The biggest issue with Lufia I was how redundant is was past its 5 first hours, being stuck with its long chain of fetch quests which hardly related to the main story, which is a shame considering how nice the dialogues were when they were any.
Lufia II, its prequel, feels like it understood in more ways than one how monotonous the first game was. It feels like every improvements and changes made to this game was an answer to this, and I can't help but compare them.
A lot more dialogues, better characterization, dungeons with actual level design obviously borrowed from ALTTP and no more random encounters inside them, etc, etc.. This game screams "We don't want you, the player, to be bored".
And for the most part, it works. As I said, the dungeons are the obvious exemples of these changes. You have access to tools in order to progress in rooms filled with puzzles in contrast to the aimless roaming in Lufia 1, meaning surviving isn't the only goal now, you actually get rewarded for thinking hard enough, with better equipments or even Capsule Monsters, which are additionnal party members you can't control but can come handy. Thanksfully, no random encounters mean you can move around and solve these riddles without too much worries, a change that may seems obvious today but clearly shows hindsight for the time it was released. You still alternate between towns and dungeons to move the story forward, but now it feels less like a chore and more like " I'm looking forward to the next dungeon " for most of the time. In term of design, some of these puzzles can be tedious, but that's not the majority, especially considering how Lufia II is the first JRPG to my knowledge with dungeons like this.
Lufia I and II share the same structure too, but there's much more dialogues now, stuff I would consider boring fetch-quests in Lufia 1 are now funny little antics making me grow attached to the characters (it's always funny to see Guy and Dekar interact), balancing the more serious and touching bits of the story. Not to mention if you played Lufia 1, you know how the story will end, it's interesting to see how the game try to bait us with characters that come and go in your party, before the final confrontation against the Sinistrals mirroring the brilliant intro of Lufia 1.
With all that being said, man am I glad to have played the first Lufia before this one. In its quest to be a more pleasant experience than its predecessor, I can't help but think some things were lost. Take the battle system, I actually really liked how you had to think before acting in Lufia I because of the game choosing for you which ennemy you will hit when targeting a specific group, combined with the game not changing target when hitting a dead ennemy. Don't get me wrong, Fortress of Doom was a tedious grindfest 50% of the time, but when that was done, random encounters were actually dangerous and fun. In Lufia II, the battle system was streamlined to something more traditionnal, you can target ennemies precisely with no downsides whatsoever like most JRPGs at the time, and while the IP system giving special abilities depending on your equipment is an interesting idea, in practice, battles are far easier and somewhat more boring than in the first game. An other thing to consider is that the progression is way more linear than Lufia 1, you simply won't get lost most of the time. It's not like the first game wasn't linear too, but you could visit 2 or 3 towns simultaneously in some parts, which is just not the case in Rise of the Sinistrals. Personally, I like getting lost in JRPG, it gives a slower pace and feels like time is actually passing, making some relationship and events more credibles. Everything in Lufia 2 might happens a bit too quickly for my taste, such as how Selan fall in love with Maxim.
I don't want to spend too much time comparing the two games, but I wanted to give some response to the " skip Lufia 1 and play Rise of the Sinistrals ". In most parts, Lufia 2 is clearly the better game, but I feel like sometimes it lacks a bit of atmosphere in order to lives up to the " hidden gem" status i've read a lot. Maybe I wouldn't have minded spending a little less time in dungeons in exchange for more interesting events happening in towns or the worldmap.
Still, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals was a solid experience, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much the developpers really wanted the players to have a good time with this title, whever it's for its fun mecanics or its extremly charming writing. I didn't even mention the Ancient cave, a 99 randomly generated levels dungeon in which your party is reset to level 1 with no equipments in the beggining. Yes, a totally optionnal roguelike in your 1995 JRPG.
Anyway, if you like JRPGs of this era, it's still a must play, but try to finish Lufia I before.
Lufia II, its prequel, feels like it understood in more ways than one how monotonous the first game was. It feels like every improvements and changes made to this game was an answer to this, and I can't help but compare them.
A lot more dialogues, better characterization, dungeons with actual level design obviously borrowed from ALTTP and no more random encounters inside them, etc, etc.. This game screams "We don't want you, the player, to be bored".
And for the most part, it works. As I said, the dungeons are the obvious exemples of these changes. You have access to tools in order to progress in rooms filled with puzzles in contrast to the aimless roaming in Lufia 1, meaning surviving isn't the only goal now, you actually get rewarded for thinking hard enough, with better equipments or even Capsule Monsters, which are additionnal party members you can't control but can come handy. Thanksfully, no random encounters mean you can move around and solve these riddles without too much worries, a change that may seems obvious today but clearly shows hindsight for the time it was released. You still alternate between towns and dungeons to move the story forward, but now it feels less like a chore and more like " I'm looking forward to the next dungeon " for most of the time. In term of design, some of these puzzles can be tedious, but that's not the majority, especially considering how Lufia II is the first JRPG to my knowledge with dungeons like this.
Lufia I and II share the same structure too, but there's much more dialogues now, stuff I would consider boring fetch-quests in Lufia 1 are now funny little antics making me grow attached to the characters (it's always funny to see Guy and Dekar interact), balancing the more serious and touching bits of the story. Not to mention if you played Lufia 1, you know how the story will end, it's interesting to see how the game try to bait us with characters that come and go in your party, before the final confrontation against the Sinistrals mirroring the brilliant intro of Lufia 1.
With all that being said, man am I glad to have played the first Lufia before this one. In its quest to be a more pleasant experience than its predecessor, I can't help but think some things were lost. Take the battle system, I actually really liked how you had to think before acting in Lufia I because of the game choosing for you which ennemy you will hit when targeting a specific group, combined with the game not changing target when hitting a dead ennemy. Don't get me wrong, Fortress of Doom was a tedious grindfest 50% of the time, but when that was done, random encounters were actually dangerous and fun. In Lufia II, the battle system was streamlined to something more traditionnal, you can target ennemies precisely with no downsides whatsoever like most JRPGs at the time, and while the IP system giving special abilities depending on your equipment is an interesting idea, in practice, battles are far easier and somewhat more boring than in the first game. An other thing to consider is that the progression is way more linear than Lufia 1, you simply won't get lost most of the time. It's not like the first game wasn't linear too, but you could visit 2 or 3 towns simultaneously in some parts, which is just not the case in Rise of the Sinistrals. Personally, I like getting lost in JRPG, it gives a slower pace and feels like time is actually passing, making some relationship and events more credibles. Everything in Lufia 2 might happens a bit too quickly for my taste, such as how Selan fall in love with Maxim.
I don't want to spend too much time comparing the two games, but I wanted to give some response to the " skip Lufia 1 and play Rise of the Sinistrals ". In most parts, Lufia 2 is clearly the better game, but I feel like sometimes it lacks a bit of atmosphere in order to lives up to the " hidden gem" status i've read a lot. Maybe I wouldn't have minded spending a little less time in dungeons in exchange for more interesting events happening in towns or the worldmap.
Still, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals was a solid experience, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much the developpers really wanted the players to have a good time with this title, whever it's for its fun mecanics or its extremly charming writing. I didn't even mention the Ancient cave, a 99 randomly generated levels dungeon in which your party is reset to level 1 with no equipments in the beggining. Yes, a totally optionnal roguelike in your 1995 JRPG.
Anyway, if you like JRPGs of this era, it's still a must play, but try to finish Lufia I before.
Rented this a lot as a kid before I really understood what RPGs were. Really need to go back to this because I remember enjoying the puzzles in the dungeons.
A less generic medieval anime outing with some incredible puzzles and soundtrack
I would rather wait for an official remake that fixes the translation errors/typos (excluding the weird DS version, which I've heard bad things about).It's pretty jarring to see issues within the first fifteen minutes. I know that poor translations were par for the course at the time, but it's still dissapointing.
Damn this still holds up! What a game! The story isn't dealing with anything special but the writing is really charming. The characters come across as friends in a way very few games even come close to managing. The battle sprites are all very cute and fun too. Soundtrack is an all-timer. Everyone loves Dekar. He's strong and stupid that's the ultimate character.
I could see some dinging it for being very easy, which is fair but in many ways Lufia 2 is more like a Zelda than an RPG. You get tools that you use to solve puzzles, after all. One of them is even a hookshot. And they're good puzzles, at least if you like puzzles of this type. Professor Layton would not be invented for some years but I kept thinking of it while playing. There's a whole Roguelike mode/dungeon in here too which is a little bit repetitive for my tastes but definitely has some of the difficulty you'd want.
I still love this game after all the years. Actually I think I like it more as an adult who can solve the puzzles without help. Now, to take a big sip of water and play any of the other games in the series, which are surely similar and good
I could see some dinging it for being very easy, which is fair but in many ways Lufia 2 is more like a Zelda than an RPG. You get tools that you use to solve puzzles, after all. One of them is even a hookshot. And they're good puzzles, at least if you like puzzles of this type. Professor Layton would not be invented for some years but I kept thinking of it while playing. There's a whole Roguelike mode/dungeon in here too which is a little bit repetitive for my tastes but definitely has some of the difficulty you'd want.
I still love this game after all the years. Actually I think I like it more as an adult who can solve the puzzles without help. Now, to take a big sip of water and play any of the other games in the series, which are surely similar and good
A beautiful little game that really feels like watching an episodic anime or something.
This review contains spoilers
Un RPG donde los haya, una auténtica joya. Se supone que es una segunda parte, pero en realidad es la PRECUELA del primer Lufia, así que se puede jugar a él sin haber tocado el primero y, aún así, entenderlo todo. De hecho, lo recomendable es empezar por este.
Parece el típico juego RPG de fantasía medieval, pero es mucho más que eso. Sus protagonistas tienen un trasfondo y una personalidad interesantísimos y es inevitable que te lleguen al corazón en más de un momento del juego. El sistema que tiene el juego para ir cambiando al equipo principal, que siempre tiene que ser de cuatro personajes, es impoluto y absolutamente perfecto.
La historia del juego no es nada del otro mundo, pero aún sin serlo deseas seguir jugando y descubrir como concluye. Y sin duda al llegar a ese final prometido y descubrir todos los giros de guion que se han dado por el camino y hasta los giros de guion del propio final, uno puede emocionarse mucho.
Los diálogos están muy elaborados y tienen de todo; desde humor hasta drama, pasando por todo el entremedio que estos dos extremos conllevan. El protagonista del juego tiene mucha más personalidad que la inmensa mayoría de protagonistas de RPG tanto antiguos como modernos. ¡Algunos protagonistas de RPG actuales deberían aprender de él, que parece que viva de verdad!
La banda sonora del juego es una obra maestra para la época y aún ahora se puede disfrutar muchísimo de ella de lo buena que es.
El sistema de combate es el típico de los RPG y quizá tiene algún fallo puntual, como el tener que mantener pulsado el panel de control para que no vuelva al punto central o el hecho de que las habilidades acaban por quedar obsoletas al obtener sus versiones mejoradas. Pero, obviando esos insignificantes desperfectos, el combate es atrapante en este juego, si te gusta el sistema de combate RPG éste no se te hará pesado debido a la variedad de acciones que puedes hacer en combate, y además los sprites de los monstruos están muy logrados y son muy atractivos.
Uno de los puntos más bellos que tiene el juego es cuando lo puedes ver desde el aire con el zeppelin; esa vista aérea es lo más avanzado a su época que he llegado a ver y es absolutamente preciosa.
En definitiva, una auténtica aventura llena de pros y con poquísimos contras para disfrutar como nunca de algo tan común como un RPG de fantasía medieval que, desde luego, es mucho más que eso. Un 10 de 10 en toda regla.
Parece el típico juego RPG de fantasía medieval, pero es mucho más que eso. Sus protagonistas tienen un trasfondo y una personalidad interesantísimos y es inevitable que te lleguen al corazón en más de un momento del juego. El sistema que tiene el juego para ir cambiando al equipo principal, que siempre tiene que ser de cuatro personajes, es impoluto y absolutamente perfecto.
La historia del juego no es nada del otro mundo, pero aún sin serlo deseas seguir jugando y descubrir como concluye. Y sin duda al llegar a ese final prometido y descubrir todos los giros de guion que se han dado por el camino y hasta los giros de guion del propio final, uno puede emocionarse mucho.
Los diálogos están muy elaborados y tienen de todo; desde humor hasta drama, pasando por todo el entremedio que estos dos extremos conllevan. El protagonista del juego tiene mucha más personalidad que la inmensa mayoría de protagonistas de RPG tanto antiguos como modernos. ¡Algunos protagonistas de RPG actuales deberían aprender de él, que parece que viva de verdad!
La banda sonora del juego es una obra maestra para la época y aún ahora se puede disfrutar muchísimo de ella de lo buena que es.
El sistema de combate es el típico de los RPG y quizá tiene algún fallo puntual, como el tener que mantener pulsado el panel de control para que no vuelva al punto central o el hecho de que las habilidades acaban por quedar obsoletas al obtener sus versiones mejoradas. Pero, obviando esos insignificantes desperfectos, el combate es atrapante en este juego, si te gusta el sistema de combate RPG éste no se te hará pesado debido a la variedad de acciones que puedes hacer en combate, y además los sprites de los monstruos están muy logrados y son muy atractivos.
Uno de los puntos más bellos que tiene el juego es cuando lo puedes ver desde el aire con el zeppelin; esa vista aérea es lo más avanzado a su época que he llegado a ver y es absolutamente preciosa.
En definitiva, una auténtica aventura llena de pros y con poquísimos contras para disfrutar como nunca de algo tan común como un RPG de fantasía medieval que, desde luego, es mucho más que eso. Un 10 de 10 en toda regla.
great game. Played it in German first time and had to use google translate, that was a fun experience..
I'll give the game props for having fairly interesting combat and very solid dungeons, however... the story is very uninteresting and while the dungeons are good they also take up 90% of the game and get very repetitive after awhile.
After Lufia's flat debut came a new reference point. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals suddenly incorporated Zelda spices into the old formula - borrowing a few tools and puzzle designs alongside secrets and backtracking elements injecting additional purpose to dungeons. That influence is reflected in their broad range of puzzle-solving challenges that occasionally can get quite tricky and clever. Its less confining gameplay equaled its overhauled battle system as well, that contained new mechanics such as the IP meter, equipment skills, spell partitioning, capsule monsters, etc. Each of those contributing to expand combat capabilities. Although a little held back by its overly straightforward progression, repetitive areas and non-existent difficulty, a greater attention to storytelling and comedic moments at least displayed more depth in personality. Both more intricate and more charming than the debut, Lufia II rejected the notion that JRPG dungeons had to be single-use, mostly forgettable trials.
The simple combat has a surprising amount of depth, thanks mostly to the Ikari Point system which allows you to customize your party's special abilities and lets you make meaningful decisions on what you should equip! Pity that most of the battles are easy enough that you won't really need to make use of it much - the final sequences of boss battles in particular are a bit of a joke.
I absolutely love the approach to dungeon design, and the use of puzzles, but I also have to say that programming puzzles in dungeons are extremely tricky: too easy and they might as well not be there, but too difficult and you end up gated in with no way to continue outside of consulting a guide. I think it's a credit to the game that it got the balance just right more often than not, but I do wish the more difficult puzzles were optional (maybe with optional treasures hidden behind them).
Still a great game despite its little issues. The ending in particular hit me like a sack of bricks even though I knew it was coming.
I absolutely love the approach to dungeon design, and the use of puzzles, but I also have to say that programming puzzles in dungeons are extremely tricky: too easy and they might as well not be there, but too difficult and you end up gated in with no way to continue outside of consulting a guide. I think it's a credit to the game that it got the balance just right more often than not, but I do wish the more difficult puzzles were optional (maybe with optional treasures hidden behind them).
Still a great game despite its little issues. The ending in particular hit me like a sack of bricks even though I knew it was coming.
Still some of the best dungeon design in any JRPG... which perhaps says more about the genre as a whole than Lufia 2, but still.
This game represents a sort of transitional period where JRPGs were starting to get a bit more character-focused and text-heavy. As such, the character writing is arguably the best on the SNES, even if the plot as a whole still feels a little haphazard in that somewhat whimsical way only old JRPGs really can.
This game represents a sort of transitional period where JRPGs were starting to get a bit more character-focused and text-heavy. As such, the character writing is arguably the best on the SNES, even if the plot as a whole still feels a little haphazard in that somewhat whimsical way only old JRPGs really can.
HD2D PLZ
Lufia II was one of the later games released on the SNES. Despite the release date, it's graphically unimpressive and looks worse than a lot of SNES RPGs released the same year. It doesn't try to be a Chrono Trigger or an FF6, and it doesn't need to be.
The highlight of this game, especially for me, is its dungeons and puzzles. They're basically just better Zelda dungeons, to be honest. You're given tools throughout the game, and the game design will make great use of them throughout the whole journey. There are also a ton of branching pathways with treasure chests, which, for the most part, have very useful items for your party. I can't stress enough how incredible the head-scratchers are in this game, though. I've yet to find an RPG that even holds a torch to this game in that regard.
This game has an interesting equipment system. Not only do I have to decide which equipment has the best stat allocations for the characters, but there is an IP system in which some equipment pieces will have a special move that you can pick from when your IP meter is charged from taking damage in battle. There are many variables for equipment to take into account in the form of rings and rocks, which all raise different stats and have their own special move most of the time. This game also has shops to learn magic instead of getting spells from leveling up. I like this because I have to choose which character most needs certain spells to not waste all my money. In addition to party members, there is a new type of member called capsule monsters. There are 7 to collect in the game, and you can evolve all of them by feeding them equipment, items, or whatever they desire in the form of a menu telling you what to feed them. This was fun, as they could all help out a bit in their respective manners.
My only complaint about Lufia II is that the characters and story are really boring. The pacing is bad later on in the story, as it starts to get really repetitive and the characters are not interesting at all. They don't get any development for the most part, instead substituting for bad humor in the cutscenes. The gameplay more than makes up for it though!
My favorite SNES game, without a doubt. It's a shame that this series kind of gets neglected now, only getting a mid remake on the DS in 2010. The series as a whole isn't very good, to be honest, with this being the only one worth playing, and it is very much worth playing.
The highlight of this game, especially for me, is its dungeons and puzzles. They're basically just better Zelda dungeons, to be honest. You're given tools throughout the game, and the game design will make great use of them throughout the whole journey. There are also a ton of branching pathways with treasure chests, which, for the most part, have very useful items for your party. I can't stress enough how incredible the head-scratchers are in this game, though. I've yet to find an RPG that even holds a torch to this game in that regard.
This game has an interesting equipment system. Not only do I have to decide which equipment has the best stat allocations for the characters, but there is an IP system in which some equipment pieces will have a special move that you can pick from when your IP meter is charged from taking damage in battle. There are many variables for equipment to take into account in the form of rings and rocks, which all raise different stats and have their own special move most of the time. This game also has shops to learn magic instead of getting spells from leveling up. I like this because I have to choose which character most needs certain spells to not waste all my money. In addition to party members, there is a new type of member called capsule monsters. There are 7 to collect in the game, and you can evolve all of them by feeding them equipment, items, or whatever they desire in the form of a menu telling you what to feed them. This was fun, as they could all help out a bit in their respective manners.
My only complaint about Lufia II is that the characters and story are really boring. The pacing is bad later on in the story, as it starts to get really repetitive and the characters are not interesting at all. They don't get any development for the most part, instead substituting for bad humor in the cutscenes. The gameplay more than makes up for it though!
My favorite SNES game, without a doubt. It's a shame that this series kind of gets neglected now, only getting a mid remake on the DS in 2010. The series as a whole isn't very good, to be honest, with this being the only one worth playing, and it is very much worth playing.
The holy grail of my youth
This is one of the best video games ever made, hands down. The combat is fun. The puzzles are fun. The world is fun to explore with nice little secrets. The story is good and fun. Finding the capsule monsters is fun. The Ancient Cave is a blast. It is hard to find anything wrong with this game.
Just...play this version of it. The DS remake is insultingly bad.
Just...play this version of it. The DS remake is insultingly bad.
Dropped it due to a lack of story focus but what I played was good
the game of my childhood. the music still slaps to this day and Ancient Cave is just fun as heck. also Dekar was my first crush
A huge improvement over the first game. The dungeons are fun to play and pretty addicting, unlike the first installment. The characters are also better and I'd definitely recommend this game if you have to play a Lufia game.
one of the character's names is Selan and thats a stupid name
the music is amazing but why does everyone treat this game as a "hidden gem" when there's better rpgs on the snes
Tenía buena pinta.
In terms of being a game, this beats every other RPG on the system - hands down. The puzzles are real brain-busters, the combat is fun, interacting with enemies on the map adds just enough depth to be worthwhile, and the capsule monster system is enjoyable.
Sadly, the game's structure, plot, and characters are all absurdly generic and boring. You repeatedly arrive at the next town with a problem, head to a tower / dungeon / cave and solve the problem, then travel to the next town through a cave.
Sadly, the game's structure, plot, and characters are all absurdly generic and boring. You repeatedly arrive at the next town with a problem, head to a tower / dungeon / cave and solve the problem, then travel to the next town through a cave.
I hate the ending for this game. Beyond that, the game is solid.