Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals

"A true gem. Any RPG fan should have this on their must play list."

Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals is a prequel to the immensely popular Lufia for the SNES. I know many people who have played the original Lufia and wondered if the second one was really worth it. Well, it is. Lufia 2 surpasses its predecessor in almost every category. Now for the break down on how it stacks up.

Graphics-9

I must say, that these are some of the best graphics that you will find on the SNES. Richly illustrated towns and dungeons are easy to see and the vast array of colors blend in away that is extremely pleasing to the eye. Off the top of my head the only games I can think of that have as good of graphics on the SNES are Chrono Trigger and Tales of Phantasia. The characters are designed in a way that is cartoony but not in a bad way at all. They aren't as clear or detailed as the characters in Chrono Trigger but have a distinctness all their own. The reason I gave Graphics a nine instead of a 10 is the simple fact that new versions of the same enemy appear as the game progresses. Their stronger, faster, and a different color. That's the only thing that separates them. Just a quick palette swap. But it something that you will easily be able to look past and won't become much of a big deal.

Music-9

The music in this game is pleasing. While it may not be masterpieces like that in Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series, it gets the job done and sets the mood well. Other than that there really isn't a whole lot to be said about the music.

Story-10

This is one of the things that truly makes this game great. Anyone who is familiar with the first Lufia will have an idea about the Sinistrals and who they are. Lufia 2 tells the story of how they came to power (hence the title), and how it came upon Maxim and the others to stop them. The story blends together on many aspects and is extremely amusing at the same time. You'll just have finished a difficult battle, and one of your companions utters the funniest and dumbest line out of nowhere. That really helps to set this game apart. Each character has their own moods and personalities and they are displayed from the start. Nowhere throughout the game are there any really difficult things to understand like there are in many of the Final Fantasies. It's straight-forward to the point, and it works extremely well.

Gameplay-10

This is where the game simply shines. There are so many things that can be done in this game that it isn't even funny. Any fan of puzzle games as well as RPG's will be in heaven with this game. To make it trough the dungeons and get required and necessary items to progress, you will have to solve numerous puzzles. They start out easy like, push these blocks to change it from an arrow pointing down to an arrow pointing up, to the World's Most Difficult trick. You may find yourself getting frustrated trying to figure out a puzzle or two along the way, but it's possible that you just haven't gotten a necessary item yet and will have to come back. As for the battles, they are carried out in the traditional Lufia fashion. Looking much like that of the Breath of Fire series, Lufias battle menu is the cross shaped one where attack is in the middle, magic at the top, IP attacks at the bottom, Items at the left, and defend to the right. It's extremely easy to navigate and helps to keep battles from becoming a large chore. Along with up to four people that you may have in your party at once, there are creatures called Capsule Monsters the will aid you in your quest. There are seven of them in all, and they each have their own abilities. You have to find them though before they will help you. To make them stronger fight with them, and by feeding them excess items/weapons you have you can make them evolve up to the Master Class where they are at their optimum strength. Thus bringing me to the Ancient Cave. This is what has proven to be one of the single greatest challenges in any RPG ever. The Ancient Cave is a dungeon with 99 basements. You start on B1, and work your way down. So what makes it so difficult? Well, how bout the fact that when you enter the Cave, you lose all your items,weapons,and levels. That's right, everyone is reduced back to level 1!!! All you are given is 10 potions. You have to find weapons, spells, armor, and items as you battle the monsters on your way to the bottom floor. This is a task that I have yet to accomplish, and probably won't for a long time to come. And on top of that, there are monsters in the Ancient Cave that are so powerful that they weren't even put in the main game! On top of that once you go down a floor you can't go back up. The ancient cave is never the same because the floors are randomly generated. Oh and don't worry, when you die in the Ancient Cave, you get all your items,weapons,and levels back.

Re-playability-10

After beating the game once you unlock a new mode that allows you to play through it again gaining twice the experience and gold from every battle. Because of that it will nearly take you half the time it took you to beat the game the first time. After beating the game in that mode, you'll unlock Gift Mode. Gift Mode allows you to choose any 4 people to be in your party and try to tackle the Ancient Cave. This alone makes the replay value high.

Well, that's it for my review. I just want to say thanks for taking the time to read it I know it's kinda long, but I hope that anyone who hasn't played this game will go out and give it a try. You won't regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/07/02, Updated 09/07/02