Lufia II - Rise of the Sinistrals Review by: Dragoon26 - 9.6/10

     The legendary sword Duel Blade has sat dormant for all of human existence. It was thought it would stay that way for thousands of years. But Duel Blade has started to ring, and a destined warrior named Maxim is about to begin a journey to save mankind.

Story - 9 
     
     If I had to rate the Lufia series as a whole, I would say it's above average. It's not CRAZY! But it has its twists and whatnot. Probably a 7.5 or so.... That rating doesn't do this specific game justice. Lufia 2 by itself gets a 9 easy. It's not the story itself, but rather how the story is told that makes it so good. All of the characters have distinct personalities that add to a game that is already very charming. 
     Puzzles occur frequently and you have an array of things to help you out. Arrows, bombs and a hook-shot to name a few. The puzzles are really a defining characteristic of this game and set this game apart from other RPG's of its time.


Sound - 8

     Lets be realistic. It's not Chrono Trigger, nor is it Final Fantasy 4 or 6. It may not even be better than Lufia 1. But that's ok, it's a SNES RPG! I can't think of one with bad music.... Seriously. This game still has enough to give it a solid 8. The Doom Island theme alone is worth the price of admission.

Addictiveness - 10

     This game contains one of the most addicting things I have ever come across in a video game.... The Ancient Cave. Here you are stripped of all your items, equipment, and levels. You then proceed to try making your way through 99 floors of monsters and treasure, which is nearly impossible at first. The maps change every time you re-enter, and later enemies will dominate you if you are not prepared. The only way out is the item "Providence", which can be found randomly after 20 floors.
     However, scattered among the game's normal Red Chests are Blue Chests. These contain equipment both rare and powerful. Not only is the equipment strong, you start with it from the start of the cave if you make multiple runs. So you have a much better chance after getting a few Blue Chests and hopefully finding some healing spells.
     It almost qualifies as a game in itself.

Depth - 8

     This game, like the first, has a "Retry" mode after clearing the game. This allows you to go back through the game getting 4x the gold and experience. It makes things much easier, as you could imagine. More time to enjoy a great game, less time worrying about grinding and dying. Nice.
     Unlike the first game, this game offers "Gift" mode after being cleared on "Retry". It is all about the Ancient Cave. In a normal game, characters are forced in and out of your party as you progress, making certain character combinations impossible. Here you can choose your party of 4 from any of the games 7 playable characters.

Difficulty - 7

     Lufia 2 has a few things that I feel make it much easier than the first installment. First I have to mention Capsule Monsters. They fight along side you, never have to be healed, and can even grow stronger if you feed them enough.... uhh... swords and stuff. Each one represents a different element and they are pretty helpful, especially early on.
     Second, you only have random encounters on the world map. You can see your enemies everywhere else. That means you can avoid them by either walking right by them or stunning them with your arrows, hook-shot, etc.
     The last thing I will mention are "IP Attacks". Think limit breaks that are affected by your equipment. These are pretty helpful even early on, but some of the later IP Attacks Maxim can use make him nearly invincible.

Graphics - 8

     Lufia 2 looks great for a SNES game. The sprites are solid and the enemies look awesome.... But... This game came out in 1996. People would soon be playing Mario 64 and Final Fantasy 7. So even though the graphics are fine for its system, I feel they are also part of the reason this game wasn't more popular. Still gets a 8 from me.

9.6

9.4

9.6

9.1