The best use of puzzles ever in a RPG and a charming story make Lufia II a SNES classic, True Score=8.6
***Extensive Review, skip to the Conclusion for an overview of the game***
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Game Play 9.7
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Controls (Excellent)
>> Well, I just finished playing this game and can't remember ever having any issues the entire game. All of the menus are intuitive and easy to navigate, the commands are mapped out perfectly on the controller, and the game teaches you the system really well w/ a tutorial dungeon. The camera was fixed (as was the case w/ most SNES games) and was never an issue (since it was fixed…).
Customization (Great)
>> There is quite a bit of customization in LII. There are six item slots (Weapon, Helm, Armor, Shield, Ring, & Gem) and each item has a usable skill attached to it. For this reason it might be better to equip some items because they have a better item skill and not because they grant the best stats. Most characters in this game also have the ability to use magic, which can be purchased at shops throughout the game.
And finally, you will meet several creatures in your adventures called capsule monsters (thus the Pokemon reference). You can feed these monsters any items or equipment in order to make them evolve and you can bring one of them into battle w/ you. They act on there own, but capsule monsters are still a useful and fun addition to your team.
The biggest issue w/ the customization is that (other than which capsule monster you use primarily) there aren't many choices you have to make. You will most likely buy all of the spells for all of your characters who can equip them by the end of the game and use the strongest equipment which also has the best skills. That aside, there is enough raw material here to keep your mind occupied throughout the game.
Battle System (Great)
>> The battle parties in LII consist of four characters and the one capsule monster you can bring w/ you. Commands include running (as a team), changing battle formation, attacking, using items, defending, using magic, and using item skills. You have three gauges for HP, MP, and IP. IP stands for item points and determines how many item skills you can use. Your item points increase as you take damage and item skills contain the most powerful attacks, magic, and abilities in the game. In this regard item skills are very similar to finishing moves in FF games.
The battles in LII are also very fast paced. You select all the actions for your party and all at once and then a round of actions is taken and so on. The most innovative thing about LII's battle system is the manner in which magic is cast. Every spell has a base power that you can direst at one or all or some foes. Damage depends on the number of foes targeted. This is simple, but brilliant. For example, if you wanted to you could target the enemies weak to fire w/ your fire spell, but the not the enemies who are strong against it. This way you are concentrating all the spells fire power (no pun intended) on the enemies the fire spell hurts the most. The only issue w/ the battle system is that despite all these wonderful mechanisms battles still seem pretty simplistic. The best way to win is just to overpower you enemy.
Puzzles & Mini Games (Exceptional)
>> This is definitely the strongest element in LII (though the plot takes a close second). Ever dungeon in LII (and there are many) is filled w/ puzzles you must solve in order to advance. All of these puzzles are very intuitive and fun to solve as well. And later in the game many of them will be quite difficult and force you to think while still being very fair. Similar to Zelda games, you will get several tools (such as bombs and grappling hooks) adding depth to all of the puzzles.
Even enemy encounters are played out like a puzzle. Enemies only move when you do and each different type of enemy has a different movement pattern. If you run into an enemy from the back you get a free round of attacks and visa versa. If you don't want to fight an enemy you can simply hit them w/ an arrow or grappling hook. Manipulating or defeating enemies is also necessary to solving many puzzles in the game. This is the best use of puzzles I have ever seen in an RPG. This is because, despite the number of puzzles in this game, they are quick to do (once you figure them out) and don't slow the game down too much.
There is also some extra stuff to do in LII. Examples of this include the casino and a treasure dungeon that plays out in a different manner than the rest of the game. All in all there is a very good variety of gameplay in LII.
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Graphics 7.3
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Background & Environment (Ok)
>> All of the backdrops in LII actually look pretty good, they are just very simple. And next to other games of their generation (like CT or Mario RPG which are all outdated) that is easy to see. The graphics are still pretty good for their time though and don't distract from the games more important elements.
Characters (Ok)
>> There isn't a whole lot of detail to the character design in Lufia II outside of battle. Though animations during battle are actually quite impressive for this generation, especially that of the enemies. I would even go as far as to say that the in battle animations look good. And since you will be spending a lot of time in battle this is a good thing.
Special Effects (Good)
>> Special effects are often the strongest portion of an RPGs graphics and LII is no exception. Spell animations look very good even in the eyes of a modern day gamer and are very artistic. Still, they are dated.
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Sound 9.0
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Music (Excellent)
>> Honestly, this is some of the best music I have ever heard in a video game. There is a great variety to the music throughout the game and the music gets better as the situation gets more intense. The music that plays when you are fighting the sinistrals is one of the most catchy tunes I have ever heard and makes every single one of those battles feel intense.
Sound Effects (Good)
>> For this games time period, this sound effects are probably about as good as they could be. Once again, they are dated though.
Voice Acting (N/A)
>> No voice acting in this game, sorry.
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Story 8.3
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Plot (Great)
>> Despite all the brilliant puzzles in this game, too many this is LII's main selling point. In LII you play as Maxim, a young warrior w/ inexplicably impressive fighting prowess and power. Maxim's adventure begins when monsters begin appearing and unexplained events start to occur because of it. To figure out why this is happening Maxim sets out and eventually uncovers a greater threat that only he can stop and was born to stop. Alright, so this is pretty prototypical RPG and pretty clichéd. However, this game was one of the first games to build this mold and this game has a lot of heart. The romance woven into this story is excellent. And unlike most games this subplot will come full circle and despite its simplicity is very moving.
Characters (Excellent)
>> All of the characters in LII are very eclectic and likable, well developed, and are very close nit by the end of the game. Eventually you will probably be able to guess what your characters are going to say before they say it. This will inevitably make you feel closer to them and their personalities. This is an extremely important element in an RPG and LII shines in this department.
Writing (Poor)
>> All of the dialogue in Lufia II is pretty cheesy and written at a very low grade reading level. This had a certain charm to it at times, but still detracted from the overall feel of the story.
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Value 8.7
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Main Story (Great)
>> The main story in LII is about 25-30 hours long. This is just a little shorter than most RPGs, but extremely long by any other genre standard. More importantly, more happens in LII than happens in other games that are twice as long. In other words, the quality of the time spent is excellent.
Sidequests & Secrets (Excellent)
>> There is plenty of extra stuff to do in LII that could easily double your time spent playing this game. There are optional dungeons you can play through to get secret items as well as the casino which I mentioned earlier. There is also 8 dragon eggs scattered throughout the world that you can collect. And once you collect them all the dragon will grant you one of several wishes and then scatter the eggs around the world again (this should sound extremely familiar to people who have watched Dragon Ball Z).
Replay Value (Ok)
>> The only reason to replay LII is for the game itself. If you found the puzzles and story engaging enough for a second play through then good for you, but I didn't. You never get to choose your parties members, just you capsule monster, so there isn't much reason strategically to play the game again either.
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Tilt 8.3
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Cool Factor (Good)
>> Another similarity LII has to Dragon Ball Z is the references to energy waves or power levels. Wise or powerful characters will be able to since each others energy waves immediately and recognize who they have battled and such. This is kind of cool and does a good job illuminating the magnitude of your party's powers, but it does come off pretty cheesy (as did Dragon Ball Z a lot). You will have several conversations that will go along these lines: Person 1, "I am the strongest person in the world," Person 2, "Oh no, I think I have something to say about that," Person 3, "Quit it guys, obviously I am the most powerful." Ok, maybe it's not that straight forward and cheesy, but it seems like it at times. The primary antagonists in this game are quite the force to be reckoned w/ though and their battle music and animations are very satisfying.
Fun Factor (Good)
>> As you may have noticed, the gameplay is very good across the board, especially w/ respect to the puzzles, and in turn very fun. However, there is one big issue I haven't touched on yet. And that is the way the game progresses. Pretty early in the game you will notice the game has a strict gameplay routine it will follow from beginning to end as follows: go to a town and talk to someone town has a problem and in order to advance you must solve this problem go to beat a dungeon riddled w/ puzzles to solve problem town thanks you and tells you next place you need to gorepeat. Aside from the sidequests you can do this is the pattern LII follows the entire game. Every RPG does this to a point, but in LII they don't even make an attempt to hide it and it can become annoying.
Other Details (Great)
>> Save points in LII are pretty frequent, so thankfully saving your progress is never much of an issue. Another great thing about LII is that it realizes it is a GAME and takes itself lightly. For example, later in the game there is a random girl in a dungeon for no good reason that says if you can solve this ridiculously tough puzzle you will be rewarded greatly. They don't attempt to explain her or the puzzles presence; they are just there, this kind of goes for all the puzzles in the game. The fact that the game takes itself so lightly also helps makes some of its more cheesy elements more bearable.
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Conclusion
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Pros
+Best use of puzzles I have ever encountered in an RPG
+Amazing music
+Charming story w/ likable & well developed characters
+Fun/Fast paced battle system w/ innovative magic targeting & item abilities
+Lot's of extra stuff to do
+A GAME that takes itself lightly
Cons
-Gameplay routine (town, dungeon, repeat) is consistent and repetitive
-Dialogue is overly simplistic and often cheesy
-Graphics are dated
-No reason to replay the game other than the game itself
Gameplay (20%) – 9.7
Graphics (15%) – 7.3
Sound (15%) – 9.0
Story (20%) – 8.3
Value (15%) – 8.7
Tilt (15%) – 8.3
Final Score – 8.6
>> I definitely think that Lufia II should be mentioned more often when talking about the best RPGs on the SNES. I put it behind only the likes of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, and Mario RPG and that is saying something. Lufia II uses puzzles more effectively than any other RPG I have ever played. They are all intelligent, fast moving, and fun to solve, even enemy encounters in dungeons play out in a puzzle like manner. And despite a simplistic script that often come across as cheesy the story and its characters have a lot of heart, and the romance within it is moving. If you are able to stomach the games repetitive routine of town then dungeon and the dated graphics then you will surely treasure this game. And this coming from someone who usually regards in game puzzles as an obstacle rather than a strength, which was not the case in Lufia II. And since the story of Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals takes place before the original this game holds up perfectly well on its own. In fact, if you do plan on playing both games you should probably play this one first.