Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals
Reviewed by Saokun Li
Lufia 2 is an extraordinary gem of Super Nintendo gaming only
matched by such titles like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy. Few
words can describe the features this game possess. Bold, crisp,
detailed, or downright awesome. It is truly a masterpiece Natsume
has has once again created. Our adventure begins with a man named
Maxim who journeys to a cave to reopen the gate to his neighboring
city for his citizens. Once he has the key, a woman appears telling
that he has a unique power, and his destiny is to fight a powerful force.
This force might be the cause of the increase of monsters in the world of.
Maxim then journeys further and then finds out that his childhood girlfriend
has been following him. Hesitantly, he allows her to join his dangerous
quest. The couple travel the world of Lufia fighting monsters, helping
numerous people, and battling in the war between Sinistrals, the "powerful
force" and humans for control of Lufia. Together, they meet new friends,
foes, and find out their destiny......
Graphics: 9 out of 10
The graphics are sweet and clear. You can see all the details on the screen
without much trouble. Enemies look cool but later on, the game just reuses
the earlier enemy's sprites and changes its colors. The background of
the battle arena changes depends on the area you are in from grassy plains,
mirage-making deserts, elaborate towers, beautiful white shrines, and
dark spooky dungeons. Sometimes, you just want to stop playing and marvel
at the background. Spells and IP attacks look extremely detailed and
awesome. Beware though for all you playing this on an emulator; B99 of
the Ancient Cave and the Dual Blade shrine tends to glitch and you'll see
a mess of sprites placed randomly on the screen. This gets very annoying.
(I once mistakened one to the sprites for a real treasure chest and
tried to get it.)
Music and Sound: 10 out of 10
Oh how I love the music of this game. Why, everywhere has a different
theme to it except for towns and the overworld. The music also suits
the area it is playing. For example, the airship has a very exhilarating
theme just like if you were flying yourself. Not too many sound effects,
but we can live with that. Honestly I agree that the best attribute of
this game is its sound and music.
Game Challenge: 9 out of 10
The battles and bosses may be fairly easy, but the puzzles make up
for the lack of battle challenge. Some may actually be so hard that
you'll spend up to two hours pondering. Others may give you some clues
in plain view. Enemies, on the other hand, are even easier than before.
You can dodge them with enemy stunning arrows easy. You must battle
some enemies to get EXP. or solve puzzles though which means you can't
avoid them all. If you still think this game easy, try this:
Get 9999999 GP
Get 9999999 Coins
Get 9999999 EXP.
Get to Level 99
Play through the game with out getting killed. Get all treasure chests in the game.
Beat the:
Egg Dragon
Gades at Level 28 (battle one)
Master Jelly
Hard enough for you?
Game Play-Fun: 10 out of 10
Lufia is a very fun game. If you talk to people and read the text boxes
instead of scrolling like a madman, you'll see that characters can be
quite funny. Some of them say jokes and dumb things that will make
you LOL. At other times, excitement happens in towns and castles.
Puzzles can be fun. The casino on Forefit Island will keep you playing for
hours. And it doesn't just include the Slot Machine. It is a full casino with
Blackjack, Poker, and Bingo. Things can also get dramatic and make your
heart go like a hummingbird. It has the whole package!
Frustration
The main frustration with Lufia II is the puzzles. They will repel some
players away from Lufia. Just keep trying the those puzzles. It is rare
to come across a puzzle-less area of the game. Don't look at a FAQ or a
guide book. If you figure the puzzles out by yourself, you'll gain big time
confidence and feel great at a small accomplishment. And trust me;
that is a great feeling.
Replayability: 8 out of 10
This game has good replay value. The casino has many games worth trying
out over and over. A big one is the Ancient Cave. The setup of the cave is
always random meaning that every time, the cave is different. Since the
cave has 99 floors, it will obviously take many hours. Fun for some,
challenging for others, and stupid for the rest. (HOW DARE YOU!) There is
also a Retry option at the file select screen after you beat the game for
your first time. You get 4X the EXP. and GP playing in this mode. After
beating the game here, you'll get the Gift mode which I have yet to find
out what that is.
Game Value: 6 out of 10
As much as I would love giving this field an 8 or 10, I can't. At some
game stores like Funcoland, I've seen this sell for $69.99. That's a lot
of money. Well yeah considering this is a pretty rare game. I would buy
this game for that much but not a whole lot of other people. If not, you
can find it for $20.00 at Ebay. I strongly advise getting this game; it
should be in the game rack for every RPG lover.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Well, this ends it. But I have a few words. This game is a gift that keeps
on giving considering that you read the replay value section. Though you
can beat it in 16-20 hours, you'll play it 'till you are stiff. Plus the replay
value, this will keep you glued to Lufia II until you are a short, old man.
You got to have Lufia.