Lufia & the Fortress of Doom

"The first Lufia game is a very average (yet also a charming) traditional RPG"

The Lufia series had never really been that popular. The first and second games were released for the SNES; the first (which I'm reviewing now) was dismissed as an average traditional RPG, and even though many agreed that the second Lufia game was one of the best RPG available on the system, it was still eclipsed by the likes of Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. Then, the third and fourth game came for Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance respectively, and were largely ignored (I happened to like the GBC game very much, though)

For those who were lucky enough to play it, it's more than likely that they found something to like from the series. It has its own signature charm, the kind that you can't get from any other games. The plot and characters are really special (in my opinion, the Sinistrals are one of the most intriguing RPG villains), and its several unique features are enough to set it apart from many other generic RPGs.

The first Lufia game, which was titled Lufia & The Fortress Of Doom, mightn't the best to represent the series (the second game, and even the third, outclassed this one), but it's still a respectable start to a great and underappreciated franchise.

Gameplay

Lufia & The Fortress of Doom played and felt very much like an old-school traditional RPG (think Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy games for the NES) You assemble a party of warriors to defeat some kind of evil, and this is done by travelling the world and crawling through dungeons. Talking to various townspeople and doing certain errands will trigger plot devices, which is essential for your progression. Oh, and let's not forget random battles; the game's got plenty of them.

Battles are done in turn-based fashion, and character with the most Agility will go first. Your playable characters (there are four of them) have five basic options; strike with equipped weapon, cast a spell, defend to absorb less damage, use item, or attempt to flee. Spells cost a certain amount of MP, and can be divided into three major categories; offensive, support, and healing. The battle system is simple, but effective enough.

Your playable characters differ in their battling capability. The main character (or the Hero) is probably the most versatile one, as he is quite powerful and has access to the best support and healing spells. Lufia, the spellcaster, is the weakest physically but she packed some of the most powerful offensive spells. Aguro, the warrior, is the most powerful character; but he couldn't cast any spell, and is very susceptible to them. Lastly, the half-elf Jerin can use bows (which hit all the enemies on the screen for mdoerate damage), and has a very wide repertoire of spells. They balanced each other quite nicely, and understanding their capabilities and shortcomings is the key to survive battles.

Now, the battle system has several quirks. First, there's the infamous ‘strike at the dead enemy' glitch, just like in the first Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy game. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's when your character take a swing at the enemy which was already obliterated by your other character (this can happens in a turn-based battle sistem, where you planned your characters' actions simultaneously) In modern RPGs, this rarely happens as your character will just automatically shifted attention to a remaining enemy; in this game though, the character will strike the empty air and consequently waste a turn. This annoyance is further complemented by the second quirk, which is present when you're facing group enemies (a same type of enemies placed side-by-side) Say, there's Griffon1 and Griffon2, but you can't specify which one to hit; if you attack them, it can go both ways. Thirdly, you can't cancel your characters' action once it is selected. It might not sounds like a big deal, but in a frantic battle (or when you just want to wrap it up quickly) you may accidentally press buttons too quickly and is left to agonize the wrong move.

Is it annoying? Hell yeah! But if you look at it on a more positive light, you might find (like I did) that it make the battles more challenging; unlike in other RPGs I've played, where you can just breeze through enemies just by using the most basic of attacks. If you don't want to get screwed, you need to plan your actions with careful consideration, think of the best and fastest way to down all the enemies, and prepare well before you enter dungeons. Mistakes will often cost you battles, and even a seasoned RPG player will find himself dying quite a lot in this game. Fortunately, you wouldn't get a Game Over after losing battle, just being transported to nearest town/secure places (although with a significant cut in your finance) The challenge is set just in the right level; not hard enough to make you cry in frustration, but challenging enough to get you excited and keep you from complete boredom.

Outside battles, what you're doing to advance the plot is standard traditional RPG fare, which mostly consists of fetch quests (look for a certain item at the end of a certain dungeon, then give it to a certain person) It can get tedious and boring, especially compared to the many gameplay innovations of today's RPGs. It also didn't help that most dungeons' design isn't good enough to keep your interest high.

There are very little things to do outside the main quest, the Old Cave being the only noteworthy one. It's a 7-floored dungeon with specific treasure at the end of each floor, and the deeper you go the harder it'll be. You can only explore the deeper floors when you hit certain levels, so you can occasionally take a break from the main quest and go in a semi-interesting treasure hunting. it's still not that exciting though, as the design is just as lacking as the ones in the main quest (for your information, this concept will be polished and perfected in later installments, and re-emerged as Ancient Caves; one of the main staple in Lufia series)

Storyline

So, if the gameplay is very average and quite boring, what drives you to keep playing the game? Well, the story, of course! Right off the bat, it will introduce the main villains; a quartet of ultra-powerful beings called Sinistrals (Gades, Amon, Daos, and Erim) From their fortress atop a floating island, they wreak havoc and terrorize the world...that is, until four brave warriors challenge them (Maxim, Guy, Artea, and Selan) As the game starts, you will be given controls of these heroes, in a final mission to kick the Sinistrals' butts.

You might start wondering (the game barely begun, and it's the final battle already??), but it's just the prologue of the game. After the conclusion of the prologue (which is stunning, if I might add), it's fast-forward to 99 years later, where the world is at peace. The peace is shattered though, as the Sinistrals are revived and ready to take over the world once again. It's up to a red-haired descendant of Maxim (there's no default name, so let's call him the Hero) to defeat them, accompanied by his childhood friend Lufia. They go in a journey to save the world, and will later joined by the warrior Aguro and the half-elf Jerin.

The plot might sounds very cliched and just like any typical RPG (a group of good guys go together to fight the bad guys), but there's something powerful in there. The characterization and the dialogues are great, and you will soon realize that the cast wouldn't be the stereotypical RPG casts which annoyed the hell out of everyone. Before long, I found myself attached to the Hero and Lufia (and to a lesser extent, Aguro and Jerin as well), and was always interested to discover what's happening next. You probably will, too; the Lufia games just have this unique and charming soul on its story.

If I have any gripe about the storyline, it's that the strongest part of the plot only come at the beginning and near the end of the game. In the middle, there are only snippets of dialogues, which I felt can be much more emphasized. Then, the Sinistrals aren't featured prominently enough; unlike in the second and third Lufia game, where they take much more spotlight.

Graphic & Sound

The graphic in the game is okay, for the most part. It mightn't be flashy or impressive, but it's colorful and very easy on the eye. Nevertheless, the design of the towns, dungeons, castles, and other places is very repetitive, and you will have difficulty in finding the distinguishing visual aspects on each places. In the end, the graphic will bore you; not that it's bad or horrible, but because of the lack of variation in design.

The battle animations (especially the spell effects) are adequate, and the enemies are portrayed well in a first-person perspective; but, your characters will be tiny sprites on top-down perspective, which take the lower half of the screen with their information bars (HP, MP, and Level) It's quite weird, and I much prefer the horizontal side-to-side perspective ala Final Fantasy. However, it's unique and I still like it better than the completely first-person view ala Dragon Warrior.

Beside storyline, I also found the music to be another strong aspect in Lufia series. The first game was very good musically, with several good and appropriate tracks that you might find yourself humming along with. The sound effects also get the job done, as the slashing of the sword or the crackling of thunder spell sounds crisp enough.

Replay Value

The game can be completed in about 20 hours, which is pretty solid. However, the gameplay lacks the variation and innovation needed to get you back after you've finished it. The story might be able to provide reason for you to play the game all over again, but I seriously doubt that it will be more than once in a few years. If you don't like crawling through nearly identical dungeons, going on many fetch-quests, or engage in a lot of random battles (read: you don't like old-school traditional RPG), you probably wouldn't bother for a second playhtrough...or even to complete the game in first place!

Recap

The Good Points:

(+) A compelling storyline with memorable characters
(+) Fairly challenging battle system
(+) As good as an old-school traditional RPG can get

The Bad Points:

(-) Repetitive gameplay
(-) Repetitive graphic
(-) The quirks in battle system...which may annoy the hell out of some people

Conclusion

The first Lufia game has very average gameplay, and is only the third-best in the whole series. Despite that, I always found myself tugged along by the story of Lufia and co...and also, because in the bottom of my gaming soul, I actually enjoy crawling through dungeons, hunting for treasure chests, and fighting random battles.

If you don't have that kind of appreciation for an old-school traditional RPG, you should skip this game; it will just be an average (and probably boring) game to you.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/03/09

Game Release: Lufia & the Fortress of Doom (US, 12/04/93)