Masahide Miyata built a dungeon ninety-nine floors deep, and privately doubted that anyone would ever reach the bottom.
Estpolis Denki II reached Japanese shelves on 24 February 1995. It came from Neverland, a studio not yet two years old, founded on 7 May 1993 by staff who had come out of Telenet's Wolf Team. Deep inside the game its director, Masahide Miyata, left the Ancient Cave: ninety-nine floors, generated fresh every run, your equipment taken at the entrance, no save point anywhere in it. In 2023, at a fan gathering in Fuchu after a concert of the score, he said of it: "At the time I was thinking — is there really anyone who can clear this?" The cave became the part of the game people name first, and they are still going back down it.
About this game
Estpolis Denki II (1995), known in the West as Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, opens by showing you its own ending, then spends forty hours explaining it. Director and writer Masahide Miyata says of the first Estpolis that he "made a really ordinary RPG in a really ordinary way"; for the second he went after a fusion of RPG and puzzle. So there are no random encounters anywhere: every enemy stands visible on the map, to be walked around or taken on deliberately, and the rooms where grinding would normally go are switch-and-block problems instead. You cannot grind your way past a locked door.
Key Features
Puzzle-filled dungeons with no random encounters — each enemy is visible on screen and can be avoided or engaged deliberately. A 99-floor Ancient Cave side dungeon generates randomized items and tests players in a rogue-like structure. The Ancient Cave character resets on entry, requiring players to rebuild equipment from scratch each run. A story that unfolds as a prequel, opening with its own ending and working backward through Maxim's life.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Chrono Trigger went on sale on 11 March 1995. Lufia II had been in shops for fifteen days. Neverland had none of that game's famous names, and what it did instead was narrow and stubborn: no random encounters anywhere, and dungeons built as rooms to be solved rather than corridors to be survived. Composer Yasunori Shiono has said the briefs he got from Masahide Miyata came like this: "Shio-chan, the town theme this time, something like this, town-ish", or "castle-ish". The opening theme, "Time of Judgement", kept growing because the scene it played under kept growing: he would be asked to stretch the music because the event had run a little longer, and then asked again. He says: "Bridging the gaps was hard." On 8 February 2025 an orchestra played his score at Ota Citizens' Hall in Tokyo, thirty years after he wrote it.
Tricks & Tales
Only the equipment found in blue chests can be carried back out of the Ancient Cave into the main game. The cave was eventually pulled out and ported on its own as a mobile app. Yasunori Shiono, who wrote the music, then stopped writing music: for roughly a decade he ran a soba shop with his father, and he has said the motion of cutting soba is not far from the feel of composing. He put a video up on YouTube for no particular reason, someone saw it, a commission came back, and he was a composer again.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Super Famicom and SNES region differences operate on two separate levels. First, there is a physical incompatibility: a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge and a North American SNES cartridge have different shell shapes. NTSC-J (Super Famicom) carts are narrower and will not seat in a North American SNES slot without the slot's internal tabs removed or bypassed; conversely, the wider NTSC-U carts cannot even be inserted into a Super Famicom. Second, even where cartridges physically fit — PAL carts share a shell shape closer to Super Famicom and will insert — a lockout chip on the motherboard (F411 for NTSC, F413 for PAL) will prevent the game from booting on a mismatched console. Running a Super Famicom cartridge on a Super Famicom purchased in Japan is of course straightforward; playing it on a foreign console requires either a mod or an adapter that addresses both the physical and the chip-level lock.
Maintenance Tips
The 72-pin cartridge connector is the most common maintenance point. Clean the gold-plated pins on cartridges with a cotton swab and 90%+ isopropyl alcohol; never use abrasive erasers on cartridge contacts. The connector slot on the console itself can be cleaned by inserting and removing a cartridge several times, or with a dedicated pin cleaner. For video output, S-Video provides significantly cleaner image quality than composite and uses the same multi-out port -- a passive adapter cable is all that is required. On early SHVC board revisions, a capacitor near the power LED can leak; inspect the board if the console shows instability. Use the original AC adapter or a verified equivalent: the SFC runs on 10V DC and is not compatible with Famicom or NES power supplies.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals copies regularly.
Will this Japanese Super Famicom cartridge work on a North American Super Nintendo (SNES)?
No, not directly. The Super Famicom and SNES are incompatible in two ways: the cartridge shape differs (the SFC cartridge has a different width and notch layout), and both consoles include a regional lockout chip (the CIC chip) that rejects foreign cartridges. Third-party adapters exist that address both issues simultaneously by bridging the physical shape and bypassing the lockout chip. Some collectors modify their SNES console to disable the CIC chip entirely. A Japanese Super Famicom cartridge is always best paired with a Japanese Super Famicom.
How should I clean a Super Famicom cartridge?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and gently wipe the gold-plated edge contacts visible inside the cartridge's connector slot. Never blow into the cartridge. If the shell needs to be opened for deeper cleaning, Super Famicom cartridges use 3.8mm security game bit screws — the same proprietary screw as the Famicom. Standard Phillips screwdrivers will not fit and will strip the screw heads. Clean gently and allow the contacts to dry fully before reinserting the cartridge.
How do I check whether a Super Famicom cartridge is authentic?
Several details distinguish authentic cartridges from reproductions. Authentic Super Famicom cartridges use proprietary security screws — visible Phillips head screws indicate the shell has been opened or replaced. The Nintendo logo on the back of an authentic cartridge is embossed (raised into the plastic), not printed or applied as a sticker. Natural UV yellowing of the gray plastic, consistent with the cartridge's age, is expected on genuine copies; uniformly pristine white plastic on a 30-year-old cartridge is a warning sign. The QA certification stamp on the back label of an authentic cartridge is a pressed indentation, typically absent on bootlegs. For high-value titles, cross-referencing PCB markings and chip date codes with verified collector databases is recommended.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
A short checklist for buying a used Super Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge; its shell is shaped differently from the North American SNES and will not fit without modification.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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Rooms this game lives in
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