Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals

"A great prequel that completely outshines the original"

-Intro-

Hi, how are you? Good? I'm glad to here that. Since we're all settled in I thought I'd talk about the game Lufia II. Ah, you've heard of it? Excellent, let's get started then!

First, a little background. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals is a turn-based RPG released in 1995 (still the best year for video games) for the Super Nintendo. Don't be misled by the “II” in the title, as this game is a prequel to the original Lufia, not a sequel. It was developed by Neverland and published by Natsume in the U.S. and Taito everywhere else. Not many were put into production in the U.S. which limited its popularity and made it become a very rare title. However, it became a cult classic and has become highly sought after in recent years. It is now known as one of the best RPGs the system has to offer.

And if you have played the original Lufia, prepare to have a completely different (better) experience. This game is monumentally better than its predecessor and is a great RPG in its own right. Let's get into the meat of the review now, mkay?

-Gameplay-

Well, this certainly is different. Lufia II plays unlike any RPG you've ever played before. It is somewhat of a mixture of Zelda and Final Fantasy, as it has puzzle-based dungeons and a turn-based battle system. It also sports some pretty cool innovations that I will get into in a second.

The battle system in Lufia II is similar to many turn-based RPGs of the era except for one major twist. When you get hit by an enemy attack, you will slowly fill up a meter called an IP gauge. This is sort of like a limit break of the FF series except that it has more depth. Instead of every character having their own limit break, every piece of equipment has its own IP attack. This means that you can have a total of six IP attacks at your disposal for each character. These moves can be anything from a healing spell to a devastating attack. Some moves will consume more IP amounts than others. This IP system affects which weapons you will use, meaning the weapon with higher attack might not be as affective as a weapon with a better IP attack. It creates a lot more strategy with the equipment system and is a great addition to the battles.

Lufia II's dungeons are some of most fun dungeons in any RPG. First of all, you can see all of your enemies on the screen, meaning that random battles are absent. These dungeons are full of complex puzzles and riddles that you must solve to advance, with many keys, switches and traps. Some of the puzzles are extremely tough and may force the player to consult a guide. Throughout the dungeons, you will use abilities such as arrows, bombs, and hook shots. Yes, I know what you're thinking of. The dungeons are similar to Zelda's style yet Lufia II creates its own unique feel regardless. There is also a heavy emphasis on treasure in this game, which makes the dungeons even more fun. Overall, this game has many dungeons and each one is extremely fun to play through.

Another noteworthy part of the game is the Ancient Cave, an optional super dungeon that is extraordinarily challenging. It is a sidequest to end all sidequests. Getting all of the items in the AC and beating it may take longer than the actual game itself. You battle through 100 randomized levels where some rare treasure can be found. This is a very addicting sidequest that adds a great amount of replay value to the game.

The only flaws I can find with the gameplay is the fact that since there are many dungeons in this game, and each one is some sort of fetch quest, it will become a bit repetitive. But don't worry, most of the time the game feels fresh and is a lot of fun to play, whether you're solving a tricky puzzle or wasting enemies with your IP attacks.

-Story-

The storyline in Lufia II, while not completely original, is an entertaining tale with some interesting twists. You play the role of Maxim, a monster hunter who is told by a mysterious woman of his destiny. He then seeks out this destiny by traveling abroad with his friends and eventually learns of the sinistrals, the group of four super beings that are obsessed with destruction. So, as you can probably tell, the storyline isn't terribly interesting at first glance, but it still becomes a pretty good story as you play through the game. However, the story does drag a bit during some parts of the game. The game also uses a lot of humor in the game which gave the game a lot of charm. There is a romance storyline in the game between the two main characters, and it is fairly well developed. The one thing that was done very well with the story was the ending, which is very touching and among the best seen on a SNES game.

The characters are probably the best part of the story. Nearly every character has a distinct and likable personality, and a few of them develop a lot throughout the game. The two that have the most noticeable development are Maxim and Selan, as they become very different people at the end of the game. And by the way, Dekar is a seriously awesome character (my love is my sword).

-Music and Sound Effects-

I was honestly surprised at how good the music was in this game. After playing the original Lufia and hearing some pretty bland music, I didn't come into this game with high expectations. What I found when I started to play the game was that this is one of the best video game soundtracks ever. Behind Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, this is the best soundtrack on the SNES. So many excellent songs and with such great consistency, this music will please nearly everyone. To list all of my favorite songs from this game would take up too much space, so I will shorten it to the final dungeon song “The Fortress of Doom”, which is one of my favorite video game songs ever. Really good stuff here.

The sound effects are satisfying, given the time it was released. Each kind of weapon has its own sound when it hits an enemy, and each spell has its own sound effect as well. None of the effects are annoying or over-the-top, and none seem to be overused either. Good sound effects overall.

-Graphics-

For being a late-SNES era game, the graphics are a tad underwhelming. It's not as if they are bad, in fact, they look very unique and give the game a lot of charm. However, if you compare it to other games released in '95, you will see the difference. It hardly matters, though, since the graphics are still better than most of the RPGs on the SNES anyways. The sprites have a fairly good amount of detail, yet they are pretty poorly animated. The buildings in towns are where the graphics look the best, and some of the mountain dungeons look nice as well. Not outstanding graphics, but still fairly impressive.

The animation in battle is decent, but could have been better. The characters you control look good, as they each have an attacking and spell casting animation that looks pretty cool, yet the enemies, including bosses, merely shake when they attack. This seemed a little primitive for its time but ah well.

-Challenge, Length, and Replay-

The challenge is medium, I'd say, as the game is pretty easy in terms of the battles, yet it is very difficult in terms of dungeon puzzles. It balances out very well. The puzzles will most certainly frustrate new players and the ancient cave will give some difficulty to those who crave it.

The length is fairly average for an RPG of its time, as it will probably last around 25 hours on a first play-through. You can add a lot more hours if you decide to play the ancient cave. On the other hand, if you aren't insanely patient, then you might want to just stick with the main quest. The game is satisfyingly long.

The replay value is high mostly due to the, you guessed it, Ancient Cave. There are a couple of other minor sidequests besides the ancient cave, which will add to the replay value even more. You can also try out different equipment setups and different IP attacks to use in each file to keep the replay value afloat.

-Summary-

Gameplay – 9/10….…...great
Story – 8/10………….....good
Musics/Sound – 10/10.excellent
Graphics – 8/10……...good
Overall – 9/10…….…..great

-Final Words-

And there it is. First, we need to figure out how you're going to play this game. If you decide to buy the cartridge, be prepared to spend over $30 on ebay. If you decide to emulate, be prepared to play an great game for free. If you decide to wait until it gets ported to the GBA or DS, be prepared to wait until the end of time.

To put it simply, Lufia II was a huge step up from Lufia I. It completely revamped the battle system and dungeon system and made a very fun game that makes the original look terrible. Lufia II may not have the epic story or visuals that some other RPGs of its time had, but what it did have was a lot of charm and some simple innovations that worked really well. The only flaws that bogged down the experience a little was the repetition and the fairly generic storyline. These flaws can't take away from the fantastic dungeon design, innovative IP system, and amazing musical score that has made Lufia II the epitome of what a sequel should be.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/26/07

Game Release: Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (US, 02/23/95)