Customer Reviews

Lufia & the Fortress of Doom

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The SNES era was perhaps the golden age for RPG's, next to the PS1 era. It spawned such classics as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV (II) and FF VI, (III) and the famous Mario RPG, for starters. However, this is an RPG that is still unknown. I was actually quite surprised to see only one review for this. So, what is LATFOD?

STORY: The story isn't complicated at all. After being defeated 99 years ago, the god-like Sinstrels are being resurrected, and it's up to The Hero (who has no default name. I just called him Fral.) and his childhood friend, Lufia, to stop them, along with two other characters. It's a straightforward plot, but the plot twist near the end and the ending itself may surprise you.

GRAPHICS: Well, the game was made 15 years ago, so you have to judge it for the time. The sprites are colorful, and the graphics are so, too, but there is a lot of repetition in village/dungeon design.

SOUND/MUSIC: I really didn't notice them, but they're alright. But there are other SNES RPG's with way better sound effects/music.

GAMEPLAY: It's what matters, really. Of course, Lufia is like your typical RPG. It has random battles, a turn-based combat system, spells, and all that good stuff. However, there are some innovations, such as the Old Cave, where you hunt for treasure based upon your level, and Forfeit Island, where every item you sell ends up at. The game has a ton of items, and it's pretty long, with lots of dungeons and whatnot.

However, the game has some flaws that prevents it from getting the full 5 stars. For one thing, the target system really...sucks. When you target more than one of the same type of enemy, the character aims at a random enemy. And if you kill an enemy, and the other players have targeted the same enemy, they won't strike at the next monster, but rather at the space where the slain enemy once stood. Really annoying. And then there is the fact that you don't have much room for items, and with no place to store them, you'll constantly have to get rid of or sell items to get new ones. Then there's the fact that none of the items and spells have a description of what they do, leaving you in the dark about many of the rings and spells. And some of the spells have inappropriate names. For instance the spell that revives your characters is called 'dead.' WTF? Then there's the fact that there's hardly any places to save except for in villages. Which is really not a problem if you're playing it on an emulator. :-)

BUY: It's only twenty dollars so far. A few years ago, I would have said buy away, however, I don't really recommend buying ANY SNES game nowadays, because the aging battery used to save your progress is unreliable. For instance, you could be at the last part of the game, then you turn it off and turn it back on later, only to find out all your hard work has been wiped. Cursing ensues. That said, I recommend you to play this and other SNES games on an emulator. I know some have a problem with that, but it's really hurting no one if you play a game that's been out of print for a long time and doesn't benefit the people who made it if you buy it.

Overall, Lufia is an underrated RPG for the SNES that's worth checking out.

Well I first bought this game at a pawn shop and never heard about this game let alone series before. Well at first the fighting system was alright since if you kill a monster with a character and you have another character already set to attack that monster it just misses and not attack the other monster. Kinda more of strategic attack system. After dealing with that, just an amazing game. The songs are great especially the last song of the game. I still play the game just to hear it. The story line is great as well and will definitely give you plenty of hours of entertainment. I think I had around thirty to fourty hours and the just doing the basic. Just a great game for the snes.

Though this game had a few flaws, it was a fun and exciting RPG with a very odd version of an ATB battle system (more like FF4).

Pros: Lots of exploring dungeons and towers. Difficult early on (though if you don't ever run from a battle, you will be level 99 before you visit the last area). Cool retro RPG style and graphics. Good magic system and setup. Lots of equipment to choose from. Neat little cave where you always start at level 1 with no gear! Good replay value. And at the end they tell you what % of chests and hidden items you found!

Cons: Cheesy music with the exception of boss battle music, annoying that the monsters seem to 'float' around the screen during battle, no icon of notice of enemy status effects (other than they stop 'floating' when hit with sleep).

It seems that maybe the US version had a higher encounter rate or that the enemies started dropping way too much money and experience later on, but the pace was a little off. Other than that, it's a great game!