Square Enix Formally Announces Estopolis

Teased last week, Square Enix, via the recent issue of Weekly Famitsu, has broken word on the revival of the Estopolis/Lufia series. Currently titled The Land Cursed by the Gods: Estopolis, the game is being handled by developer Neverland, who are most recently notable for their Rune Factory titles for Marvelous.

As previously feared, the game is indeed a DS remake utilizing God-awful DS 3D, though it is a remake of Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, rather than the original Lufia. Despite being a remake, however, Estopolis is receiving a fairly extreme make-over, making the jump from traditional turn-based battles to action-based role-playing. Additionally, the character designs have all been revamped. For instance, the slicked-back hair and traditional armour of the game's lead, Maxim, has been ditched for a modern spikey mop and a leather jacket. Changes in the other characters are similarly notable.

Besides the character and battle system changes, it seems that the gameplay will also be changing to involve more action-oriented puzzles and interactive dungeons.

The basic plot appears to remain the same at this point, with Maxim and his friends eventually standing up to face the threat of the Sinistrals. However, how close Neverland will stick to the original's script is difficult to determine at the moment.

Finally, Estopolis will also feature some 3D cell-shaded FMVs, which look extremely nice, and make the terrible DS graphics all the more noticeable. It's too bad the developers chose not to use a console and make all the graphics look like that.




While I suppose its nice to see the Lufia series return after all this time, I am never pleased about handheld titles taking preference over consoles.

What about you? Are you excited to see Lufia II remade as a modern action-RPG on the DS? Were you expecting/hoping for something else?

Estopolis will be available for Nintendo DS on February 25, 2010 in Japan.

Square Enix Resurrecting Lufia

In the latest issue of Famitsu, Square Enix took an opportunity to tease a new (?) title in a series thought to be forgotten forever: Estopolis.

Though the name Estopolis may not readily be recognizable to many of you, certainly RPG fans old enough to remember gaming on the Super Nintendo will likely recognize its Western name: Lufia.

Currently, Square Enix has shown nothing but a logo accompanied with the tag, 'The Land cursed by the Gods,' and a single piece of concept art. Whether or not this is a truly new installment of the series, or nothing more than a port or remake remains speculation, as does the game's target platform(s).

Optimistically, I would like to think it to be an actual new entry on HD platforms, but the cruelty of this generation cautions me to remember that the vast majority of JRPGs are on handhelds. A DS 3D remake from Matrix (the studio behind the Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV DS remakes) seems (unfortunaltey) highly likely.

I'll keep my fingers crossed if you will, though.

[Famitsu]