LUFIA 3 REMAKE:I NEED SOME GUIDANCE

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Hello everyone, something has been on my mind a lot lately, and I think this is beginning to become something I seriously want to do, but will need some work and some help.

Before I begin, I'd like to say that Lufia 3 was the very 1st hand-held RPG I ever owned outside of Pokemon Blue. I was about 15 years old and I came late in the game with the whole RPG-Craze. I picked up a gem at a local Game Stop called Lufia:The Legend Returns. Of course, it was brand new and looked like this.



At the time, they still sold Game Boy games at their stores, but they don't anymore. Luckily, I picked it up right before they started practically giving game boy games away.

I played the game and heavily enjoyed it and after all these years, I still find myself coming back to it sometimes. Since then, its been in my heart to do a remake of sorts for it. However, with RPG Maker's limits on a few aspects, the game would have to be stripped down to an extent. But, I'll need some help with a few things and I have some questions.

Is there software that can rip Game Boy Color music and SFX?
There are some people that have some magnificent remixes of Lufia 3 music on Youtube, but a HUGE chunk of the OST hasn't been remixed to this day. That bothers me. As old as the game is, lots of the music hasn't been touched on at all. I was thinking of asking this composer who already has a great chunk of the OST remixed, but this was ages ago. I don't know if he/she will respond.


By ripping, I mean getting the game's OST in MIDI format so they can be remixed or orchestrated in some way. I've found software that can rip Game Boy Advance music, but none with GB/GBC. Surely, I'm missing out on something here? Does anyone know of software that can do this?

Are any RPG Maker engines capable of making a 9 character battle system?
Lufia 3 had a very fun,unique, and experimental battle system. With it, up to 9 characters could be present in a battle. However, you could control how many members are in combat regardless of how many members you had. It was perfect for those who want to challenge yourselves. That said,only 3 characters could attack per turn(1 from each column),however, if your front-line party members fall, the game is over. The only thing is, all battles take place on a white background :/

So if no engines are capable of this, I'll simply just go for the 4 member battle system as seen in Lufia 2.


Monster Ripping/Remakes
Like any good RPG, Lufia 3 has a large bestiary and its rare to see the same monster twice once you've moved on in the storyline. Its too bad I hadn't thought of ripping them while I was playing through it before this. Maybe there is a website that has them all?

Edit: I Found it!! RPG Classic Lufia 3

Lufia 3's World
Lufia 3 has a large world for a Game Boy RPG. It has a whopping 4 continents with their own struggles and party members to gain. There are 16 towns and 23 dungeons. 9 times out of 10, each town had its own theme; all of which are very catchy and sometimes calming. Since the World Map itself isn't very large, it wouldn't be hard nor time-consuming to make a map that looks like this(1 of 4 continents).



The Characters
Similar to games like Final Fantasy 6, Lufia 3 has a very wide and diverse cast. With a total of 12 playable characters and 1 secret one, this game brings in the biggest cast the Lufia series has ever had.


Ending/Possible Sequel/Bonus Content:WARNING! CONTAINS SPOLIERS! WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK
With this remake I'm thinking of, I was wondering what the bonus content would be. When the game ends, there is a hint of an aftermath after the main game. The characters speak of an unexplored continent known as Estoland where Doom Island fell. Since this is chronologically the last game in the series,there would have to be some work done in the story to make this aftermath fun.

Graphical Overhaul/Redo
Lufia 3 easily has some of the most beautiful graphics on the Game Boy Color and while they were good for the system, for this remake I'd like to use assets from Lufia 1&2. But, some assets Would have to be recolored or edited in some fashion.

Not only that but character map and battle animations would have to be done from original or edited sprites as well. After looking through the tilesets of Lufia 2, I'd say that a LOT of the game can be done simply on these. Also, with the battle sprites, there will no longer be a need for the white background in battle. We can use those lush Lufia 2 backgrounds.

Basically, I want the game to look more like this

Instead of this


Dungeon Design
Lufia 3 had an automatically generated dungeon aesthetic and while fun at first, it can get boring later on. In this remake, each dungeon would be designed manually and with meaning like the first 2 entries.

The Verdict
So, If I begin making this project, will there be anyone who'd be willing to sign up for a position if need be? This has been something the fans and I have been wanting to see for years as there is big talk about doing it, but no attempts have been taken. Why not let us be the first? If there are any questions,concerns,ideas,or anything of the sort, let it be heard! Thank you:)

Also, for those who haven't played it yet, it got released on the 3DS E-Shop some time ago. You should check it out! A good 4-minute review is also here...
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
That GBC world map actually looks better than the SNES one, which boggles my mind. All of the mountains and trees blend together into coherent structures and formations across multiple tiles, instead of just looking like individual single-tile boulders and oak trees sitting next to each-other in rows. The character sprite is garbage, obviously, but I would seriously reconsider your plan of changing to the vastly inferior, much blockier tileset.

Anyway, I don't see the point of remaking the game in a way that's inferior to the original. If your goal is to do a fan-game, then remake it with some major aspect vastly better than the original, or make a fan-sequel. Otherwise, like, why would anyone play it instead of just playing Lufia 3?
author=LockeZ
That GBC world map actually looks better than the SNES one, which boggles my mind. All of the mountains and trees blend together into coherent structures and formations across multiple tiles, instead of just looking like individual single-tile boulders and oak trees sitting next to each-other in rows. The character sprite is garbage, obviously, but I would seriously reconsider your plan of changing to the vastly inferior, much blockier tileset.

Anyway, I don't see the point of remaking the game in a way that's inferior to the original. If your goal is to do a fan-game, then remake it with some major aspect vastly better than the original, or make a fan-sequel. Otherwise, like, why would anyone play it instead of just playing Lufia 3?

This is a tough and good question. With the map comparison, the amount of colors it could use is what was being compared. Basically, taking the same look, but updating the color palette to 16-bit. I also agree with the fact that in some ways it may be inferior because some things it presented are impossible to create unless done in a custom engine. Perhaps that comparison wasn't the best to use XD If anything, I would use Lufia 2 or a game that looks similar to make the world map.

For the most part, I'm leaning towards making the sequel portion. Seeing the ending of the game the other day is what sparked this interest. I was on the fence about just doing the aftermath,remaking the whole game, or both. Since sequels don't have to use the same battle system, I believe that may be the best course of action.

In my mind, I was thinking the same as you by saying "why would I create something that already exists and could probably do it better than me?" Its a tough question, but I think it would be interesting to try regardless. As far as a feature vastly better than the original, that will take some brainstorming.

At this point its just an idea, so things are suspected to change along the way.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
Is there software that can rip Game Boy Color music and SFX?

I'm not so sure about sound effects, but, you might try looking at Zophar's Domain for music. As for what format it's in, I'm not really sure. It's probably based on what emulators are available for GBC, and how they can rip audio.

Are any RPG Maker engines capable of making a 9 character battle system?

I'm pretty sure any RPG Maker that allows for scripting (so, XP, VX, VX Ace, MV) is capable of this, in some way, shape, or form.


How much preparation have you done for this? Personally speaking, I did a number of things before I felt that I was ready to make my Suikoden tribute. One-on-one duels? Kinda, sorta, maybe. Might not even happen in that game. Displaying six actors in the menu? Check. Experience gain based on level? Check. Large-scale tactical war battles? Yes, but, no thanks.
Thanks for the information on where to find some of the stuff. Of course, I can always use new sound effects or ones from previous entries if I can't get them.
As far as music, I did find the whole OST in MP3 format, and a few midi format songs, but those midis can only go so far with such a small amount. There is also this neat, but flawed program that can turn MP3 in to MIDI by ear.

I'm sure that those programs could do this, but it would most likely result in doing something like Final Fantasy X where you can switch anyone in at any time. In the original Lufia 3, the monsters could hurt everyone on the map, which led to some frustrating healing without the proper spells and items. Some of them would spam attacks that nearly killed everyone. Of course there are two party members that are capsule monsters and will attack automatically, so there is a possibility of 5 turns per round.

Perhaps in this remake, it would lighten the load a little to have less party members on screen, or do what LockeZ suggested and simply do the aftermath portion.

As for preparation, that is a good question. The only fancy thing I need to do is battle and growth systems as they can be really complex. Mapping and events are pretty standard and won't be an issue. I did do a LOT of work with my Lufia project before it got corrupted. In a nutshell, it all comes down to organization and knowledge of game design.

In terms of getting resources, I have found the holy grail of remaking this game. It has all of the monsters, characters, world map,script,items,etc. Once I have gathered all the material, I'll need to decide on an engine to use and begin. I know that if I run into any serious problems, I can always ask you guys for help. The only RPG engine I'm experienced with is RPG Maker 2003. With all of these engines its hard to tell which one to use.

Which RPG Maker engine would you recommend that enables max potential in terms of scripting? All that's needed is a way to make a party switch out system like FFX.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
I think Wyrm Warriors might have had a system where players could switch party members in the middle of a fight. The option to do so was available before actions were selected, if memory serves me correctly. Which might not be exactly what FF10 did, but, probably, close enough?
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
If you're comfortable with scripting yourself, then XP, VX Ace and MV are all options with different pros and cons. XP has way better mapping, but is missing some basic features that you will have to add scripts for, and the Steam version has engine bugs that make it almost unusable so you need the standalone version that can be patched. VX Ace and MV are very similar to each-other, they just use different programming languages (Ruby vs. Javascript).

If you are mostly going to be using other people's scripts, just use VX Ace. No question there, really. XP makes you do too much shit yourself, and MV doesn't have the years worth of extra scripts people have made.
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Marrend
I think Wyrm Warriors might have had a system where players could switch party members in the middle of a fight. The option to do so was available before actions were selected, if memory serves me correctly. Which might not be exactly what FF10 did, but, probably, close enough?


Actually, the VX Ace Crystal System has a script for that.
I could never really compensate for the lack of pre-built dungeons when I tried to play Lufia 3, and so I never got very far in it. I think there were some cool ideas in there, though, and I'd enjoy seeing it remade with proper, Lufia 2 style puzzle dungeons.

Don't use RM2k3 for this. I've got a lot of years of RM2k3 under my belt and I find it very easy to use, but short of a nightmarish workload the combat system is absolutely dreadful. Replicating Lufia 2/Ruins of Lore style puzzles in RM2k3 is also kind of annoying, since you have to rely very heavily on events without being able to utilize scripts. VX Ace is probably the way to go. The mapping is kind of shitty, but it's got by far the broadest support for scripting (for battles and puzzles).

A sequel might be interesting, but a straight remake of the game would catch my interest more strongly. I think it'd be neat to see the story and world combined with better dungeon design and a refined battle system, along with a vastly improved UI (oh man the UI was not good). But yeah, take the best elements of Lufia 3 and 2/GBA and you've got a winning proposition! I could probably help you out, too. PM me if you're interested.
Wow! I get to necropost. The fact that you're considering remaking Lufia 3
sounds exciting. I say go for it. Fans of Lufia should see this game it's like
the Unsung Lufia of the series. LOL
Xbuster, i'd like to talk about this and get on board. my email is dawnbomb@Gmail.com

i'm trying to contact you, so let me know if you get this, meanwhile i'll try to find your youtube or other ways to contact you
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Please not with the pointless necroposting.

If you want to send someone a private message then click on their name.
the last post was like, 7 days ago. the forum is slow enough, that's still at the top of page 1 of where it was posted. if that's necroposting, then any posts would count as necroposting :|
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Lol. Kiren was the one necroposting. Though the idea of posting in a thread to ask someone a question when that person hasn't posted in the thread in six months is also silly.
well either way hope Xbuster gets back to me. i'd like to talk to him over discord or some such about the project.
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