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LUFIA II: RISE OF THE SINISTRALS Company: Natsume Released: August 1996 Genre: Turn-based RPG Graphics: 8.5 Control: 9.5 Sound/Music: 9.5 Storyline: 8.5 Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 SUPER-NES.COM

If it's one thing the Super Nintendo System had a lot of, it was rpgs. Some were good, some were bad, and some were outstanding. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals would fall into the latter category. Not only does it offer an amazing turn-based combat system, but it also sports one of my all-time favorite rpg storylines of the 16-bit era, well any era for that matter. Couple that with an excellent "Square-like" soundtrack and you have a can't miss rpg for the Super NES. Although you might find some Super NES games that sport slightly higher quality graphics than those found in Lufia II, you certainly won't find much to complain about with the visuals in this game. Beautiful use of the SNES's large color palette and very detailed towns and landscapes all abound throughout this game. Every dungeon has a unique look and feel to it, and towns, although fairly standard for the most part, do take on more personality of their own later on in the game. Truthfully, the only part of the game that tends to look a little bland is the combat scenes. There's not a lot of animation in the monsters you fight, and although the backgrounds generally fit in with the area in which your characters are located, they just have a very 8-bit look to them which is the main reason I had to knock Lufia II's graphics score down to an 8. Overall a very nice looking 16-bit title, just not on par with a Chrono Trigger or Super Mario RPG. Square and Enix normally held a monopoly on 99% of the really great Super NES rpg soundtracks. Somehow Lufia 2 must have slipped under their radar because the soundtrack in Lufia 2 is nothing short of amazing, and other than Chrono Trigger, it's my favorite Super NES game soundtrack. Beautifully orchestrated music, somewhat reminiscent of a Seiken Densetsu 3, is strung throughout the game and it just seems to get better the farther into the game you get. Great variety and plenty of tunes to spread around, you'd be hard-pressed to find a much better soundtrack in a non-CD based video game. Even Square would be proud of this one. Here's where I start heaping massive amounts of praise onto this game. I've played many rpgs, from action, to turn-based, and most in between, but very few turn-based rpgs play as efficiently or with as much variety as Lufia II's outstanding combat engine. For the most part the combat system is your standard turn-based affair, only with a slight twist. As you hit enemies, as well as take hits from enemies, your IP guage begins to fill up. If you are lucky enough to find or buy the weapons that contain IP Abilities, then as your gauge fills up your weapons gain special abilities that can be used to inflict devastating damage to enemies. Using these special abilities uses up your valuable gauge so you have to pick and choose the best times to use them. It really adds a great deal of playability to an already speedy and playable combat system. It also requires you to pay attention to buying your weapons and armor as sometimes the most powerful weapons don't contain these special IP Abilities. Moving around is also very simple as you travel around on an "overhead map" that takes you to towns, castles, towers, and even caves along the way across the country. This is a particularly great time to wander around fighting enemies in order to level your characters up and gain valuable gold to buy better armor and weaponry. I'll admit that as much as I love the "Active Time Battle" found in most Square rpgs on the SNES, Lufia II's combat system has really grown on me and I like the strategic feel it has to it. One of the best gameplay engines of any Super Nintendo RPG out there and a game that's as deep as it is fun to play. As I mentioned above, Lufia II is easily one of the top 3 rpgs for the Super Nintendo and a game that is challenging, humorous, and an overall joy to play. When you combine a great looking game, with a terrific turn-based combat system, throw in a beautifully orchestrated soundtrack, and then set in motion one of the best rpg storylines you're ever likely to take part in, what you get is one of the best rps on the market for any system. Before we all got spoiled with the full-motion video and millions of polygons per second of today's epic rpgs, we had these games that required a lot more to them than a lot of flashy graphical effects or voice-overs. It's easy to see why the Super Nintendo is widely considered to be an rpg player's dream machine, and with games like Lufia II, it's easy to justify that statement. If you have a Super NES system then you must have this game. It's top shelf all the way.