Lufia & the Fortress of Doom (Super Nintendo, 1995)

This game has its own style and feel which distinguishes it from the more popular games of the time. When compared to Final Fantasy III(US) as most 16-bit RPGs are, Lufia's graphics and character cinematics don't reach up to the same caliber of sophistication, though do not let the title "Not the best game ever" deter you from giving this game a round of play.

One of Lufia's strongest elements is the musical score, which noticeably captures the mood, pace, and characterization presented by the game. A quick search on YouTube, and we can easily see that the music from this game has 'struck a chord' with many of the game's fans.

The story line is typical, save the world, though the situation is not. Instead of 1 evil force, you are challenged by four, each being more dangerous than the next. The game also begins 100 years prior to the main storyline, which is memorable purely because it was, and probably still does, remain an uncommon plot device in video game RPGs.

The gameplay is turn-based combat, which may deter most players due to lack of any sort of battle action, though for those who do enjoy this method of combat, the basics are easy to pickup and soon you'll be vanquishing foes without much hesitation in your actions. Random encounters seem to be a bit on the high side for an RPG, which is possibly why the game takes as long to beat as it does. Some battles will leave you frustrated as you try to figure why everybody just died, while other battles just seem like time fillers between story arcs.

If you loved Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy I-VI(JP), Dragon Warrior, even the Zelda games, Secret of Mana(or Evermore), Earthbound, Super Mario RPG, and felt like you need more games in your life, then you should without a doubt be playing the Lufia series. If you hit on guys who sound like girls playing Halo 3 on Xbox Live, you'll be bored to tears.

This is more or less your typical save-the-world RPG, with a bit of a romance theme mixed in on the side between the protaganist and Lufia. Early on in the game, the two promise they'll "never leave" eachother, and a bit after that, a woman who knows Artea tells Lufia that her support towards him is "more important than any sword or armor!"

The random battles can get annoying, but that's easily solved by carrying around Sweet Water that more or less stops all encounters for roughly a minute. On the other hand, if you want to level up your characters fast (for example, if you're in a dungeon next to an HP/MP restore point) you can use a Foul Water to get into an encounter every step you take for roughly ten steps.

The translation is pretty good, and there are only a couple of errors here and there. The dialog is also not too bad, and while it is a bit predictable, it fits all the characters well and each has their share of funny little scenes.

The graphics look dated for an SNES RPG, but the few frames of animation that each character has are good enough to not make you feel like you're missing anything, and the spell effects are actually very good.

Sound is above average, and actually not annoying. Boss battles and normal encounters are catchy and even shops have their own little jingle when you visit them.

Anyway, while Lufia II is graphically better than this game, it doesn't stop me from loving this game. I've beat it once already probably five years ago and I'm going on a second play-through now!

(Oh, and the ending song is actually sad-sounding and fitting for some of the last scenes, but the very last part of the ending doesn't dissapoint for this romance/save-the-world RPG!)

What I liked about this Lufia title (other than briefly playing Rise of the Sinistrals, I wouldn't say I have a good or complete knowledge of the series as a whole)was that its basically an old-school rpg for the SNES. If you like 2d graphics and care more about gameplay than stimulating visuals, than this might be a role-playing experience you won't want to miss. For me it was distracting when during or at the beginning of a random battle the view of the characters on the screen didn't really change at all. The only block-building annoyance after that was that the stat-increase of each character while remaining class specific was altogether random. If your character is about to gain a level, save first-- then pass it. Do this until you are satisfied with the level gain. It is time consuming (or can be) but its well worth it. Unlike most other rpgs that I have played, progessing the story line was a strong motivation for a sense of having fun while playing this game. I wouldn't strongly reccomend this particular title for someone just discovering the genre. But if your wanting to get back to your roots, perhaps this is the game for you.

Lufia starts you off in the past where you control 4 warriors who are about to battle the Sinestrals. This is how the game draws you in. Instead of giving you a lot of text to tell the backstory, you actually live it yourself.

The game plays out like a typical console-rpg. Random encounters every few steps and leveling up in a predetermined fashion.

Where the game excels is the great plot, and soundtrack.

Lufia is an RPG that had a battle system that was a bit more personal, unlike Final Fantasy at the time where the character takes a step forward and swings a sword as the enemy he's attacking flashes with a number above him. Although, it still isn't that much different. Dungeons this time around aren't just littered with monsters, but with puzzles too. You'll have to salve them all in order to make your way through the entire dungeon and defeat it's keeper.