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Goatse James Bond
Mar 28, 2010


I've made a huge mistake.

Fabricated posted:

The US Game is way hosed up with glitches and garbled maps in areas. Great game though.

Only one garbled map area, really.

But that one is... memorable.

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Rangpur
Dec 31, 2008

Even better, that area is a major turning point in the plot. Thankfully the dialogue balloons are intact, but the action onscreen looks like it came out of a terminally ill NES cartridge. In retrospect, it's kind of hilarious but at the time I was pissed. You should show off what the unmodified map data looks like when you get there.

Veib
Dec 10, 2007


I've never gotten very far in Lufia 1, but 2 is one of my absolute favorite jrpg's ever.

I'm not really sure just how much of that is simply because of the amazing soundtrack. I really should play this again, it's been a while.

Logicblade
Aug 13, 2014

Festival with your real* little sister!
I have fond memories of this game. Mostly the optional dungeon crawler part, but there was a lot this game did right and I'm looking forward to seeing it play out.

Blastinus
Feb 28, 2010

Time to try my luck
:rolldice:
Crap.
Chapter 2: Destiny is that Game About Dancing, Right?





Before we clear out the passageway to Sundletan, let's check out Elcid's magic shop and shrine.



Magic is handled pretty interestingly in this game.



You buy spells individually for each character, but only certain characters can learn certain spells. Some characters can't learn spells at all, actually.

Maxim can't learn Spark, a fire spell, but he can learn Strong and Poison, a minor healing spell and a poison cure, respectively. He can't afford either of them, but the thought is there.



Pretty much every town has a shrine, and they all look about the same. The Washington Monument-esque icon behind the cleric used to be a cross but, Nintendo of America being what it was in the 90's, that had to be changed for its localization.



At the shrine, you can save your game, cure status ailments/revive dead party members, or lift curses. We'll cover that last feature once we come across a cursed item, which won't be for a while.





But enough of that, we've a key to recover.





Sundletan Cave - sorry, "Cave to Sundletan" - is just a short hike north from Elcid. I didn't even get into an encounter on the way.



Don't worry about the repeat dungeon music. We'll be seeing other dungeons besides caves in a couple chapters.



: But she seemed different from other women I know. I felt like I shouldn't stop her, you know.

You had one job.



Notice that we can still see part of the guard's head? Creatures and objects still exist in adjoining areas, even when we transition over. I find that rather interesting.





There's that lizard-specific item I was talking about. It's not great, but MP-restoring items are always handy.



You can go straight from here to Sundletan, but there's a locked door right past this one, which is why we're after a key.



Instead we go right, where there's a door leading upwards and an obvious hidden button that opens a door leading downwards. Let's go up first.



Now this is a neat-looking room with two new enemy types, one of which I avoid for now.



Moths have the distinction of being the first enemy that doesn't go down in two hits. They are otherwise unremarkable.



This puzzle is pretty neat, since it forces us to remember the turning-in-place mechanic that we just learned in the tutorial dungeon.

Spikes can't hurt you, but they do block your path. The first button lowers them, but then you can't get past in order to drop a pot on the other button, so...



You drop a pot here, pick up the other pot...



Swivel around, drop the pot, lower the spikes...



And there you go.





This jingle is for regular treasures. There's one for more important treasures that we'll hear in a bit.



Life Potion does exactly what it sounds like, giving more life. I usually just go the typical RPG route and feed all the stat-ups to the main character. After all, he's the only one guaranteed to stay in the party 100% of the time.



The northeast end of the upper room leads here, with a lot of grass and another mushroom.



I don't think I need to explain what this does.



Moving back down, there's a lizard blocking our way past.



No worries, Lufia 2's escape function seems to work basically 100% of the time. At the very least, I can't remember a time when I couldn't get out of a fight.

One downside to trying to escape, which we'll see when we come to faster enemies, is that the escape attempt only comes up when one of your characters gets a turn, and we will encounter enemies that move faster than us. In that situation, the party can take quite a beating.



Next room, there's an obvious chest that we seemingly can't get to.





But if we clear some grass away, we can go left through a hidden wall and claim our prize.



Let's finally talk about these mushrooms. They have an interesting movement pattern, going sideways to wherever we're going, kind of like an L. Usually that means that they get stuck against a wall and end up running in place, which makes them easy to avoid.





But sometimes, if you're a careless rear end, you can have them running up your side instead.



I should mention that mushrooms also take two hits to kill at this point, so you're looking at a bit of a beating before you can end the fight.



Sheesh. Good thing we start with ten potions.

Also, spot the continuity error in this picture.



I decided to GIF this mostly because I find the bouncing text amusing.

Potions will drop out of usefulness really early once we get healing spells and have a lot more health, so no point in not using them whenever I need to.



Moving on from that embarrassing incident, we come to a room with two pots on slabs.



The theme of this dungeon seems to be buttons hidden under grass.



First door, we find this room full of pushable blocks. In order to get to the staircase in the center, we have to fight at least two of these guys.



Might as well go for the easy target.



Next, bats. They're most remarkable for...



Yeah. Bats are jerks.



Power Potions increase your strength. Needless to say, I chugged that right away.





These jeweled statues are switches that only activate when you hit them with your sword. This one extended the bridge down there, which we wouldn't have been able to cross if we'd taken the door to the right first.



Did you notice those arrows indicating a jumpable ledge? I sure didn't.



I can be a bit of an idiot sometimes.



But hey, at least that means that we get to see this room with moths.



The door to the upper left brings us back down to the bridge, but going through here shows us...



Something we'll have to come back for.



Now then, we could go down the stairs...



But we could also find this secret passage which leads us to...





A slightly better suit of armor and a vastly superior MP restorative. I actually missed these in my first run through the dungeon, which made the upcoming boss fight harder than it should have been.



Ah, the healing pads. That usually means that we're close to a boss.



The red-bordered one restores HP, the blue one restores MP, and the star-shaped one saves your game. All very useful after a long trudge through a dungeon.



And there's the (lizard)man in question. Let's see if we can resolve this situation diplomatically





Hah! Nope.





The strategy for fighting the lizard man is as follows:



What? It's the first boss of the game.



Not to say that you can sleepwalk through this fight. The lizard man hits a LOT harder than the enemies you've been fighting to this point and has 80 HP when you're only just inching past 10 damage.



I'm overleveled for this point and I still have to pull out a potion every three turns. If you were something like Level 2 or 3, you'd probably only get two hits in at most before you have to heal.



After a bit of back and forth, the boss goes down, and...wow. I am going to be appreciating this 4x gold.





Key item get!



: (Besides, why should the lizard men steal the key? They gain nothing by disrupting human life. I just don't get it. This has never happened before!)







: Wh...who are you? How did you know my name?!

: I can see the future. I know your name and why you come here.

: Who are you?

: Never mind. Don't you want to know why monsters are smarter and attacking humans?

: Do you know why?



: Yes.

: Everything that's happened has been because of that light.

: What!? I can't believe that a ball of light has that kind of power.

: I understand your doubt. It is incredible, but true. But time has begun to change. Now a mere wave, later a gigantic swell of an attack on humanity.

: That's ridiculous! Why are you telling me this?

: Because...you have the power, the power to confront that swell.





I don't know why I find that line so funny.

: Wait a minute. It's true that fighting is my job, I know. But I don't have such great power.

: ......

: What is this ball of light anyway? Is it monster or human?

: ......

: I need to know! What can I do against this humongous enemy of all humanity?

: It's not just you. There are others in this world who can confront this evil power. You're destined to go on a journey to meet those people and fight against evil.

: A journey...to fight?

: That's right. When that ball of light appeared, your destiny was sealed.



: This is all I can tell you. Whether or not you believe me and go on your journey is totally up to you.





And there she goes, slow-walking on to other enigmatic things.



Me, I'm taking the fast way.



Swoosh.



Naturally, everyone in town is ready to congratulate us for solving the monster problem, but certain people know that something's up.



: About what?

: Well.., I..I had this feeling that you were going away somewhere...

: ......

: Silly me, It's nothing, forget it. So what was it you wanted today?



Good old paranoid Tia, thinking that we'd go off on a giant quest around a world because a slow-walking lady in a cave told us to.



We're just outfitting ourselves with the best stuff available to...fight monsters better.



And you never know when you might need some of these things. It's just practical.



Yup, nothing amiss in the slightest.

Next Time: More weird fish shenanigans and my favorite game mechanic. And of course, more puzzles.

Aerdan
Apr 14, 2012

Not Dennis NEDry
Something to note: Items don't give a fixed amount of benefit; for instance, the potion Blastinus used could just as easily restored 31 HP. On the other hand, healing spells always heal the same amount of HP, every time, based on INT.

Ciaphas
Nov 20, 2005

> BEWARE, COWARD :ovr:



I'd forgotten how good some of the music in this game is. :allears:

Rabbi Raccoon
Mar 31, 2009

I stabbed you dude!
I always thought it was weird that Maxim can't use fire magic. That seems like such an odd restriction.

SC Bracer
Aug 7, 2012

DEMAGLIO!
Welp, I was told to fire when ready, and here I am firing away.



So, when Blast brought up that he was going to an LP of this game, we ended up talking about the DS remake, and apparently I'm one of the three people on the planet who's actually played the game at all...so I figured it would be nice to do a comparison lp alongside this one.

So, Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals is an ARPG co-developed by Square Enix (yep) and Neverland, who were in fact the developers for the first two Lufias as well. Natsume ended up publishing the game in the US for some reason though. It's pretty different from the original game in a lot of ways, even though the core story remains the same. It's got wildly different character art, completely redone gameplay that feels more like an Ys game than a turn-based RPG, a somewhat altered execution of the story, and a few extra features that would be a tad spoilery at this point. Lufia 2 DS is nowhere nearly as much of a classic as the original--it's not even particularly amazing, but I had fun playing it when I did, years ago, and it's a pretty okay action RPG with puzzle elements.

Video if you want to check out the (really bad) voice-acting they added in, and some of the animations which are nice enough.


The screen pans over this giant...island...thing, before our new friend starts to speak.




Another pan over the group of obviously evil dudes.

: Your role is finished! From now on, destruction, chaos, and fear will reign...!




The remake does some interesting things with character design. Tia isn't blue anymore for example.


: Attention, all those who call this place their home! I am Gades, the Sinistral Destruction!

All of humanity must now bow down before me!



Gades gets a line or two before each character is introduced.

: I shall fulfil the ancient prophecy and destroy the earth!



: My will shall shatter the earth, and a new world shall rise in its place!



: Obey my commands, and you too shall have a part in this new world!



: Dare one of you challenge me?! I am invincible! Indestructible!






And that's our start screen. So that was absolutely nothing like the original intro, and focuses on very different things, like there being no sign of the mysterious Arek. Maxim has a canon name too! Just like the original though, we have this before you can boot up the game, but it is in fact not skippable your first time through.

Chapter 1: Wait, this isn't where the Game is Supposed to Begin

So here we are, hanging out at sea with Lexis and Maxim.

: Well, this isn't something you see everyday... Maxim! What should we do?

: Let's go, Professor! I'm sure something amazing awaits us.

Their dialogue is actually the same as the intro here



: Whoa, really? You mean this ship can fly?

: Well, it can't right now, but someday it'll be able to!


Character models sometimes get little emotes like these above their heads to go with portrait expressions.

: Someday...? How does that help us now?

We're cut off by a glowing red ball descending from the floating island.



: Soma Temple? That's where Parcelyte sent their investigation team!

: They might be in trouble! Let's go!



: Gotcha!



There we go, that's our first destination. Gotta wonder though, with a name like Doom Island, how do you not expect awful things happening every five minutes?

So here we have our generic menu options.



The biggest change: no more world map. Just a menu for wherever you want to go. I like this feature a lot since world maps without fast travel are literally the worst, but I guess that's just personal opinion :v:.

Talk has you chat with your party about your current objective, in case you've forgotten and isn't very exciting. This time, it just repeats Lexis' dialogue higher up.







Character Menu lets you check stats, your inventory, equipment, and options menus.

Save and Load are as usual. You can save anywhere between dungeons, but inside a dungeon, there are designated save points and checkpoints.

So let's head over to the that shiny new location, shall we?



Ah, yes, the scenic volcano temple.



: Oh, I don't know. It's got a certain volcano-y charm to it.

Maxim looks around

: This place is huge! Who built it? And how?

: No one knows. This place predates all historical records. Some think it may not have even been built by humans...

: Wow...

: There's no telling what we'll run into here. Be ready for anything!

: Gotcha!


Well, we run up this ramp, and then to the switch.

: Hm, what's this?

: It looks like some kind of switch. I wouldn't mess with it if I were you. Who knows what it does?

: I don't see anything else we can do here. Sometimes you just gotta trust your luck!

: Oh brother...



: Whoa! The platform is moving!


It doesn't come across in screenshots, but pressing the switch makes the ramp rotate upwards to a different exit.



: It was clearly made by beings with powers beyond those of men. Fascinating...





: It must be one of the members of the research team!
Hey, are you all right?

:(: Uh...uuh...

: Hang in there! My name is Maxim. What's your name?!

:(: My name is Ruben... I'm a solider[sic] of Parcelyte...

: Ruben what happened here?


Well, that's not good at all.

: You ran into that Sinistral guy who was shouting about destroying the world?

:(: I managed to escape...But the others... they... Gades was so strong...

: No!

: Maxim! What are we going to do about this Gades fellow?


Maxim is very proactive about saving the world.

: I was hoping you'd say that. I'm going with you.

: Careful, Doc. You're a little too old to be fighting.

: Don't treat me like I'm helpless! I've got a lot of valuable wisdom to share.

: Oh yeah? Like what?

I hate to cut off Lexis here, but the next several lines of dialogue are just glorified tutorials. The big thing he mentions is the Level Boost feature, which is...really something else. Level Boost is literally what it implies. If you ever are defeated in a fight, you can "Retry+Level Boost" to start from the last checkpoint, but everyone in your party will be 5 levels higher. Yes. There is no penalty for doing this as much as you want. You can also retry normally, but this is just a sign of things to come as to just how forgiving this game is about combat.

Also Ruben isn't actually dead despite Maxim's "No!". You can even chat with him, but he doesn't say much of value.


Oh hey, the little jellies. They take more than just one hit to destroy now, but it's extremely trivial.

So, combat is pretty simple. Press Y to attack, press A to dodge, B to jump, and X to perform a special move called a Wave Art. R lets you charge your moves up. Every character has their own special, and these can interact in various ways with the environment, which is how a big part of the puzzle-solving in the game comes in. As you get more and more people in your party, the puzzles become more dynamic, and you rely on switching between dudes to solve them.


Maxim's is Cross Dash which lets him dash a short distance (read: literally fly), and lets you cross small gaps with it. Wave Arts cost IP, but this recharges by itself very quickly so feel free to spam them.

Also, see how our damage numbers are yellow, and there are coins everywhere? This is Overkill. You can keep whacking enemies after they're dead for a short period of time for bonus gold and experience.



There isn't much to show here. There's a new enemy that looks like a bee, and hits pretty hard, but is otherwise a weenie. I also get an antidote (cures poison) for my troubles. The item you get here is actually random, and I got a mystery pin (cures paralysis) on my first go-through. The only other thing of note is that all the encounters are mandatory. You need to beat them to progress.

Since this is more or less a tutorial dungeon, it's very nondescript. When we finally reach the top...




: I've got the same feeling. I can sense some very dangerous and powerful energy above us.

: You think Gades is leading us right to him?

The platform shakes and then takes us up towards the exit.





A boss, that's what.



: Whatever it is, it looks tough! Be careful, Maxim!

: All right, ugly! You're going down!

This guy is technically beatable, but there's no point in trying, so I just rub my face on him a bit. There is of course a strategy, but we'll cover that when he (inevitably) shows up again.

After the battle:





: YAAAAAAH!!!




Uh oh.

: I'm impressed. I feel strong energy waves flowing from you.

: Wh-who are you?

: You don't recognise me? Look closer at my energy waves.

: Your energy waves?

: Yes. Can't you see?


Oh, yeah, I see now, you're...who are you again?

: Y-you have the same energy waves as that gigantic monster! But that's not possible! Unless...

: Yes, that's right. I'm not confined to one form like some pitiful human. I am Gades, the Sinistral of Destruction!

: The Sinistral of Destruction?

: Yes. I will destroy your dismal little civilization and remake it into something more to my liking.

: Not while I'm still standing!

: Ha! As you wish.



: Gh...


My hero!

: Who are you?

: Foul creature, be gone from this place!



: Hm... Impressive energy waves for a human.

If it wasn't already obvious, the game loooves energy waves, and this isn't the last time people are going to shout at each other about them.

: ...



: She's granted me enough power to challenge the likes of you! Be gone from this place!

: Ha ha ha! Crushing humanity is going to be even more satisfying than I thought.


He teleports away. Meanwhile, Maxim is still lying on the ground.



: Sure. Never...b...better...

: Please don't talk. I will use healing magic to fix your wounds.
Are you okay?


: And you can actually use magic? I didn't know there was anyone left who knew magic.

: It is the Ankh of Runa.

: The Ankh of Runa?

: Yes. Its powers allow me to use magic, and protect me from monsters.

: So that's how you got here alone.

: Yes.



: I'm Iris.

: I'm Lexis. Never thought I'd meet a priestess of Runa in this day and age.

: I am the last one. I have been in hiding, preparing for the time I'd be needed.

: I'm guessing that time is now?

: Yes. Gades is one of the Sinistrals.
Prophecies say that the sinistrals are four legendary beings who appear to bring about the end of civilization.
But the prophecies tell of a hero who has the power to stand against the Sinistrals.
Maxim, that hero is you. I can see it in your energy waves. You are the legendary hero.

: The legendary hero? Me?


This screen is here because Lexis is great.

: Hey, come on. This is serious!

: Sorry.



: Actually...no.

: What? You've never heard of the legend of the Apocalypse? You really ought to read more, Maxim.

: I'm not interested in some silly old myths. I'm too busy practicing my swordmanship.

: It's no myth. The Sinistrals have appeared before. They come to destroy civilization.
Sometimes they have succeeded, and plunged humanity back into the dark ages. But sometimes a hero stops them.

: The legendary hero...

: I believe you have the potential to be that hero, Maxim. Your energy waves give you the strenth to fight a Sinistral.

: I...have that kind of power?


See? He's great.

: H-Hey!

: Hahaha!

: You'll need a lot of practice to reach your full strength. But not even the legendary hero can triumph alone.

: So what should I do?

: There are more warriors with strong energy waves in this world. You must find them.

: And hope they're crazy enough to fight against Gades.

: You'll have to travel far and wide to find these warriors.

: Interesting...

: Think we're up for it, Maxim?

: Of course! That sounds like it'll be one heck of an adventure!

: Sure, an adventure with the fate of the world resting on us. Well we'd better get moving!

: You got it.



: It is my mission to aid the legendary hero in his journey. I will go with you.

: Are you sure? It sounds like it'll be pretty dangerous. Dude at least she scared Gades off.

: It is what I've spent my whole life preparing for.

: Well, glad to have you along. I'm sure we can use the help.

: I'll do my best.



: Well then, let's go back to Elcid. We need to prepare, and I still need to make some modifications to the Excelion.

: Oh yeah, what about the solider[sic] we found at the entrance? Again!?

: He is alright. A Parcelyte ship arrived, so he'll be in good hands.

: That's a relief. Alright, let's go back to Elcid!


Next stop, the town the original game actually begins in.

Bonus
Maxim redesign
Lexis redesign
Gades redesign
Iris redesign

SC Bracer fucked around with this message at 02:34 on Dec 30, 2014

Vil
Sep 10, 2011

Ciaphas posted:

I'd forgotten how good some of the music in this game is. :allears:

Lufia 2 has an amazing soundtrack. You do get sick of the generic dungeon themes, but everything else - especially anything for cutscenes/plot - is top notch. And all the battle themes are great.

Carbon dioxide
Oct 9, 2012

How does that DS game even have the same name? Other than the names of some characters, it doesn't seem to have anything in common with the original at all.

Aerdan
Apr 14, 2012

Not Dennis NEDry

Carbon dioxide posted:

How does that DS game even have the same name? Other than the names of some characters, it doesn't seem to have anything in common with the original at all.

This is what happens when Square-Enix decides people want a remake of a game that was never a Square or Enix production: they reimagine it and poo poo all over the game in the process.

No, I'm totally not bitter, why do you ask? :v:

Kheldarn
Feb 17, 2011



Carbon dioxide posted:

How does that DS game even have the same name? Other than the names of some characters, it doesn't seem to have anything in common with the original at all.

Like I said, the DS version is like the remakes of good movies/T.V. shows that end up sucking.

J Detan
Apr 24, 2008

Wir haben uns zu Meistern der Wissenschaft!

Grimey Drawer
Man, I LOVE Lufia 2. It's one of my favorite RPGs from when I was a kid. And having played it and the remake, the remake is CRAP compared to the original. The plot's disjointed and somehow makes less sense than a 90s translation, I hate Maxim's redesign, and just selecting where to go makes the game feel so much smaller. That's why it'll be so much fun to follow both of these LPs. Gonna be a hell of a ride.

Bellmaker
Oct 18, 2008

Chapter DOOF



Yikes, the only redeemable part of that remake so far is Lexis being Doc Brown.

It's like they tried to turn Lufia into a Ys game (I like Ys, but I'm not sure that's the right fit here!)?

Blastinus
Feb 28, 2010

Time to try my luck
:rolldice:
Crap.
As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I've never actually seen Lufia DS before SC showed this first update to me ahead of time. I don't know what to think of it so far. The character designs are a little more varied and the dialogue is a bit snappier and flows better, but so far, I'm not really impressed with the story.

The character portrayal that jumps out at me as being the oddest would easily have to be Iris. Compare her art from the original with this new version:



Maybe it's a product of the decades in which the two games were made, but the difference is almost night and day.

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

Oh hey, a new LP by Blastinus. And it's a game I only know via a plagiarism scandal involving another franchise.

Oh well, looking forward to this LP regardless.

Vil
Sep 10, 2011

I like the artwork in the DS remake overall. I haven't actually played it, but I've seen a few videos. I'm interested in seeing what different directions they take the plot.

J Detan
Apr 24, 2008

Wir haben uns zu Meistern der Wissenschaft!

Grimey Drawer

AradoBalanga posted:

Oh hey, a new LP by Blastinus. And it's a game I only know via a plagiarism scandal involving another franchise.

Oh well, looking forward to this LP regardless.

You can't just pop in, mention that off hand and leave. Who plagiarized what from who and when?

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

J Detan posted:

You can't just pop in, mention that off hand and leave. Who plagiarized what from who and when?
The Super Robot Wars franchise.

In 2009, they released SRW K for the DS. It featured a plagiarized remix of a later Lufia 2 track "For the Savior" (Polsy link to avoid spoilers and stuff), along with plagiarized remix of a Chrono Trigger track "Battle With Magus". It resulted in a full public apology from Bandai-Namco and composer Kennosuke Suemura (who had been suspected of plagiarism before) getting punished, although no one knows if he was simply fired or more severe punishments were dealt out.

mycot
Oct 23, 2014

"It's okay. There are other Terminators! Just give us this one!"
Hell Gem
Re: the DS game Well on one hand I can't fault a remake for not lazily sticking strictly with SNES era design principles. On the other hand, let's see how this goes.

Oh and that post reminded me, it's the same Neverland that made Rune Factory! RIP.

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe
The DS Dekar does not look nearly manly enough. :colbert:

Ciaphas
Nov 20, 2005

> BEWARE, COWARD :ovr:


TooMuchAbstraction posted:

The DS Dekar does not look nearly manly enough. :colbert:

He's rocking pink hair. It takes stones of brass to do that even as an anime dude :colbert:

Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 04:17 on Dec 30, 2014

Ciaphas
Nov 20, 2005

> BEWARE, COWARD :ovr:


AradoBalanga posted:

The Super Robot Wars franchise.

In 2009, they released SRW K for the DS. It featured a plagiarized remix of a later Lufia 2 track "For the Savior" (Polsy link to avoid spoilers and stuff), along with plagiarized remix of a Chrono Trigger track "Battle With Magus". It resulted in a full public apology from Bandai-Namco and composer Kennosuke Suemura (who had been suspected of plagiarism before) getting punished, although no one knows if he was simply fired or more severe punishments were dealt out.

Welllllll, at least the plagiarist has excellent taste. "For the Savior" is the second best track in the whole game, easy (especially in the context it's used), and this is a game with a fantastic soundtrack.

N.N. Ashe
Dec 29, 2009
Those DS characters are pretty aggravating. From those screen shots, it looks like all the characters have been turned into an anime archetype, something the SNES version mostly stayed away from. There was actual nuance to most of the characters, which is not something you find in most video game characters even today. That along with pretty solid battle and puzzle mechanics is why Lufia 2 SNES holds up. Like this is the only SNES era game that I reread a good part of the dialogue instead of mashing A.


Still one of the best boss battle themes hands down. He did such a good job.

Kaboom Dragoon
May 7, 2010

The greatest of feasts

I actually like MAxim's new look, maybe minus the buttcape.

On the other hand, turn it into a check shirt tied around his waist, and he could be every 90s Jaleco beat-em-up protagonist ever! :haw:

Camel Pimp
May 17, 2008

This poster survived LPing Lunar: Dragon Song. Let's give her a hand.
I really don't think that the Lufia 2 remake is that bad, although it does have its fair share of problems. Honestly, my biggest problem with it is how they greatly condense the plot (for those that don't know, a lot of stuff in the opening here, specifically meeting Gades, won't happen for quite a few hours in the original game) yet it's still padded. I really don't have a problem with making it an ARPG, it's a competent ARPG if much too easy, or the redesigns. Frankly, I don't think the original designs are all that great. Sorry, I don't. Also, I feel the remake improves Tia quite a lot, which is a mark in it's favor.

Jade Rider
May 11, 2007

All the pages have been censored except for "heck," and she misread that one.


The Lufia 2 remake could've been a pretty good game if it weren't, well, a Lufia 2 remake. It's a pretty good engine, if nothing else.

J Detan
Apr 24, 2008

Wir haben uns zu Meistern der Wissenschaft!

Grimey Drawer

AradoBalanga posted:

The Super Robot Wars franchise.

In 2009, they released SRW K for the DS. It featured a plagiarized remix of a later Lufia 2 track "For the Savior" (Polsy link to avoid spoilers and stuff), along with plagiarized remix of a Chrono Trigger track "Battle With Magus". It resulted in a full public apology from Bandai-Namco and composer Kennosuke Suemura (who had been suspected of plagiarism before) getting punished, although no one knows if he was simply fired or more severe punishments were dealt out.

Hahaha oh wow. They weren't even trying to hide it. That's barely even changed from the one we'll hear later.

J Detan fucked around with this message at 08:24 on Dec 30, 2014

Axle_Stukov
Feb 26, 2011

Stylin'
Gotta say I'm interested in seeing what the DS remake will do, seeing as within the first 10 seconds they replaced Lexis with anime Doc Brown.

mauman
Jul 30, 2014

Whoever's got the biggest whiskers does the talking.

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

The DS Dekar does not look nearly manly enough. :colbert:

I could NEVER get over this redesign. It seems so....wrong. Also, is it just me or does this new intro spoil a ton of stuff for the older game (Dekar, Lexis, etc) :downs:

Aerdan
Apr 14, 2012

Not Dennis NEDry
Lufia II's intro sequence shows off these same characters, so it's not a spoiler to point out that they're there.

mauman
Jul 30, 2014

Whoever's got the biggest whiskers does the talking.

Aerdan posted:

Lufia II's intro sequence shows off these same characters, so it's not a spoiler to point out that they're there.

Oh yeah....good point. Forgot about that.

Nevermind then :downs:

SC Bracer
Aug 7, 2012

DEMAGLIO!

Camel Pimp posted:

I really don't think that the Lufia 2 remake is that bad, although it does have its fair share of problems. Honestly, my biggest problem with it is how they greatly condense the plot (for those that don't know, a lot of stuff in the opening here, specifically meeting Gades, won't happen for quite a few hours in the original game) yet it's still padded. I really don't have a problem with making it an ARPG, it's a competent ARPG if much too easy, or the redesigns. Frankly, I don't think the original designs are all that great. Sorry, I don't. Also, I feel the remake improves Tia quite a lot, which is a mark in it's favor.

This is pretty much how I feel about the game honestly. Like I've mentioned before, this was my first foray into Lufia, so I don't have any of the nostalgia that comes with growing up with this game. It's at worst a competent ARPG that lets you get through the game with minimal effort if you so feel, which can be a point in its favour or not, and the redesigns are typical of today's JRPG look, just as the older designs were typical of SNES RPGs, so I can't really blame the game for not sticking with that particular 80s anime aesthetic. poo poo's still anime, just from a different era. As for Tia, we'll be taking a look at that soon enough.

Having to transcribe the game manually is making me realize just how wordy the game gets at points though, holy poo poo.

Aerdan
Apr 14, 2012

Not Dennis NEDry
Lufia II is pretty verbose too, but it's kind of obscured by the 12x16 font (which is also in the Japanese version, incidentally). That said, the translation is essentially accurate, despite occasional flubs.

UmbreonMessiah
Nov 1, 2011

~Hey, I'm grump!~
I'm...yeah, I'm just a grump.
As one of the three people who actually bought and played Lufia II for the DS and as a huge fan of the original, there's good and bad things to say about it. For starters, the story is a hodgepodge mess that makes no sense if you've played the original. Instead of the aura of mystery and uncertainty that surrounds the events of Lufia II until about the midpoint, Lufia II DS just smashes you in the face from the beginning with how awful the Sinistrals are and what they want to do. It's probably not much of a shock that Gades is in Lufia II for the SNES...but you don't hear about him until somewhere around 1/4 of the way through the game....and the game paints him as some sort of unstoppable supervillain. Lufia II DS just ruins the whole goddamn thing by outright SHOWING you the other Sinistrals at the start (though the subtitle "Rise of the Sinistrals" probably did a better job.)

One thing I will give Lufia II DS is that it certainly gives the characters more...character, if it can be called that. That's not to say that the original's cast lacks personality or defining characteristics, but the cast in Lufia II DS are just so much more vibrant and flamboyant about who they and what they're about. You get a real sense of why they're respected for being who they are, and your actions feel like they have a lot more weight. Certain characters that are barely touched on in the original get a lot more screen time in the remake, which I'm grateful for....it's just a shame they spend so much of that time doing ridiculous anime bullshit that it sort of ruins the tone of the game.

Oh, and if you haven't tracked them down: track down and listen to the arranged/orchestral mixes that came with the OST CD. When Lufia II DS came out, they released a soundtrack and some of the stuff you find on it is absolutely amazing.

Robodog
Oct 22, 2004

...how does that work?
Just want to pop in and say Lufia 2 is fantastic, one of my favourite games ever. One of the first RPGs I ever beat to completion. I just love everything about it. Thanks for running through the game, it'll be great fun to see it all again.

But this DS remake? I heard about it years ago, but never saw it. And… wow. It doesn't even seem like it's the same game. Is the whole remake like that, or does it come back on track and follow the Lufia 2 story proper?

Variant_Eris
Nov 2, 2014

Exhibition C: Colgate white smile

UmbreonMessiah posted:

Oh, and if you haven't tracked them down: track down and listen to the arranged/orchestral mixes that came with the OST CD. When Lufia II DS came out, they released a soundtrack and some of the stuff you find on it is absolutely amazing.

If there's one thing I'll give Lufia II DS, it's the soundtrack. Awesome does not describe the awesomeness it protrudes.

Tendronai
May 7, 2008

My worst nightmare. It's a dream I have. I'm in a square cell, glass walls, just me and a little castle.

Robodog posted:

But this DS remake? I heard about it years ago, but never saw it. And… wow. It doesn't even seem like it's the same game. Is the whole remake like that, or does it come back on track and follow the Lufia 2 story proper?

Outside of the introduction there's one thing I can recall that wasn't in the SNES story, and for the most part they sync up again. Of course I played it once when it came out so I'm expecting I've blocked out all the really dumb poo poo.

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Jeedy Jay
Nov 8, 2012
I remember this game having an 80's-sitcom-like obsession with discussing gender relations, although I wonder if I'm just exaggerating things in my mind. Looking forward to seeing this play out.

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