“Judgment time with the Duel Blade has come.”
-Arek
the Absolute
Lufia 2: The Rise of the Sinistrals
is an RPG that was developed by Neverland, and came out on the very last leg of
the Super Nintendo back in 1996. At this point, the N64 was out and there were
not many games produced for the SNES. In my opinion, this game did not get the
reception it deserved, because this game is a SNES gem and will steal not only
hours of your time, but your heart as well.
I first discovered this game from
renting it from a local video store. I came into this game already biased, by
being a HUGE fan of this game’s predecessor, Lufia & The Fortress of Doom.
I instantly fell in love with this game and became addicted to its game play.
It was fun battling monsters, solving all the puzzles, and learning about the
characters and a massive world and story unfolded before me. With the cartridge
and future ROMs, I have sunken in more hours than I care to admit. I agree with
what Roo from Clan of the Grey Wolves has stated in his Lufia 2 review, that
this game is not an innovator but a perfecter of all the JRPG elements.
Lufia & the
Fortress of Doom and Lufia: Rise of the Sinistals
Lufia 2 is a sequel prequel, meaning that you
play as the characters in the VERY beginning of the first Lufia game. In the
first Lufia game if you are unfamiliar or have not played it yet), you start of
playing as Maxim, Guy, Artea and Selan and you defeat the four evil Sinistrals,
and then fasts forward to the “present” time where you play as the “Hero” which
is a dependent of Maxim. In Lufia 2, you play as Maxim as you travel to defeat
the four Sinistrals. Playing the Lufia games in order is like watching the first
Star Wars trilogy, and then going to watch episodes I, II, and III. You know
how it ends, but you wonder “HOW” it happens. Except in Lufia 2, when you get
to the very end of the game (and the end of the game in Lufia 2 is ALMOST
identical to how it is depicted in Lufia 1), there is a twist that will
delight, sadden, and entertain you.
Story: The
story begins with lengthy but enjoyable scenes right when you turn the game on
and wait. You will then be introduced to several characters and the general
back story to the overarching premise of the game…before you even start a new
game.
You begin your journey as Maxim, a
modest monster hunter in a small town. After first learning how to explore a
cave, you are tasked with the mission to investigate the cause of a series of
earthquakes in another small town. After finding and destroying the monster
responsible for the earthquakes, you are confronted by a mysterious and magical
woman. She explains that your destiny is to travel and fight. You then travel
through a series of towns, pick up a few companions, learn the game mechanics
and explore some caves, shrines, and a tower that you come across. These events
do not seem to fit into the big story at this time and some may be turned off
by this. However, you are learning more mechanics of puzzle solving, fighting
mechanics, and further developing the personalities of the characters and the
world and do fit into the overarching story as you will find out in the future.
You eventually run into the first Sinistral, and are completely obliterated by
him. This sinistral then appears in a tower that has the capability to sink the
whole continent. Maxim and 2 of his friends at the time then climb the tower
and defeat him. This is what hikers would call a false summit. By this I mean
you think you beat the game, and you get a long ending-like scent. But little
do you realize the game is about to start.
You get what appears to be a 10-15 min story scene lasting about one
year in the game’s story. Maxim and another character get married, train,
travel, and eventually have a son.
All seems well until your son gets
abducted and you must go and save him. The mysterious woman appears and informs
you that you SHOULD have died in the last great battle to save the continent.
She then informs you that more evil beings are appearing and you must gather
your friends and stop them. Your travels take you to many interesting places
and you discover more Sinistrals and actually defeat them. You find they keep
coming back to life for some reason. Along the way you help advert warring
countries, save women, save the environment, travel under the sea, visit and
save mermaids, help build a steam powered ship, stop a country from taking over
the world, learn the truth about who you are, explore a volcano, and fly
through the air. You will make tons of friends, meet funny and interesting
(nonplayable) characters, chase after and confront evil. In this game, you get
the impression that the Sinistrals are a real threat to the world. I did not
get this impression in Lufia 1. In Lufia 1, the Sinistrals destroy one town,
and that is it. The rest of the game you are fight to prevent their return and
they do not seem to do anything to the world. In Lufia 2, the Sinistrals appear
to pose a real threat to the world and are manipulating kingdoms, and you have to oppose them.
You eventually make your way to Doom Island
and defeat the Sinistrals…with a slight twist at the very end. Lufia 2’s game
ending is about 20 min long. Sit back and enjoy it, because at this point you
have earned it.
Characters/characterization: This game does an excellent job of
developing the personalities of the entire roster of main and sub characters.
Everyone has colorful personalities and quirks that make watching their interactions
with each other very entertaining. This is a quality I do not find in many RPGs
in general. I have never seen this in any of the first 6 Dragon Warriors, the
first 3 Final Fantasy games, or ANY Sega Genesis RPG. I have yet to find a game
I have come to care more about than Lufia 2, I have only found its equals. You
will find the useless banter and conversations entertaining and cheesy at the
same time!
Music Lufia
2’s music is a mixed back of average and super-fantastic-awesome music. There
are a few ways you can look at Lufia 2’s music, one is as a stand-alone game
and the other as compared to Lufia & the Fortress of Doom.
Music on its own: Most of the music in
Lufia 2 is average. The over world music is catchy but nothing too spectacular. I have never been a
fan of the cave or shrine music, but they are still good at setting the mood
and they do not detract from the game experience as a whole. The music conveys
what is it supposed to convey and goes along with the general mood of any
particular scene. Whether the scene is goofy, exciting, depressing or scary;
the music and the scenario have a good harmony. This is one the strengths of
both Lufia games.
Music compared to Lufia & The Fortress of Doom: Most of the
Music in Lufia 2 is not as high quality as music from Lufia 1. The over world
music for both games is the same, but Lufia 1 has the better rendition. I also
prefer the Doom Island music in Lufia 1 to Lufia 2.
Favorite Tracks: If you have played Lufia 2 or Lufia: Curse of the
Sinistrals, then you already know of the music I am going to comment on. There
are three boss tracks and all three of them get the job done. When you fight
the Sinistrals, you are fighting to some of the best boss music 2nd
only to One-Winged Angel. This track is done with guitars and sounds like the
heavy metal rendition of traditional boss music. The track “The One Who Saves
the Earth” is one of the highlights of the entire game. It’s a shame you only
hear it at the very end of the game. The Doom Island renditions are fantastic
and help enhance the experience. If the SNES wanted to show off its music
capabilities, these tracks could easily be used.
Graphics
The graphics in this game are average to above average for the SNES. The
sprites are detailed enough and do not leave me wanting more. The monsters are
detailed in the battle screen. The Sinistrals look terrifying and intimidating.
They take up most of the battle screen and are very detailed.
Addictiveness
I became addicted to this game because of the puzzle elements, the battles, and
the involved story. I always was asking “what happens next?” You eventually
come to the Ancient Cave, practically an entire game in and of itself. I will
explain the Ancient Cave later in this review.
Difficulty: Any difficulty in this game caused by monsters
or bosses can be solved by grinding and leveling up. There is depth to using
elemental weapons, armor and spells, but it is not as useful as other games. The
Ancient Cave, casino, Egg Dragon, and Most Difficult Puzzle in the World will
give plenty of challenge for all the players who want a hard core challenge.
Most of the puzzles in the dungeons can be solved with enough trial and error. In
addition, lucky for us there are gamefaqs and You Tube to help us solve any
puzzles we are given us any trouble.
Game Play:
Lufia 2 is still a standard JRPG. There is a top down view of you and your
surroundings. On the over world, you will encounter random battles that
initiate fights with monsters. In a cave, tower, shrine, mountain or volcano
you are able to see your enemies. You have to touch these enemies to initiate
battles. This also adds to depth of game play and strategy. You can choose to
fight more monsters, or pass them by. Monsters move only when you move. There
are many different movement patterns for monsters. Some monsters move away from
you, some move randomly, some move directly towards you, some move 2 or 3 steps
for your 1 step, and some move 1 step for every 2 of your steps. Also HOW you
touch the monster has implications. If you touch the monster’s back, you will
initiate a surprise attack and have one free turn of attacking. If they touch
your back, they will initiate an ambush and get one free round of attacking.
The more monsters you fight, the more experience and gold
you obtain. When you get enough experience, you advance in levels. Advancing in
levels you increase you HP,MP, strength, vitality, magic, agility and so forth.
If you find you are getting your butt kicked by monsters or do not have enough
money to buy weapons, armor or magic, then a little monster hunting or grinding
will cure what ails you.
Battle System The battle system is standard turn bases fighting
system. A character performs an action usually based on their agility. Thus
faster characters/monsters move sooner, while slower characters/monsters are
last to move. There is also IP powers. When a party member is struck by a
monster, your IP meter goes up. This is very similar (if not identical) to
Final Fantasy 7’s limit breaks. However, you spend your IP points by using
special actions that are attached to weapons and armor. This gives depth to
choosing your weapons and armor, as the most powerful equipment does not always
have the best IP ability. Your IP abilities could be a special group attack,
individual attack, a spell, some kind of healing, or a stat boosting ability.
You will have fun picking and choosing your equipment and experimenting with
different IP abilities.
Magic Magic in Lufia 2 is different than most other games for two
reasons. One, some characters come with magic, but magic is not gained by
leveling up. Magic is bought from magic stores in town. Later in the game,
magic spells can be quite expensive. I have found there are several spells I
end up using a lot, while others I either never touch or even buy. Two, there
are no spells that directly target an individual, group, or entire party. Every
spell can be made to target ANY amount of characters or monsters. The fewer the
targets of the spell, the more powerful the effect of the spell. Higher numbers
of targets for a given spell diminishes the effects of the spell. This alone adds to much depth and strategy in
the game play.
Puzzles: This game plays like a Zelda game and the first Lufia game
hooked up and produced the love-child that is Lufia 2. You progress through
dungeons much like a Zelda game, and that is finding keys and solving puzzles
to get through the next door. You find several tools to use and the game
progresses, and puzzles will be based around the use of these tools. You will
be able to shoot arrows, fire arrow, a hook shot, a heavy metal ball, swing a
sword, and drop bombs. Sometimes I think Lufia 2 was not trying to rip off
Zelda, but they were unapologetically and deliberately ripping off Zelda. In
any case, they pulled it off very well with fun and progressively challenging
puzzles. These items can also be used to strike the monsters you see to stun
them, allowing you to walk past them or touch them in a way that gives you an
advantage in battle.
Capsule Monsters A fun and worthwhile mechanic that deliberately
rips off Pokémon are the capsule monsters. You can find 8 different capsule
monsters throughout the world that will join you. They play as an extra,
non-controllable party member that fights with you in battles. They have their
own little battle personalities, with some fiercely attacking, while other run
away or defend a lot. These capsule monsters can also evolve (really?! This is
turning into a blatant rip off hahaha). You can feed your capsule monsters
weapons and armor to help their feed meter points. Once the meter is full, your
Pokémon…I mean capsule monster evolves. You can evolve your capsule monster
three times to a level 4. Typically, the higher the evolution, the better the
stats and power moves of the monsters. You can then feed a capsule monster a
certain fruit to evolve them into their master class.
Bugs: You will discover several bugs playing this game. These bugs
do not break the game or experience, but it does suggest a lack of polish. The
first bug I have discovered was in the menu screen, when you equip a weapon or
armor with a long name, then press the L or R button to switch to another party
member who is equipped with a weapon/armor with a shorter name, you will still
see the other weapon’s/armor’s letters. Next, if you are playing the American
version and you come to the area under the sea where you are in the room where
you find the Duel Blade, the whole room is a jumbled mess of graphics. This can
make getting the Duel Blade VERY, VERY challenging. This is not game breaking,
just annoying or frustrating.
Side Quests
Ancient cave: The Ancient Cave side quest could be a game on its
own. When you enter the cave, you start
back at level 1, and lose all your weapons, armor, items, and magic. You travel
down 99 floors of a randomly generated cave. In treasure chests, you can find
weapons, armor, items, magic spells and Iris items which are used only for
display in your trophy room. Around floor 20 you will find an item that will
allow you to escape from the Ancient Cave. Only items found in blue treasure
chests can be taken out of the Ancient cave, or brought back into the cave. As
you progress through the Ancient cave, the enemies will become progressively
more difficult. Eventually you will fight the toughest monsters in the entire
game. These monsters are no joke, and will devastate your entire party very
quickly. On floor 100, you will fight a big slime monster. You have three
rounds to defeat him, otherwise he will kill himself and you get no reward. If
you defeat him, you get a slime trophy and bragging rights, but nothing else. You
can easily spend more time here than ANYWHERE else in the entire game, and then
some. You will find this challenge of survival, endurance, and strategy worth
your time.
Casino: For some reason this game has a casino side quest. You can
convert your gold to the casino currency and play games to increase your money.
You can use your money to buy some of the best weapons and armor and items in
the game. The conversion rate from gold to the casino currency is extremely
steep so the items for sale here are ridiculously expensive. I never spent too
much time on the casino games, but I did strive for some of the items here.
Forfeit: This is a unique town that I forgot to mention in my Lufia
& the Fortress of Doom review. This town has many unique shops, including a
shop that has ALL of the weapons/armor/items you have sold in your adventure.
In case you sold something for whatever reason, you can get it back here for
the right price.
Retry Mode: When you beat the game, you will have the option of
Retry mode, where you gain 2 to 4 times the experience and gold than in the
original game. This makes grinding unnecessary, and you will be able to breeze
through bosses and even defeat bosses that are normally supposed to kill you
for the story to progress. Here you can speed through the game and enjoy the
story and buy all the most expensive weapons, armor and magic as well as buy
extra stuff to fee the capsule monsters.
Gift Mode: Finish the game in Retry, and you can play in Gift mode.
I do not remember if you get the same benefits of Retry mod or not, but what is
mode does is allow you to play the Ancient Cave with ANY party of your
choosing. You can Do a solo run, or pick one, two, or three other party
members. Without this mode, you can only play the Ancient Cave with whatever
party members you happen to have at that point of the story when you enter the
Ancient Cave.
Dragon Eggs: Like in the previous game, collect 8 dragon eggs in
treasure chests around the world; bring them to the Egg Dragon a wish, which is
1 of four options. After you get your wish, the dragon eggs are scattered
around the world in somewhat random locations. There is an item you can buy
that counts the number of treasure chests in a dungeon. This item is helpful in
finding unopened treasure chests only. I will let you figure out how to use it
to find dragon eggs. Nonetheless, return all the dragon eggs to the Egg Dragon
four or five times, you will be given the option of fighting the Egg Dragon.
Like Final Fantasy optional battles, this will be the hardest boss battle in
the entire game. Your party members will have to be around level 90 to 99 in
order to defeat him. There are some good
prices once you do defeat him.
The Most Difficult Puzzle in the World: You will encounter this
puzzle towards the end of the game. As its name implies, is the most difficult
puzzle in the entire game. I have not solved this puzzle without
internet/youtube help. You get amazing rewards when/if you solve this puzzle.
Conclusion: I
hope you have enjoyed my review of Lufia 2: The Rise of the Sinistrals. This game
is a must for any RPG fan, and a game you will probably fall in love with. I
hope you have a chance to, not just play the game, but experience the game for
all that it is.
“Judgment time with the Duel Blade has come.”
-Arek
the Absolute
Lufia 2: The Rise of the Sinistrals
is an RPG that was developed by Neverland, and came out on the very last leg of
the Super Nintendo back in 1996. At this point, the N64 was out and there were
not many games produced for the SNES. In my opinion, this game did not get the
reception it deserved, because this game is a SNES gem and will steal not only
hours of your time, but your heart as well.
I first discovered this game from
renting it from a local video store. I came into this game already biased, by
being a HUGE fan of this game’s predecessor, Lufia & The Fortress of Doom.
I instantly fell in love with this game and became addicted to its game play.
It was fun battling monsters, solving all the puzzles, and learning about the
characters and a massive world and story unfolded before me. With the cartridge
and future ROMs, I have sunken in more hours than I care to admit. I agree with
what Roo from Clan of the Grey Wolves has stated in his Lufia 2 review, that
this game is not an innovator but a perfecter of all the JRPG elements.
Lufia & the
Fortress of Doom and Lufia: Rise of the Sinistals
Lufia 2 is a sequel prequel, meaning that you
play as the characters in the VERY beginning of the first Lufia game. In the
first Lufia game if you are unfamiliar or have not played it yet), you start of
playing as Maxim, Guy, Artea and Selan and you defeat the four evil Sinistrals,
and then fasts forward to the “present” time where you play as the “Hero” which
is a dependent of Maxim. In Lufia 2, you play as Maxim as you travel to defeat
the four Sinistrals. Playing the Lufia games in order is like watching the first
Star Wars trilogy, and then going to watch episodes I, II, and III. You know
how it ends, but you wonder “HOW” it happens. Except in Lufia 2, when you get
to the very end of the game (and the end of the game in Lufia 2 is ALMOST
identical to how it is depicted in Lufia 1), there is a twist that will
delight, sadden, and entertain you.
Story: The
story begins with lengthy but enjoyable scenes right when you turn the game on
and wait. You will then be introduced to several characters and the general
back story to the overarching premise of the game…before you even start a new
game.
You begin your journey as Maxim, a
modest monster hunter in a small town. After first learning how to explore a
cave, you are tasked with the mission to investigate the cause of a series of
earthquakes in another small town. After finding and destroying the monster
responsible for the earthquakes, you are confronted by a mysterious and magical
woman. She explains that your destiny is to travel and fight. You then travel
through a series of towns, pick up a few companions, learn the game mechanics
and explore some caves, shrines, and a tower that you come across. These events
do not seem to fit into the big story at this time and some may be turned off
by this. However, you are learning more mechanics of puzzle solving, fighting
mechanics, and further developing the personalities of the characters and the
world and do fit into the overarching story as you will find out in the future.
You eventually run into the first Sinistral, and are completely obliterated by
him. This sinistral then appears in a tower that has the capability to sink the
whole continent. Maxim and 2 of his friends at the time then climb the tower
and defeat him. This is what hikers would call a false summit. By this I mean
you think you beat the game, and you get a long ending-like scent. But little
do you realize the game is about to start.
You get what appears to be a 10-15 min story scene lasting about one
year in the game’s story. Maxim and another character get married, train,
travel, and eventually have a son.
All seems well until your son gets
abducted and you must go and save him. The mysterious woman appears and informs
you that you SHOULD have died in the last great battle to save the continent.
She then informs you that more evil beings are appearing and you must gather
your friends and stop them. Your travels take you to many interesting places
and you discover more Sinistrals and actually defeat them. You find they keep
coming back to life for some reason. Along the way you help advert warring
countries, save women, save the environment, travel under the sea, visit and
save mermaids, help build a steam powered ship, stop a country from taking over
the world, learn the truth about who you are, explore a volcano, and fly
through the air. You will make tons of friends, meet funny and interesting
(nonplayable) characters, chase after and confront evil. In this game, you get
the impression that the Sinistrals are a real threat to the world. I did not
get this impression in Lufia 1. In Lufia 1, the Sinistrals destroy one town,
and that is it. The rest of the game you are fight to prevent their return and
they do not seem to do anything to the world. In Lufia 2, the Sinistrals appear
to pose a real threat to the world and are manipulating kingdoms, and you have to oppose them.
You eventually make your way to Doom Island
and defeat the Sinistrals…with a slight twist at the very end. Lufia 2’s game
ending is about 20 min long. Sit back and enjoy it, because at this point you
have earned it.
Characters/characterization: This game does an excellent job of
developing the personalities of the entire roster of main and sub characters.
Everyone has colorful personalities and quirks that make watching their interactions
with each other very entertaining. This is a quality I do not find in many RPGs
in general. I have never seen this in any of the first 6 Dragon Warriors, the
first 3 Final Fantasy games, or ANY Sega Genesis RPG. I have yet to find a game
I have come to care more about than Lufia 2, I have only found its equals. You
will find the useless banter and conversations entertaining and cheesy at the
same time!
Music Lufia
2’s music is a mixed back of average and super-fantastic-awesome music. There
are a few ways you can look at Lufia 2’s music, one is as a stand-alone game
and the other as compared to Lufia & the Fortress of Doom.
Music on its own: Most of the music in
Lufia 2 is average. The over world music is catchy but nothing too spectacular. I have never been a
fan of the cave or shrine music, but they are still good at setting the mood
and they do not detract from the game experience as a whole. The music conveys
what is it supposed to convey and goes along with the general mood of any
particular scene. Whether the scene is goofy, exciting, depressing or scary;
the music and the scenario have a good harmony. This is one the strengths of
both Lufia games.
Music compared to Lufia & The Fortress of Doom: Most of the
Music in Lufia 2 is not as high quality as music from Lufia 1. The over world
music for both games is the same, but Lufia 1 has the better rendition. I also
prefer the Doom Island music in Lufia 1 to Lufia 2.
Favorite Tracks: If you have played Lufia 2 or Lufia: Curse of the
Sinistrals, then you already know of the music I am going to comment on. There
are three boss tracks and all three of them get the job done. When you fight
the Sinistrals, you are fighting to some of the best boss music 2nd
only to One-Winged Angel. This track is done with guitars and sounds like the
heavy metal rendition of traditional boss music. The track “The One Who Saves
the Earth” is one of the highlights of the entire game. It’s a shame you only
hear it at the very end of the game. The Doom Island renditions are fantastic
and help enhance the experience. If the SNES wanted to show off its music
capabilities, these tracks could easily be used.
Graphics
The graphics in this game are average to above average for the SNES. The
sprites are detailed enough and do not leave me wanting more. The monsters are
detailed in the battle screen. The Sinistrals look terrifying and intimidating.
They take up most of the battle screen and are very detailed.
Addictiveness
I became addicted to this game because of the puzzle elements, the battles, and
the involved story. I always was asking “what happens next?” You eventually
come to the Ancient Cave, practically an entire game in and of itself. I will
explain the Ancient Cave later in this review.
Difficulty: Any difficulty in this game caused by monsters
or bosses can be solved by grinding and leveling up. There is depth to using
elemental weapons, armor and spells, but it is not as useful as other games. The
Ancient Cave, casino, Egg Dragon, and Most Difficult Puzzle in the World will
give plenty of challenge for all the players who want a hard core challenge.
Most of the puzzles in the dungeons can be solved with enough trial and error. In
addition, lucky for us there are gamefaqs and You Tube to help us solve any
puzzles we are given us any trouble.
Game Play:
Lufia 2 is still a standard JRPG. There is a top down view of you and your
surroundings. On the over world, you will encounter random battles that
initiate fights with monsters. In a cave, tower, shrine, mountain or volcano
you are able to see your enemies. You have to touch these enemies to initiate
battles. This also adds to depth of game play and strategy. You can choose to
fight more monsters, or pass them by. Monsters move only when you move. There
are many different movement patterns for monsters. Some monsters move away from
you, some move randomly, some move directly towards you, some move 2 or 3 steps
for your 1 step, and some move 1 step for every 2 of your steps. Also HOW you
touch the monster has implications. If you touch the monster’s back, you will
initiate a surprise attack and have one free turn of attacking. If they touch
your back, they will initiate an ambush and get one free round of attacking.
The more monsters you fight, the more experience and gold
you obtain. When you get enough experience, you advance in levels. Advancing in
levels you increase you HP,MP, strength, vitality, magic, agility and so forth.
If you find you are getting your butt kicked by monsters or do not have enough
money to buy weapons, armor or magic, then a little monster hunting or grinding
will cure what ails you.
Battle System The battle system is standard turn bases fighting
system. A character performs an action usually based on their agility. Thus
faster characters/monsters move sooner, while slower characters/monsters are
last to move. There is also IP powers. When a party member is struck by a
monster, your IP meter goes up. This is very similar (if not identical) to
Final Fantasy 7’s limit breaks. However, you spend your IP points by using
special actions that are attached to weapons and armor. This gives depth to
choosing your weapons and armor, as the most powerful equipment does not always
have the best IP ability. Your IP abilities could be a special group attack,
individual attack, a spell, some kind of healing, or a stat boosting ability.
You will have fun picking and choosing your equipment and experimenting with
different IP abilities.
Magic Magic in Lufia 2 is different than most other games for two
reasons. One, some characters come with magic, but magic is not gained by
leveling up. Magic is bought from magic stores in town. Later in the game,
magic spells can be quite expensive. I have found there are several spells I
end up using a lot, while others I either never touch or even buy. Two, there
are no spells that directly target an individual, group, or entire party. Every
spell can be made to target ANY amount of characters or monsters. The fewer the
targets of the spell, the more powerful the effect of the spell. Higher numbers
of targets for a given spell diminishes the effects of the spell. This alone adds to much depth and strategy in
the game play.
Puzzles: This game plays like a Zelda game and the first Lufia game
hooked up and produced the love-child that is Lufia 2. You progress through
dungeons much like a Zelda game, and that is finding keys and solving puzzles
to get through the next door. You find several tools to use and the game
progresses, and puzzles will be based around the use of these tools. You will
be able to shoot arrows, fire arrow, a hook shot, a heavy metal ball, swing a
sword, and drop bombs. Sometimes I think Lufia 2 was not trying to rip off
Zelda, but they were unapologetically and deliberately ripping off Zelda. In
any case, they pulled it off very well with fun and progressively challenging
puzzles. These items can also be used to strike the monsters you see to stun
them, allowing you to walk past them or touch them in a way that gives you an
advantage in battle.
Capsule Monsters A fun and worthwhile mechanic that deliberately
rips off Pokémon are the capsule monsters. You can find 8 different capsule
monsters throughout the world that will join you. They play as an extra,
non-controllable party member that fights with you in battles. They have their
own little battle personalities, with some fiercely attacking, while other run
away or defend a lot. These capsule monsters can also evolve (really?! This is
turning into a blatant rip off hahaha). You can feed your capsule monsters
weapons and armor to help their feed meter points. Once the meter is full, your
Pokémon…I mean capsule monster evolves. You can evolve your capsule monster
three times to a level 4. Typically, the higher the evolution, the better the
stats and power moves of the monsters. You can then feed a capsule monster a
certain fruit to evolve them into their master class.
Bugs: You will discover several bugs playing this game. These bugs
do not break the game or experience, but it does suggest a lack of polish. The
first bug I have discovered was in the menu screen, when you equip a weapon or
armor with a long name, then press the L or R button to switch to another party
member who is equipped with a weapon/armor with a shorter name, you will still
see the other weapon’s/armor’s letters. Next, if you are playing the American
version and you come to the area under the sea where you are in the room where
you find the Duel Blade, the whole room is a jumbled mess of graphics. This can
make getting the Duel Blade VERY, VERY challenging. This is not game breaking,
just annoying or frustrating.
Side Quests
Ancient cave: The Ancient Cave side quest could be a game on its
own. When you enter the cave, you start
back at level 1, and lose all your weapons, armor, items, and magic. You travel
down 99 floors of a randomly generated cave. In treasure chests, you can find
weapons, armor, items, magic spells and Iris items which are used only for
display in your trophy room. Around floor 20 you will find an item that will
allow you to escape from the Ancient Cave. Only items found in blue treasure
chests can be taken out of the Ancient cave, or brought back into the cave. As
you progress through the Ancient cave, the enemies will become progressively
more difficult. Eventually you will fight the toughest monsters in the entire
game. These monsters are no joke, and will devastate your entire party very
quickly. On floor 100, you will fight a big slime monster. You have three
rounds to defeat him, otherwise he will kill himself and you get no reward. If
you defeat him, you get a slime trophy and bragging rights, but nothing else. You
can easily spend more time here than ANYWHERE else in the entire game, and then
some. You will find this challenge of survival, endurance, and strategy worth
your time.
Casino: For some reason this game has a casino side quest. You can
convert your gold to the casino currency and play games to increase your money.
You can use your money to buy some of the best weapons and armor and items in
the game. The conversion rate from gold to the casino currency is extremely
steep so the items for sale here are ridiculously expensive. I never spent too
much time on the casino games, but I did strive for some of the items here.
Forfeit: This is a unique town that I forgot to mention in my Lufia
& the Fortress of Doom review. This town has many unique shops, including a
shop that has ALL of the weapons/armor/items you have sold in your adventure.
In case you sold something for whatever reason, you can get it back here for
the right price.
Retry Mode: When you beat the game, you will have the option of
Retry mode, where you gain 2 to 4 times the experience and gold than in the
original game. This makes grinding unnecessary, and you will be able to breeze
through bosses and even defeat bosses that are normally supposed to kill you
for the story to progress. Here you can speed through the game and enjoy the
story and buy all the most expensive weapons, armor and magic as well as buy
extra stuff to fee the capsule monsters.
Gift Mode: Finish the game in Retry, and you can play in Gift mode.
I do not remember if you get the same benefits of Retry mod or not, but what is
mode does is allow you to play the Ancient Cave with ANY party of your
choosing. You can Do a solo run, or pick one, two, or three other party
members. Without this mode, you can only play the Ancient Cave with whatever
party members you happen to have at that point of the story when you enter the
Ancient Cave.
Dragon Eggs: Like in the previous game, collect 8 dragon eggs in
treasure chests around the world; bring them to the Egg Dragon a wish, which is
1 of four options. After you get your wish, the dragon eggs are scattered
around the world in somewhat random locations. There is an item you can buy
that counts the number of treasure chests in a dungeon. This item is helpful in
finding unopened treasure chests only. I will let you figure out how to use it
to find dragon eggs. Nonetheless, return all the dragon eggs to the Egg Dragon
four or five times, you will be given the option of fighting the Egg Dragon.
Like Final Fantasy optional battles, this will be the hardest boss battle in
the entire game. Your party members will have to be around level 90 to 99 in
order to defeat him. There are some good
prices once you do defeat him.
The Most Difficult Puzzle in the World: You will encounter this
puzzle towards the end of the game. As its name implies, is the most difficult
puzzle in the entire game. I have not solved this puzzle without
internet/youtube help. You get amazing rewards when/if you solve this puzzle.
Conclusion: I
hope you have enjoyed my review of Lufia 2: The Rise of the Sinistrals. This game
is a must for any RPG fan, and a game you will probably fall in love with. I
hope you have a chance to, not just play the game, but experience the game for
all that it is.
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