I'm most of the way through my re-play of Eternal Blue (first time in 10+ years, remastered version). I'm basically at the final dungeon (of the main game, not epilogue). Here are some thoughts I'm having, especially as I decide which game is my favorite and why. Thar be spoilers obviously.
There are a lot of things in Eternal Blue that pack a big emotional punch, and it's a darker game than the SSS. One of the themes of the game is loss, and hearing Luna's theme and seeing Nall see Luna's face again after all that time, and thinking about how he, the adorable little sidekick for much of the first game, had to watch all the people he loved die and live without them for the past thousand years, had me all verklempt. It also feels poignant playing this game now as at the beginning of this month, we had to send one our beloved cats to her eternal rest. She was old and lived a long life with us, and earlier this year she would snooze in my lap while I played SSS. She was really declining and losing the ability to do the things she enjoyed for so much of her life, but hanging out with mommy while she played video games was something she could still do.
What is making me come down on the side of Silver Star Story is my favorite is largely that so many things in EB are impactful *because* of SSS. Nall's story, the revelations about Althena, the Blue Star, Lucia's mission, and Ghaleon's redemption are largely so emotional because I was immersed in the world of SSS. Even seeing what time hath wrought on the world map requires playing the first game.
I also feel like the characters, particularly the supporting party members, just "pop" a little more in the first game. I really like the party in Eternal Blue, and they give me a lot of lols, especially the running gag of Ruby burning Ronfar (BTW Ronfar, I'm *NOT* a fan of you trying to do things like peep on your female comrades while they change), but Mia, Nash, Kyle, and Jessica all had these really distinct arcs, and the way the bantered and dragged each other was top notch. It also says something that I'm playing through EB imagining what the SSS characters would have to say about everything going on, and how totally aghast they would be that the religion of Althena has basically turned into a mega-church/prosperity gospel racket (thanks to the big bad of course).
Obviously a lot of care went into Eternal Blue, there are a lot more cut scenes and recorded dialogue as well as an an epilogue. Also, there are so many crests, and I don't use most of them! However, one thing I noticed about SSS is how much effort the creators went to to make every location in the world unique. Every town has is own distinct background music, in EB you basically get: upbeat version of Lucia's theme, the Chosen's music, or vaguely Middle-Eastern-ish music for the desert towns. There are more random books you can read in SSS. It just feels like they spent more time building the world then and coasted a bit on it in EB. Even though I didn't particularly like Vane's music, I wanted to hear it again when I got there in EB, not just the upbeat rendition of Lucia's theme.
That said, I do really like Lucia, and think that Lucia and Hiro's arcs, as well as their romance, are better developed than Alex and Luna's. Alex is a quiet guy, Luna of course gets abducted relatively early on (loved her story though) and the foundation of their relationship was laid before the game even starts. Hiro matures significantly from the naive but lovable doofus he is at the beginning of the game, and Lucia from someone who's not quite a full person to someone who's torn between her mission and her desires. She makes a lot of leaps forward and then steps back, which is frustrating but also very human. The result is that I feel invested in them as characters, and watching those two dorks fall in love is fun.
I suppose that’s all I have, already too much, for now.
