Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals

Overview

Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals is an Action RPG from developers Neverland and Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. The game is a re-imagining of the original 1995 SNES game Lufia 2, which was also developed by Neverland.

Story

In Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals, you play as Maxim, a monster hunter who is chosen to defeat a powerful enemy called a Sinistral. The enemy plans to destroy the world and recreate it in a way more suitable to his race. Over the course of time, this has been done over and over again as soon as the human race begins to show signs that they could possibly challenge the Sinistrals. Maxim is chosen to head out into the world and find other warriors to help him on his quest and save the world as they know it.

The plot in Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals contains many of the originals key elements, but is ultimately shortened and structured in a way to be more suitable for a fast-paced Action-RPG.

Gameplay

Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals is similar in story to its predecessor but not in gameplay. Instead of the game being a turned based RPG, it's an action RPG with the inclusion of many puzzles. You no longer participate in turn-based battles, but instead swing your weapon in real-time and use character-specific actions to solve puzzles. Puzzles are found throughout the world and in most of the dungeons you visit in the world.

You control only one character at a time, but you're able to switch between them in real-time by tapping their character portrait on the touchscreen. Each character uses his own special weapon type and has unique abilities that help you solve the various puzzles.

• Maxim: He fights with basic long swords. He can make a fast forward dash which helps him overcome long distances.

• Tia: She uses her suitcase to oppose her enemies. She can use this also as a grappling hook to either transport her over a cliff or snatch an object from the other side of a cliff.

• Selan: Selan is fighting with chakrams. She can throw them to reach distant switches and enemies.

• Guy: His strength makes him an expert user in heavy hammer-type weapons. This allows him to destroy huge rocks and other obstacles.

• Dekar: Dekar is an expert in weapon usage and is not limited to any kind of weapon type.

• Artea: He uses long-ranged pistol-type weapons. His special ability is hovering which allows him to reach new heights through the help of an air vortex.

The game also contains a rich RPG element in the GRID system. The GRID system allows you to place blocks on a grid to increase the stats of your characters. By doing so, you will become better in battle and can more easily traverse the world.