While I got into Lufia series through the Gameboy Color title; Lufia The Legend Returns, I have always heard that Lufia 2: Rise of Sinistrals are held in high regards. Long story short I am only able to pay my pilgrimage for this Hidden JRPG Gem of SNES after more than 20 years since I got into Lufia series for the first time through its GBC title. Overall Lufia 2 is a Hidden Gem of SNES JRPG which have some glaring flaws but at the same time possess many strengths that allows it to leave a mark upon the JRPG Legacy as a whole.
What makes Lufia 2 to be the most important entry among Lufia series is that it is the first chronological title which kickstarts everything in Lufia settings. Lufia 2 is the story of Maxim, a consummate warrior who is the first line of a Hero Bloodline that will represent humanity and fight against a group of Demigods called Sinistrals to preserve their world, forever intertwined with legendary weapon called The Dual Blade in the struggle against Sinistrals.
Given that Lufia 2 is almost 30 years old by this time, It didn't age particularly well compared to other Masterpieces of SNES JRPG but I still do get what I wanted out of this game. Maxim is no doubt a badass JRPG protagonist and his romance with Selan keeps me hooked into Lufia 2 for more than I expected. In terms of gameplay, the 4-party Combat are still not particularly standing out though the Puzzle can be quite challenging and give a run for your money at times. The Capsule monster system which is temporary monster ally has quite interesting mechanics and it is a shame that Ruins of Lore tried to mimic Pokemon too much.
Considering I didn't start Lufia series with the Rise of Sinistrals, I don't have Rose Tinted Glass put on me this time and see Lufia 2 as it is. Personally I still prefer Lufia 3 because it is definitely a worthy successor of Lufia 2 that had complete package of improvements including wider range of Soundtrack and better Art Direction despite the medium limitation of GBC. I would also say Golden Sun series inherited more of Lufia 2 elements compared to any of the Lufia 2 sequels and improvise on it to become the success of its own and can be considered as the spiritual successor when compared to the particular failure called the Ruins of Lore.
Given the significance of Rise of Sinistrals and much of the things I enjoyed from Lufia the Legend Returns are from this game, I will make a full fledged article for Lufia 2 in near future for Realm of Darkness.
No comments:
Post a Comment