロンファ ronfa	Rong-Fa	Ronfar		レミーナ remiina	Remiena	Lemina
ライナス rainasu	Rainus	Lunn		マウリ mauri	Mauli	Mauri		レオ reo	Leo	Leo
ボーガン bougan	Bawgan	Borgan		ナル naru	Nall	Nall		アルテナ arutena	Althena	Althena

The only character to be outright renamed was Rainus/Lunn. The Japanese name would more commonly be understood as "Linus", which the localizers perhaps deemed too unintimidating for a martial artist.

• In the Japanese version, Leo's ship is called the "Dragon Steamship Vulgan" (竜汽船バルガン). The US version changes this to "Dragon Streamship Destiny" (or, inconsistently, "Dragonship Destiny" and "Dragon Ship Destiny").

To do: Check JP spelling of Luna and Zophar's names (they're only in the ending credits). Lots of enemy, spell, and item names appear to be made up ("Nipple Yanker").

Dialogue

Guards at Tower Entrances

Original	Translation	Working Designs
ここは　白の塔 四英雄のひとり 白の騎士レオさまが つかさどる塔だ！	This is the White Tower. This tower is governed by one of the Four Heroes, the great White Knight Leo!	THIS TOWER WAS CONSTRUCTED IN HONOR OF WHITE KNIGHT LEO.

The US version is slightly different from the original, but gets the general point across. The tower's name is dropped as well as the mention of the Four Heroes.

Original	Translation	Working Designs
ここは　赤の塔 四英雄のひとり 赤の神官マウリさまが つかさどる塔だ！	This is the Red Tower. This tower is governed by one of the Four Heroes, the great Red Priestess Mauri!	THE TOWER BEFORE YOU WAS CONSTRUCTED IN HONOR OF RED PRIEST MAURI.

Original	Translation	Working Designs
ここは　青の塔 四英雄のひとり 青の拳聖ライナスさまが つかさどる塔だ！	This is the Blue Tower. This tower is governed by one of the Four Heroes, the great Blue Holy Fist Rainus!	I HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO STAND GUARD OVER THIS TOWER BY MASTER LUNN. THE TOWER WAS ERECTED IN HIS HONOR.

The message is similar to the other tower messages, but the English version adds extra detail about the guard's duties for whatever reason.

Original	Translation	Working Designs
ここは　黒の塔 四英雄のひとり 黒の魔法使いボーガンさまが つかさどる塔だ！	This is the Black Tower. This tower is governed by one of the Four Heroes, the great Black Wizard Borgan!	THIS IS THE ENTRANCE TO THE BLACK TOWER. IT WAS CONSTRUCTED IN HONOR OF GRAND BLACK WIZARD BORGAN. WE HATE IT WHEN HE COMES TO PENTAGULIA TO INSPECT HIS TOWER... ...BECAUSE WE HAVE TO GREASE THE DOOR FRAME TO GET HIM INSIDE. THE GUY'S A FAT PIG...NO TWO WAYS ABOUT IT.

...Whereas this line adds a joke that was not present in the Japanese version.

NPC Dialogue

Original	Translation	Working Designs
騎士になるのに 魔法力が必要だなんて‥‥ なんか　おかしいよ‼	It takes magical power to become a knight... but isn't that kind of strange!?	GRUEL, GRUEL, THE MAGICAL SOUP, THE MORE YOU SLURP, THE MORE YOU POOP... HA HA HA HA HA....I JUST MADE THAT UP. FUNNY, HUH?

Original	Translation	Working Designs
やった　やったぁっ！ ぜったい　レミーナさまたちが 勝つと思ってました！ レミーナさまの姿を見てたら なんだか　ボクも‥‥ 少しだけ勇気が出せるかも‥‥	Yeah, yeeah! I absolutely knew the great Lemina and her team would win! It's not by much, but I feel like I might actually get a little bit braver just by being in her presence...	WHOO HOO! I KNEW THAT LEMINA WOULD WIN! I JUST KEPT A POSITIVE ATTITUDE! AND, I ONLY HAD TO SACRIFICE 10 BARNEYS ON THE BURNING ALTAR OF RAGE! THAT WAS DEFINITELY PURPLE WELL-SPENT!
ボク　魔法はあきらめました でも自分ができることで 魔法ギルドを応援していきます	I've given up on learning magic, but I've started doing whatever else I can to support the Magic Guild.	HEY! HEY! THERE'S A PARTY IN MY PANTS AND EVERYONE'S INVITED!

In most cases, the US dialogue ultimately arrives at about the same point as the Japanese (with some exceptions), but with a handful of typical Working Designs jokes (90s pop culture, scatological humor, etc.) shoved in. These are just examples of many lines that permeate the English translation.

Key Plot Scenes

While the overall plot is the same, some elements were modified.

	Original	Translation	Working Designs
	‥‥青き塔は　きわめて ナゾの多い神秘の塔ですじゃ この塔のナゾを解く者は‥‥ 「天空にかがやく青き星と この世界の成り立ちの秘密を 知ることになるであろう‥‥」 そう言い伝えられておる‥‥ いったい　あの塔に なんの用があるのですかな？	... The Blue Spire contains innumerable mysteries. There's a legend spoken of about whoever would unravel the mystery of the tower, that... "They will come into the knowledge of the formation of the Blue Star in the sky, and of the very world in which we live ..." Those are the words that have been handed down ... What on earth could the purpose of that tower be?	....BUT THE BLUE SPIRE HAS BEEN A MYSTERY FOR DECADES, EVEN HUNDREDS OF YEARS... YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY EXPECT THAT I KNOW ALL ITS SECRETS! BESIDES, WHAT INTEREST COULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE AT THE SPIRE?
	青き星だの　世界の秘密だの 考古学者とは気楽な商売だな いいか　よく聞くがいい！ この世界を滅ぼそうと 恐るべき魔王が降臨するのだ！ あの青き塔にな‼ その魔王を退治するのが 女神アルテナさまに命じられた この私の役目なのだ	The secret of the Blue Star, and the world itself? ... Man, archaeologists sure have it easy. Now listen up! You'd better pay attention here! A terrifying demon king is going to descend and try to destroy this world! He's gonna come from the Blue Spire!! I was commanded by the Goddess Althena to eradicate him once and for all! This is my duty now!	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 ME DIRECT ORDERS TO ERADICATE THE DESTROYER.
	女神アルテナさま⁉ それに　青き塔の魔王ですと⁉ ううむ‥‥	Commanded by the Goddess Althena herself!? A demon king, from the Blue Spire!? Hmmm...	THE GODDESS ALTHENA? A DEVIL AT THE TOWER OF BLUE? BAH! NONSENSE...
	そうだ！　おまえが青き塔の 専門家というなら 聞きたいことがある！	That's right! If you really are an expert on the Blue Spire, there's something I wanna ask you!	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.

Even scenes key to the plot like this one have been substantially rewritten. Some of the changes are reasonably within the bounds of localization; others, such as Leo's massively expanded final lines here, were simply made up without apparent cause. In most cases, new details have been inserted into the script that introduce substantive changes to tone, content, and nuance.

The changes even extend so far as injecting new dialogue into important scenes by characters who were previously silent:

	Original	Translation		Working Designs
	見なれぬ服を着た女だな‥‥ 具合が悪そうだが いったい　どうしたのだ？ ‥‥なんと⁉ この奥にいる化け物に やられただと？ ううむ　そうか！ それこそが　魔王ルーシアに ちがいない‼ よく教えてくれたな　ヒイロ よ〜し！ 全員　私につづけッ‼	A girl wearing unusual clothes... and she looks unwell. What the heck happened? ... What!? You say she was wounded by a monster back inside there? Hmmm, I see! It must be Lucia the Demon King!! You've informed me well, Hiro. All right! Everyone, follow me!!		HMMM...YOU'RE WEARING A STRANGE DRESS OF RED CLOTH. I'VE NEVER SEEN IT'S EQUAL. AND, YOU SEEM TO BE SICK... ...WHAT HAS MADE YOU WEAK, GIRL?
				IT WAS A MONSTER IN THE DEPTHS OF THE TOWER! IT ATTACKED HER! WE BARELY ESCAPED. IF YOU HURRY, YOU MAY CATCH IT!
				HA! EXACTLY AS I SUSPECTED! THE DESTROYER IS IN THE TOWER! C'MON MEN, LET'S GO....

Details

Original	Translation	Working Designs
速報！ 魔王ルーシアの首を とった者には　１０００Ｓを レオさまより与えられる！	Bulletin! Lord Leo will give 1000s to the one who removes the head of Demon King Lucia!	!! BULLETIN !! A REWARD OF 1000S HAS BEEN OFFERED FOR THE SLAYING OF ALL OPPOSED TO ALTHENA.

The US script here makes Althena's Guard out to be some sort of murderous zealots hellbent on enforcing devotion to Althena, whereas in the Japanese version they're simply trying to kill Lucia on Leo's orders.

Gameplay

As with many of their other games, Working Designs went to some lengths to make Eternal Blue more difficult (and more frustrating).

General

• In what may be Working Designs' most infamous alteration to any of their games, the US release forces the player to pay a certain amount of Magic EXP (Hiro's level times 15) to save the game, and prevents saving entirely if the player doesn't have enough. (Quoth the manual: "We felt that this would make the game more challenging by making you, the player, decide if the necessity of a save was worth giving up valuable magic experience points.") None of this was in the Japanese version, and this "feature" was left out of the localized version of the game's PlayStation remake Eternal Blue Complete, with the official strategy guide acknowledging that "it was much more annoying than challenging."
• The A/C Button Swap option is disabled by default in the Japanese version, so that A brings up the menu and C triggers dialogue. This is both somewhat counterintuitive and inconsistent with the control scheme in Lunar: The Silver Star, which is probably why the US version turns it on by default.
• When casting spells during combat, the US version automatically selects the most recently-used spell.
• Both versions have the "push the party along walls it bumps into" mechanic, but it works slightly differently between them. In the Japanese version, running into a second wall while already being pushed along another makes the party get "stuck" twitching back and forth between two squares until the player changes directions. The US version tweaks this so that the party will instead reverse direction and keep moving smoothly.
• In the Japanese version, if the player doesn't read the letter on Ronfar's door before triggering the event where Lucia collapses at the bar, there's some extra dialogue where Ronfar notices and reads the letter. In the US version, the scripts have purposely been altered so that Ronfar reads the letter no matter what, perhaps to make sure the player gets to see his reaction to it.

Magic

A few spells have increased MP costs in the US version:

• Tranquil Litany, Ronfar's highest-level party heal spell, costs 17 MP in the Japanese version but 45 MP in the US version. This was probably altered because the original cost is actually significantly cheaper than its lower-level predecessor Rest Litany (24 MP). This change makes it much more difficult to heal the party while maintaining Ronfar's MP during the last part of the game.
• In the Japanese version, the five spells granted by the Dragon and Goddess Crests have the following MP costs:

Spell	Cost		Spell	Cost		Spell	Cost
Red Dragon Anger	80 MP		Blue Dragon Vigor	75 MP		White Dragon Protect	93 MP
Black Dragon Shield	45 MP		Althena's Light	98 MP

In the US version, all of these spells cost 99 MP.

Items

Several items' base prices are higher in the US version, often considerably so - some items have been marked up by 200-300%! This affects both the buy and sell prices; sell price is always half the base price.

Particularly, the most common healing items are all much pricier (especially the Silver Light), as well as a few of the higher-tier weapons and armors.

Item	Price (JP)	Price (US)		Item	Price (JP)	Price (US)		Item	Price (JP)	Price (US)
Herb	80	150		Dover Nut	380	1200		Silver Light	10000	25000
Angel Tears	2000	4000		Onyx Sword	32000	42750		Ice Blade	48000	62000
Hell Spike	25000	36000		Thunder Claw	35000	49000		Onyx Staff	28000	39000
Holy Staff	32000	41000		Onyx Armor	20000	31000		Saint Clothes	18000	23000
Thunder Shield	5400	9200		Mystery Tiara	15000	26000

Althena Statues

Some of the Althena statues used for healing require a "donation" for each use. In the Japanese version, the donation is always 100 Silver (with one odd exception, noted below). The US version inflates this cost by varying amounts in each area:

Area	Cost		Area	Cost		Area	Cost		Area	Cost
Larpa Sanctuary*	100s		Takkar	1000s		Azado Tower	1000s		Pentagulia Shrine	500s
Under Pentagulia	500s		Serak Palace	1500s		Neo-Vane	1500s

• The only statue that doesn't cost 100s to use in the Japanese version is the one in the Larpa Sanctuary, which costs 10s only when it's used while at the Sanctuary during the plot event to uncurse Lucia; otherwise, it costs the normal 100s. Given that the "plot version" of the map is a completely separate copy from the regular version, it seems likely that the donation was originally 10s across the board, then raised to 100s later in development without updating the duplicated map to compensate.

The US version raises this cost to 100s, consistent with the normal version of the map.

Enemy Stats

As part of their scheme for the US version, Working Designs saw fit to jack up the stats of nearly every enemy in the game. As a result, it's far more of a tedious grind than the original.

The vast majority of enemies received a 25% boost to HP, Attack, and Defense. A smaller number got larger or smaller changes (such as the occasional 800% defense boost), or only had one or two of those stats changed. At the whim of the localization team, a very few had other stats altered (listed in a separate table below).

No enemies received changes to their MP or Range.

In the tables below, instances in which a stat rose have been marked in red. The rare cases where a stat actually decreased are marked in green. Instances in which a stat rose by more than 5 points and constituted a change of 50% or greater from the original amount appear in magenta. Enemies whose stats didn't change (there aren't many) are omitted.

Enemy Stat Changes JP->US

Enemy	HP	Attack	Defense		Enemy	HP	Attack	Defense
Scorpion	19->25 +6 / 31%	-	4->6 +2 / 50%		Death Worm	20->35 +15 / 75%	-	-
Sand Cyclops	9->12 +3 / 33%	-	-		Sand Shark	5->7 +2 / 40%	-	-
Brainpicker	12->14 +2 / 16%	-	-		Crystal Knight	19->24 +5 / 26%	-	-
Mummy	21->30 +9 / 42%	-	-		Guardian (single)	218->275 +57 / 26%	-	8->9 +1 / 12%
Guardian? (single, unused?)*	288->275 -13 / 5%	-	-		Flytrapper	61->70 +9 / 14%	38->64 +26 / 68%	-
Albino Baboon (Madoria Plains)**	30->45 +15 / 15%	25->35 +10 / 40%	-		Hummingbyrd	34->45 +11 / 32%	22->27 +5 / 22%	-
Goblin	21->25 +4 / 19%	19->25 +6 / 31%	9->12 +3 / 33%		Albino Baboon (Forest of Illusion)**	30->40 +10 / 33%	25->30 +5 / 20%	7->9 +2 / 28%
Goblin King	53->60 +7 / 13%	22->50 +23 / 127%	6->20 +14 / 233%		Plantella	1220->1450 +230 / 18%	38->44 +6 / 15%	14->18 +4 / 28%
Grog Snake (Bandit Butte)	58->70 +12 / 20%	-	0->4 +4 / -		Wyburn	36->50 +14 / 38%	-	-
Banshee Fowl (Bandit Butte)	57->65 +8 / 14%	32->34 +2 / 6%	4->9 +5 / 125%		Killer Wasp	32->65 +33 / 50%	50->70 +20 / 40%	10->14 +4 / 40%
Fatal Hopper	70->115 +45 / 64%	40->55 +15 / 37%	9->12 +3 / 33%		Hooded Imp	51->75 +24 / 47%	21->40 +19 / 90%	-
Susie Death	24->60 +36 / 150%	26->45 +19 / 73%	15->20 +5 / 33%		Knuckle Buster	35->70 +35 / 100%	36->42 +6 / 16%	-
Magic Tester LX	900->1400 +500 / 55%	31->40 +9 / 29%	10->15 +5 / 50%		Cave Rat (Mystic Ruins)	35->45 +10 / 28%	39->42 +3 / 7%	3->7 +4 / 133%
Neutronitor	90->135 +45 / 50%	43->45 +2 / 4%	21->24 +3 / 14%		Persona	100->125 +25 / 25%	43->55 +12 / 27%	20->27 +7 / 35%
Working Stiff	45->50 +5 / 11%	29->35 +6 / 20%	9->12 +3 / 33%		Mummy Lord	112->130 +18 / 16%	30->50 +20 / 66%	8->17 +9 / 112%
Fleshsucker	1867->2334 +467 / 25%	79->99 +20 / 25%	99->124 +25 / 25%		Evil Eye	1439->1799 +360 / 25%	74->93 +19 / 25%	40->50 +10 / 25%
Tormentor	85->106 +21 / 24%	47->59 +12 / 25%	12->15 +3 / 25%		Dream Leech	85->106 +21 / 24%	50->63 +13 / 26%	41->51 +10 / 24%
Ice Mongrel (Taben's Peak)	400->500 +100 / 25%	64->80 +16 / 25%	-		Gelatin	32->60 +28 / 87%	39->45 +6 / 15%	-
Barbarian	130->170 +40 / 30%	55->80 +25 / 45%	0->5 +5 / -		Razor Wolf	80->120 +40 / 50%	50->65 +15 / 30%	-
Missing Link	2100->2600 +500 / 23%	87->110 +23 / 26%	27->35 +8 / 29%		Crusher	112->140 +28 / 25%	58->73 +15 / 25%	31->39 +8 / 25%
Mutant Turtle	114->142 +28 / 24%	55->69 +14 / 25%	22->28 +6 / 27%		Deadpole	304->380 +76 / 25%	59->82 +23 / 38%	32->44 +12 / 37%
Assassin	376->426 +50 / 13%	77->88 +11 / 14%	9->12 +3 / 33%		Monocrop	80->100 +20 / 25%	90->113 +23 / 25%	-
Nipple Yanker	144->180 +36 / 25%	32->40 +8 / 25%	13->16 +3 / 23%		Metallion	112->140 +28 / 25%	58->74 +16 / 27%	-
Corpse Crusher (1)	1456->1820 +364 / 25%	44->54 +10 / 22%	14->18 +4 / 28%		Corpse Crusher (2)	368->460 +92 / 25%	90->113 +23 / 25%	-
Necro Knight	128->160 +32 / 25%	89->111 +22 / 25%	28->35 +7 / 25%		Flash Lord	163->204 +41 / 25%	55->69 +14 / 25%	12->15 +3 / 25%
Assassin (White Tower)	160->200 +40 / 25%	74->93 +19 / 26%	17->21 +4 / 24%		Mutant Fly	64->80 +16 / 25%	96->120 +24 / 25%	3->12 +9 / 300%
Maneater	144->180 +36 / 25%	149->186 +37 / 24%	2->18 +16 / 800%		Ice Mongrel (Katarina Zone West, Initial)	592->740 +148 / 25%	22->30 +8 / 36%	-
Muttley	130->163 +33 / 25%	83->96 +13 / 16%	40->50 +10 / 25%		Ice Pup (White Dragon Cave)	200->250 +50 / 25%	73->91 +18 / 25%	2->4 +2 / 100%
Blyzzer	163->204 +41 / 25%	64->80 +16 / 25%	32->40 +8 / 100%		Electro Eye	86->108 +22 / 25%	69->86 +17 / 25%	62->78 +16 / 26%
White Fiend	4384->5480 +1096 / 25%	48->80 +32 / 67%	44->55 +11 / 26%		Mercenary	565->706 +141 / 25%	97->105 +8 / 8%	42->48 +6 / 14%
Ninja	336->420 +84 / 25%	112->140 +28 / 24%	37->46 +9 / 24%		Wolf Guard (Tournament)	368->460 +92 / 25%	127->158 +31 / 24%	1->5 +4 / 400%
Groper	158->198 +40 / 25%	107->134 +27 / 25%	50->63 +13 / 26%		Aqua Elemental	118->148 +30 / 25%	96->120 +24 / 25%	31->39 +8 / 26%
Aura Shark	104->130 +26 / 25%	108->135 +27 / 25%	20->25 +5 / 25%		Doom Rigger	768->960 +192 / 25%	-	223->250 +27 / 12%
Ammonia	53->66 +13 / 24%	142->177 +35 / 24%	36->45 +9 / 25%		Soul Yanker	256->320 +64 / 25%	130->150 +20 / 15%	43->49 +6 / 14%
Blue Fiend	5128->6410 +1282 / 25%	170->225 +55 / 32%	45->56 +11 / 24%		Lizard Guard	489->611 +122 / 24%	113->141 +28 / 25%	32->40 +8 / 25%
Demon Wolf	110->137 +27 / 24%	99->124 +25 / 25%	10->25 +15 / 150%		Wolf Guard (Marius Zone)	353->441 +88 / 24%	112->140 +28 / 25%	30->38 +8 / 27%
Boomba Kid	136->170 +34 / 25%	115->144 +29 / 25%	48->60 +12 / 25%		Pyromaniac (Neo-Trial Cave)	184->230 +46 / 25%	101->126 +25 / 25%	30->38 +8 / 27%
Trickster (Neo-Trial Cave)	197->246 +49 / 24%	104->130 +26 / 25%	54->68 +14 / 26%		Pyromaniac	232->290 +58 / 25%	119->149 +30 / 25%	30->38 +8 / 27%
Flyboy	128->160 +32 / 25%	75->94 +19 / 25%	32->40 +8 / 25%		Trickster (Zaback Mine)	197->246 +49 / 24%	136->170 +34 / 25%	57->71 +14 / 25%
Borgan (1)	2660->2720 +60 / 2%	-	-		Borgan (2)	1402->1500 +98 / 7%	-	-
Zombie	170->212 +42 / 24%	128->160 +32 / 25%	36->45 +9 / 25%		Webhead	224->280 +56 / 25%	124->155 +31 / 25%	48->60 +12 / 25%
Black Fiend	4608->5760 +1152 / 25%	133->180 +47 / 35%	16->20 +4 / 25%		Bat Knight	147->184 +37 / 25%	122->153 +31 / 25%	83->87 +4 / 5%
Grouser	208->260 +52 / 25%	112->140 +28 / 25%	5->7 +2 / 40%		Arrow Fish	416->520 +104 / 25%	127->158 +31 / 24%	16->20 +4 / 25%
Flash Lord	163->204 +41 / 25%	55->69 +14 / 25%	12->15 +3 / 25%		Synapse Guard	496->620 +124 / 25%	136->170 +34 / 25%	60->75 +15 / 25%
Necromancer (Serak Palace)****	304->243 -61 / 20%	77->96 +19 / 25%	52->65 +13 / 25%		Firebird (1)	1400->1950 +550 / 25%	103->190 +87 / 25%	60->75 +15 / 26%
Firebird (2)	540->675 +135 / 25%	109->136 +27 / 25%	43->54 +11 / 26%		Wind Genie	300->375 +75 / 25%	122->147 +24 / 20%	42->50 +8 / 19%
Necromancer (Red Dragon Cave)	304->380 +76 / 25%	93->117 +24 / 26%	52->65 +13 / 25%		Buzz Boy	352->440 +88 / 25%	125->142 +17 / 14%	20->25 +5 / 25%
Red Fiend	5940->7425 +1485 / 25%	120->160 +40 / 33%	14->18 +4 / 29%		Hellgoyle	219->273 +54 / 24%	156->197 +41 / 26%	72->90 +18 / 25%
Banshee Fowl (Dragon's Nest)	228->285 +57 / 25%	160->200 +40 / 25%	96->120 +24 / 25%		Doppelganger (Dragon's Nest)	544->680 +136 / 25%	-	48->60 +12 / 25%
Grog Snake (Dragon's Nest)	684->855 +171 / 25%	200->250 +50 / 25%	2->4 +2 / 100%		Reflector	100->125 +25 / 25%	112->140 +29 / 25%	60->75 +12 / 25%
Fake Althena (1)	5172->6465 +1293 / 25%	206->220 +14 / 6%	39->48 +9 / 23%		Fake Althena (2)	2856->3300 +444 / 15%	74->92 +18 / 24%	18->23 +5 / 27%
Ghaleon	7024->8780 +1756 / 25%	164->190 +26 / 16%	70->88 +18 / 26%		Lazer Boy	272->340 +68 / 25%	160->200 +40 / 25%	64->80 +16 / 25%
Gorgonka	576->720 +144 / 25%	130->163 +33 / 25%	10->13 +3 / 30%		Dark Sorcerer	271->339 +68 / 25%	120->150 +30 / 25%	85->106 +21 / 25%
Magic Hat	352->440 +88 / 25%	144->180 +36 / 25%	74->93 +19 / 26%		Velma & Louiez	400->500 +100 / 25%	159->199 +40 / 25%	28->35 +7 / 25%
Power Zappier	400->500 +102 / 25%	117->146 +29 / 25%	92->115 +23 / 25%		Cannon Angel	288->360 +72 / 25%	74->93 +19 / 26%	90->113 +23 / 26%
Phantom	560->700 +140 / 25%	148->185 +37 / 25%	104->130 +26 / 25%		Fiendish Eye	-	176->200 +24 / 14%	11->25 +14 / 127%
Genetikon	-	176->200 +24 / 14%	30->50 +20 / 67%		White Fiend (Zophar's Colisseum)	4384->5480 +1096 / 25%	48->70 +22 / 46%	44->55 +11 / 25%
Blue Fiend (Zophar's Colisseum)	5016->6270 +1254 / 25%	117->160 +43 / 37%	64->80 +16 / 25%		Black Fiend (Zophar's Colisseum)	6688->8360 +1672 / 25%	112->180 +68 / 61%	46->58 +12 / 26%
Red Fiend (Zophar's Colisseum)	5940->7425 +1485 / 25%	216->255 +39 / 18%	14->18 +4 / 29%		Zophar (Form 1)	7968->9960 +1992 / 25%	-	46->52 +6 / 13%
Omni-Zophar (1)	-	-	30->40 +10 / 33%		Omni-Zophar (2)	6713->8440 +1727 / 25%	-	21->35 +14 / 67%
Ice Pup (Katarina Zone West, Epilogue)***	200->350 +150 / 25%	73->91 +18 / 25%	2->14 +12 / 26%		Ice Mongrel (Katarina Zone West, Epilogue)	592->740 +148 / 25%	22->30 +8 / 25%	-
Blood Lord (Sunken Tower)	-	-	12->15 +3 / 25%		Xevian (Sunken Tower)	-	-	21->30 +9 / 43%
Hell Raiser (Sunken Tower)	-	-	2->4 +2 / 100%		Phantom Sentry (Sunken Tower)	8736->10896 +2160 / 24%	-	-
Cannon Thug (Dragon Ruins)	-	-	5->15 +10 / 200%		Decepticon	672->890 +258 / 32%	-	19->35 +16 / 84%
Blood Lord (Dragon Ruins)	-	-	12->25 +13 / 108%		Fire Elemental	336->420 +84 / 25%	-	-
Doppelganger (Dragon Ruins)	-	-	32->50 +18 / 56%		Xevian (Dragon Star Tower)	-	-	21->30 +9 / 42%
Blood Lord (Dragon Star Tower)	-	-	12->18 +6 / 50%		Cannon Thug (Dragon Star Tower)	-	-	5->10 +5 / 100%
Hell Raiser (Dragon Star Tower)	-	-	2->4 +2 / 100%		Star Sentry (Dragon Star Tower)	-	216->225 +9 / 4%	0->5 +5 / -

Enemy Stat Changes JP->US

Enemy	HP	ATK	DEF	WIS	RES	LEV	AGI	#AT	LUK	RUN
Guard	91->95 +4 / 4%	-	9->18 +9 / 100%	-	-	-	-	-	3->7 +4 / 133%	-
Phantom Sentry (Bandit Butte)	1024->1250 +226 / 22%	39->45 +6 / 15%	12->20 +8 / 66%	-	-	-	-	-	4->8 +4 / 100%	-
Ice Pup (Katarina Zone West, Initial)***	592->350 -242 / 39%	56->91 +35 / 62%	2->14 +12 / 600%	16->0 -16 / 100%	123->40 -83 / 48%	48->23 -25 / 92%	48->68 +20 / 41%	4->2 -83 / 50%	-	52->100 +48 / 92%

* This appears to be some sort of unused copy or older version of the Guardian boss, or at any rate whoever was tampering with the US version changed its HP to match it. It's not used for the "invincible" variant that appears as part of an event battle.
** Note that the changes here make the Albino Baboons in the Forest of Illusion distinct from those in Madoria Plains, which was not the case in the Japanese version.
*** In the Japanese version, the Ice Pup in Katarina Zone West changes stats between its appearances in the regular game and the epilogue. The early-game version is basically a standard enemy, while the later version is a sort of gimmick enemy: it's fairly weak and vulnerable to magic, but flees often. The US version alters the stats of the early-game enemy to mostly match its post-game counterpart.
**** For some reason, the Serak Palace Necromancer's HP decreases by 20% in the US version. Possibly a mistake?

To do: A byte-by-byte comparison shows at least a dozen or so other alterations to battle scripts in the US version aside from "translated" text, but I haven't figured out what their effects are, if anything.

Graphics

The US version alters a few graphics, in the vast majority of cases in order to meet Sega of America's content policies by reducing nudity and removing symbols with potentially religious connotations.

Nudity

Japan	US

Several of the nude shots of Lucia were altered to suppress the most "explicit" elements, such as they are. In this case, the shading on her breasts was lightened in the panning shot across the crystal. Oddly, Lucia seems to have actually been partially redrawn for this scene; there are many distinct differences in the linework and shading, particularly the face. It's possible that conflicts in the color palette meant that simply lightening the shading without further changes would have had unacceptable side effects on the rest of the image, which made the extra alterations necessary.

The epilogue's ending contains a shot that's nearly identical to this one, but with the camera at a higher position. This precluded the need for further editing, so in that case the US version retains the Japanese image.

Japan	US

The subsequent shot of Lucia zooming down the Death Star tractor beam shaft similarly reduces the shading on her bust.

Japan	US

In the back shot of Lucia standing on the cliff, Lucia was shifted downward, obscuring her rear (and the cliff she's standing on). For some reason, the palette for this shot (and this one alone) was also noticeably brightened.

(Source: Canal Vc Decide)

Japan	US

The flashback to the nude shot of Luna from the climax of The Silver Star, which was previously edited in the US version of that game, underwent similar alterations here. Aside from lightening the palette, the Japanese version of the scene fades in, lingers on the image for a few seconds, and then fades out. The US version fades in and almost immediately fades the image to white as soon as it's displayed.

Japan	US

The Plantarium/Plantella boss is slightly less "nude" in the US version.

Pentagrams

Most occurrences of pentagrams in the game were removed from the US version.

Japan	US

The large pentagram teleport pads were edited consistently with their alterations in The Silver Star.

Japan	US

Ditto the smaller teleport pads introduced in this game.

Japan
US

The "magic circle" used as part of many spell animations was changed from a pentagram to a more concrete star design.

Japan	US

The icon for the Magic Shield spell was altered in a similar way.

Interestingly, one prominent pentagram, the one beneath the teleporter at the top of the Blue Spire, was left untouched in the US version.

Miscellaneous

Japan	US

The second of the player-selectable window background types was given a much more subdued design in the US version, probably because all the original options were relatively bright.

Japan	US

For some reason, the US version swaps the icons for the Heal Litany and Calm Litany spell lines.

Audio

• The US version replaces the two Japanese vocal themes with newly-recorded versions featuring English lyrics. As with most if not all of Working Designs' dubbed themes, the localizers had no access to the Japanese backing tracks and had to recreate the music from scratch, resulting in a very different sound from the originals.
• The Star Dragon Tower has the same music as the Blue Spire in the Japanese version. The US version replaces it with an original track commissioned by Working Designs from American composer Bill King. According to the manual, this was because they believed the new music "provided a better fit with the 'mood' of the game at that point".
• The outtakes reel after the epilogue's credits was added for the localization.
• The Japanese version shipped with a "Premium" audio CD containing the song "Eternal Blue ~Eternal Sentiment~" (aka "Lucia's Theme" in the US version), along with some extra chatter from Lucia and Lemina. This was dropped for the US release - instead, an English remake of the song is included as an audio track on the game disc as a bonus.
• The Japanese disc contains two extra CD audio tracks not in the American version:

	Track 3 is essentially a warning telling the listener that they're playing a Mega CD game disc on an audio CD player, but it's played out like a comical dialogue between Hiro and Ruby.
	Track 4 is a Game Arts sound logo.

Miscellaneous Changes

• For telling the party about Lucia, the mayor of Larpa demands an "information fee" (or all the party's money, if they don't have enough). In the Japanese version, the cost is 30s, but the US version raises it to 500s.
• The US version alters the opening and endings to include the Working Designs staff credits. The localization team give themselves the highest positions, before any of the Japanese developers, and everything else was rearranged or cut as needed to fit them in. In the case of the opening, the voice cast credits were removed in order to make room, leaving them only present in the ending credits.
• The US version changes the game's internal title from "LUNAR2" to "LUNAR -ETERNAL BLUE-".
• While not a localization change per se, the Japanese version actually contains the full English font used for the US version's text. Despite the fact that this font contains a full set of lowercase letters that were readily available for use, the localization team made the peculiar choice of putting the translated script in all-caps. This may have been prompted by aesthetic concerns; many of the English font's capital letters have a noticeably lower baseline than the lowercase ones, making mixed-case text look uneven. Compared to the sweeping alterations made to the rest of the game, though, this seems like it would have been a trifle to fix.

(Some information for this article was sourced from LunarNET: http://www.lunar-net.com/eb/eb_diff.php)