If you pick up games from Aksys or NIS America, odds are you’ve encountered an Idea Factory game. While most Idea Factory games, specifically the visual novels and dating sims, don’t leave Japan, the strategic and turn-based RPGs have been gradually finding their ways overseas on the DS, PSP, PS2, PS3 and even Xbox 360. The company’s developed quite a reputation among gamers, good and bad.

So this week, Important Importables, we’re taking a closer look at the incredibly prolific and notorious Idea Factory…

Natsume’s booth had a special place in my heart at E3 2010. It wasn’t because of the adorable statues or the stuffed horses, but because of the DS game lineup. Among them was Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals, the DS reimagining of the SNES game Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals. Like the original game, it was developed by Neverland and is being published by Natsume in North America.

The demo I got to play gave me the opportunity to try my hand at making my way through one of the Lufia DS dungeons. Jessey, Guy’s girlfriend, has been taken by a man who wants to challenge Guy. Maxim, Tia and Guy follow after him to go and save her.

Unlike the original Lufia II, Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals is an action RPG…

Estpolis: The Lands Cursed by the Gods, the DS remake/reimagining of Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, is headed to the US, but don’t start thanking Square Enix. Natsume is the company that will be delivering us Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals sometime in Fall, 2010. See the spiffy new name change? It really gets you feeling nostalgic.

If you’ve played the original Lufia II, then you know the story. The world is being plagued by the four Sinistrals, who want to destroy the world and such. Players follow a hunter named Maxim, who is initially researching the Wave Device. Eventually, he’ll be joined by five friends who’ll help him on his journey which could save their world.

While Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals will feature lots of puzzles, just like the original Lufia II, the basic gameplay changes…

Last week, Famitsu revealed that the next issue would reveal new information on the Lufia series of games, called Estpolis in Japan. This week, as promised, the November 19, 2009 issue of Famitsu revealed pretty much everything you’d need to know about Square Enix’s Estpolis: The Lands Cursed by the Gods.

First of all, it’s a DS game. So much for thoughts of an epic console RPG. It’ll be out February 25, 2010 in Japan, but a North American release hasn’t been confirmed or denied yet. Neverland, who created most of the original Lufia games and is well known for the recent Rune Factory series, is once again the developer, as Famitsu hinted at in its original article. Neverland is also making it an action RPG this time around, so it’ll be more like the Legend of Zelda or Ys games. Previous entries in the series were all turn-based.

1Up is also the first to report that Estpolis: The Lands Cursed by the Gods is a reimagining of the SNES game Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals

After years of waiting, a new Lufia game is on the way! Famitsu has revealed that Square Enix is working on Estpolis: The Lands Cursed by the Gods for a yet undisclosed system. Don’t let the whole Estpolis thing throw you, in Japan the Lufia series goes by Estpolis. Lufia & the Fortress of Doom and Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals were called Estpolis Denki and Estpolis Denki II there.

Almost all of the previous Lufia games, except for Lufia: The Ruins of Lore, were developed by Neverland and published by Taito. Square Enix, Taito’s new owners, will be publishing Estpolis: The Lands Cursed by the Gods and since Famitsu says the original development team is back, that probably means Neverland is on the job as well.

And, that’s it for now. The official reveal of Estpolis: The Lands Cursed by the Gods will be in the November 19, 2009 issue of Famitsu. What a tease. Now we have to wait a week to learn what console it will appear on and when it will be released.

This is such fantastic news. The Super Nintendo Lufia games, Lufia and the Fortress of Doom and Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, were classic RPGs and among the best releases for that system…