In Lufia and the Fortress of Doom, you start the game with Maxim, Selan, Artea and Guy and you are on your way to fight the Sinistrals to restore peace on Earth. But how ever did they come there? Find out by playing Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals.

Note that this review contains major spoilers from the storyline. You have been warned

Graphics: 8/10

With respect to the era the graphics are sub par. 3D effects (flying vessel, submarine) come rather late in the game and the colors aren’t as bright as Final Fantasy VI.

However it’s a net improvement from Lufia I. Characters looks better; they are taller and their movements are more fluid. Hell, they run anytime you push the control pad. It’s a nice improvement, although when you require precise moves you might get a little off. Villages are much larger and, even though dressers have no hidden object, their furniture is better-designed – you are not a space under a dresser like in Lufia I. The “decoration” (houses, stones on the ground) is varied and changes from city to city – villages tend to be smaller so their mostly have dirt roads. From the outside, towns with castles are completely separate. Also, village icons are smaller and you can see when a town (like Gordovan) is destroyed, something that’s not frequent in RPGs.

The environment outside of town has also improved compared to Lufia I. Those annoying clouds are gone, the water look more realistic and the mountains you can walk on blend it better – and impassable mountain ranges actually look like mountains rather than high plateaus. However dungeons are where the best improvement occurred. They come in caverns (with a rocky ground), dungeons (castle basements, with bricks everywhere), towers (with plenty of windows), mountains (another epic theme) and temples (with lots of columns). As you advance in the game you will find that their size, but also their difficulty (read below) increases sharply.

Battles have also improved a lot. Although enemies are as static as ever and making their silly left-and-right moves to attack, they come in more varied designs than Lufia I. You will even meet unique (and very fierce) enemies in the lowest levels on the Ancient Cave. Unlike most RPGs, enemies in dungeons will only move as you move (you can theoretically avoid them). Some will be difficult to kill since they will escape from you while others will dash towards you, possibly catching you by surprise.

The battle background has a lot of variety – maybe more than the average Final Fantasy. You will get a different background if you fight on a plain, in a desert (with the mirage around), in a forest and in the various backgrounds you find in the dungeons. Battles in themselves are also better. Although the characters always yield the same weapons (Selan has a staff, Dekar has an ax) the animation varies slightly.

Finally magic has been given quite a lot of attention. Like Lufia I it’s actually the best graphical feature of the game. The stronger the spells get the more their push the Super Nintendo capacities to their limits – the strongest fire spell has a phoenix flying (and shouting) across the screen.

Oh, and transition between screens is almost instant. No more fading in/ fading out.

Music: 8/10

For the time, Lufia II’s music is only slightly below par. There are realistic arrangements, but the realism of the instruments doesn’t quite match that of Squaresoft.

Nevertheless the music is very interesting. Because it’s a prequel, many tracks and remixes of Lufia I tracks. When you hear them, you will automatically recognize the port town, the victory fanfare, the Fortress of Doom, the Doom Island Shrine and, if you pay close attention, the regular battle theme.

Overall the music is much better than Lufia I. Although the town theme would be a better fit for a village, the village theme is excellent and quiet, the castle music sounds more, er, regal, the overworld theme uses a flute rather than a very loud and annoying trumpet, the intro to the flying ship (you can only hear it on the soundtrack) reminds me of the epicness of the Highwind in Final Fantasy VII, the ship theme is quieter and “grander”, the battle theme against the Sinistrals definitely sounds better and the underwater theme is a better fit with its very quiet tones. Oh, and the Shaia Lab theme is MUCH less annoying; it even sounds more “technological.”

What also strikes the ear with the soundtrack is the great variety of tracks. Each one of the dungeons I enumerated above has a distinctive theme. The caves sound much more intriguing, the towers sound more epic (the mountains too) and the temples mix both epicness and intrigue. Dungeons sound a little goofy for my ears (compared to the caves) but it’s nice to sometimes depart from the usual molds. The variety also includes character themes (Dekar’s is quite epic and Iris’ sounds like a theme of hope) and tracks like In Autumn (during a cut scene midway through the game, but also for “the world’s most difficult trick”), of which I can’t get enough when I want to relax.

Sound effects are also an improvement from Lufia I. Magic spells sound more realistic – you can hear the fireballs/ phoenix, gale sounds like a violent snowstorm, etc. – healing panel sounds are shorter and sound more like healing (rather than “grow up” sounds) and weapon attacks are briefer and more realistic too. They also sound more diversified, especially if the weapon is elemental (bolt-based weapons will have a slight “crisp”).

Addictiveness: 9/10

That game has quite a bit to offer for avid gamers.

First, you have the possibility of capturing and raising capsule monsters – I daresay they are like Pokémon, but I’m not that familiar with the game. Once you find them they can gain levels like you do and, if you feed them correctly, they can grow up into 5 different stages, becoming stronger and gaining more abilities in the process. And you can use them at their different states like the Pokémons.

Forfeit Island has become much more elaborate. You can now play the casino like in the Dragon Warrior series where you buy token and gamble to eventually get prizes. It’s very easy with savestates, of course.

The Ancient Cave is now much more elaborate. It goes down 99 levels, they have several designs available each time you come in and you start from level 1 and naked except for objects you find in blue chests. Otherwise you will lose whatever you find in the red chests once you exit. Your main goals are to find the several Iris articles (9 in total) and to kill the giant slime at the very bottom so you can get a key and open the chests at the entrance of the cave. You also can’t escape; you will need to find Providence, available starting at level 20.

Finally, like Lufia I there is a new game + mode, which lets you play the game again and earn 4 times the experience. If you manage to complete that mode too, you will have the gift option, where you can only access the Ancient Cave… with the character of your choice (including Tia).

Story: 7/10

Maxim is a quiet monster hunter who has fought all his life. One day, monsters take away a cave, barring the way to Sundeltan. Maxim is able to take back the key leading the way, but not before Iris, a mysterious woman that pops in from time to time, tells him a dire secret: it is his destiny to fight an evil force that’s about to rule the planet.

Honestly, the basic storyline for the game is way too cliché. I mean, “it is your destiny”; how many times did we hear that? Also characters like Maxim and Selan “have always been fighting”.

Of course, those who play Lufia I know how it will end: Maxim and his party fighting their way to the Fortress of Doom to defeat the Sinistrals.

Depth: 9/10

Fortunately, the plot goes much deeper than that.

First, the story is divided in 2 parts. The first one is where you fulfill your destiny by fighting Gades. However Iris saves you in extremis (Iris ex machina, really) from a sure death and you survive to marry Selan and create a descendant. However, this will greatly disturb the stars as – Iris tells you that later – you were not meant to survive your encounter with Gades. From the second part on, your future is a total mystery.

I liked how the game goes full circle to answer questions from the previous game. You will learn about Priphea flowers, the Ruby Icon, where the Dual Blade comes from, who was Lexis Shaia – he will even join your team – and how Maxim got his team to fight the ultimate evil.

Finally, the sheer size of the Ancient Cave will surely hook you for hours, especially if you don’t use savestates. With 3-5 designs for each floor you will encounter, it will be nearly impossible to get all the Iris treasures on the first try, and the final boss is much harder than what it looks like.

Difficulty: 7/10

Indeed, you will only have 4 rounds to defeat it if you want to win (3 if you’re not quick enough). Otherwise you will have to start all over again…

And as I said above, the Ancient Cave has many unique and extremely fierce enemies like the Silver and Golden Dragons. And you don’t even have arrows; you will basically have to kill them all, including the dragons.

Other major difficulties include the numerous puzzles you will encounter. Some are fairly easy – find switches under bushes, put a vase on the right spot to open a door – while many will require hours of thinking without a proper guide. Also if you are playing to get all the treasures know that you can’t get all of them on the first try because you don’t have all the accessories. And this time, the dragon eggs are not always in the same spot once they get sent back. Fortunately, if you can get the jewel sonar you will have an easier time finding them – it rings for every treasure chest left unopened in a dungeon.

Growing (and finding) the capsule monsters will also prove to be difficult. Unless you use the trick that only requires feeding them long knives, then get ready for a very long wait before they can even grow to their 2^nd of 5 stages. Plus, you have no control over their actions – they might even flee – and you can’t heal them. But the fact that they can get attacked is good; less damage on you.

Fortunately the game is easier than Lufia 1. Every dungeon has a healing panel for hit points and magic, but also a point where you can save. It’s very useful, and many of them are only a few rooms away from the boss. Characters also seem to gain levels quicker even for regular gameplay. I barely had to grind my levels to get through the game.

And as I said above, fights inside dungeons are completely (well, almost) predictable. While your foes’ movement pattern can be hard and frustrating to follow, you can nevertheless learn it and, if need be, paralyze them so you don’t have to fight.

Finally, buying weaponry is made much easier. Unlike even FF VI, you see exactly how much more/ less attack, defense and other statistics each weapons and armor give you. Plus, thanks to IP some of them even have special functions inside battle. You may be able to heal, increase your stats or decrease your enemies’ and make special attacks. Many of them are elemental-base, which is quite useful.

In short, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals is a game every RPG lover must try. Despite not-so-extraordinary graphics and music and a highly clichéd storyline, the game has so much to offer that you might not even notice these shortcomings. I DARE you to spend less than 10 hours in the Ancient Cave if you don’t use savestates!