Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals

The story begins with a god-like entity, calling himself Gades, Sinistral of Destruction, calling down to the people of the world, saying that the apocalypse is coming and all life will soon be extinguished. As this is going on, Maxim, a Monster Hunter with the gift of amazing combat prowess from the earliest of ages, and his Doctor Emmet Brown look-a-like buddy, Professor Lexis, are en route to Gades' location in hopes of defeating him. This quickly kicks the game's story into high gear, and cuts a lot of the unnecessary fat of the original. It automatically gives the story a sense of urgency, and easily draws the player in. The storyline is definitely dated, however, it understands that, and in turn never takes itself too seriously. It constantly has great bits of humor and a lovable cast of character's that make the plain and simple narrative soar to better heights. Speaking of characters, let me jump into the graphics and design. For the DS, the game looks pretty good. The best way to describe it would probably be, "a JRPG from the Playstation 1 era, but a bit better." Lufia also boasts some huge bosses that take up both screens of the DS, and that's epic. Unlike previous Lufia games, this one takes a bold step in a new direction as far as the setting, gone is the plain-old fantasy setting, and in its place is a steam-punk, fantasy hybrid. I was a bit turned off by this in the original preview's, but eventually it grew on me and I learned to love it (and if Neverland intends to make more of these in the future, they better stick with it). On top of a setting redesign, there has also been a redesign on all the original cast. Everyone is back, and looking better than ever. To top it all off, the game shows off some nice hand drawn character artwork during dialogue sccenes, complete with different facial expressions. It all just adds to what is already an awesome package, and really helps sell some of the dialogue in the game, for example, the game's oblivious air-head hero with a heart of gold, also known as Dekar, says something completely stupid... the dialogue art add to what is already completely funny, and makes it so much better in the process, and that's saying something. Now lets jump into the gameplay; gone are the days of slow paced, turn based combat. Lufia: CotS has an all new action-RPG style combat system, complete with special moves, character swapping mid-combo, and different spells. It's a bit simple in the beginning, appearing to be nothing more than an average hack-and-slash affair, but as you add more character's to your party, it becomes so much more. With a simple touch of a character portrait on the touch screen, you instantly swap the party member you're using, which can help create some mesmerizing, and long combo strings. There's a total of 6 playable characters, so the possibilities are seemingly endless. And a Lufia game just wouldn't be a Lufia game without dungeons filled with puzzles, now would it? Never fear, Lufia: CotS has puzzles in spades. Also, never fear of tearing your hair out either, because while the puzzles are thought-provoking, and encourage the use of all your party member's abilities, it never gets overbearing and makes you want to kick your foot through a window. With just a little thought, you can figure out these puzzles and feel rewarded, as opposed to having to read the solution online and then feel like putting on your nearest dunce cap. The puzzles and mini-games are a great way to break up the action, and Lufia never uses the same gimmick twice, so it never gets stale or repetitive. I'd like to say that unfortunately, Lufia: CotS isn't as long as the original, taking only about 14 hours give or take for your first run. I wish the game was longer, simply because of how awesome it is. However, there is a NG+ option with some new dialogue and even a new ending to those who complete the game twice, encouraging at the very least, a second run through the game. However, on your second run you also have full access to the Ancient Cave, which is a special dungeon that drops your level to 1 and removes all your equipment (you get it all back when you leave). There's a lot to be explored in this place, so that does add a good amount of replay value, but other than that, aside from the game being awesome, I see no reason for the average gamer to come back for a third spin. For 30 dollars though, you're certainly getting your money's worth, and a longer journey than what many console games offer. If you know what's good for you, you'll pick up Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals, whether you're a nostalgic fan longing for Lufia, or new to the series, it offers a top-notch experience that shouldn't be passed up.

Though Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals does a nice experiment in taking an old game and turning it in to a new direction. The shallow gameplay, blocky graphics, constant slowdowns, serious lack of exploration and other pacing issues with the story. Makes this a package that takes away all the charm of the old game and misses the opportunity to be a great reboot

What happens when you take a good game that has old school RPG and puzzle solving, strip all of that and make into a shallow as a puddle remake that pales in comparison? You get this **** game. Just do yourself a favor, get an SNES emulator and play the original. You’ll be happy you did.