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Phantasy Star II
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Genre: RPG
Release: December 31, 1990
Platforms: Playstation 2, Playstation Portable, Virtual Console, Sega
Saturn, Sega Genesis, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance
Reviewer: Eric
Claimed to be the best in the series Phantasy Star II was the first RPG to
receive great notice among gamers, both casual and hardcore. The gameplay was
just like other RPGs at the time, but the story is what really made this RPG
shine amongst all the others.
 The
first Phantasy Star game was released on Sega’s first system, the Master System.
It had its fan base, but nothing that would compare to Phantasy Star II’s
popularity. The gameplay and story in the first Phantasy Star was simple. When
it was time for Sega to make a sequel they left nothing behind.
Phantasy Star II was the first Phantasy Star game to appear on the Sega Genesis.
The game was like no other on the Genesis, a turn based RPG that didn’t deal
with anything like Sega had made before. The battle system was tweaked to be one
of the best turn based RPGs at the time, there was no need to worry if too many
people were attacking one enemy now, something that haunted the original Final
Fantasy.
The beginning of the game starts out with Rolf and Nei. Rolf has been having
these haunting nightmares that seem a bit too real. Rolf and Nei set out to see
if these nightmares are true and to also see if the supercomputer known as
Mother Brain is really out to destroy mankind.
Just like every other RPG you use what little money you have to buy some
equipment for your characters. When that is done you are off to level up. One of
the key factors that made some people despise this game was how difficult it
was. If you are unlucky your first battle may be your last, which can end into
your starting all over again if you didn’t save your game after the games
introduction.
Phantasy Star II in general is a hard game. Leveling up is a must in this game,
but sometimes that isn’t enough. When this game was originally released it came
packaged with a strategy guide for free, something we may never see again.
Having this guide was a must since it featured layouts for ever dungeon in the
game. Some of these dungeons were intense and without the guide you would end up
walking in dead ends.
Since it is nearly impossible to find this game with the hint guide at a
reasonable price you can search over the Internet for help. Even after playing
this game six times I still have a hard time going through some of the dungeons.
The difficulty in this game cane be a turn off, but if you can tolerate it then
you will find a great RPG.
If that isn’t enough to scare you Phantasy Star II also has a ton of random
battles. Dungeons will sometimes have you battling enemies with every two steps
you take. If you don’t take the time to level up this will become a huge
problem. Also don’t go wondering off from town if you don’t have to, getting
back may have you fighting twenty random encounters.
 The battle system in Phantasy Star II really isn’t anything to brag about. At
the time the battle system was cool, but it hasn’t aged too well. There are only
a few options to pick from, where the main being FGHT. If you select this the
game will pick which enemy you attack, taking away from any real strategy you
may have for battles. You can take the time and pick STGY, which lets you pick
the enemies you want to attack. This is tedious since you have to pick this all
the time if you want to attack a certain group of enemies.
People will always brag how Final Fantasy IV was the first RPG to break the mold
in story lines. I will admit I am one of those people that brag about Final
Fantasy IV all the time, mainly since I tend to forget about the Phantasy Star
series since Sega has ruined it after Phantasy Star IV.
The story in Phantasy Star II is science fiction. Right away this is unique
since most RPGs deal with a warrior finding the princess and killing the final
boss, may it be a dragon or an evil sorcerer. Each of the characters in here
have their own personality and back story. Even if you can’t stand some of the
characters in this game you may at least enjoy their story.
Final Verdict
With its high difficulty curve average gamers may decide to let Phantasy Star II
stay where it’s at. Not playing this game is a crime so just suck it up and play
the game. Phantasy Star II can take up to fifty hours to complete, thirty if you
are good at RPGs. Some RPG games out there today don’t take that long. If you
can get a hold of this game for the Sega Genesis then do so. However, if you
can’t and you own a Wii then buy it on the Virtual Console.
Rating
8.50 out of 10
Japanese Phantasy Star II Commercial
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