First Time Completion: Lufia II- Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES)

US Release: August 31, 1996
First time beaten: June 2012

Back when I was a kid, shopping frequently at a Toys-R-Us, I did a a lot of compulsive gaming purchases. Granted, I still do that now, but I was even more compulsive back than. Anyways, back when Toys-R-Us did that ticket stub thing for available games, I randomly picked up a ticket for Lufia II. It turned out however that it was placed there by accident, and they had no copies of the game. Since it was just something I was interested on a whim, I never got the urge to go get it again.

 I have not heard word about the game until many years later when some online friends start to talk about the greatness of it one day. I gave the game the shot at one point, and playing about halfway or so, I was not all that into it for whatever reason. It's probably because my peers were hyping it immensely, especially with the music, that I expected something more out of it, even if I didn't know what it was. So due to laziness, I eventually stopped progressing. Years later, I felt like wanting to give it another shot. Having played through lots of modern western RPGs, and several other games in different genres, it would be nice to play a good ol' JRPG. This time, I went to play Lufia II with no expectations build, and will go along with what it provides me. Fortunately, I enjoyed it quite more the second time, and got a better understanding of why many liked it.

I still don't find it all that pronominal, but it is fun. The cast certainly have charm to them that I find heavily lacking in a lot of modern JRPGs, and the combat has good pacing. The combat challenge can get way lower due to how easy it is to get super equipment from the side content, but it didn't matter. I can enjoy a game where I take delight on just how badly I can decimate a foe. It's biggest strength has to go to the excellent dungeons. They're puzzle oriented, and are very well implemented. Some are annoying, or a bit out there to figure out, but feels satisfying to overcome them, and made the dungeons feel like, well, real dungeons. Few other games like Wild Arms, implement them well, and was not a feature I liked too much back in the day, but it's an aspect I can get behind now as long as its not too arbitrary. There are still some parts of the game I find overrated, which is mostly the battle music. They're good songs, and sometimes hum to the Sinistral boss theme, but it's not all that amazing. I happen to like Lufia I's (a game I should also beat one day) battle themes overall more.

One last thing to note about the game is the amazing ending. The game got a solid start, but my enjoyment waned a bit when I felt there was a bit too much filler with the excessive dungeons and pointless scenarios between the more interesting bits. Fortunately, it got better towards the end, and it ended on a very high note. The ending is a very bittersweet one, and I cried during it. It's an especially impressive feat since this is not a game I'm nostalgic on.. I did play Lufia I before, so I knew what was going to happen in II, being a prequel and all. It was still powerful and the execution is great. What also got to me is when a certain song is played in the climax. It was only used once, but the timing of it is just perfect, and made the moment used that much more intense. I love it when gaming music used to frequently invoke more emotions into the scenes, and help make some moments greater.

Overall, I had fun with the game. It has its share of dull moments, but the ending alone made the journey worthwhile, and it does deserve the recognition it gets. It does makes me wonder how I would've enjoyed it if I did play it as a kid.