First Lufia GBA info, screens

[09.14.01] » Just weeks before the third Lufia finally arrives, the first details and screens of a fourth game in the series.

   As previously reported, a new Lufia game is indeed in development for the Game Boy Advance; the latest issue of Famitsu features the first screens and details. Tentatively titled Estpolis Gaiden in Japan (where the series is know by as Estpolis), the game will be published there by Taito in February 2002.

   Nothing is know of the story, gameplay, or characters at this point, but the game's status as a gaiden, or side story, may indicate that it doesn't fit into the main Lufia timeline. However, a blue-haired woman with a mysterious past is probably a safe bet to appear somewhere in the game. The first screens also clearly show the return of capsule monsters, first featured in Lufia II.

   The only real information revealed was that the game will support 4-player linking in the random dungeons -- though it's not clear whether this means all the game's dungeons will be randomly generated, as in Lufia: The Legend Returns. From the early media is looks as though each player in a muliplayer dungeon crawl will appear separately on the map, perhaps competing for items and treasure.

   Look for more information on Lufia GBA to surface soon.

   Special thanks to Aki Habara for the scans.