From times to times. I have expressed my profound interest toward High Fantasy RPG genre in Realm of Darkness and this is because there were handful of Video Games which were responsible in shaping my passion for this genre during my Childhood. If I have to list the Top 3 Video Games that contributes a major part for my love for JRPG or High Fantasy in general, apart from DnD Shadow over Mystara, Lufia the Legend Returns would belong to this list. Back then I have clocked in over hundred hours on this game and cleared many runs. I probably should have written this article when I finished my playthrough on 3DS Virtual Console Copy, but at very least I am trying to make some amend before I delve further into Lufia series once again.
Lufia was not exactly one of the most popular JRPG series out there but it did leave its marks in 16-bits game era and do get some loyal following from RPG fans especially through Lufia II: Rise of Sinistrals. The main premise of this series is about a group of heroes throughout generations banding up and with the help of Legendary weapon Dual Blade fought against the threat from Group of 4 Demigods called Sinistrals who intend on bring destruction upon the world through their Fortress floating on the sky called Doom Island. Most of the Lufia fans will probably got into the series through the Super Nintendo game but as for me it happens to be the GBC title; Lufia the Legend Returns that got me hooked into RPGs and left a lasting impression.
Lufia the Legend Returns was the 3rd iteration of Lufia series and this particular iteration has come quite a long way for its release for Gameboy Color. Originally planned to be PS1 release Title as Lufia: The Ruins Chaser, the game development came into the halt as the original Dev Team went into Bankruptcy and the Original Lufia IP Owner, Neverland picked up the remains and worked on it to release Lufia: the Legend Returns. Overall it was probably the best decision to salvage the works put onto Lufia 3 despite the game came into the end of lifespan of Gameboy Color. The end result, is Lufia: The Legend Returns is one of the best RPG Game that ever hailed into GBC Platform as you essentially get a PSX RPG worth of content on portable form.
In retrospect, Lufia the Legend returns storyline is not particularly its strong suit and didn't age particularly well. Nevertheless this game did leave plenty of room for rich imagination for many kids like me in early 2000s. When it comes to the gameplay however, Lufia: The Legend Returns have plenty to offer and arguably the best that ever graced upon Gameboy Color even compared to Top Selling Pokemon Crystal. With its Roguelite Dungeon Explorations along with unique 3x3 Party Grid Combat system and sprinkled with tons of secrets, Lufia the Legend Returns offer many hours of gameplay and tons of replayability. The best part from Lufia is easily the Ancient Cave Dungeon which is a full fledged Roguelike Dungeon that boast up to 200 Floors of Randomized Dungeon and challenging Boss waiting at the end, something that is unheard of from a Gameboy Color game. Nothing also beats the experience of cheesing this game once you know how to access Secret Equipments gained through winning Battles that are supposed to be unwinnable thus giving those cheating enemy Bosses a taste of their own medicine. Lastly for a GBC Video Game, Lufia: The Legend Returns have very impressive array of music score and left plenty of memorable Chiptunes such as GBC arrangement for the Final Battle theme, Battle theme and Rosplett Continent.
On the Hindsight, Neverland did the right thing to bring Lufia the Legend Returns on Gameboy Color, securing a place for this game to be the best available JRPG on the platform which have plenty to offer given the limitation of the console. Considering Lufia 3 will be vastly overshadowed if they ever got released on PSX which have way too Triple-A Budget JRPG given it was running on limited budget too.
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