Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (1995)
Genres:Role-playing (RPG), Puzzle
Themes:Fantasy
Game modes:Single player
Story:Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals serves as a prequel to Lufia & the Fortress of Doom, unfolding its events ninety-nine years before. The narrative delves into the origins of the series' antagonists, the Sinistrals, a group of super-humans. Players take on the role of the ancestor of Maxim, the protagonist from the first game, as he embarks on a quest after encountering Iris, a mysterious woman. Maxim seeks other heroes to join forces in preventing the Sinistrals from wreaking havoc and destroying the world.
Like its predecessor, Rise of the Sinistrals follows the Japanese-style turn-based RPG format with an infusion of puzzle elements. The game incorporates intricate puzzles into its dungeon designs, requiring players to use various items and accessories for solving. Additionally, it introduces the "Capsule Monsters" system, allowing summoned monsters to participate in battles. These creatures evolve through the consumption of weapons, armour, or special fruits. Unlike the first game, dungeons in Rise of the Sinistrals lack random battles, with enemies visibly moving on-screen.Show more
Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.720
This is one of my favorite SNES RPGs. The music, the art style and the dungeon exploring was great. Compared to the first game it was a huge quality of life upgrade in just how fast the characters moved vs the walking through mud speed of the first game. Ended up getting it for Christmas and it wasn't looking like I was going to get it as it wasn't well stocked in our area. Mom ended up having to get my Aunt a few provinces away to buy it and mail it to her. Back in 1996 the story over heard my Aunt talking to my Mom is that it was $106 and if the site I just went to for CDN 1996 compared to 2025 is accurate then it is $192.87 in today's price!
While I haven't played a ton of RPGs, this one holds out as easily one of the all-time best for its story, gameplay, music and more. Its characters and world are very charming and the combat grind is never necessary.
My love for this game comes with a very long and personal story that I'm not going to fill your time with, just know that this game was designed with a special soul to it that a lot of modern games are sorely lacking.
One truth you'll notice is that this game is a masterclass in taking the simplest, most one-dimensional stories, protagonists, etc and fleshing them into much more and making you care about them.
- Take combat as an example, enemies are always based off the environment around them and the subtle differences between every type of enemy matter, its easy to be drawn to attention the way enemies who look "squishy" ARE squishy even if they're tough or dangerous in other ways. (like those DAMN NINJAS)
The sound design is fantastic, most people make a huge deal about the music (and rightly so) but I think the overall sound design is expertly and thoughtfully crafted. Each weapon type has its own sound effect and each spell is distinct, You could blindfold someone who's played this through and start having them guess what spell or weapon is being used and well - there's no mistaking Firebird, or Confusion, or the axe vs the frying pan.
Sorry, I didn't mean for this to turn into a review lol - but my point stands that this game has a very special style to it that I've never seen anyone replicate and I would hate to lose it to history
Lufia 2 is in my opinion one of the best RPG games ever made. It was the first game I remember with the mechanics like New Game Plus, Dungeon Crawler, Monster Gathering and transforming these monsters into stronger pets.
Lufia II is masterful. The way the whole story comes together, with all the answers falling into place, really lets you understand where everything began. The mythical quest and the legendary heroes that inspired the original Lufia are portrayed brilliantly. It's proof that a sequel can be just as good as the original. I totally recommend it!
Silent Hill 3Silent Hill 3 is the third installment in the Silent Hill series. Like the previous entries, Silent Hill 3 is a survival horror combining action-based combat and puzzle-solving, but is somewhat more combat-oriented than the preceding installments. The main character is able to side-step and block some attacks, but in general shares with the other protagonists of the series their relative ineptitude in combat.Trending Action Horror Science fiction Stealth Survival Mystery
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33Lead the members of Expedition 33 on their quest to destroy the Paintress so that she can never paint death again. Explore a world of wonders inspired by Belle Époque France and battle unique enemies in this turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics.Trending Action Fantasy
Silent Hill: HomecomingSilent Hill: Homecoming is the sixth installment in the Silent Hill survival horror series. The gameplay is the same as it's previous entries, where the player searches for objects and uses weapons to defend against grotesque monsters while solving puzzles to advance further into the game. In terms of combat, the player is able to perform light and heavy attacks or mix them to perform combinations. For the first time in the series, the player may select responses when engaging in dialogue with other characters encountered in the game, which in turn may affect how the player sees the plot unfold.Horror Survival
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Deluxe EditionGet the ultimate Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 experience with the Deluxe Edition!Trending Fantasy
Silent HillSilent Hill is the first installment in the Silent Hill series of psychological survival horror video games. Unlike earlier survival horror games that focused on protagonists with combat training, the main character Harry Mason is an average man. The gameplay consists of combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving. The controller vibration is used to indicate Harry's heartbeat and will vibrate on low health. The player must regularly enter an inventory screen to check Harry's health, use items, and equip different weapons.Our Pick Top Trending Action Horror Survival
Silent Hill 2 (Classic)The second entry in the Silent Hill franchise, Silent Hill 2 is a narrative-focused third-person psychological survival horror game with emphasis on combat, exploration and puzzle-solving elements which follows James Sunderland, a man who receives a letter, seemingly sent by his three-years-deceased wife Mary, in which he is beckoned to the fog-ridden town of Silent Hill at the same time as numerous other people troubled by their past.Our Pick Top Trending Horror Survival Mystery Drama
MySims KingdomYour adventure involves you trying to get the island town back to its former glory as well as finding the villain responsible for the crime. You improve the town and get it back up by playing minigames such as Kayaking, Stargazing, and Balloon Present; and by placing decoratives around town and make the town look lively and beautiful again. Meanwhile, as you improve the town, clues are revealed and you unravel scenes in the story that will eventually lead you to the identity of the criminal.
Parasite Eve IIParasite Eve II is an action role-playing survival horror video game released exclusively for the PlayStation. The game was developed by Square and published in Japan in 1999 and in both North America and, unlike the previous game, in PAL regions in 2000. It is the sequel to Parasite Eve and the second game in the series of the same name.
Parasite Eve II is set several years after the events in the original game. The protagonist from the first game, Aya Brea, also features in this game as the playable character. She becomes involved with another outbreak of Mitochondrial creatures. Gameplay diverges from the previous game: battles take place in real time and the area of action is less restrictive. The approach is more typical of traditional survival horror games, although some role-playing elements are retained.Trending Action Horror Science fiction Survival
Steven Universe: Save the LightSteven Universe: Save the Light is being developed for consoles and is planned for release Summer 2017.
It has an original story with a customizable party of 4 characters and uses turn-based combat. It is also a direct sequel to the mobile game, Attack the Light.
Join the Crystal Gems on the ultimate quest! A mysterious new Gem has stolen a powerful weapon. Only Steven and his friends have what it takes to stop her. “Save the Light” is a unique RPG hybrid that combines real-time and turn-based combat.Trending Action Fantasy Comedy Science fiction Kids
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last RewardThe second game in the Zero Escape series.
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward is a mystery/thriller visual novel. It is story focused with multiple endings that use player choices and puzzle rooms to progress.
Additions to the game include an 'auto-advance text' mode, so players can listen to the voice acting without clicking through dialog, a memo function that allows players to note anything they feel is useful, and a flow chart that shows how alternate choices unfold. The in-game calculator has been removed.Horror Thriller Science fiction Survival Mystery