Lufia 2 does basically everything right.. The visible monsters with different movement patterns each, the capsule monsters, the Ip stuff, the puzzles and rewards, the ancient cave, the music, fast paced battles, fast movement overall.. Its just such a fun game to play. Wish there were a remaster for the Switch!
Very true, a total package as far as SNES RPGs go. I think it's possible that one will get a remake/remaster some day. So many haven't played it and it's really good.
I agree. I think Lufia2 made such huge improvements in the RPG genre which hardly any new devs learned from since that it feels like the genre went backwards a bit since then. The game deserves way more recognition.
Playing Lufia 2 as an impressionable kid and multiple times over my life, Tia has earned a place in my Top 5 favourite video game characters. She is just an average shopkeep who follows her heart. As the story progresses and she realizes that she doesn't possess the capabilties the others do, and Selan develops her bond with Maxim - she decides it's all not meant for her and dips. I've always found her arc so fucking fascinating.
I always felt bad for her. The love of her life doesn't feel the same way about her and becomes that legendary hero while she just goes back to her shop because she doesn't have the stuff of a legendary hero. I would have loved to see her becoming a local celebrity or finding a new love interest.
Lufia 2 on the SNES is definitely the best. I most remember the great music, the puzzles and tools, and of course the stellar ancient cave! I spent so many nights as a kid wandering around in there. Thanks for highlighting one of my favorites I feel deserves more attention 😊
having the ability to instant save/load and cheat for potions and weapons/armor before you start makes it sooo much better...oh and don't forget to turn jellies into gold dragons for super start!!!
As for the other Lufia games they never left their respective systems so Fortress of doom SNES and the Game Boy Color and GBA only games never got put on the 3DS E shop/Switch either.
What do you remember most about the Lufia games? And which one was the best in the series? Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through RUclips membership by clicking the JOIN button above!
Definitely The music from the first game. The overworld theme is almost as good as the Final Fantasy four overworld theme. Bittersweet epic fantasy. The prologue of peril in the opening with the narrator and of course the actual fortress of doom theme is one of the top 10 tracks on the entire super Nintendo
@@Xygor At the time the only RPGs I had played were Pokémon and Dragon Quest and Lufia was quite a bit beyond them in terms of gameplay inside and outside of battles, story and just the sheer number of characters in the game. The idea that you could have 9 characters in a battle was absolutely amazing to me and then when Seena turns on you after I had made her into an absolute monster, that was unbelievable and terrifying to me.
Lufia 2 first rpg I ever played, great game. 2nd RPG was FF8, graphics blew me away back then, love them back then. Plot, character Dev., and game play use to be important Today its just "The graphics are amazing" and "the graphics are beautiful" and "the graphics are stunning" and "the graphics are cool" and "the graphics are epic" and "the graphics awesome" and "wheres the cash shop?" lol Good video, nostalgia.
I'll always have a special place in my heart for Lufia & The Fortress of Doom. Back when it came out in 91 or 92, I was in middle school and couldn't afford many games. I rented Lufia from the video store every weekend for several months straight. They only had one copy, so my save file was always on there. I played the game for what seemed like forever, but never knew how far into it I was. When I eventually bought the game several years later, I learned I was practically right at the end of the game all along.
I've only played Lufia 2 when I was 8 years old. It was my third video game ever and the feeling of playing it is something I'm still chasing. It included a game guide to help solve the puzzles and as an 8 year old I really needed it at times. This game became my golden standard for RPG's, but hardly anyone I know in the Netherlands is familiar with it. I love you all love it too.
The only Lufia game I played was the first one when it was released. Even though I never played it since then I can still remember the ending of that game hitting me right in the feels.
Lufia (or rather Lufia 2) was a pretty big thing in my home country of the the Netherlands; it was the first game to be completely translated into Dutch. The translation was done by a writer of the Dutch version of Nintendo Power and there was a whole article about it around the time the game was available. It was sold with a strategy guide which I still have with the original cartridge and is falling apart from use. Was a pretty decent translation as well, as these things were very limited by hardware and memory size back then.
Lufia 2 is in my top 3 of best RPGs of all time. It had an excellent story and soundtrack. Great side content (ancient cave), and great combat. I would love to see a remaster of Lufia 1 and 2 on the Nintendo Switch.
Lufia 2 was for sure the better of the games. I still remember my parents giving me a last rental and lufia was on offer before school started. I made it pretty far in at the time. i made it to some tower after playing it non stop.
Funny how you overlooked Lufia 2's infamy of numerous glitches to the point that some fans have nicknamed it Glitchia 2. This not only included a glitchy menu (sound options), but even 2 maps were glitched, one mandatory map (Submarine Shrine where the Dual Blade is & where you meet the final boss Daos for the first time), as well as the bottom of the Ancient Cave. Then there was the HP overflow glitch that was overlooked that allowed you to 1 shot the game's superboss the Egg Dragon, because his HP was set at the maximum hex value of FFFF (65535). Just throw a potion at him & hit him, dead! Lufia 2 is by far my favorite RPG of all time because of the map encounters & dungeon tools that were clearly inspired by The Legend of Zelda (Hookshot), as well as the Ancient Cave, the pioneer of what we now refer to as Roguelikes. As someone who uses RPG Maker, one of my first projects was to recreate the Ancient Cave from Lufia 2 but handle it the same way Lufia The Legend Returns handled it, with varying themes that change after so many floors & having it extended past 100 floors. Glad to know this underrated series will never be forgotten. There's even been a few members of the RPG Maker community that have tried their hand at making Lufia fan games.
Oh the Dualblade Shrine glitch is an NTSC version only problem. The PAL release doesn't have that. And HP overflow exploits.. yeah it can be an issue.. or as the true remark of an exploit, it can be very advantageous like how it was for FF7, SD3 and other RPGs.
Lufia 2 is the best, and the DS remake is quite the underrated gem. Not many people know this, but the DS game has a really neat NG+ feature that alters the perspective and eventually story in radical and significant ways. It's also not a bad battle system, either, with the biggest downside being it's imbalanced difficulty and unrealized potential use of the party based puzzles, which makes it feel incomplete. It's been over a decade, and Lufia nostalgia has died down, so I urge folk who can get their hands on it to give it an earnest shot sometime.
I'm gonna agree it's totally underrated. Hell it even did a few things better then the og lufia 2. For example how it handled Iris. In the snes version shes just this random girl who appears a few times during the story. In the ds remake while unplayable she joins the party, she's with you throughout the journey and even shields a child from an attack. You become attached and the twist becomes more impactful. Alot of people give the game slack cause its different. And they let thier nostalgia blind them to the good stuff cause we've been pounded with the opinion different=bad (not just in games) I love lufia 2 alot, hell its the rpg that got me into the genre. But that doesn't mean i can't see what the remake could also bring to the table.
When I was 7 in the mid 90's my neighbor was having a yard sale and they had Lufia 1 don't remember how much but I picked it up and it was the first RPG I ever played. For a child with nothing but time i played that game into the ground and still love it to this day. Sadly, I wasn't able to appreciate the dialogue during that time which in my opinion was the best in the series.
Lufia 2... the only game I cry only by thinking about it 😢 such wonderful memories and still play it about 1 time every 2 years or so... Favorite game on the SNES and might be a better RPG than FF6, Chrono Trigger or even Mario RPG (4 best SNES RPGs IMO)
Thank you, Xygor, as it was more like a full perspective of the franchise rather than just the retro part. Lufia and Lufia 2 were among my favourite RPGs of all time, specially L2 for all the reasons you mentioned. I was a bit sadden that the portable sequels could not make justice to all the innovations Lufia2 was known for, but knowing that Neverland kept trying and that some devs moved to Marvelous! (Rune Factory) could mean that someday the Sinistrals could rise again... ✌🏼
Lufia 2 is my favorite game of all time, but Lufia & The Fortress of Doom has an incredible story, music, and beautiful presentation. I also loved The Legend Returns.
I remember I rented Fortress of Doom for the weekend, when I couldn't finish it, my mom allowed me to skip school on Monday so I could do it. To my surprise, there was a completion meter, almost went nuts. Those were the days.
I can't even guess how many hours I spent in the random dungeon in Lufia 2 growing up. I treated that thing like it's own game and would rush to that in a playthrough and then only work on it. Not the rest of the game.
It was the OG roguelike game. It also had a "permanent progression" system where it rewarded you with items you can take out and bring into the cave freely, if you happen to come across them during a playthrough. Truly phenomenal game design well ahead of its time.
Really enjoyed watching your take on this INCREDIBLE franchise. I keep holding out hope for a continuation of the charm and quality that made Lufia II so epic. I kinda wish videos like this would feature Energy Breaker as it shares at least in part worlds with Lufia, though not a canon part of the franchise. I definitely see more lufia charm in it than in the Ruins of Lore. Thanks for a great video!
I bought Lufia 2 with my birthday money back in the day and must've played it 15 times over. It's great and still holds up really well. It has that optimism that came from those old school adventure games without a hint of irony. That's something that is sorely missed now, as stories try to sound deep, but in actuality are as shallow as an Alabama pothole. (I can't begin to describe how much I hate those video game world isekai horse crap shows being shat out of the manga foundries these days...)
Man, I LOVE the art style of Lufia 1 and 2. They are so much smoother looking than other games. The colors pop. All in all they're incredible looking to me for an SNES game.
Ancient Cave: one of the first and one of the greatest roguelite experiences. Only RPGs I played on SNES are FF4 FF6 and Lufia 2. Lufia 2 and its remake are the only Lufias I cared to play. And they were great!
I don't care what anybody says about Curse of the Sinistrals, I loved that game. I played it once in Japanese when it was brand new, then once more in English after it got localized. The action combat is hit or miss, but I greatly enjoyed the reimagining of what's basically the same story, without the heavy filler that Lufia 2 had. I still like 2 more, mind you, but I liked the DS remake for its fresh take on the same story beats. The music was on point, and the puzzles were solid (especially the ones involving Artea later). Heck, just talking about it makes me want to replay it. But hey, that's just me. I know I'm in the minority here.
I played this game when it came out! I remember enjoying the story a lot, and that super deep dungeon that you took an elevator down, not like un Lufia 2. I really enjoyed it, and remember what happens near the end. It was worth it. I remember trying Lufia 2, but didn't have enough money to keep renting it lol, and also it felt too easy. Thanks for reminding me about it!
I was so stoked when i saw Lufia 2 come out after having played the first one. The opening for the first one was already a unique and well done idea. But to then play 2 and basicslly know the ending was really neat. I love the serirs and really want it back.
@Xygor I've been feeling that way about Breath of Fire forever too. Give it a AA budget amd have them keep it in a less expensive style. SNES and PS1 styled indies do well for a reason.
Was actually just saying the other day that I hope they bring Lufia 2 to the online switch membership. Love that game. I've played through it so many times, it is a fairly linear game, but it really does have replay value. It's a very satisfying game, Especially if you did play Lufia 1 first, as you know how it ends, but Seeing the journey is great. The characters, the music, the magic system, everything was stepped up from the base game, and personally for me, its one of my favorite games of all time.
Since you asked about the JP mobile games, here is what I found: First of all, there were 3. Not just DX. Estpolis Denki [Ancient Cave]: Released 9/1/2003 Estpolis Denki [Light]: Released 10/15/2003 Estpolis Denki [DX]: Released 7/8/2004 Basically the first one [Ancient Cave] was a completely insignificant game that focused on the player trying to get through the Ancient Cave from Estpolis II. The latter two were basically the same game but had graphical and BGM differences (I won't say "improved" because idk.. might have been worse) and had new/different items to collect. [Light] is said to have been well.. the "light" version and [DX] was the "Deluxe" version. What precisely made them light and deluxe in comparison to the original, I have no idea but I know we didn't miss much. No story here. Just a low-effort mindless roguelike. Also these were flip-phone apps so not the greatest experience. I can share my source but idk what kind of auto-moderating you have set on your channel and I don't want to risk having my comment removed by having a link in it. Let me know if you want the link.
Fun fact: if you leave your SNES switched on for more than 99 hours in the cave, it resets. Happened to me on my attempt to reach floor 99 over several days.
Great video! Lufia II is definitely my favorite, although I do enjoy the GB Color game and Lufia I. One thing that you forgot to mention was the Dragon Eggs which could be hunted. 🤠
I'm probably one of the only people who likes the original Lufia the most. Part 2 was amazing but I feel like the combat was far more tactical in part 1. The random encounters were brutal but I like the sprites more. Not to mention the huge nostalgia factor; after all it was the first RPG I ever played.
I remember renting the original Lufia from Blockbuster and playing it as a kid. I really only remember two things from that game: the music was awesome, and there was a lightning bolt effect in combat that looked cool as heck. All that said, I don't know if I can forgive Neverland for crapping on the legacy of Shining Force by turning the series into a bunch of generic hack and slash ARPGs.
What I remember the most of the first Lufia is that the cartridge I played had a faulty battery, and the saved game was erased if I removed the cart from the SNES. I remember arguing with my brother about him wanting to play something and me telling him not to take the cart out because I would lose my progress.
I remember making up my mind to figure out the M monsters. Save. Start with Foomy, feed it my entire inventory. Nothing. Flare. Feed it my entire inventory. Nothing. Repeat until by chance a lv 3 monster got its reverse fruit and evolved! Hours of this haha. But i figured it out myself.
Love Lufia series! I remember I got so excited for the GBA version to come out, then Let down as it was nothing to do with Lufia 1 and 2...I was unaware of the GBC version at first though, At least that picks it up somewhat. Just wish they made a HD2.5 of Lufia 1 and 2, sell it as a collection....60 bucks, hands down people would eat it.
I love that in lufia we experience the final battle against the sinistrals, and in lufia 2 we build up to it the entire time. Knowing how it ends also makes it more tragic in my eyes. I also adore the dungeon puzzles. Though many years later, golden sun did that concept much better.
I guess... but high probability they would just "modernize" (i.e. blur and stretch) the graphics and call it a day. For me to actually spend money again, they would need to unify both games with the same UI, re-draw the pixel art assets for a 1080p output (not up-scaling... anything but up-scaling...), and they would need to add more to the existing story. Who even owns the rights at this point? Probably varies region to region so kind of a nightmare for one company to try and make this happen.
Thanks for the great Lufia review video. I only played the first 2 games and loved it. One of the best games in the SNES. Very unfortunate that the original publishers of the Lufia games went out of business and the games that came out afterward don't seem that interesting. Hopefully in the future there would be a better game.
@@Xygor i guess it's because it's the first one that I played. While everybody else expected it to be similar to to 1 and 2 I was expecting 1 and 2 to be similar to it.
I have made many remixes of the themes from Lufia II however I may made some that I thought was in Lufia II but realised they were actually from the fortress of doom like holy victim and priphea flowers but I'd say the most highly viewed and most successful orchestra remix of Lufia II has got to be The Savior Of Those On Earth that one has gotten a lot of amazing feedback and I am honoured and proud to know that I have given such amazing music from that game some much needed and overdue love and care and brought it back into the light and have gained a lot of love and respect from many of the fans of the game who loved the music from the original and was captivated and moved with such tears of joy of hearing their most beloved and favourite themes remixed but also kept within its original structure to almost heavenly grandure I know I'm overselling this but I assure you when you hear all the remixes I made of Lufia II you will possibly come to agree x
Lufia was my first RPG outside of the Final Fantasy series. Between these two games and the Lunar series are my most missed RPG in this era of remakes and emulation.
Think you were a bit too harsh on Curse of the Sinistrals. Really good dialogue, great reimagining of the OST, super fun dungeon designs, character designs were great as well. I was sad it wasn't a turned based RPG anymore, but halfway through the game I realised I couldn't put it down - everything about the game was super fun. I wish Square Enix had put more money into it to make it a proper AAA DS RPG, but it was still a great game and an amazing homage to the original, and the series as a whole. And I say this all with Rise of the Sinistrals being the first videogame I ever properly played, and my favourite game of all time.
Lots, most of all the music though. A few years ago I picked up the soundtrack for the first 3 games, and that brought back a lot of memories. I also really liked the capsule system in L2, how satisfying it was to finally get them to evolve into their final forms.
Lufia 1 and 2, incredible games. Some of the most excellent stories to play through. While I'm sad that it is basically a dead franchise, let's face it. The Story of Lufia 1-2 is a complete whole story that feels pretty good. And in a day and age where people absolutely milk franchises for all their worth and eventually scrap the bottom of the barrel for interesting stories, its great to have a solid beginning, middle, and conclusion, and to feel that the characters' arcs were emotionally and satisfyingly resolved. I'm proud to have played them many times.
I had a friend when I was a kid that was really in to the first game. I remember thinking I liked the prologue characters far more than the ones in the first game. However, by the time the sequel came out, I had long since moved on. I tried playing the remake on the DS and it was kinda cool, but it didn't get its hooks in me.
Lufia 2 is amazing. It's not Chrono Trigger or FF6, but it didn't have to be. Also, I was soooo disappointed when I got my hands on the NDS remake. The creators clearly didn't understand the charm and magic of the original. They made a completely different game that provided a completely different (and in every aspect - inferior) experience. It's sad actually... Lufia 2 is one of those games I wish to replay before I die. I last played it in 1999 but I have some really fond memories of it.
i still realy hope they'll remake these in a compliation pack... I'd prefer if they adapted them to play a lot more like 2 overall. but still. It really deserves more. great retrospective boss.
History just keeps repeating itself. Lufia developer tried to go action to attract a wider audience, like FF16 almost, and look at the results. American magazines praise it meanwhile it just doesn’t sell. I remember when that Lufia came out for the DS i was not a happy camper. Felt betrayed lol. DS was a turn based juggernaut and to get that mess of a final game told me the franchise was done.
I haven't played this, but the intro sounds a lot like Tales of Phantasia. 4 heroes defeating a villain called Daos (Dhaos in Tales) followed by a time jump... That cant be a coincidence
You remember paladin's quest?! Awesome! I loved that one right up to Chezni's acquisition of Heart magic. (Or rather, the obnoxious grind that was necessary after that but with only the final boss fight really remaining to finish, of course.) I never really thought about any similarities between that game and the first lufia, though... But since I also loved this one, I suppose it makes sense. (Of course that battle mechanic is every bit as terrible-if not worse-than you described in this vid. The soundtrack of both the first 2 installments is still killer to this day, too!
I've always loved this series. Though it sucks that they peaked with 2 and the entries after that got lesser (I didn't beat Ruins of Lore). I actually own them all physically too, which I am glad about.
Tia wins the jabber award for having more dialog than any other RPG character at the time. I used rage at how often she would interrupt my gameplay with her constant whining.
I play Lufia 2 pretty much at least a year. It should really sit among the Chrono Trigger's and FF VIs of its time. It's definitely the best game in the series. I enjoyed Lufia 1 after playing Rise of the Sinistrals as that kind of "Oh! That's the thing from there!" but it was a game I enjoyed playing much less. Lufia 2 kinda pulled it all together.
What I remember, is that Lufia 2 was and still is a solid 16-bit RPG. The first one was a bit plain and basic. Could never stick with it. Then, I loved the GBC game. The roguelike feel of the dungeons and the party grid system were fantastic, I thought. I didn't care for the GBA game, and actually despise the DS game. So, I'd say the second and third games are the most fun to play, with Lufia 2 being probably the best, deepest, and most well-rounded of all. That one is, as you say, a top ten RPG for the time.
I absolutely loved Lufia II... but the only other one I beat, Ruins of Lore on the GBA felt like a SLOG... The dungeons were SOOOO long that I'd often forget what I did and where I was going just picking up for the next play session. I also found that the final boss took FOREVER to beat. like if I remember correct, it took me an hour and a half to beat it. It's one of the few GBA games I actually got rid of I disliked it so much. I remember getting every job, and trying to build the best disc monster too, so it's not like I didn't understand it, I played it in HS when it came out.
Lufia 2 does basically everything right.. The visible monsters with different movement patterns each, the capsule monsters, the Ip stuff, the puzzles and rewards, the ancient cave, the music, fast paced battles, fast movement overall.. Its just such a fun game to play. Wish there were a remaster for the Switch!
Very true, a total package as far as SNES RPGs go. I think it's possible that one will get a remake/remaster some day. So many haven't played it and it's really good.
Yes but the DS remake of Lufia 2 was and still is pure CRAP and the SNES version NEVER actually got ported over to even its Eshop.
Yep, I totally agree!
I agree. I think Lufia2 made such huge improvements in the RPG genre which hardly any new devs learned from since that it feels like the genre went backwards a bit since then. The game deserves way more recognition.
Didn't like how Maxin chose Selan and not Tia.
Playing Lufia 2 as an impressionable kid and multiple times over my life, Tia has earned a place in my Top 5 favourite video game characters. She is just an average shopkeep who follows her heart. As the story progresses and she realizes that she doesn't possess the capabilties the others do, and Selan develops her bond with Maxim - she decides it's all not meant for her and dips. I've always found her arc so fucking fascinating.
I always felt bad for her. The love of her life doesn't feel the same way about her and becomes that legendary hero while she just goes back to her shop because she doesn't have the stuff of a legendary hero. I would have loved to see her becoming a local celebrity or finding a new love interest.
Lufia II...one of the few games that made me cry....that ending...
Yep, pretty darn memorable!
Lufia 2 on the SNES is definitely the best. I most remember the great music, the puzzles and tools, and of course the stellar ancient cave! I spent so many nights as a kid wandering around in there. Thanks for highlighting one of my favorites I feel deserves more attention 😊
Couldn't agree more!
having the ability to instant save/load and cheat for potions and weapons/armor before you start makes it sooo much better...oh and don't forget to turn jellies into gold dragons for super start!!!
It is but the DS remake of Lufia 2 was PURE CRAP and the SNES version never got a Eshop port on the 3DS/Switch at all YET.
@@veghesther3204I know, so sad. I played that DS remake for like 10 minutes
As for the other Lufia games they never left their respective systems so Fortress of doom SNES and the Game Boy Color and GBA only games never got put on the 3DS E shop/Switch either.
What do you remember most about the Lufia games? And which one was the best in the series?
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Definitely The music from the first game. The overworld theme is almost as good as the Final Fantasy four overworld theme. Bittersweet epic fantasy. The prologue of peril in the opening with the narrator and of course the actual fortress of doom theme is one of the top 10 tracks on the entire super Nintendo
The music overall was amazing(every games that is), I'm glad I kept all my games and their box from back then!
The Legend Returns legitimately blew me away for a gbc game.
It was the first game I played in the series
I have to admit it's a darn good GBC game!
@@Xygor
At the time the only RPGs I had played were Pokémon and Dragon Quest and Lufia was quite a bit beyond them in terms of gameplay inside and outside of battles, story and just the sheer number of characters in the game.
The idea that you could have 9 characters in a battle was absolutely amazing to me and then when Seena turns on you after I had made her into an absolute monster, that was unbelievable and terrifying to me.
The graphics were very eye friendly. So much color and brightness. It was quite amazing for its time on the SNES.
I think so too!
Lufia II is the hidden gem of hidden gens. One of the few games I think stands toe to toe with FF6 and ChronoTrigger
Lufia 2 first rpg I ever played, great game. 2nd RPG was FF8, graphics blew me away back then, love them back then. Plot, character Dev., and game play use to be important
Today its just "The graphics are amazing" and "the graphics are beautiful" and "the graphics are stunning" and "the graphics are cool" and "the graphics are epic" and "the graphics awesome" and "wheres the cash shop?" lol Good video, nostalgia.
I'll always have a special place in my heart for Lufia & The Fortress of Doom. Back when it came out in 91 or 92, I was in middle school and couldn't afford many games. I rented Lufia from the video store every weekend for several months straight. They only had one copy, so my save file was always on there. I played the game for what seemed like forever, but never knew how far into it I was. When I eventually bought the game several years later, I learned I was practically right at the end of the game all along.
I've only played Lufia 2 when I was 8 years old. It was my third video game ever and the feeling of playing it is something I'm still chasing.
It included a game guide to help solve the puzzles and as an 8 year old I really needed it at times.
This game became my golden standard for RPG's, but hardly anyone I know in the Netherlands is familiar with it. I love you all love it too.
The only Lufia game I played was the first one when it was released. Even though I never played it since then I can still remember the ending of that game hitting me right in the feels.
Check out #2, I think you'll really like it!
Lufia (or rather Lufia 2) was a pretty big thing in my home country of the the Netherlands; it was the first game to be completely translated into Dutch. The translation was done by a writer of the Dutch version of Nintendo Power and there was a whole article about it around the time the game was available. It was sold with a strategy guide which I still have with the original cartridge and is falling apart from use. Was a pretty decent translation as well, as these things were very limited by hardware and memory size back then.
Lufia 2 is in my top 3 of best RPGs of all time. It had an excellent story and soundtrack. Great side content (ancient cave), and great combat. I would love to see a remaster of Lufia 1 and 2 on the Nintendo Switch.
A really good series, Lufia on GBC was def my favorite
Interesting, not a lot of people probably think that!
Lufia 2 was for sure the better of the games. I still remember my parents giving me a last rental and lufia was on offer before school started. I made it pretty far in at the time. i made it to some tower after playing it non stop.
For sure, 2 is fantastic.
Funny how you overlooked Lufia 2's infamy of numerous glitches to the point that some fans have nicknamed it Glitchia 2. This not only included a glitchy menu (sound options), but even 2 maps were glitched, one mandatory map (Submarine Shrine where the Dual Blade is & where you meet the final boss Daos for the first time), as well as the bottom of the Ancient Cave. Then there was the HP overflow glitch that was overlooked that allowed you to 1 shot the game's superboss the Egg Dragon, because his HP was set at the maximum hex value of FFFF (65535). Just throw a potion at him & hit him, dead!
Lufia 2 is by far my favorite RPG of all time because of the map encounters & dungeon tools that were clearly inspired by The Legend of Zelda (Hookshot), as well as the Ancient Cave, the pioneer of what we now refer to as Roguelikes. As someone who uses RPG Maker, one of my first projects was to recreate the Ancient Cave from Lufia 2 but handle it the same way Lufia The Legend Returns handled it, with varying themes that change after so many floors & having it extended past 100 floors.
Glad to know this underrated series will never be forgotten. There's even been a few members of the RPG Maker community that have tried their hand at making Lufia fan games.
Oh the Dualblade Shrine glitch is an NTSC version only problem. The PAL release doesn't have that. And HP overflow exploits.. yeah it can be an issue.. or as the true remark of an exploit, it can be very advantageous like how it was for FF7, SD3 and other RPGs.
Lufia 2's town theme is one of my favorite tracks from the SNES era. Thanks for the fantastic video as always!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Lufia 2 is the best, and the DS remake is quite the underrated gem. Not many people know this, but the DS game has a really neat NG+ feature that alters the perspective and eventually story in radical and significant ways. It's also not a bad battle system, either, with the biggest downside being it's imbalanced difficulty and unrealized potential use of the party based puzzles, which makes it feel incomplete.
It's been over a decade, and Lufia nostalgia has died down, so I urge folk who can get their hands on it to give it an earnest shot sometime.
I'm glad you like the DS version a lot more than me, because I thought it sucked.
I'm gonna agree it's totally underrated. Hell it even did a few things better then the og lufia 2. For example how it handled Iris. In the snes version shes just this random girl who appears a few times during the story. In the ds remake while unplayable she joins the party, she's with you throughout the journey and even shields a child from an attack. You become attached and the twist becomes more impactful.
Alot of people give the game slack cause its different. And they let thier nostalgia blind them to the good stuff cause we've been pounded with the opinion different=bad (not just in games)
I love lufia 2 alot, hell its the rpg that got me into the genre.
But that doesn't mean i can't see what the remake could also bring to the table.
Oh my Dekar in Lufia2.... *Let me SOLO them Gods!!*
GREAT Review about a nearly forgoten Gaming Series, had to subscribe
Thanks much, glad you liked it! You would probably like a lot of my other videos!
I adore Lufia. keep playing it. returning to it. have it on handhelds. never go anywhere without it. Lufia forever.
You sound like a big fan!
When I was 7 in the mid 90's my neighbor was having a yard sale and they had Lufia 1 don't remember how much but I picked it up and it was the first RPG I ever played. For a child with nothing but time i played that game into the ground and still love it to this day. Sadly, I wasn't able to appreciate the dialogue during that time which in my opinion was the best in the series.
Lufia 2... the only game I cry only by thinking about it 😢 such wonderful memories and still play it about 1 time every 2 years or so... Favorite game on the SNES and might be a better RPG than FF6, Chrono Trigger or even Mario RPG (4 best SNES RPGs IMO)
Thank you, Xygor, as it was more like a full perspective of the franchise rather than just the retro part. Lufia and Lufia 2 were among my favourite RPGs of all time, specially L2 for all the reasons you mentioned. I was a bit sadden that the portable sequels could not make justice to all the innovations Lufia2 was known for, but knowing that Neverland kept trying and that some devs moved to Marvelous! (Rune Factory) could mean that someday the Sinistrals could rise again... ✌🏼
Well said! Maybe this series will be revived some day and be more like Lufia 2. Let's hope!
Lufia 2 is my favorite game of all time, but Lufia & The Fortress of Doom has an incredible story, music, and beautiful presentation. I also loved The Legend Returns.
my favorite memory of the lufia games was when i got mom to solve the puzzles for me in lufia 2 as a kid, definitely great nostalgia to me
I remember I rented Fortress of Doom for the weekend, when I couldn't finish it, my mom allowed me to skip school on Monday so I could do it. To my surprise, there was a completion meter, almost went nuts. Those were the days.
Man that’s awesome
I can't even guess how many hours I spent in the random dungeon in Lufia 2 growing up. I treated that thing like it's own game and would rush to that in a playthrough and then only work on it. Not the rest of the game.
Such great memories!
It was the OG roguelike game. It also had a "permanent progression" system where it rewarded you with items you can take out and bring into the cave freely, if you happen to come across them during a playthrough. Truly phenomenal game design well ahead of its time.
Lufia 2 has amazing gameplay, but the first one has the best story. Lufia 1 is the only rpg that got me to cry.
Really enjoyed watching your take on this INCREDIBLE franchise. I keep holding out hope for a continuation of the charm and quality that made Lufia II so epic. I kinda wish videos like this would feature Energy Breaker as it shares at least in part worlds with Lufia, though not a canon part of the franchise. I definitely see more lufia charm in it than in the Ruins of Lore. Thanks for a great video!
I bought Lufia 2 with my birthday money back in the day and must've played it 15 times over. It's great and still holds up really well. It has that optimism that came from those old school adventure games without a hint of irony. That's something that is sorely missed now, as stories try to sound deep, but in actuality are as shallow as an Alabama pothole. (I can't begin to describe how much I hate those video game world isekai horse crap shows being shat out of the manga foundries these days...)
"I haven't saw you in a long time"
Thanks for the video
Welcome back!
Lufia 2 snes was my childhood, and holy hell was it fun.
Lufia II was the first real rpg I completed as a kid. Thanks for tickling my nostalgia nerve.
Feels like an series that'd randomly make a big return one day on major console to respark a following
Man, I LOVE the art style of Lufia 1 and 2. They are so much smoother looking than other games. The colors pop. All in all they're incredible looking to me for an SNES game.
Sorry I can't watch live - love your content!
Thank you! No worries, just check it out later!
Ancient Cave: one of the first and one of the greatest roguelite experiences.
Only RPGs I played on SNES are FF4 FF6 and Lufia 2.
Lufia 2 and its remake are the only Lufias I cared to play. And they were great!
Lufia 2: the game that starts with the village elder inviting you to his secret dungeon.
Lufia 1's music is so nostalgic for me. I love this game.
Isn’t it great?
I don't care what anybody says about Curse of the Sinistrals, I loved that game. I played it once in Japanese when it was brand new, then once more in English after it got localized. The action combat is hit or miss, but I greatly enjoyed the reimagining of what's basically the same story, without the heavy filler that Lufia 2 had. I still like 2 more, mind you, but I liked the DS remake for its fresh take on the same story beats. The music was on point, and the puzzles were solid (especially the ones involving Artea later). Heck, just talking about it makes me want to replay it.
But hey, that's just me. I know I'm in the minority here.
I loved it too
Lufia 2 is my favorite JRPG for SNES right under Chrono Trigger
I can see why!
I played this game when it came out! I remember enjoying the story a lot, and that super deep dungeon that you took an elevator down, not like un Lufia 2. I really enjoyed it, and remember what happens near the end. It was worth it. I remember trying Lufia 2, but didn't have enough money to keep renting it lol, and also it felt too easy.
Thanks for reminding me about it!
Great look back on a mostly overlooked series.
Glad you enjoyed it
I was so stoked when i saw Lufia 2 come out after having played the first one. The opening for the first one was already a unique and well done idea. But to then play 2 and basicslly know the ending was really neat. I love the serirs and really want it back.
I think there’s a pretty good chance they’ll remake it because it’s good and so many people haven’t played it.
@Xygor I've been feeling that way about Breath of Fire forever too. Give it a AA budget amd have them keep it in a less expensive style. SNES and PS1 styled indies do well for a reason.
My favorite one is definitely the legend returns for it's amazing SF system and combat. I wish there was another game like it.
Was actually just saying the other day that I hope they bring Lufia 2 to the online switch membership. Love that game. I've played through it so many times, it is a fairly linear game, but it really does have replay value. It's a very satisfying game, Especially if you did play Lufia 1 first, as you know how it ends, but Seeing the journey is great. The characters, the music, the magic system, everything was stepped up from the base game, and personally for me, its one of my favorite games of all time.
Since you asked about the JP mobile games, here is what I found:
First of all, there were 3. Not just DX.
Estpolis Denki [Ancient Cave]: Released 9/1/2003
Estpolis Denki [Light]: Released 10/15/2003
Estpolis Denki [DX]: Released 7/8/2004
Basically the first one [Ancient Cave] was a completely insignificant game that focused on the player trying to get through the Ancient Cave from Estpolis II.
The latter two were basically the same game but had graphical and BGM differences (I won't say "improved" because idk.. might have been worse) and had new/different items to collect. [Light] is said to have been well.. the "light" version and [DX] was the "Deluxe" version.
What precisely made them light and deluxe in comparison to the original, I have no idea but I know we didn't miss much. No story here. Just a low-effort mindless roguelike. Also these were flip-phone apps so not the greatest experience.
I can share my source but idk what kind of auto-moderating you have set on your channel and I don't want to risk having my comment removed by having a link in it. Let me know if you want the link.
Lufia II made me cry
Sounds like it had a pretty big impact!
Fun fact: if you leave your SNES switched on for more than 99 hours in the cave, it resets. Happened to me on my attempt to reach floor 99 over several days.
Weird...I doubt many people would have learned that! Haha
Great video! Lufia II is definitely my favorite, although I do enjoy the GB Color game and Lufia I.
One thing that you forgot to mention was the Dragon Eggs which could be hunted. 🤠
Thanks for the tips!
I'm probably one of the only people who likes the original Lufia the most. Part 2 was amazing but I feel like the combat was far more tactical in part 1. The random encounters were brutal but I like the sprites more. Not to mention the huge nostalgia factor; after all it was the first RPG I ever played.
I remember renting the original Lufia from Blockbuster and playing it as a kid. I really only remember two things from that game: the music was awesome, and there was a lightning bolt effect in combat that looked cool as heck.
All that said, I don't know if I can forgive Neverland for crapping on the legacy of Shining Force by turning the series into a bunch of generic hack and slash ARPGs.
What I remember the most of the first Lufia is that the cartridge I played had a faulty battery, and the saved game was erased if I removed the cart from the SNES. I remember arguing with my brother about him wanting to play something and me telling him not to take the cart out because I would lose my progress.
I remember making up my mind to figure out the M monsters. Save. Start with Foomy, feed it my entire inventory. Nothing. Flare. Feed it my entire inventory. Nothing. Repeat until by chance a lv 3 monster got its reverse fruit and evolved! Hours of this haha. But i figured it out myself.
Love Lufia series! I remember I got so excited for the GBA version to come out, then Let down as it was nothing to do with Lufia 1 and 2...I was unaware of the GBC version at first though, At least that picks it up somewhat. Just wish they made a HD2.5 of Lufia 1 and 2, sell it as a collection....60 bucks, hands down people would eat it.
I agree, and since both of those haven't been played by a lot of people discovering retro RPGs now, I think it's totally possible.
Fitting as I'm playing Lufia 2 now on my MM+ and its great. They dont make them like they used to, thats for sure.
Well said!
I love that in lufia we experience the final battle against the sinistrals, and in lufia 2 we build up to it the entire time.
Knowing how it ends also makes it more tragic in my eyes.
I also adore the dungeon puzzles.
Though many years later, golden sun did that concept much better.
To this day I'm still salty that Lufia: Ruins Chaser got axed. The artwork and concept sounded so good!
I would love to see a Lufia collection for consoles
Maybe someday! Square Enix owns the rights now and they've shown they are willing to do RPG remakes. So it's possible!
I guess... but high probability they would just "modernize" (i.e. blur and stretch) the graphics and call it a day.
For me to actually spend money again, they would need to unify both games with the same UI, re-draw the pixel art assets for a 1080p output (not up-scaling... anything but up-scaling...), and they would need to add more to the existing story.
Who even owns the rights at this point? Probably varies region to region so kind of a nightmare for one company to try and make this happen.
wait this series is way more of a franchise than i ever realized. i thought there was only lufia 1 and 2 ngl lmao
Glad I could provide some Lufia education or something like that! See you on the next FF6 run sir.
Thanks for the great Lufia review video. I only played the first 2 games and loved it. One of the best games in the SNES. Very unfortunate that the original publishers of the Lufia games went out of business and the games that came out afterward don't seem that interesting. Hopefully in the future there would be a better game.
Ruins of Lore is actually my favorite.
You may be one of the only ones, but it's pretty good!
@@Xygor i guess it's because it's the first one that I played. While everybody else expected it to be similar to to 1 and 2 I was expecting 1 and 2 to be similar to it.
2 of my favorites games i wish they were ported to the switch
That would be sweet!
Ahhh .. Such fond memories of the first two games!
Right on! That was a golden age of RPGing.
@@Xygor agreed 110%!
I honestly love Curse of The Sinistrals but action RPGs are my bread and butter now.
I have made many remixes of the themes from Lufia II however I may made some that I thought was in Lufia II but realised they were actually from the fortress of doom like holy victim and priphea flowers but I'd say the most highly viewed and most successful orchestra remix of Lufia II has got to be The Savior Of Those On Earth that one has gotten a lot of amazing feedback and I am honoured and proud to know that I have given such amazing music from that game some much needed and overdue love and care and brought it back into the light and have gained a lot of love and respect from many of the fans of the game who loved the music from the original and was captivated and moved with such tears of joy of hearing their most beloved and favourite themes remixed but also kept within its original structure to almost heavenly grandure I know I'm overselling this but I assure you when you hear all the remixes I made of Lufia II you will possibly come to agree x
Lufia was my first RPG outside of the Final Fantasy series. Between these two games and the Lunar series are my most missed RPG in this era of remakes and emulation.
Awsome video and thanks you for your Passion.
I been feeling a Lufia 2 long play for a min now
Thank you! And that’s a great choice.
Think you were a bit too harsh on Curse of the Sinistrals. Really good dialogue, great reimagining of the OST, super fun dungeon designs, character designs were great as well. I was sad it wasn't a turned based RPG anymore, but halfway through the game I realised I couldn't put it down - everything about the game was super fun. I wish Square Enix had put more money into it to make it a proper AAA DS RPG, but it was still a great game and an amazing homage to the original, and the series as a whole. And I say this all with Rise of the Sinistrals being the first videogame I ever properly played, and my favourite game of all time.
I only played 1 and 2. I will take your word for it and say 2 is the best and i still listen to some tracks.
Lots, most of all the music though. A few years ago I picked up the soundtrack for the first 3 games, and that brought back a lot of memories. I also really liked the capsule system in L2, how satisfying it was to finally get them to evolve into their final forms.
Lufia 1 and 2, incredible games. Some of the most excellent stories to play through. While I'm sad that it is basically a dead franchise, let's face it. The Story of Lufia 1-2 is a complete whole story that feels pretty good. And in a day and age where people absolutely milk franchises for all their worth and eventually scrap the bottom of the barrel for interesting stories, its great to have a solid beginning, middle, and conclusion, and to feel that the characters' arcs were emotionally and satisfyingly resolved. I'm proud to have played them many times.
I had a friend when I was a kid that was really in to the first game. I remember thinking I liked the prologue characters far more than the ones in the first game. However, by the time the sequel came out, I had long since moved on. I tried playing the remake on the DS and it was kinda cool, but it didn't get its hooks in me.
Lufia 2 is amazing. It's not Chrono Trigger or FF6, but it didn't have to be. Also, I was soooo disappointed when I got my hands on the NDS remake. The creators clearly didn't understand the charm and magic of the original. They made a completely different game that provided a completely different (and in every aspect - inferior) experience. It's sad actually... Lufia 2 is one of those games I wish to replay before I die. I last played it in 1999 but I have some really fond memories of it.
We definitely played through these but I don't have much of a memory of them. I do remember they were fun though!
Certainly were!
Def glad you highlighted e soundtrack
It would be nice if we’d see a collection of these games on modern hardware
Agreed!
And currently, Square Enix has the series in it's hands.
i still realy hope they'll remake these in a compliation pack... I'd prefer if they adapted them to play a lot more like 2 overall. but still. It really deserves more.
great retrospective boss.
Hopefully one day we get a full on remaster of lufia 1&2 one day, the rest just need to be erased from the history books
History just keeps repeating itself. Lufia developer tried to go action to attract a wider audience, like FF16 almost, and look at the results. American magazines praise it meanwhile it just doesn’t sell. I remember when that Lufia came out for the DS i was not a happy camper. Felt betrayed lol. DS was a turn based juggernaut and to get that mess of a final game told me the franchise was done.
Totally - the DS version could have been so much better, if only they didn't try to reinvent the wheel.
10:50 best theme, also, curse of the sinistrals may suck, but dammit if it didn't completely nail the soundtrack.
It's pretty good!
I haven't played this, but the intro sounds a lot like Tales of Phantasia.
4 heroes defeating a villain called Daos (Dhaos in Tales) followed by a time jump... That cant be a coincidence
As much as I love all the updates of lufia 2. I suck at/hate puzzles so much I choose the first as my favorite
The Lufia and Breath of Fire series need to come back.
You remember paladin's quest?! Awesome! I loved that one right up to Chezni's acquisition of Heart magic. (Or rather, the obnoxious grind that was necessary after that but with only the final boss fight really remaining to finish, of course.)
I never really thought about any similarities between that game and the first lufia, though... But since I also loved this one, I suppose it makes sense. (Of course that battle mechanic is every bit as terrible-if not worse-than you described in this vid.
The soundtrack of both the first 2 installments is still killer to this day, too!
I love Lufia II so much 😃
Best one for sure!
The two SNES Lufia games and the GBC one should get an HD-2D remake. The Lufia games are owned by Square Enix. I never played them myself.
I've always loved this series. Though it sucks that they peaked with 2 and the entries after that got lesser (I didn't beat Ruins of Lore). I actually own them all physically too, which I am glad about.
I still have my original Lufia cartridge which came with a strategy guide (in germany at least) and i have that too. Great game.
Excellent, didn't know about that!
I played the 1st one for super Nintendo n the 2nd one two loved the 1st one but never beat the second!
II is even better!
Tia wins the jabber award for having more dialog than any other RPG character at the time. I used rage at how often she would interrupt my gameplay with her constant whining.
Nice!
Thank you! Cheers!
I play Lufia 2 pretty much at least a year.
It should really sit among the Chrono Trigger's and FF VIs of its time.
It's definitely the best game in the series. I enjoyed Lufia 1 after playing Rise of the Sinistrals as that kind of "Oh! That's the thing from there!" but it was a game I enjoyed playing much less.
Lufia 2 kinda pulled it all together.
Lufa 2 was the only game of the Lufia SNES games to come out in Germany AND it was with german text which was kinda unique
I didn’t realize that!
@@Xygor it was also pretty expensive since it got a walkthrough book included.(same with secret of mana and secret of evermore)
What I remember, is that Lufia 2 was and still is a solid 16-bit RPG. The first one was a bit plain and basic. Could never stick with it. Then, I loved the GBC game. The roguelike feel of the dungeons and the party grid system were fantastic, I thought. I didn't care for the GBA game, and actually despise the DS game. So, I'd say the second and third games are the most fun to play, with Lufia 2 being probably the best, deepest, and most well-rounded of all. That one is, as you say, a top ten RPG for the time.
Good review, but I'm surprised Energy Breaker didn't come up
Great video have you considered covering Arc the Lad. The older games I think are worth the playthrough.
Hello, thank you! Yes, I will cover the Arc the Lad games in the future.
I absolutely loved Lufia II... but the only other one I beat, Ruins of Lore on the GBA felt like a SLOG... The dungeons were SOOOO long that I'd often forget what I did and where I was going just picking up for the next play session.
I also found that the final boss took FOREVER to beat. like if I remember correct, it took me an hour and a half to beat it. It's one of the few GBA games I actually got rid of I disliked it so much.
I remember getting every job, and trying to build the best disc monster too, so it's not like I didn't understand it, I played it in HS when it came out.