Lufia: The Legend Returns

" Lufia 3 is well deserving of the Lufia title!"

I already reviewed this game. Why am I doing it again you ask? Well, I've gotten further into the game, and in my previous posting I said I'd update when I understood more about it. So here it is.
Control 10-10. You'll find the controls themselves to be almost totally unchanged from the previous games. You still have the cross-shaped selector with which to make selections. Easy and on the whole reliable. The hero still gets to use his swrod in dungeons like in Lufia II, but this time he can send out a kind of psychic shockwave to uncover traps and break down walls.
Audio 10-10. Though the music in this game is not as memorable as Lufia II's for the most part, Yasunori Shiono and Yukio Nakajima did an excellent job on the music, living proof that Shiono hasn't lost his magic touch. The boss theme reminds me of something I heard in a game I can't remember (not an RPG), but that could just be because the sound hardware on the GBC isn't great. The intro theme is a revamped version of the classic Fortress of Doom theme, and fans of Lufia's music will be happy to learn that the classic battle victory theme from the previous games is back. Oh yeah, and if you listen to Lufia III's port town theme long enough it starts to sound suspiciously like that in Lufia 1.
Gameplay 10-10. This was a little confusing, with the IP attacks and stuff, but I understand it better now. You find Ancient Texts throughout the world, and with the Learning Points (LP), you get from defeating enemies, youcan learn these. They're somewhat character-specific in this game though, so not just anyone can learn them. Also, I noticed that your characters' positions on the battle grid determined to some extent what abilities could be learned by what character. Also, magic learning has taken a change. You don't learn spells naturally in this game, and nor do you buy them. With the same LP you use to increase Spiritual Force, you can also learn magic at churches. Again, certain characters can learn certain things.
Story 10-10. It's been a hundred years since Lufia I's ending, and people have pretty much forgotten the Sinistrals and Maxim. One day however, a young girl who hasn't forgotten arrives in the village of Patos to seek a warrior to join her on her quest. It seems that the Sinistrals are awakening yet again in preparation for another assault on the world. The warrior she finds is a young man named Wein (that's you), a descendant of Maxim's bloodline. He too has forgotten much of the story of Doom Island, but he quickly agrees to join Seena when his village is attacked.
Overall 10-10. Even though it's not exactly the same as the prior games, Lufia: The Legend Returns is still well worth the money. It provides challenging enemies and many people to talk to. I recommend that anyone who doesn't have it give it a try.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/25/01, Updated 03/01/03