Lufia: The Ruins of Lore

"Lufia - it's evolved, but at what cost?"

Lufia/Estopolis has been, IMO, one of the most underrated RPG's ever. I hear however it's big in Japan, which is why Taito keep at it.

Their earlier GBC offering was... well... disappointing. Bland, simplistic... not up to the old Lufia 2. Now we have Gaiden (Is it just me or is the word Gaiden being overused an awful lot now?), and lets just say, IT ROCKS!

OOH, YOU LOOK SO MUCH BETTER THAN FINAL FANTASY!

Well, it looks nothing like Lufia, yet the areas are so familiar to the hardened Lufia fan. The graphics have had a massive kick up the backside, and thats not a bad thing. They do however seem quite brash, and at worst a bit garish. It's the colours, I like colourful but this is going a bit far...
The characters are no longer stumpy, they actually look far more believable and almost cute. Which is a thumbs up, although - yep, the old trait of ''guys looking like gals'' is back in there...

YOU SOUND VERRRRRY FAMILIAR

One thing that took me aback is the music. Yes, it's the old Lufia 2 music, with a bit more of an orchestral backend. Now, in places this can be a very good thing, and some of the tunes (dungeons in particular!) have been greatly tweaked. BUT it has not gone such a way for the battle tunes, which almost gave me a headache. It's such a shame it turned out so badly, and since half the game is battles, you'll probably keep the sound down low...

WHOA! DEJA-VU!

The whole game, despite it's new looks, distinctly reads like Lufia. The towns may cause deja-vu to old fans, but sometimes the dialogue does too! It is worst at the start of the game, but it isn't seriously damaging. Just familiarity in this case starts breeding contempt.
The battle system, while looking vastly better, retains the basic system (and on comparison, those icons are exactly the same as those in Lufia 2!). Not a bad thing, but it could have done so much more. And it wastes far too much space too.

UNEMPLOYED, SEEKING WORK

The most notable addition is the jobs system. This was it for me, this was the point Lufia lost it's charm and went Final Fantasy, almost Tactics Ogre. 13 job classes, all are very mediocre and self-explanatory. It could have injected life in there, but - especially in japanese - it makes no sense and you'll probably play through most of the game without thinking of the jobs system, which - to me - equals a serious waste of time. No point earning the qualifications for classes when you're not going to use (or understand) them.

OH MY! WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?

Lufia Gaiden is a good RPG. If you can understand Japanese, then you'll glean enjoyment out of this. But only if you've never played Lufia or Lufia 2 before.

Lufia used to be good because it wasn't Final Fantasy, but Taito added some horrid FF-touches which ruins the experience and will convince you you're playing a nice-looking FF clone.

If you're looking for the ULTIMATE Lufia exerience, play Lufia 2 as well. Newcomers will lap this nice-looking RPG because it's the FIRST on the GBA I've played to even be half-decent and have anything resembling a plot. (Excluding Tactics Ogre, which is totally different!) Seasoned fans of Lufia will cry. They will. The new graphics are good, and a welcome addition, but theres so much in this game which doesn't click together. Plus since so many of the old maps are used, fans will know their way around blindfold. Sight-seeing is one thing...

In a nutshell:
It looks great, and if you've never played Lufia before, then you'll love it. Although I recommenmd holding off for a translation or - even better - an english version. Fans will not be so amused, it's all so familar, like ''Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt.'' (And most of us do have the Lufia 2 T-Shirt!) An overall mixed response will ensue - newcomers and casual Lufia fans will enjoy this game, while loyal fans will just not bother because we've done it before. I can't predict how this game will be welcomed, but I'm not convinced. Gaiden... developers, THAT WORD IS KILLING YOUR GAMES!!! Sort it out, theres more words in the english language to use...

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/02, Updated 08/29/02