Characters of Lufia

Characters of Lufia are the cast of the Lufia series of console role-playing games developed by Neverland for Nintendo's Super NES, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance systems.

Concept and Creation

The character design of the Lufia games share similar styles to other RPG's of their respective eras, incorporating an anime influenced art style, and drawing inspiration from mythology and popular fantasy archetypes. The use of archetypes was particular evident in the series' first title, Lufia & the Fortress of Doom where each of the four party members was based on a familiar fantasy stock characters (the chosen one, a sorceress, a knight, and an Elven archer, respectively). Later titles saw more detail to characterizations and a wider array of playable heroes. The primary villains of the Lufia series, the Sinistrals seem to have been inspired by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Like the Horsemen they are four immensely powerful entities, each with a different title, whose sole purpose is to bring about the end of the world.

The Legendary Heroes

The legendary heroes are the four warriors who first defeated the sinistrals. Their victory managed to bring peace to the land for nearly a century before the Sinistrals were eventually resurrected.

Maxim

The protagonist of , it is his descendants who are charged with defeating the Sinistrals whenever they resurface. By trade he is a monster hunter in Elcid, where he leads a quiet existence with his best friend and neighbor Tia. However when a witnesses a mysterious light land in a nearby cave he sets out to investigate. In the cave he meets a mysterious woman, Iris, who informs him that the fate of the earth will rest on his shoulders and that he must travel on a great journey to discover the truth for himself. Believing her words Maxim embarks on a quest to find the source of a recent surge of monsters in the area. He is joined in his travels by Tia and eventually Guy. After seeing the destrcution that one of the sinistrals has wrecked upon a small village the group becomes determined to defeat them.

Throughout their journey Maxim develops a good-natured rivalry with Selan, a general from the kingdom of Parcelyte; this gives way to friendship and eventually love. When the party defeats Gades, Maxim narrowly escapes with his life, and the heroes believe the Sinistrals to be no more. In the wake of these events Maxin and Selan are married and have a son, Jeros. The new family enjoys a year of peace in Parcelyte; however, this comes to an abrupt end when a warrior named Idura kidnaps Jeros. Maxim resigns himself to the fact that he must return to his warrior ways, and together, he and Selan rescue their son. They are then visited by Iris, who reveals that destiny intended Maxim to die in his encounter with Gades. If he had done so, peace would have returned to the world; in living to father Jeros, he has thrown off the entire course of fate.

The couple leaves Jeros in the care of Selan's aunt and sets out to find and defeat the remaining Sinistrals. They reunite with Guy and travel to the land of the Elves, where they meet Artea and search for the legendary Dual Blade. Their adventure comes to an end when they reach Doom Island, the Sinistrals' stronghold. The heroes are victorious in battle, but the island begins to crumble. When Selan dies after the battle, Maxim convinces Guy and Artea to escape while he stays behind with his wife.

An incarnation of Daos appears and informs Maxim that his last act will have Doom Island fall on Parcelyte. Wielding the Dual Blade, Maxim uses the last of his energy to ensure that the island falls into the sea. In the last scene, Maxim dies but witnesses peace throughout the world as he drifts away with Selan.

elan

Selan is the commander of the Parcelyte army, and is known for both her might and cunning. Her fame is so great that children across the continent know her name. She initially joins Maxim and the others when they offer to help her retrive Parcelyte's national treasure. Afterward she decides to join them on their quest to defeat the Sinistrals, who she believes to be a common threat.

She is independent and at first resents Maxim's leadership. However she eventually learns to trust and even admire him, after he risks his own safety to rescue her. According to Iris, Selan is also one of the four warriors fated to battle the Sinistrals.

Selan lost her parents at a young age, and her only family consists of an elderly aunt. When the heroes battle Gades, Maxim nearly loses his life in the process and he and Selan are married soon afterward. Selan's aunt moves in with them and helps the couple care for their newborn son, Jeros. After a peaceful first year of marriage Jeros is kidnapped by one of the Sinistral's disciples. Once Jeros is rescued, his parents leave him in the care of Selan's aunt so they can set out to defeat the Sinistrals once and for all.

Despite her military life, Selan is an incredibly kind and compassionate individual. She goes out of her way to watch over Lemmy, a small Parcelyte girl who is often bullied by her peers. Selan ultimately gives her life, along with Maxim, in her quest to defeat the Sinistrals.

Guy

Guy is an optimistic warrior from Tanbel who is always up for a duel or a bit of adventure. He places a great deal of worth on a person's physical strength and is immediately impressed by Maxim's fighting spirit. He is a proud womanizer much to the dislike of his girlfriend, Jessy, and fiercely competitive. Early on a brotherly rivalry develops between him and Maxim as to who's stronger, although this is eventually overshadowed by his much greater rivalry with Dekar.

When his sister, Hilda, is kidnapped Maxim and Tia volunteer to help him rescue her, and he subsequently joins them on their adventure out of gratitude. He has a great respect for Maxim, even offering to stay behind and die with him as Doom Island collapses. At Maxim's urging he instead leaves with Artea to spread the news of the Sinistrals defeat.

As a result of his disciplined lifestyle, Guy lives to be well over a hundred. He is still alive during the events of Lufia & the Fortress of Doom he die's after meeting Maxim's descendant and finding out the Sinistrals are back. Following his death he is buried in his garden.

Artea

Artea (also spelled Arty) is the only elf to join Maxim in his adventure. While he appears aloof at times he has a great respect for Maxim and the others, and joins them in spite of the great distrust that exists between most humans and Elves. He senses that something is wrong in the world, and believes that the Sinistrals are part of the problem. When he learns that Maxim and the others are trying to defeat the Sinistrals he enlists their aid to help rescue the Elves' elder, who was taken by the Sinistals.

He is the oldest member of the group, due to the difference between how Elves and humans age. As a result he is the only one of the person included in all three games in the main trilogy. In Lufia and the Fortress of Doom, It is revealed that final confrontation with the Sinistrals left him blind. However, he is able to sense Maxim's bloodline and at first thinks that his old friend has returned, before realizing that he is instead in the presence of Maxim's descendant. He shares his knowledge of the Sinistrals and Dual Blade with the new heroes and gives Jerin his bow, which was once renowned as the strongest in the world, to aid them in their effort. By the events of The Legend Returns, he is several hundred years old and being cared for by his younger sister Milka.

He often verbally spars with Guy, whose quick temper and pride clash with Arty's more reasoned approach to life, and they serve as a sort of comedic duo in the final stages of the game. In the wake of the battle at Doom Island, it is through Arty's magic that he and Guy are able to escape to safety.

Other Playable Characters

In Fortress of Doom

Maxim's descendant formed a new group of heroes, along with Lufia, Aguro and Jerin, who set out to defeat the Sinistrals once more.

In Rise of the Sinistrals

Tia is Maxim's childhood friend, she has a crush on him although its unclear of whether he's unaware of her feelings or simply chooses to ignore them. When Maxim sets off on adventure Tia begins to worry and soon follows after him, much to his dismay.

Dekar is the self-proclaimed strongest man in the world (actually, he is). He is the idol of many children and the object of many women's affection. He develops a rivalry between Guy as they are both determined to prove that they are the strongest warrior alive.

Lexis Shaia is a great inventor, even if his creations have a tendency of blowing up from time to time. Maxim and the others meet him while searching for an engine for their ship. His descendants are featured in every game in the series, with the exception of Ruins of Lore. They are the only characters in the series to have specified surnames.

In The Legend Returns

Wain is a descendant of Maxim. He lives in Patos village where he has honed his skill with a sword by exterminating the monsters that roam the countryside. He longs for adventure and excitement and finds his chance when Seena arrived. [4]

Seena is a beautiful young fortune teller who arrives in Wain's town to challenge the riddle of the Death Tower located nearby. [4] A strong-minded yet sensitive girl whose predictions are uncannily accurate, [5] she joins Wain on his journey to rid the world of evil.

Dei is a kind-hearted yet unlucky thief who gives all the money he steals to the poor of his hometown. [4] Loyal to the end, Dei would give up his own life to save that of a friend, but would rather look for treasure than fight.

Aima is a young female monk who constantly trains in order to become a "Master of the Fist." She is currently studying under a master of the Jigen-Ryuu fighting school while defending her town from the Garland Gang bandits.

Randolph is a vassal of Princess Melfis whose age may have affected his swordsmanship, but never detered his loyalty to his kingdom. In his youth he was known as the "Master of the Twin Swords." [4]

Melphis A Princess who was forced to live in a haunted lighthouse before being rescued by Wain's group. Though she dreams of seeing as much of the outside world as possible [4] , her first priority is the safety of her people.

Mousse is a forest spirit that helps out lost travelers. Though he cannot speak, Mousse can understand human language.

Deckard is pirate with a mysterious past who only attacks the ships of those who deserve it. He is actually Alheim, the missing Prince of the Alstadt Kingdom, and thus the older brother of Princess Melphis. Although he bears a physical resemblance and similar name to Dekar, no relation is ever specified.

Ruby is a gambler from Redwood whose cold poker face hides her sentimental nature.

Yurist is a wanderer and poet from the village of Tanba who lives by his own rules, taking life as it comes.

Isaac Shaia is a descendant of the family of inventors featured throughout the Lufia series.

Milka is the younger sister of Artea, she was a small child when Maxim originally defeated the Sinistrals.

Egg Dragon The famous wish-granting Egg Dragon from the previous Lufia games returns, but only joins the party after a lengthy sidequest, making him the only optional character in the series.

In Ruins of Lore

Eldin is a boy who dreams of being an adventurer and has trained himself to use a sword in order to survive in the harsh world. Until he meets Rami, his life has no real direction, but he is soon thrust into a struggle for the fate of the world. In battle, he mostly relies on his physical strength to vanquish enemies, and his ability to wear heavy armor gives him great defense. Out of battle, his special skill is swinging his sword to cut down tall grass or other impediments.

Torma is Eldin's best friend, a young man with wild blonde hair who has trained his body to be a powerful weapon. Like Eldin, he is not gifted with the use of magic, so he instead utilizes his battle prowess and skill with weapons such as chains and boomerangs. Out of battle, his special skill is using a rope to cross otherwise impassable chasms.

Rami is a childhood friend of Eldin and Torma and an aspiring magician. Her high AP and Intelligence make her a good candidate to learn magic from Masters. Out of combat, she can create a small flame that can be used to light things such as candles.

Bau is a member of a hobbit race who was changed into a dog-like monster and has thus been shunned by the other hobbits because of it. He can't learn any magic or special abilities, yet is a powerful fighter that tends to cause the most damage in your party. Out of battle he can use his hammer to smash objects that block the party's way.

Dekar is a warrior from the past who aids Eldin and his group. Though he has aged since Lufia II, his spirit remains as wild as ever.

The Sinistrals

The "Sinistrals" are a group of four evil gods from the "Lufia" series of video games. Their base is the Fortress Of Doom but they usually do battle with the heroes atop the many towers of the world. The Sinistrals are Gades, Amon, Erim, and Daos. A fifth Sinistral, Arek, appears briefly in Lufia II. Although his true nature is yet unrevealed, Arek seems to be little but an observer, watching from afar as the humans and Sinistral fight for dominance of the world.

Gades

Gades is the Sinistral of Destruction. He has a tendency to gloat and talk condescendingly about the humans, stating that they are the most inferior race of all. He is the most obnoxious, impatient, and impetuous of the Sinistrals, always seeking to destroy a town, building, or anything at every chance he gets. Gades, unlike the other sinistrals, concentrates more on brawn and brute force than magic to fight.

Amon

Amon is the Sinistral of Chaos. He has the capability to take control of powerful or highly influential humans and manipulate them into doing his bidding. With this ability he forces people into discord, distrust, stress, or a combination of the three. He can even use his influence on loyal military guards, or entire towns and continents. Amon is confident in his abilities, and takes his job much more seriously than his brother Gades, who tends to play around with the opposition. He wields a golden trident to match his golden armor.

Erim

Erim is the Sinistral of Death. In the first game, it is revealed that she was actually Lufia herself, though she suffered from amnesia and was not able to remember any of her past life. Eventually, the other Sinistrals were able to recover her memory, but she later rebelled against her brothers and defeated them along with the hero and his friends at the cost of permanently losing all of her memories and her ability to use magic. In "Lufia 2" Erim assumed the identity of Iris, a mysterious woman who helped Maxim and his friends along the way during their journey. However, these acts of salvation were a ruse to lure the heroes into a trap, not because of wickedness, but in order to fulfill certain prophecies. During the course of such, however, Iris developed feelings for Maxim. In "Lufia III", Erim was actually Seena, one of the main characters and the Hero's target of affection. She disguised herself so she could find friends strong enough to kill her, as she could no longer bear the existence of a Sinistral. Erim plays a major role in the story, as she usually appears to have some sort of connection with the Hero's lover. As long as Erim lives, the other Sinistrals are able to resurrect themselves.

Daos

Daos is the Sinistral of Terror. He is the leader and by far the most powerful. He shrouds his form in a large red-orange robe. Daos has magical and physical might that exceeds those of the other Sinistrals. He, like Amon, is a master tactician and strives to dominate the humans. Daos enjoys making people fear him, striking when least expected, as in "Lufia III" when he saves a town from a vicious dragon that the Heroes couldn't defeat, only to kill a soldier who was about to propose to his lover. He's most intelligent of the Sinistrals, and the only one who learns from his mistakes. In spite of that, he repeatedly underestimates the power that humans have, the main reason for his defeats.

Guard Daos

Guard Daos is a fusion of Gades, Amon, and Daos joining together, culminating "all" the abilities into one supreme being. He appears at the end of "Lufia I" as the final boss, and near the end of "Lufia III", as the first boss of the Tower of Twilight. It is worth noting that the Sinistral Erim is never included into the mix. It is unknown if Erim's inclusion in the fusion would create a different creature.

External links

* [http://www.lufia.net Lufia.net]
* [http://lufia.rpgplanet.gamespy.com/ "Lufia" at rpgplanet.gamespy.com]