Lufia & The Fortress of Doom for Super NES (1994)

Original ad published in the January 1994 of EGM (no. 54)

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An impossibly hard JRPG for the Super NES

Released only for Nintendo’s 16-bit console in 1993, Lufia and The Fortress of Doom is your typical turn-based role playing game that rehashes many traditional sins and virtues of the genre.

As your can see from the images below, this game could have been very well released in 1989 for the NES. It’s battle screen, the mode you’ll be seeing the most, is as orthodox as they come. The enemies animate, as well the magic cast during this window, but that is all. 

It’s also worthy to note that Lufia copies the worst idiosyncrasies of many JRPGs, like no-auto enemy selection after ordering your attack or magic. So if by chance you finished the enemy after your second player was selected to attack it, he’ll only whiff the air. This is worst after selecting magic or cure spells. This makes the game exasperating and artificially hard.

The game was released by Taito, of Operation Wolf (1987) fame. I don’t know any other RPG published by Taito. And that’s probably a good thing, seeing the generic and convoluted game we have here. On a positive note, the graphics are quaint and the orchestral music is superb, if a little bit repetitive. 

I remember buying this game as a kid solely for it’s box-art. That same graphical design is repeated in the print ad above. It has a very Japanese flavor in a time where Japan was not that popular in the United Stated. Reminds me a bit of the classic OVA Record of Lodoss War. The typography is very well displayed and the material just pops out the printed page.

   

Lufia and the Fortress of Doom for Super NES print ad copy

Lufia & The Fortress of Doom 

A vast RPG world in stunning graphics!

• YOUR actions determine the outcome of the opening story!
• A vast world to explore in this ultimate RPG adventure!
• Help love triumph over the might of the Sinistrals!

TAITO
The only game in town.