Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals is one of the best kept secrets on the Super Nintendo. When you think RPGs on the Super Nintendo everyone remembers classics like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. What if I told you that Lufia II goes toe-to-toe with these legendary releases? You’d think I was crazy, right? I mean, almost no one has heard of the Lufia series and the sequel was published in North America by small fry Natsume of all companies. It probably doesn’t help that the original game wasn’t that great. Lufia & the Fortress of Doom was painfully traditional, and suffered many issues. I knew that the second title would be better, but I couldn’t have prepared myself for how great it really is. I’m fresh off of the ending screen, and ready to talk about my experiences.
The twist here is that Lufia II is actually a prequel to the original game. That’s particularly interesting in this case because the first title begins with prologue depicting the end of this one. It might seem like this would ruin the story but that’s not the case. The game takes place in a medieval world of swords and sorcery. Lufia & the Fortress of Doom’s introduction depicts a final battle between the worlds strongest warriors against a group of four demigods bent on its destruction. Lufia II is their journey up to, and just past this point. You play as a fire haired youth named Maxim. He’s a mercenary of sorts from the town of Elcid who slays monsters for cash. Here he lives with his childhood friend Tia and things are generally pretty peaceful.
The thing is, monster numbers are growing by the day. Chaos is growing. Four super human entities known as the sinistrals have begun laying waste to towns around the world. What starts out as very localized vignettes soon grows into a struggle to save the entire world and defeat these gods. Those who have played the intro to the first Lufia know how this one ends, but the journey to that point is entirely fresh. It’s more than enough that you don’t feel like you know what’s coming. The backstory of the main cast is super interesting by JRPG standards. I was worried that knowing the ending would ruin Lufia II for me, but it actually made the journey to that point more interesting. Even moreso knowing the big plot twist in the original Lufia.
When writing the story for Lufia II the developers really tapped into what made 16-bit RPGs tick. In particular, they based many aspects of the story on Final Fantasy IV. I have no complaints in that regard because that’s my favorite game of all time. For starters you have a revolving cast of characters that are all at least a little unique gameplay and story wise. That’s where knowledge of the previous game makes things particularly interesting. The love story introduced is not the one we saw in the prologue of the Fortress of Doom. I was puzzled on how it would get to that point. I found the journey there to be very interesting actually. No RPGs from this era tackle adult relationships quite like Lufia II does. This is in spite of the bad translation.
Okay so enough about the story. I could talk about that all day, but gameplay matters much more. I’m happy to report that Lufia II excels in this area. The basic premise is pretty standard on the surface. You travel via a world map containing towns, caves, towers, and other dungeon areas. Here you get into randomly triggered battles with enemies that are turn based and take place on a different screen. You input commands such as attack, defend, magic, item, etc. From here you exchange blows with the enemies as numbers splash out to show how much hit points are depleted from each character and foe. Things are pretty basic in this regard, but Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals has more than a few tricks up its sleeve. Really, the battle system is like a swiss army knife in terms of complexity.
Remember the revolving cast of characters I mentioned? Well, there are several elements which make each persona different from one another in battle. They each have specific statistics which determine their battle aptitude. Some have higher attack and defense, while others are can perform their commands faster or have stronger magic. Some can’t even learn magic at all. Each character also has specific equipment at their disposal. Lufia II does a great job of making each person distinct from one another with all of these factors in play. You really will feel a void in your party when someone leaves, and finding out how newcomers fit into your strategy is a lot of fun.
The battle system is more complex than that of just about any other 16-bit RPG. On it’s basic level you’ll need to plan for upcoming fights and grind. The list of spells is pretty large and with buffs, debuffs, and what have you there’s a lot of variety battle options. The most unique element of the battle system comes in the form of something called the INT commands. Most equipment has a particular INT command attached to it. These can be used when a character’s INT bar is filled (this happens when attacked or damaged). When it’s full you can use one of these special moves designated to an article of equipment you’re using. It’s a very interesting system that adds layers of strategy to choosing weapons and armor.
Years before Pokemon was a thing Lufia II threw in some monster collecting mechanics of its own. Sure it was nothing new; Dragon Quest did this years earlier, but it wasn’t exactly commonplace. Your party consists of four main characters, but you have a fifth slot designated exclusively for what is referred to as ‘capsule monsters.’ These guys are found in specific places in dungeons and locations on the world map. Their presence is always scripted so the system is pretty linear. What’s cool is that you can feed them to change their stats, and they also gain experience points and level up with the party as well. You can’t choose their commands in battle, but that doesn’t matter because the capsule monsters are yet another unique and awesome element here.
Lufia II has an absolutely wonderful difficulty curve. That is, most of the time. When you start out you won’t have to grind at all, and simply participating in battles you encounter is enough to be competitive. The same is true for the end of the game. I’ve found few other RPGs that remain constantly challenging but not in an unfair way or one that requires you to grind. There is however one section of the game where the difficulty ramps up, but then goes back down. You’ll know it when you get to it; fans have been complaining about it for years. I had to sit down and grind for hours to stand even the slightest chance. This section really feels out of place given how gentle the curve is through the rest of the adventure.
Gameplay is fine and dandy in battles. I was surprised to discover that the dungeons surpass those found in just about any other RPG. They’re actually something akin to what you’d find in a two dimensional Zelda title. What I mean is that just about every room is a puzzle. These require you to perform tasks like pushing blocks, activating switches, defeating all enemies in the room, etc. The learning curve for these is a bit less forgiving, and can lead to some road blocks but everything is very intelligently designed. I was surprised at just how much I loved the dungeons in Lufia II.
When I say these are like in Zelda I really mean it. You will acquire several tools (found within the dungeons themselves) that are used outside of battle. These include arrows (used to hit switches), bombs (for making holes in cracked walls), a hookshot for pulling yourself across gaps, and more. The fact that you have these tools to use gave the developers a lot of creative freedom over their dungeon designs. This is why they’re so fun and complicated to navigate. The only thing copied from Zelda that I didn’t like is that you must find a special key in just about every dungeon to access the area with the boss encounter. This works better in Zelda than in Lufia II, and I found it a little annoying to be honest.
There’s something else that’s really interesting about the dungeons in this game. When wandering on the world map enemy encounters happen randomly. It’s based on the classic algorithm we’re all used to in Japanese style RPGs like this. In contrast, within the dungeons you can see the enemies before you fight them. A battle only breaks out when you come into contact with them. I found this a really interesting and neat feature. I haven’t really seen RPGs that use both methods before so Lufia II scores extra points with me. What’s also interesting and unique about being able to see your foes is the fact that they move only when you do. If you’re standing still they will too. Take a step, and they do too. You can freeze them temporarily by hitting them with an arrow or your hookshot.
Now we come to the graphics. Lufia II is a very pretty game by Super Nintendo standards. It looks better than the vast majority of RPGs on the platform (or the 16-bit generation, for that matter). The colors are vibrant, and you have a lot of details in the backgrounds. There are a significant number of different tile sets for a variety of terrain. Each locale is lush with detail and pleasant to look at. The characters are chibi-style. This is sure to bother some, but I don’t mind it. Their sprites are a little goofy but it didn’t take me long to get over it. The soundtrack is pretty good. Town themes, the world map, and dungeon tracks are all really well done. As is the standard battle music. The boss theme however is one of the best across the entire genre.
