Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Super Nintendo, 1996)

This game series is odd and i never could figure out why Lufia one is the sequal to lufia two but overall this is a truely excelent game with challenging puzzles a fun battle system and a even better "capsule" monsters which you find along your way and use for a 5th character in battle.
OVERALL A+

All ive got to say is i kept my SNES for the sole purpose of playing this game, because it is just that good. I have no complaints whatsoever.

This is an all around fun game in the classic tradition! You get it all: mazes, a 100 level cave challenge that changes shape everytime you enter, treasure chests galore, special character items to use outside of battle, a colorful cast of heroes and villans, and the list goes on!
Since the time we sold off our SNES system, I couldn't stop thinking about this game! Needless to say the years of video game playing brought me back to my classic favorites. They seldom make modern games as much fun as these gems were in they're day! If you are an avid gamer, swallow your WOW-CGI-GRAPHICS pride and get back into the old school! You will not be sorry you did!

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistals is a timeless RPG that will undoubtedly be enjoyed for many years to come. Although the 2-dimensional top-down graphics may seem primitive compared to modern real-time 3-dimensional graphics, it has a unique and appealing visual style backed up by a superb story line and amazing game play. There are no random encounters in the dungeons, rather the enemies wander around the map either avoiding, chasing, or ignoring you. The monotony of combat is spiced up by the numerous puzzles throughout every single one of the game's dungeons. The dungeons themselves span various environments including caves, dungeons, temples, towers, mountains, and under-water environments.
The game has a unique combat system with the "IP system." Similar to systems such as "limit break" in the final fantasy games, when you take damage your IP bar fills up. Depending on how full it is you can unleash special moves that your items posses, allowing for a richer combat experience. Also, there are "capsule monsters" which fight along with you although you do not control their moves. There are several that you can collect and train, and they evolve depending on what you feed them.
There is one part of the game called the "Ancient Cave" which is almost an entire other game within Lufia II. When you enter the Cave all of your stats are reset and you embark on a journey through a 100 floor randomly created dungeon. This provides for a unique experience every time. There are numerous goals to accomplish, including finding blue treasure chests (whose items you get to keep when you leave the dungeon), finding all the Iris treasures, and ultimately defeating the challenging boss who awaits you on the 100th floor. And this is only one small part of the actual game!
Although the game is a prequel to the original Lufia game, it feels like an entirely new game. Sure, the characters and references are extremely similar, the game play is almost entirely different, along with the graphical style.

Overall, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals is one of my favorite games of all time, and a must play for any RPG fan. What better way to play the game than in the original format it was intended? On the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

This story takes place before the first Lufia. With more monsters and more dungeons, you must battle harder to defeat the sinistrals. The gameplay and whatnot is really the same formula, but the story is of course what keeps you playing. Familiar faces return as you venture together save the world.

Lufia II is right up there with Illusion of Gaia, Final Fantasy III, and Chrono Trigger as the best snes rpg. It has a very Zelda-esque feel to it with the puzzle sections yet it also has an epic story and cool battle systmem. A must buy in my opinion.

Everyone knows about Final Fantasy 2 and 3, Chrono Trigger, and Zelda, but Lufia 2 is hands down the best game on SNES. The graphics are the equal of the rest, the soudntrack amazing and the characters wonderful and endearing. The story is excellent also, and even though it is the second game in a series, it is a prequel and requires no knowledge of the previous game. The game play is heads and shoulders above the otehr games, as it offers tons of variety. You face random battles on the map screen, but you see the mobs before the fight in dungeons(like Chrono). There are tons of puzzles in this game, many of them ridiculously difficult, so you don't always just hack and slash. This game is one of the few must own games on the SNES.

Overall Lufia II is a very good game. Graphics are pretty good as far as SNES standards go. Characters are good and growing capsule monsters is cool. The puzzles are wonderful. This game is like Lufia I with a nice touch of Zelda in it. The only downside to the game is there just isnt as much game there as I would hope for. You could easily spend +50 hours on this game but if you take out the Ancient Cave and Dragon Eggs you are only looking at around 20 hours of game and left thinking "Thats It??".

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals for Super Nintendo is one of my son's favorite games. Since Super Nintendo is an older game system we and couldn't find Lufia II anywhere else, we turned to eBay. The game works flawlessly and my son is very happy with it. eBay is the "go to" source for video games and systems.