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Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals for the Nintendo DS

 

In Lufia  The Fortress of Doom for the SNES, the first ten minutes  and throughout the game, you are made  aware of  Maxim's, Guy's, Artea's and Selan's  strength and fighting ability. In Lufia II The Rise of The Sinistrals, also for the SNES, you get to play as Maxim with Selan, Guy, Artea and even Tia in your party.

Then, you tolerated and enjoyed 16 Bit graphics, a turn based battle system and were able to carry as many items as you could get. Step into the year 2010 where Square Enix and Natsume decided to give Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals for the Nintendo DS a few upgrades. But before we get into that, the game's difficulty level and game play mechanics, let's first  deal a little with…

The  Story

As  Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals for the Nintendo DS  opens,  Tia, who is in the town of Elcid observes something in the sky. It's not a bird, not one of Lexis Shire's inventions gone horribly wrong, but Doom Island.

Meanwhile in Soma Temple where Maxim and Lexis have gone after spotting the island in the sky, (this also acts as a fighting tutorial for the red haired hero) Gades,  the Sinistral of Destruction makes an appearance. Upon his confrontation with Maxim, Gades makes his intention clear.

He wants to destroy Maxim's world and create one more to his liking.A fight between Maxim and Gades follows. Maxim loses, but Iris, an Oracle from the  previously mentioned SNES  Lufia Rise of the Sinistrals shows up and saves the day, for now.

Maxim, even though Tia (Maxim's childhood friend and love interest in this game, for a while anyway he later marries Selan ) wants him to quit his monster hunting ways and settle for a safe life as a shopkeeper, realizes his new objective. He has to travel around the world seeking out others like him who are willing to help him take on Gades. So the adventure begins with a few upgrades…

What's  New

Maxim, as well as the other fighters he meets along the way  are young, energetic and Square Enix and Natsume have done a good job blending smooth, detailed graphics with music,  the game's sound effects and  voice acting in certain scenes. Quite apart from the SNES  Rise of the Sinistrals where Maxim and Lexis seemed not to be too familiar with each other, here in the Nintendo DS Curse of the Sinistrals the two are not only good friends, but travelling companions.

The Not So New

In Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals for the Nintendo DS, you do not at first hoof it from one town or country to the next. Lexis, with the help of his ship, The Excelion,  takes you where you want to go after you select your destination.

This is done by choosing the ‘Move' option on the menu screen. If you have played Lufia Ruins of Lore on the Gameboy Advance, you should be familiar with this mode of getting around.

The ‘Move' option brings up a map of Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals world. Furthermore, ever so often, the game will have you returning to those already visited places where you enter areas you could not gain access to before.  New areas appear on the map as the game advances, and you do a lot of running around and fighting while in a dungeon.

The  Battle System

You no longer have to sit and wait for the command you select to take effect. No, because in Lufia  Curse of the Sinistrals you can get  up close and personal with the enemy, action style. This makes the game enjoyable for those who do not mind this action style of fighting.

Mystic Stones

These are found in dungeons and temples you visit and   are used to enhance a character's defense, fighting ability, strength, intelligence etc. when placed on the Mystic Board.

Select your hero

By the time you have reached the halfway point of the game, you would have already have all six playable characters in your party. Each comes with his/her own unique weapon skill or ability.

For example, although Maxim cannot equip heavy weapons, he wields a Rapier or Broadsword and can jump gaps by doing a Cross Dash. This comes in useful when he has to lower  the Gondorvan bridge.

Tia uses her hookshot in the Tanbel Mines to cross gaps or bring items, objects, and even enemies  to her. In order to use a certain character's ability, you touch his/her portrait on the Nintendo DS lower screen. Or if you want to save yourself the trouble of touching your touch screen all the time, just press the START button, and  highlight the character you want.

Is  Nine The Magic Number

In RPGs such as: Final Fantasy you are able to carry up to ninety nine potions, hi potions, ethers etc. This time around in Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals, you are limited.

Limited to nine potions, nine antidotes etc. The game is generous though. For in those dungeons and mines you will find potions in treasure chests to replenish any you have used from your stock of nine. Advanced RPGers may enjoy this little challenge, which brings to mind the game's difficulty level.

Are  Some Parts Cursed

Upon entering Gondorvan Bridge, you probably did not think Maxim would have such a challenging time running and crossing gaps to lower levers. Fortunately, if you want to save your game at any time, you can go to the Excelion where Lexis is and  do just that.

But if you survive  Betty and Berty's annoying and sometimes frustrating  mine cart shenanigans at Tanbel Abandoned Mine,  it might leave you wondering if you might overcome  other similar obstacles to advance the game.It might even leave you wondering if the word CURSE in the game's title has anything to do with that.

Some gamers might become annoyed at some of the mind boggling puzzles and obstacles you have to overcome and give up. So if you intend to play Lufia  Curse of the Sinistrals for the Nintendo DS, bring along a dose of patience and your thinking hat. You will need both to survive this massive adventure, action RPG.

Game Play

The fun and exciting game play is done with the Nintendo DS  D or Directional Pad. The touch screen is optional for use when you want to switch characters or use the Reset or Escape option.

As you play the game using  mainly the Nintendo DS A, B, X and Y buttons for fighting, and the A button for talking to  other characters and checking items or treasure chests, the controls feel great and comfortable  much like  holding a SNES controller.

Only if you want to use your finger or the stylus to switch characters or execute a Reset or Escape command from the touch screen, do you feel a slight interruption of all that comfort.

Conclusion

But all in all, if you enjoy playing RPGs and are ready for some challenging game play, action fighting, smooth graphics, with gripping story line to match,  then do pick up Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals for the Nintendo DS.

You will enjoy it even if you have not played any of the previously mentioned Lufia games.

About the Author

Judy Ramsook came to the US in the mid eighties. In November 2004, she published her first book, Karen's Adventure. Since then she's been writing and posting articles and short stories on various websites. Feel free to check out her blog at: www.Ramsook.wordpress.com

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