Phantasy Star II, released in Japan as Phantasy Star II: Kaerazaru Toki no Owari ni (ファンタシースターII 還らざる時の終わりに?), is a console role-playing video game developed by Sega AM7 for the Mega Drive/Genesis that was released in Japan in 1989 and Europe and North American in 1990. It was later ported to a variety of different platforms. Its remake, Phantasy Star Generation 2, was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005.
It is the second installment in Sega's acclaimed Phantasy Star series and serves as a sequel to the original Phantasy Star for the Master System. Phantasy Star II is set 1,000 years after the events of its predecessor and follows the journey of a government agent named Rolf and his friends, who are on a mission to find out why the protector of the planet Mota, Mother Brain, has started malfunctioning.
Phantasy Star II was the first 16-bit role-playing game released in the west (it was released months before the original 8-bit Final Fantasy for the NES) and it was the first video game to use a 6 mega-bit cartridge. As a result Phantasy Star II was far bigger than any game before it and the title became the new benchmark for the genre. Many of the title's game play elements, such as its sci-fi setting, random battles and high difficulty level, were brought across from its predecessor, but Phantasy Star II innovated thanks to its sprawling environments, graphical improvements and its strong, character driven story.
Since its release Phantasy Star II has been the subject of universal acclaim from critics, fans and RPG enthusiasts alike. The game is generally viewed as ahead of its time, mainly thanks to its narrative and its dealings with serious subject matters, something that other console role-playing games never tackled until years later. The title is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential role-playing video games of all time.
