Web site:
Category: Games
Sub-Category: RPG
Platform: Nintendo NES
License: Proprietary
Interface: GUI
Wikipedia: Lufia & the Fortress of Doom
First release: June 25, 1993
Lufia & the Fortress of Doom – a traditional RPG, published and developed by Taito right in the middle of the 16-Bit era, said by some to be the Silver Age of domestic RPGs. Like many RPGs, Lufia has both medieval and futuristic cultural elements.
The battle system is very simplistic and icon-based. You simply choose from attack, magic, defend, item, or run, choose the spell/item/target if necessary, and watch the round go by. There are a few gripes I have, though: first off, the targeting system is based on groups, and the fact that you can only target a group with any attack (save an all-enemy attack), is rather unnecessarily annoying, since single-target attacks simply hit a random person in a group. Also, if the entire group is destroyed and someone else was supposed to attack the group afterwards, that person attacks thin air. Aside from that, no problem. The game also has a very nice way of getting you used to the combat system without much frustration- it starts you out with four characters at very high levels.