Being a fan of the Lufia games and their music, I was excited to learn that a soundtrack containing music from both games existed. However, my initial excitement was rather short-lived as I soon became aware of the fact that the album was among the more rare and difficult ones to find. Recently I was finally able to get this album, and had been quite pleased with it.

If one asked RPG fans of the SNES era what was their favorite non-square series, it is likely that Taito's Lufia, known as Estpolis in Japan, would be their response. Some still feel that the Lufia games, especially the second installment, are some of the best RPGs period. Their soundtracks are also amazing.

The music of both games is found on this album. Lufia 2's compositions are a bit more complex than Lufia 1's tracks, but I thoroughly enjoyed the songs from both games. Disc one and tracks one through thirteen of disc two contain the original soundtrack to Estpolis 2, and tracks fourteen through forty-eight of disc two contain the Estpolis 1 soundtrack. The music on this album is directly from the games, so if you are among those who dislike the music produced by the SNES sound chip, you may want to stay away. But if you like melody-driven music in a traditional RPG context, I strongly recommend you give this one a try if you can find it.

Unfortunately, locating a copy of this album is no easy task. It was published several years ago, so your best bet is to keep an eye out for it on Ebay or Yahoo Japan. You may have to pay a pretty penny for it due to its rarity and the popularity of the game series, but I think it is worth it.

Reviewed by: SrBehemoth