Welcome to the Hard Mode version of Lufia. While I did finish this years ago, I didn’t release it outside of JCE3000GT’s forum since I wanted to give it a thorough second-pass. Despite the delays my perfectionism paid off as there were plenty of areas in the latter half of the game that needed extra difficulty.
This hack makes all of the enemies tougher and has been tested every step of the way for balance. Compensation for the extra difficulty is provided in the form of item drops for every single foe in the game, and more generous drop rates for existing drops (with a few superior changes here and there). Each of the main characters received a slight buff mostly in the MP department, and some items are cheaper as well. Later in the game the tougher monsters start giving a lot more EXP for greater rewards.
This is by no means a ‘insane difficulty’ mod but rather something in the middle. The original game was pathetically easy since you could arrive in a new area with new monsters and wipe them all out with a single spell. Some areas might seem significantly harder but it will likely be more a case of you not previously witnessing the abilities of your enemies since they die before they get a chance to use them.
It is now worthwhile to use a little strategy and vary it throughout the game, and in each new area learn which monsters are the greatest threat in the various formations and thus the ‘priority kill(s)’. With careful planning it is still not that hard to keep your characters alive; I’ve only ever experienced one ‘game over’ and that was solely due to not healing when I should have. Magic still seems overpowered but this is metered by the fact that your MP is limited; thus you’ll have a much easier time if you ration it out, using only one big spell per battle early on. Try not to hoard Miracles and Ex Potions/etc, as I did so in both play-throughs and the first time I had about 80~ wasted Miracles; however it is worth saving 30~ for the final dungeon.
It is essential to heal your characters after every battle, and given how inexpensive Potions are you should try and only use them to heal outside of battle so that you can save all of your MP just for battles. Carry three or more stacks of 99 Potions early on so that you can make it through tougher dungeons and conserve your MP thus. Later in the game it is less of an issue, and I tend to use a few healing spells and top up any excess with Potions. The Wind Flute item has been nerfed in that it doesn’t heal all of your characters in battle, however you can now use it outside of battle for free healing. It is found in the final level of the Old Cave, which will be too tough to handle for quite some time; although if you’re getting sick of healing with items and such you could always use Smoke Balls to avoid battles and go get the Wind Flute as soon as you gain access to a ship (I didn’t bother).
I’ve also included my extensive Changelog document which shows the various new monster stats as well as their item drops which is conveniently broken up into each area of the game as you come across them. It is worth studying when you get to a new area so you can see if there are any items you want to aim for. I’ve also documented the minor character and magic/item changes I made. The prologue characters have been nerfed somewhat, and since the monsters are also tougher it is now no longer a cakewalk; although it’s still not exactly challenging. It’s actually worth exploring and nabbing all the items with Maxim, however!
Stat buffs and debuffs make your life much easier, so learn to experiment with the various spells there was no point using in the original game. You can buy Plum Cider early on for a decent cheap attack boost, and once money is no object carry around 99 Power Gourds at all times. ‘Arrows’ and attack items quickly become useless in new areas, so it is best to use them as soon as you get them rather than hoarding them.
I assume every player will fully explore each dungeon and grab all the treasure; I highly recommend Sleipnir2000’s walkthrough at GameFAQs (https://tinyurl.com/mgmj5ut), as well as the timings for visiting the Old Cave (aside from the final level). Grinding isn’t required, excluding right at the start of the game which is standard for even easy games which have a tough beginning (such as Breath of Fire). Fighting a few extra battles when you are close to level-up doesn’t really count either. Grinding is pretty much pointless since if you fall behind there are various high-EXP Metal Slime-esque monsters such as the Mimics and Redcore/etc monsters which give crazy-good rewards. I usually made an effort to kill 3-5 of them in each area, but there is no need to go any further than that.
If you want more help or want to check out some videos of the Hack, you can check out my YouTube preview playlist (https://tinyurl.com/lou9okf). It is not a full Let’s Play, but it will showcase various areas from the start of the game up until you get your ship, as well as various boss battles. Check them out for more hints and tips that should help you out.
Awesome: I haven’t tested it, but I can’t see why this wouldn’t work with Vivify93’s Lufia ‘Restored’ Hack, which removes censorship, adds item descriptions and several other cool changes (it might even make the final boss tougher; happy for someone to confirm this in the future).
TL;DR: Complete Lufia Hard Mode! Check out my preview videos for more information!
Download Link: https://tinyurl.com/lpf7ozy // YouTube Preview Playlist: https://tinyurl.com/lou9okf
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Acknowledgement: This was all made possible thanks to JCE3000GT’s Lufia Editor. It took me a crazy amount of time to make, but it wouldn’t exist without his editor.
What’s Next: I’m working on a Hard Mode for the first Suikoden, and have thoroughly edited up to Neclord’s Castle so far. Once finished I plan to give it a second-pass in the form of a complete Let’s Play with all the voice acting. Unlike with Lufia I’ll probably release a first version as 0.9, which will be complete but lacking my perfectionist second-pass.
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I’m also at about 70% with my stalled Warsong and Langrisser II (Genesis) Hard Mode projects. Not due to boredom, but I just had too many projects going at the same time. I also started a Hard Mode for Breath of Fire II, but ran into some glitches so for now it is on hold as well.Oh, and if anyone knows how I can submit the download link to RHDN, please let me know. It won't accept a Google Drive or Dropbox link even though the file itself is .RAR.
