''Lufia'', known as in Japan, was a series of role-playing video games developed by

Neverland Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live. Altho ...

(aside from ''The Ruins of Lore'', which was developed by Atelier Double). In Japan, the games were originally published by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...

and later, its now-parent company Square Enix (with ''Curse of the Sinistrals''), and after the closing of Taito's North American branch after the release of the first game,

Natsume Inc. Natsume Inc. is an American video game publisher. Originally established as an American division of Natsume Atari, Natsume Co., Ltd. in 1988, it split from its parent company in 1995 to become an independent publisher. Natsume Inc. is located in B ...

(''Rise of the Sinistrals'', ''The Legend Returns'', and ''Curse of the Sinistrals'') and

Atlus USA Atlus West, formerly known as Atlus U.S.A., Inc., is the North American publishing branch of Japanese video game company Atlus, primarily known for localizing games for both them and other third-party developers. Its first original role-playing ...

(''The Ruins of Lore'') in the U.S. While the games are primarily traditional 2D RPGs, they draw on elements from many other genres including

action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...

, monster collecting, and

puzzle games Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. ...

. In the 1990s the games were originally developed on the Super NES while the most recent installment, '' Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals'', was developed for the Nintendo DS and was released in 2010 for Japan on February 25 and for North America on October 12. The series currently consists of six games, including this most recent installment.

Setting

The ''Lufia'' series spans the course of two centuries, beginning with the defeat of the god-like

Sinistrals ''Lufia'', known as in Japan, was a series of role-playing video games developed by Neverland (aside from ''The Ruins of Lore'', which was developed by Atelier Double). In Japan, the games were originally published by Taito and later, its now ...

in ''Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals''. These events are followed by ''Ruins of Lore'', which takes place 20 years after ''Rise of the Sinistrals'' ends. ''Fortress of Doom'' picks up another 79 years (99 years after the events of ''Rise of the Sinistrals'') later. The current series ends with the Sinistrals' final defeat in ''Legend Returns'', which takes place 101 years after ''Fortress of Doom''.

Characters

''Lufia'' follows the exploits of the hero Maxim and his quest to defeat the Sinistrals; after his death, this task is taken up by his descendants through several generations. One of his descendants is Wain, the main male protagonist of ''The Legend Returns''.

List of media

Video games

Canceled titles

Reception

References

External links

Lufia World
{{Square Enix franchises Square Enix franchises Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 1993