Lufia I & II The Sinistrals Saga

Opon the bountiful seas of 16-bit JRPGs, Neverland Company and Taito came together to unleash two powerful waves. The first was Lufia & the Fortress of Doom. It told the tale of a boy, descended from the hero Maxim, and his allies and their fight against the Sinistrals, evil beings who awoke from the seal placed upon them during the ancient battle of Doom Island. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals was a prequel, following Maxim as he grows into the world's saviour through various meetings, farewells, and battles. Two stories born from the resonance of the mystical Dual Blade, combined with soul-searing melodies; now come together in a single package. Lufia I & II The Sinistrals Saga is reborn for the modern era, preserving the original pixel art, but featuring enhanced gameplay via new functions.

The fact that there's still many fans sending their messages of support for a game I created over a quarter of a century ago is quite simply the greatest reward a game creator could ask for.

It truly makes me happy.

I was given the opportunity to re-write the script (which due to the memory limitations of the SNES was mainly written in hiragana) in kanji for this release, and as a result, I reread every line of dialogue in both Lufia I and Lufia II.

Frankly, there's plenty of dialog that made me feel a little embarrassed for my younger self, but revisiting it also brought back so many memories from the game's development making it an incredibly enjoyable experience.

Maxim, Selan, Tia, Lufia...

I would like to say ""thank you"" to all the fans who have given me the chance for this reunion with you all.

The first Lufia arrived in Europe at a time when localised JRPGs were few and far between, and that's certainly one reason why it's remembered so fondly. But that discounts colourful, cheery graphics, a very memorable soundtrack and some tear-inducing moments. And who could forget the opening; like many a good film, it starts at the tragic end, complete with credits?

Lufia was also one of the first games to feature a 'new game plus', but it was the prequel, Rise of the Sinistrals, that really brought the innovations: a monster-raising feature, a bonus rogue-like dungeon, action-puzzle dungeons which forego the overused idea of random encounters. And, of course, more of that captivating soundtrack and tear-inducing story-telling.

Who'd have thought that decades later, we'd get the honour of helping preserve these games for players old and new?