Phantasy Star II

• Lutz, a refugee Esper who lives in the Esper Mansion on Dezo, aids Rolf and friends in their mission. He is supposed to be the same Esper who accompanies Alis in Phantasy Star, but due to the English version of Phantasy Star naming said Esper "Noah," this point is lost.
• In the Japanese version, Ustvestia, a musician who teaches the characters the Musik technique, is openly gay; when requested to teach a male character the Musik technique, he comments, "He looks cute", and charges less than he would for teaching female characters. Any obvious references to this were removed from the American release; he instead comments, "He looks smart" – and still charges less for teaching the male characters.[3]
• While the tracks in the soundtrack are the same for both versions, the snare drums are much louder in the Japanese version.[4]
• In the Japanese version the game is set 942 years after the events of Phantasy Star I.

Phantasy Star II was re-released as a port in two different forms for the Sega Saturn and Game Boy Advance as part of Phantasy Star Collection. It was also released on the Sega Smash Pack Volume 1 for the Dreamcast. It is also part of the Sega Genesis Collection for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. The game is available in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game is also included as part of Sega Genesis Classics for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The game was made available through Nintendo's Virtual Console service in 2008. On June 10, 2009, it was released on Xbox Live Arcade under the Sega Vintage Collection banner. On August 26, 2010, an iPhone port of the game was released.[5] The port later became available on the iPad and iPod touch as well. On June 22, 2017, Sega made the game available for free through both iTunes and Android.[6]

In October 1993,[7] Atari Corporation filed a lawsuit against Sega for an alleged infringement of a patent originally created by Atari Corp. in the 1980s,[8] with the former seeking a preliminary injunction to stop manufacturing, usage and sales of hardware and software for both Sega Genesis and Game Gear.[9] On September 28, 1994,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] both parties reached a settlement in which it involved a cross-licensing agreement to publish up to five titles each year across their systems until 2001.[17][18][19][20][21][22] Phantasy Star II was one of the first five titles approved from the deal by Sega in order to be converted for the Atari Jaguar, but it was never released.[9]

Its demonstration at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (Winter CES) in January 1990 received a positive reception.[34] The original Phantasy Star game was a big game for its time,[2] and because of the advancements in technology between the Master System and Genesis, Phantasy Star II featured a much larger cartridge than its predecessor, holding 6 megabits of data, making it the largest game on any game machine up until that time.[2] RePlay magazine praised the game for providing a lengthy home video game experience not found in arcades, and reported it could take about 250 hours to complete.[34]

The game was well received by critics upon release. In Dragon magazine, Phantasy Star II was described as "one of the best role-playing games yet to be released for any video game system."[25] Wizardry designer Roe R. Adams wrote in Computer Gaming World that Phantasy Star II was a system seller for the Genesis,[35] stating that its "16-bit graphics are gorgeous, but the real fun lies in the science fiction story plot." He concluded that it is a "challenging and enjoyable" game with "superb combat and animated graphics."[2] Raze concluded that it is a "challenging quest packed with gameplay."[29]

Phantasy Star II was a landmark game in its time, "a game of many firsts" according to Nintendo Power.[41] It was the first RPG for the Mega Drive, and was released in the U.S. two months before the original Final Fantasy for the NES, another key game in the genre's popularization in North America.

Phantasy Star II is regarded by many as a forerunner for certain aspects of role-playing video games, such as an epic, dramatic, character-driven storyline dealing with serious themes and subject matter, a strategy-based battle system,[42][43] and the demand for extensive strategy guides for such games (Phantasy Star II included one with the game itself). Phantasy Star II's predominantly science fiction setting was also a major departure for RPGs, which had previously been largely restricted to fantasy or science fantasy settings.[44] The game's science fiction story was also unique, reversing the common alien invasion scenario by instead presenting Earthlings as the invading antagonists rather than the defending protagonists.[42][43] The game's strong characterization, and use of self-discovery as a motivating factor for the characters and the player, was a major departure from previous RPGs and had a major influence on subsequent RPGs such as the Final Fantasy series.[44] It also made an attempt at social commentary years before the Final Fantasy series started doing the same.[41] Tor.com described the worldbuilding as "fantastic, probably the best in any 16-bit era game."[45]

Phantasy Star II has made a number of "greatest games of all time" type lists, including being inducted into GameSpot's list of greatest games of all time in 2005.[42] Mega placed the game at #29 in their "Top Mega Drive Games of All Time" in 1992.[46] In 1997 Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked it the 30th best console video game of all time, saying it was the best RPG on the Genesis due to its characters, story, enemies, and massive length.[47] In 2003, IGN ranked it as the 92nd top game, choosing Phantasy Star II for how it "surprised everyone with the death of a major player 1/3 the way" years before Final Fantasy VII, in addition to "a balanced experience point system, tough-as-nails bosses, and one of the biggest and most difficult RPG quests that we've ever seen."[48] In 2009, Nintendo Power called Phantasy Star II, along with Phantasy Star IV, one of the greatest role-playing games of all time.[49] In 2011, GamePro included it in its list of "20 Games That Defined Role-Playing Games".[50]

Levi Buchanan of IGN reviewed the iPhone version in 2010. He praised it as an "awesome game" with a "real sense of discovery" and one of his "favorite final twists in videogames."[38]

A remake, Phantasy Star Generation 2, was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 as a part of Sega Ages in 2005. Much like Phantasy Star Generation 1, the remake mirrors the events of the original game while adding character development and fleshing out the story in more detail. It featured enhanced graphics, a revised combat system, and a rearranged soundtrack. Other new features included the ability to play the original Mega Drive version, and to load a system file from Phantasy Star Generation:1 to allow the ability to play as Nei throughout the entire game.

It was originally slated for North American and European release by Conspiracy Entertainment as a part of the Phantasy Star Trilogy, a compilation of the remakes of Phantasy Star, Phantasy Star II, and Phantasy Star IV. The compilation's future is uncertain, however, since Sega reclaimed the publishing rights for North America and Europe. This is evidenced by the fact that the trilogy no longer appears on Conspiracy Entertainment's list of products on their website.[51] Sega has abandoned their plans for a Phantasy Star IV remake in favor of a compilation featuring the original iterations of Phantasy Star I–IV.[52][53]