Software:Lufia: The Ruins of Lore

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Short description: 2002 video game
Lufia: The Ruins of Lore
North American box art
Developer(s)Atelier Double
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Release
  • JP: March 8, 2002
  • NA: May 6, 2003
Genre(s)Role-playing video game
Mode(s)Single-player

Lufia: The Ruins of Lore, known in Japan as Chinmoku no Iseki: Estpolis Gaiden (沈黙の遺跡 ～エストポリス外伝～), is a role-playing video game developed by Atelier Double and published by Taito in Japan in 2002 and by Atlus a year later in North America. It is the fourth title in the Lufia series of video games and was released as a "gaiden", or side story, to the main series; as a result, it does not feature many elements common to the rest of the series, such as the Sinistrals and the Dual Blade.

Gameplay

Combat

Much like the rest of the Lufia series, The Ruins of Lore plays like a typical role-playing video game, where the player must advance through several scenarios and navigate dangerous dungeons, fighting enemies along the way. Unlike typical console RPGs, the battles are not random, and the monsters are displayed in the dungeon itself along with the characters.[1] Combat only ensues when they come in contact with each other.

Winning battles grants the player experience points which go toward gaining levels, making the characters stronger in the process, and just like Software:Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, several monsters (called "Disc Monsters") can be captured instead of slain and used to fight with the party. The monsters can be fused with Eldin, Torma or Rami for three turns in combat once a character's Installation Points ("IP") reach their maximum. These points are visible by a gauge just beneath the characters hit points and ability points, and fill up when they are hit by an enemy.

Plot

Lufia: The Ruins of Lore takes place 20 years after the events of Lufia II. After the defeat of the Sinistrals by Maxim, the world has enjoyed a season of relative peace, but is again threatened when the Kingdom of Gratze, a growing military superpower, allies itself with a mysterious man named Ragule and declared war on its bordering nations. Their primary goal is to scour the world in search of a powerful monster known simply as "The Beast", that, once under their control, would all but insure their conquest of the world. The game is told from the perspective of a young man named Eldin, who, during this age of conflict is traveling the world in search of adventure and intrigue. On his journey, he meets a young priestess named Rubius who is searching for mystic shards and stones that will allow her to enter a fabled holy land. One of the places she needs to go to obtain one is Ragule's fortress, and once they arrive, they meet the despot and realize that if the world is ever to be at peace again, he must be stopped at any cost.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings71%[2]
Metacritic76/100[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge7 of 10[4]
EGM8 of 10[5]
Famitsu29/40[6]
Game Informer7.75 of 10[7]
GameProStarStarStarStar[8]
GameSpot6.6 of 10[9]
GameSpyStarStar[10]
Nintendo Power3.4 of 5[11]

The game was released to overall positive reviews. It received an 8/10 score from Electronic Gaming Monthly and a 7.75/10 from Game Informer. A dissenting view came from Nintendo Power which awarded it only 3.4 out of five. On the review aggregator site Metacritic, the game has an overall score of 76/100.[3] On the similarly themed site GameRankings, it has a slightly lower score of 71%.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Lufia: The Ruins of Lore Review | RPGFan" (in en-US). 2004-11-25. https://www.rpgfan.com/review/lufia-the-ruins-of-lore-2/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Lufia: The Ruins of Lore for Game Boy Advance". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/gba/589582-lufia-the-ruins-of-lore/index.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Lufia: The Ruins of Lore for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/lufia-the-ruins-of-lore/critic-reviews/?platform=game-boy-advance. 
  4. ↑ "Lufia: The Ruins of Lore". Edge. August 2003. 
  5. ↑ Bettenhausen, Shane (March 2003). "Lufia: The Ruins of Lore". Electronic Gaming Monthly (165): 72. http://www.1up.com/reviews/lufia-ruins-lore-shane. Retrieved 2014-03-05. 
  6. ↑ "沈黙の遺跡 〜エストポリス外伝〜 [GBA"]. Famitsu. https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=11993. Retrieved 2018-09-13. 
  7. ↑ "Lufia: The Ruins of Lore". Game Informer (120): 96. April 2003. 
  8. ↑ Star Dingo (April 2003). "Lufia: The Ruins of Lore Review for Game Boy Advance on GamePro.com". GamePro: 63. http://www.gamepro.com/nintendo/gameboy_advance/games/reviews/28180.shtml. Retrieved 2014-03-05. 
  9. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (2003-06-06). "Lufia: The Ruins of Lore Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/lufia-the-ruins-of-lore-review/1900-6029642/. 
  10. ↑ Nutt, Christian (2003-04-24). "GameSpy: Lufia: The Ruins of Lore". GameSpy. http://gba.gamespy.com/gameboy-advance/lufia-the-ruins-of-lore/5817p1.html. 
  11. ↑ "Lufia: The Ruins of Lore". Nintendo Power 168: 68. May 2003. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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