Lufia II spoilers below
26. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals – The Fortress of Doom
Unfortunately, it’s hard to find a lot of Lufia II videos, so if you want to watch any footage of this moment, you’ll have to settle for an LP with the player talking the whole time. Oh well. But if you’re going to watch any of the videos I linked to, watch the last one because it deals with the part that causes this moment to make the list. The other stuff contributes to the cause and I’ll deal with it in this writeup, but it was the last part that sealed the deal.
First of all, this part is cool because it’s the final showdown with all the Sinistrals. Maxim has gained control of the Dual Blade, which can permanently defeat them. The Sinistrals are a great set of villains because of how big and imposing they are. It feels like an accomplishment when you take one of them out. Plus, they have that really awesome battle music that plays when you fight them. Now you have to run through the gauntlet and take out all four of them. It’s a pretty cool setup for the last dungeon.
However, it’s the stuff that happens after you beat the Sinistrals that make the end of Lufia II so good. The Sinistrals use what remains of their powers in a last-ditch effort to wipe out the party, but Maxim and company are able to fight them off, although it comes at a cost. Selan expended so much energy during the battle that it kills her, and Maxim ends up getting isolated from Guy and Arty, who are forced to bail out of the Fortress of Doom before it’s too late. Now it’s up to Maxim to stop the fortress from crashing into the earth and killing many innocent people, including his son. The music that plays during this sequence is really good, so it really contributes to the overall atmosphere of the scene.
When Maxim gets down to the last stone he has to destroy to alter the course of the Fortress of Doom, he finds that he doesn’t have enough energy to do it alone, but then Dual Blade appears to give him the final boost of strength he needs to get the job done. Whew, that was close. Then Selan’s spirit appears to Maxim to express her gratitude for saving their son’s life, and she invites him to go with her to see him. Then Maxim’s sprite begins to flicker and he walks out over the sky, and…wait, what? Maxim is DEAD?! That totally threw me for a loop when I realized he had died when he destroyed the last stone because I wasn’t expecting that at all. You don’t see many games kill off the hero, and Lufia II really made it work, especially with it not being obvious that he’s dead at first, which makes it even more surprising when it’s revealed. It really adds to the impact of the moment.
Bonus Question: What is your favorite final dungeon in a game?
Bonus Bonus Question: Which moment in the lower half of the list is your favorite?
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