Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals

"My finest experience on the SNES"

Like Snatcher, which I also reviewed, this is one of those gems for me that wasn't just "playing another good game", this was an immense experience for me. This isn't nostalgia talking either. This game was in fact introduced to me during the fifth generation, and even then I fell in love with it. Let's take a look at the game.

Lufia II is the second game in the Lufia RPG series but is actually a prequel to Lufia & the Fortress of Doom released in the U.S in 1993. The first Lufia started off at the end of Maxim's adventure and picked up 100 years later where we met Maxim's descendant. In Lufia II, we play through Maxim and his allies Guy, Selan, and Artea. If you have played the first game, you will find Lufia II to be mostly similar, but there are many changes for overall mechanical improvement such as faster walking, more balanced encounter rate, more weapons, armor, and items, more secrets, more rewards, and overall a lot more fun. Let us dig further.

Story: 8/10

I'm not a big story nut, so scoring this an 8/10 won't affect my overall thoughts but I thought I should let you know anyway. One day, there was an island floating in the sky where a dark fortress loomed. Four wicked humans named Gades, Amon, Erim, and Daos claimed it for themselves. The claiming of this island granted them superhuman powers beyond anyone's comprehension and earned them the nickname, the four sinistrals. Gades is the sinistral of destruction, Amon is the sinistral of chaos, Erim is the sinistral of death, and Daos, our leader, is the sinistral of terror.

Armed with these superhuman powers, the four sinistrals set out to become the gods of planet Earth by destroying anything in their path that would dare threaten them as they reigned high in the fortress of the floating island. Our hero, Maxim, has been a hunter all his life without question or reason. One day, while hunting monsters for his living, a mysterious woman named Iris approaches him, and demands him to set out on a journey around the world that will lead him to the answer of why more monsters run rampant and are more ferocious. Iris also tells Maxim that there is more to his journey than just these answers which she does not immediately reveal. And thus, our journey as Maxim begins.

While the story is average, nothing special in fact, the game does an outstanding job at telling it thanks to an excellent yet natural English translation, the execution of key events, and the use of proper music to effectively dramatize each vital scene.

Graphics: 8/10

Some may tell you that the graphics leave something to be desired and they may be right, but they don't bother me at all. As you're reading this review or after you're finished, refer to the image section to see some of the game's graphics. Looking at those images, most of them aren't really notable but they are certainly no eye sore. My opinion of this is because our development team was not focused on visuals, but were focused on gameplay and operational mechanics, which is where the game truly shines. Dungeons, the overworld map, and the battle graphics are simply done to get the vision across and everything you see is clear and easy to interpret what is what. There are however some instances where the graphics are glitched to the point where it's hard to see what you're doing; obviously a programming error, but if you're playing this game in a ROM image, there is a patch you can download that will fix these errors. Overall, I find the graphics to be just fine and I am left with no desire to see something more visually stunning.

Music & Sound: 10/10

The start of what made Lufia II a true deal maker. The music was composed by Yasunori Shiono who does not sell himself short with this title. Our composer greatly exercises his talents with this score from tracks such as our main and final battle theme, emotional moments, dungeon-crawling, tower-climbing and meadow-walking through the world of Lufia. From diapers to tombstones, this soundtrack has everything the Super Nintendo could ever handle with guitar riffs, fast-paced drums, piano, harmonica, probably every instrument simulated you could ever think of can be found in the cartridge of this game. If pushed further, our 16-bit friend might not be able to handle it! I personally find this soundtrack FAR superior to the Chrono Trigger score.

Gameplay & Mechanics: 10/10

This is without a doubt what sucked me into Lufia II. If you've played the first one, you will find everything here to be much better. Let's start with the controls. You move in the same fashion as in the original but instead, you walk at double the speed whether you're in a town, on the world map, or in a dungeon whereas in the first game, your walking speed only doubled in towns. Almost all buttons in this game have exclusive functions instead of just the A and B button in the first game. The A button confirms as usual, the B button cancels or swings your sword, the X button opens the menu, holding the R button and pressing a directional key will allow you to turn in a direction without moving, and the select button accesses your tools which I will discuss right now.

In Lufia II, tools include bombs, a bow & arrow, a grappling hook, etc. These are used to blow open walls, swing across chasms, flip switches from a distance, and solving puzzles. The tools are hidden throughout the game's dungeons so you will have to hunt for them, but they are vital to help you complete the game. This brings me to the next thing, puzzles.

In the first Lufia game, monsters were fairly difficult but there were almost no puzzles to complete. This is the complete opposite in Lufia II; the monsters are relatively easy, but there are puzzles in almost every dungeon and they become increasingly difficult as you progress through the game. Some of these puzzles will have you ripping your hair out trying to find the answer, but the satisfaction of figuring them out on your own is very rewarding because of how difficult they are. This game also features the infamous "World's Most Difficult Trick" which is widely considered one of the most ludicrous puzzles in any video game.(Of course, you could always refer to the FAQs to get the answers to these puzzles or watch them on YouTube for a visual answer.) The next thing I'm going to talk about is special abilities.

In the original Lufia, characters learned specific spells as they gain levels. In Lufia II, spells are purchased from spell shops which can be found in most towns throughout the game. Certain spells can only bought for certain characters. For example, Maxim cannot use any fire-based spells so you won't be allowed to purchase those spells for him. There are also no hidden spells in this game. Every spell in the game can be bought at a spell shop so if you're missing one, you can always back-track to another town to buy the missing spell. Spells are pricey in this game so you may have to pummel away at enemies to save money.

This game also features what some may consider an early version of Pokemon: capsule monsters. There are seven capsule monsters found throughout the game with an element tied to that monster such as fire, water, wind, etc. Like your characters, capsule monsters gain experience points and level up as usual. They will gain new special moves as their levels progress. Capsule monsters however cannot be controlled during battle and will act by their own will. You cannot restore their HP or revive them, so once they're dead, they are out until the battle is over. They will revive and be at full HP after each battle.

Like Pokemon, capsule monsters evolve by means of feeding them items, weapons, armor, and even have their own special fruits you can feed them to promote their growth. Like Pokemon, they grow immediately stronger upon evolution. The last ability I'm going to talk about is IP skills. These skills are found on equipment and are exclusive to certain kinds of equipment. Offensive IP skills can be found on weapons, defensive and healing IP skills can be found on armor, helmets, and shields. Rings and gem stones serve both purposes in addition to stat boosts.

Your IP meter increases when you take damage from enemies, much like that of the limit breaks from Final Fantasy VII. The last thing to talk about in gameplay is battle encounters.

On the overworld map, battles are random and take place in an actual graphic sequence unlike the first game. In dungeons however, enemies are visible and only move when you move, so if you don't feel like fighting, you might be able to maneuver around them. You can also use your tools to stun enemies so you can easily walk by them without an encounter. Enemies also turn in different directions so if approached from behind, they can be ambushed, but they can also do the same to you so be careful.

Replay value & Overall: 10/10

After completing the game, you unlock retry mode which will allow you to play through the whole game again but enemies give 4x the amount of EXP and gold! Kind of easy, but enjoyable nonetheless. Overall, this game is perfect on every one of my levels, and I can't say anymore about it because this review has been exhausting but I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Play this game, you won't be disappointed! 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/07/09

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