The Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals "review" | EVERY SNES RPG #44

[@razorbackroar]

to everyone who grey up in the 90s & got ahold of lufia 2 or 1 i consider you family.

[@celuiquipeut6527]

I am interested in what this young men has to say about games of my childhood, but i dont like what they ahve to say lol You had to be there. Lufia 2 was top of the lina RPG story telling back in the days. It was such a cool game.

[@Kazeshini11]

Well it was a decent review but you skipped out on the most important aspect of the game, the Ancient cave. Randomized cave with 99 floors and a boss at the end. Also what I guess didn't help the game is the fact that you seem pretty young and have seen all the newer games of today which won't help older games. I know when I was younger if I made the mistake of buying more than 1 game at a time, I would neglect one of the games and not give it a proper try. For myself, there's a HUGE emotional attachment to Lufia 2. I will recall going to the rental store with my mom, I saw the game and wanted to rent it. She picked it up, read the box and said ok. We went to the till and my mom simply says "I want to buy this, how much for it ?" I was stunned. She never did stuff like that. Ended up being like 20 buck for it. Thing is, my mom was also a gamer, so was my uncle who lived with us. They both fell in love with the game. Mind you this was in the 90's so looking up stuff wasn't much of a thing yet. They'd both take turns trying their hands at the Ancient cave, even leaving the SNES powered up while they went to work so they could finish their run after work which annoyed the F outta me cause I couldn't play when I came back from school. How silly this sounds now that both of them passed. My mom and uncle never finished the Ancient cave. They reached the end a few times but never were able to finish it. Sadly, my mom passed away soon after and I had all my SNES stuff stolen after lending it to a friend. This is silly but one thing I kept obsessing over was the fact she never finished the Ancient cave. So I loaded up a rom of Lufia 2 without any guilt since at one point I owned it. Took me many tries. Many, many, many... tries. But eventually I finished it, beat the final boss in that cave and that's pretty much it. I never was able to touch the game since cause since her passing, many games I've played with her are too emotionally involved for me to just enjoy again. Even worse now that my uncle passed away recently as well. So yeah, guess it differs when you played this game but to me it still remains a masterpiece.

[@cheribum73]

Lufia 2 was an amazing package for its time. It had a crazy bundle of mechanics you couldn't find elsewhere but its greatest charm was its music (on par with CT, considered one of the GOATS of OST) and its characters. Not to mention having one of the most beautiful endings considering all the emotion it built up leading to that point. (You literally watch how the love triangle plays out, the wedding, the child) It was able to immerse the player into the role of Maxm, an MC with actual dialogue rather than your typical silent protag. I question if the guy even played the game or has functioning ears or even read the dialogue. I mean, really, he thinks Jeros is the MC for Lufia 1 so that's already a hint.

[@espfusion]

I played the game when it came out in the US. Thought it was overall good if not really great but did not care for the ancient cave. It was basically a really shallow roguelike and a huge slog with no real in-game payoff. And I get that appeals to a lot of people but roguelikes are a totally different gameplay experience than traditional JRPGs and aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea.

[@Kazeshini11]

@@espfusion That's why they made the Ancient Cave optional, not part of the main quest. It wasn't for players like you, but it was for at least 32 other people who viewed my comment. And it's totally ok. You can dislike a game, or in your case, part of a game others loved. You did so respectfully and I appreciate that. Just out of curiosity, what are games that came out then that blew you away if I may ask ?

[@espfusion]

@Kazeshini11 Oh I definitely appreciate that a lot if people liked the ancient cave a lot, even back then it got a lot of praise online. Just I see a lot of people unhappy about this review not mentioning it and was trying to say that for some people it wouldn't really stand out as a big selling point. This game came out pretty late in North America, long after most other SNES RPGs. The most contemporary RPG I can think of that really wowed me when it came out was Suikoden (the first one) on PS1. But while they were a good year or more older I enjoyed Chrono Trigger and Breath of Fire 2 a lot. One interesting thing about Lufia 2 is Lufia 1 was one of the few RPGs I owned beforehand because it showed up cheap on the used market - most other ones I just rented. But I gave up Lufia 1 halfway before 2 came out and only went back to it months after beating 2. While 1 was qorse in almost every way I thought it had a better plot by the end. One other SNES RPG I got new more around this time was Super Mario RPG. Which I think was pretty good more in retrospect but was disappointed with at the time because it was so short I beat it in one sitting and because I was able to trivially (and unexpectedly) max out everyone's levels maybe two thirds of way through the game with just a pretty modest amount of grinding.

[@Kazeshini11]

@@espfusion Chrono Trigger and BoF2, very based. Both in my own top 10 of all time. Never got the chance to play Suikoden but I got the remasters on wishlist so I can see what it's all about. On this, wish you the best and take care wherever you live and have a good one.

[@cannonballkid]

I love how this guy is like live reporting as if he is on the news or something. Red Cow sent me here, love the content 10/10

[@notyoursavior78]

Yea who is this guy? He was hot on the trail for the Lufia 2 beat! Almost got it but I was two days late. Gonna throw to himself playing an emulated copy. So funny

[@camcarrier8396]

I love how half of my childhood barley makes the ok tier haha.

[@analogmoz]

"Barley."

[@camcarrier8396]

@@analogmoz gj catching that professor. Saved my midterm.

[@DellikkilleD]

the 100 level dungeon is what made lufia 2 special.

[@RAS-gz5yb]

It's funny coming back to this review months later now that I've beaten Lufia 2 and it's become maybe not the best RPG for the SNES but probably my fav lol, or at least top 3. It's all lean no fat, the developers are so afraid you're going to get bored and think it's lame like the first Lufia that they never slow down the rollercoaster. Basically no random battles, no where the fuck do I go moments, no big spikes in difficulty, no slow segments, only very fun Layton-esque puzzles and very well done battles for 30 hours straight. If you come from action platformers and 3D adventure games like me it hits the spot like very few old RPGs do

[@fargoretro]

If this is another terrible opinion I'm calling the governor of Florida and you are going straight to jail.

[@Rat_Reborn45]

I got bad news

[@jeffreys4417]

Instead of calling the governor you can always unsubscribe 😂 I love these terrible opinions

[@gumpyflyale2542]

Remember the 1935 labor day hurricane man that was horrible

[@memegazer]

I think is this guys schtick...deliberately make a contraversial review to generate buzz tbf he does lean into it imo and does a good job making a good case for the opinion

[@bobslobbins2864]

@@memegazer I like his positive video's. His negative reviews often leave a lot of things out, or seem like he didn't figure everything out in the game and is always summed up as "forgettable" to him.

[@TsukiStuffs]

Honestly, pretty fair criticism for the most part. I do find the characters to be absolutely fantastic, especially Dekar, and they absolutely carry the plot of the game. I absolutely ADORE this game with every fiber of my being, but I can't deny the story is VERY tropey. I'm personally a pretty huge fan of how the game plays rather than its story for the most part, but the story also certainly has its moments (the wedding scene was a pretty interesting subversion of expectations that still managed to make a lot of sense, and pretty much every scene with Dekar in it is golden.) There's two elephants in the room I'm surprised you didn't really mention: the Ancient Cave and the NA version's plethora of glitches. I feel those to be pretty important details when you review this game, but it is what it is. Good video overall.

[@songshungama5288]

this is one of my favorite jrpg games

[@depht]

5:01 "He grows into the protagonist from the original Lufia" Uhh what? No he doesn't. The games are 100 years apart in-universe. He's Maxim's descendant....not his son.

[@InternetTAB]

awesome. thanks algorithm. and you, Jason. for playing and making this.

[@frionelhero]

Surprised you didn't mention the ancient cave.

[@AnalyticalReckoner]

@@Vopyr Came across as lazy. He mainly complained that he had to play something other than zelda.

[@mieralunarlunishion]

I spend most of my lufia 2 time (really a LOT) in the Ancient Cave, a roguelike sidequest around the middle of the game, where you are stripped of your levels and items, and have to reach the end of a randomly generated 100-floor dungeon to beat an unlikely boss at the end. It's fun. :)

[@Lignojmik]

Definitely with you on your assessment of the Lufia series so far. Still, I loved them back in the 90s and go back to them every now and then.

[@SirJoelsuf1]

And getting Barrett for the date in FF7 is actually pretty impressive lol

[@Reigam4]

The only Lufia released in germany. Played it for 20 hours, than the battery died ....

[@JasonGravesPoser]

Oh no

[@ceetee3370]

The protaganist from lufia 1 would be the great grandson, as he's really young 100 years later

[@AstrobioMike]

I appreciate you giving your perspective and experience, and I recognize the monumental task you’re taking on playing all snes rpgs :) But I think a sometimes inevitable consequence of that is not having the time to fully explore and digest a game. To call this game forgettable (“in one ear and out the other”) and suggest it doesn’t do enough to set itself apart, while also not even once mentioning the ancient cave (a key component that set it apart), is kind of problematic. More on the opinion side, one of the story beats you noted as kind of odd, marrying Selan and not Tia, is I think one of the ways the game goes deeper than the expected tropes and tells a very real story about unreciprocated love for Tia - a story rarely told in these types of games, and certainly back then. @Hutchkey around the same time put out a stellar retrospective on this game (kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJa6dZJqms53iM0) that puts a nice spotlight on this. I also think not mentioning the capsule monsters and their evolution system is a little bit of a misstep. But I know reviewing these games now vs then is tough, especially if experiencing them for the first time now. And that it’s never possible to completely remove the lens of nostalgia for those of us who played them back then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Still I felt compelled to mention some of these :)

[@chiefwiggum552]

Capsule monsters are the sole reason this game was my number one as a kid. Foomy MVP Nostalgia will always make this game the one I replay every 4 or 5 years

[@danielgteaching1377]

Funny you say that. For me Lufia 2 is a marvellous game though it is largely devoid of difficulty in the main story, but I played it as a kid so I have a bias. However, I only played Chrono Trigger in 2022 and that game is incredible. Outside of FF6 and CT. I don't think Lufia 2 has any peers on the snes when it comes to JRPGs, though I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

[@bobslobbins2864]

every game he doesn't jive with, or doesn't understand (story and/or gameplay) he calls "forgettable" which is a pretty vague critique when you consider what is memorable to a person can be pretty objective.

[@BigParadoxicalBertha]

Seriously, no mention of the ancient cave? Did you even play the game or do any research whatsoever?

[@cheribum73]

I think that's a rhetorical question. The guy struggled to even digest the story/characters xD

[@Wrulfy]

How could it go thought one ear to the other? No matter how many times I replay the game the ending makes me cry, even if I already know whats gonna happen

[@wimplo897]

This game has made me go crazy over some of the puzzles this is back when internet wasn't a big thing and couldn't easily pass them

[@cdalley19791]

This was a childhood favorite of mine but I can't really disagree with anything you said. Being young and new to the genre meant that even a generic RPG could seem great at the time. I would say that I appreciated the music quite a bit, and also knowing that Maxim will eventually end up with Selan made the whole early game dynamic with Tia pretty memorable.

[@cheribum73]

There's a saying "it's the singer not the song". Every story is generic since everything has been done before. What matters is how involved you get with the characters and story. That's the point of a ROLE-PLAYING GAME. The dude actually complained about the story deviating from the spoiled childhood romance (which is actually pretty uncommon so he's kinda being hypocritical). I think he should just stick to his Zelda games.

[@SamuelSchaperow]

Do you listen to the music when playing?

[@cheribum73]

I think that's a rhetorical question. The guy struggled to even digest the story/characters xD

[@dentstowel4230]

Great review. This tier list is getting out of control. 😂

[@Neon002121]

When I played this and the original Lufia at 12 or so I loved it and was blown away. It’s possible my inexperience and imagination added an epic scope to games that were good but not exactly epic.

[@Chelaxim]

Well every JRPG KZbinr hates at least 1 classic of the genre that everyone loves. 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@TsukiStuffs]

he said it was good though, he just didn't really get the hype

[@ThootenTootinTabootin]

I always love how content creators think we watch these on computers like he does and not just our phones

[@damnablethief]

Lufia hits me right in the childhood

[@ericolivencia]

As for puzzles not requiring help to look up...I've heard tell of rumors of "The World's Most Difficult Trick"...

[@SeaSerpentLevi]

LETS FUCKING GOO

[@TheRumpletiltskin]

Oh YEAH MORE JASON.

[@alexshadowfax1119]

Love Junts cart!, fan of box mac?

[@ExtremeMusicPromotion]

+1 sub. Your vibe is it.

[@notyoursavior78]

I can't believe it. Am I in a dream world now? I mentioned how you never mentioned the mazes in Lufia 1 and now here you do. This game had a decent monster recruiting system I guess, but as I stated, I didn't quite get into this. Plus one of the castle stories was literally Three Stooges level. I love the three stooges. But just seeing it play out in Lufia 2 I dunno. It just made me upset. I'm strange like I said. I prefer the first more. Loved your wild story at the beginning out doors.

[@paulohenriquefarias6938]

Opinions on Zelda TOTK?

[@JasonGravesPoser]

I liked it a lot! Powers are much more fun to use than the BOTW ones, they stepped up their shrine designs too

[@paulohenriquefarias6938]

@@JasonGravesPoser agreed! Combat is also more balanced (and harder). And I did like the story as well. Still think we could have got a different map and better islands and depths though.

[@Murdoc_rusche]

You didn't mention the "Final Dungeon", which is a stand-alone dungeon randomizer that adds a ton of replay value.

[@JohahnDiechter]

Shout out to Junt.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

Jason, Jason, Jason.... Lufia 2 crushes 7th Saga mate :P Don't let me have to explain it :P

[@Dariothehungry]

Lucia. Good memories.

[@crypton42]

Great review, and I'm with you on this one. I beat this game recently, and it made me realize how I want something more from the JRPGs I play. I just found Lufia II to be boring, even though it mostly felt polished and well-made. It may be the best "generic jrpg" on the system, but I would just prefer to play any other jrpg that does something unique/interesting. Even a game series like Dragon Quest, which may appear to be even more generic on the surface, actually has a ton more going on under the hood. I guess Lufia II does have the puzzle focused dungeons, but I personally didn't find those to be fun (although I admit that this is a taste thing).

[@sagepirotess6312]

Definitely better than ff2. Cant say i beat dq5 yet. But lufia music, puzzles, tools, story, AC, capsile monsters. All these are things ff2 lacks, so it is a lower standard game.

[@NisseDood]

In anime the childhood friend always loses. Its a to common trope.

[@rngfactor]

man i hate getting paired with barret

[@Xavier_384]

🆗️

[@Chelaxim]

Considering it's the hardest paring to get, you must have been out of your way. Dating barrett without a guide is pretty difficult to do.

[@JetWolfEX]

Do you still regret not paying nearly $200 for a copy of this? I've seen many reviews of this one, and yours is possibly the most accurate to my own experience with it, story and characters are very shallow but the dungeons are great. If it didn't have good map design and mechanics it wouldn't be worth playing at all. It gets over-hyped on KZbin, it doesn't have that extra bit of polish, ingenuity, or spectacle to call it one of the best (but it's a close runner up). I know Energy Breaker and Chaos Seed are in your list (same developer), it's genuinely astonishing how much of a jump in quality you'll find going from this (very safe) game to C.S. it's not even comparable. Ogre Battle was your most requested game, I'm going to be that one weirdo that that says "can't wait for the Chaos Seed review!"

[@JasonGravesPoser]

That was a year ago so I wouldn't be missing that money anymore. How having played it ill probably never get one

[@JetWolfEX]

@@JasonGravesPoser Yeah, it was a $70 game for many years and I think that was a fair price. Enjoyed the review, I forgot to mention that

[@KCUFyoufordoxingme]

I am also quite the chaos seed fan. Organization and time management combined with experience gain and income management before tower defense existed.

[@nomenclature7662]

Im that person who bought that Lugia in Florida

[@cruisinobscurae3274]

Cozy ass channel, can't get enough of your stuff.

[@milliondollarmonstertv8081]

Secret of Evermore Review... WHEN, JASON? 🤣

[@TheDecatonkeil]

I played Lufia 2 emulated in the time in between releases of Golden Sun and Golden Sun The Lost age, as I had it recommended by a friend who also was waiting for that game to be brought to Europe. It sure is generic, as the GS series is. In fact, those are among the most similar games to it. But it was pretty looking, had interesting dungeons and puzzles, had a kick ass soundtrack (especially battle and boss battle themes) and felt like a tightly packed and paced odyssey. I'd take those three "generic" japanese roleplaying games any day over all the extremely anime-like JRPGs they've been putting out for the last 15-18 years or so.

[@TheGord]

I made it to the bottom of the 100 floor dungeon in the game. Then the game glitched so I couldn't defeat it. That was 6 hours down the drain.

[@aerisgainsborough2141]

are you sure? the bottom floor is meant to looked all glitched out, keep walking straight up and you will find the jelly...or emulate it and enjoy all the cheats that go with it, starting with 999 stats and cheat for egg swords and pearl/ancient shields and swords!

[@mieralunarlunishion]

@@aerisgainsborough2141 I'm not sure it's meant to be glitched. In my copy on de SNES back in the day it wasn't. But in all roms I've played of Lufia 2, it was.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@flameguy21]

real ones end up with barret

[@Denny-Thray]

The protagonist of Lufia 1 isn't Maxim's son. Lufia 1 takes place 100 years after Lufia 2. So yeah, he's a descendant, not the son.

[@Kletian13]

Both Lufia FoD an 2 RoTS were great but pale in comparison to Chrono Trigger lol

[@malkavthemad4249]

Harvest Moon Review is gonna be better if you run a Ram Ranch.

[@Cav_Florian]

vvery good review bro, now if u can, go for Terranigma!

[@lspuria8440]

I've no opinion on this game so I'm just putting this comment here for the al-gore-ithm.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

Just buy the japanese cartridge : Estpolis Denki 2 !!

[@loganhayse8771]

I liked Lufia 2 as a kid and when I went back; I still enjoyed it but forgettable is the best description of it. The dungeons really are the things that stood out more than anything else and raising a monster to fight as your 5th member. This is where gameplay is more fun than the rest of it. Though if you get bored, Marvelous is pretty fun though its a puzzle game rather than a rpg.

[@luizkorynga]

Bro... Harvest Moon on snes is really a RPG?

[@JasonGravesPoser]

Wars were held a few years ago when I was putting together a list of every rpg on the SNES if Harvest Moon counted! I deferred to yes because Wikipedia said so.

[@crypton42]

@@JasonGravesPoser Wikipedia gonna trick you again like with Alcahest...

[@Selgeron]

I'm starting the video, and I really hope that at least 1/3rd of the video is about the Ancient Cave, and if it's not I'm going to be disappointed.

[@JasonGravesPoser]

Oh no I don't even mention it :( It was cool, I didn't get that far into it though

[@Selgeron]

I am disappointed.

[@Selgeron]

It was the first semi 'roguelike' experience I had when I was a kid, though I didn't know what that was at the time. I loved getting deeper and deeper, and I felt like such a cool kid when I managed to escape with a weapon or armor that was OP for where I was in the main game.

[@T.W.K.1993]

Cries about lufia's story, but praises zelda? Love zelda, but the story's are pretty on the repeat side. Think i prefer this game above link to the past, the soundtrack is an absolute banger too

[@Syd_Fischy]

wait, if you're from florida and live in texas, why do you sound like you're from iowa, definite midwest accent.

[@JasonGravesPoser]

I'm from New York

[@classicgamingchicken]

@@JasonGravesPoser What the fuck is this Wizardry. You cannot be allowed to exist, Jason. This is illegal. Pick a state and stay there, my southern brain cannot handle a Mr.Worldwide.

[@stevemanart]

The poor translation of the games created two major errors in your understanding of the story. 1. Maxim reciprocating Selan's affection instead of Tia's is due to Selen having the same (but less intense) combat hyperfocus allowing them to bond in a way he never could with a reluctant combatant like Tia. Tia stepped out because she came to understand that after adventuring with Maxim for so long, which is why she accepts their romance but has to leave. 2. Lufia II takes place 100 years before Lufia, so Maxim and Selan's kid can't grow up into Rune/Nova. It has to be his parent minimum or even more likely grandparent.

[@cam9144]

Lufia 2 had a great ending but I got super burnt out about 75% in from all the dungeons and ended up youtubing the ending.

[@almeidachannel7121]

Nice Video ! Sub & Big Like !

[@ManillaHeep]

Did you know speedrunners have beaten this game in 51 seconds? 😂

[@aerisgainsborough2141]

yeah but they ain't beat the big jelly or egg dragon in 51 seconds!

[@DellikkilleD]

You totally ignored the part that *made* lufia 2 special, literally didnt even bring it up.what thehell my dude

[@SerpentineDeity]

Lufia is so weird. I don't know if it was the translation but it feels like it was deep yet is so forgettable that . My mind filtered most of the plot yet I still feel nostalgia. It's a game I feel bad for not being compelled to replay.

[@TheBoredJord]

Whelp, that's another easy SKIP. Looking forward to the Harvest Moon coverage big time! 🐔

[@analogmoz]

Jason, can we at least agree that this may be the only JRPG with a fatass, dope-ass battle song?

[@JasonGravesPoser]

It is pretty good

[@ColdRoland]

So you either just ignored the dialogue or your collector-brain didn't get any of it. There's tons of character stories in this game. It's not just about the overall "kick the bad guys ass" thing. You might be the type of gamer who has to have things pointed out to him by unskippable cutscences, waymarkers and incessant hints from your companions. You might not be the experst you think you are.

[@Alianger]

It's goats, not goat's (goat is)

[@gumpyflyale2542]

Leave florida the 1935 labor day hurricane is bound to happen again go to cali the mega flood of January 1862 will totally bever happen again amd the way worse one of 1604 will never ever happen again and we will never have a solar flare that would destou our power grid like in 1859 or worse 774AD and i know we willnnever have a 1816 year without a summer or Late antique lottle ice age luke in536AD but a Florida hurricane like in 1935 labor day happening agaun now that os extremely likely

[@sagepirotess6312]

I think you playing 30 min a day took you out of the game. As you played others. True the game is cookie cutter by design, but many stories and events you didn't experience as you just pressed button through text.

[@gumpyflyale2542]

Dude buy an evercart and never buy another video game again

[@NoneofYourBusiness667]

I personally look at Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest the way an anime fan looks at Naruto and Dragon Ball Z. They’re the most hyped and typical “cream of the crop” arguably always best at what they do. The Lufia games feel more like a lame 80’s or 90’s anime miniseries or cheaply made movie. Choppier animations done on a tight budget that try very hard to mimic the success of the Juggernauts but never quite attain the same levels of their colleagues despite getting a handful of mechanics implemented decently.

[@SirJoelsuf1]

Possibly blasphemous, but I was never able to get into the Lufia franchise.

[@TsukiStuffs]

Honestly 2 is the only must-play. TLR and CotS are pretty good too, but you need to go into the latter knowing it's not a faithful remake and it's more of its own game really

[@msgretrogamer]

Lufia 2 is definitely one of the best 16 bit RPG's.

[@leargamma4912]

I may give lufia 2 a shot one of these days. Great review. Only issue is my backlog of games to play/finish is over 20 games long now. Thabks, Final fantasy and Dragon quest. 🫥