Strider II was released for the Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. Strider II was later remade for the Mega Drive and Master System in 1992.

In the computer versions of Strider II the objective of the game is to rescue Princess of Planet Magenta from a terrorist group that are keeping her captive. The controls in the computer version are similar to U.S. Gold's home computer ports of the original Strider, although the character cannot slide nor climb ceilings like in the original game. However, he can still climb walls, as well as ropes. In addition to his sword, he can also use a rifle whenever he is still standing still. If the player has collected enough energy icons throughout each stage, they transform into a wheeled robot when confronting the boss at the end of each stage. As a robot, the Strider can shoot lasers, but cannot jump nor crouch. His robot form has a separate energy gauge from his regular energy gauge as a human. When his robot gauge runs out, he will transform back to a human. The game consists of five stages.

Two years after the release of the computer versions, U.S. Gold and Tiertex ported Strider II to the Mega Drive. In addition to its European release, Strider II was also released for the American Sega Genesis under the title of Journey from Darkness: Strider Returns. The Mega Drive version of Strider Returns differs from the previous computer version in several ways. While the plot is the same, the antagonist is now the Grandmaster (Meio) from the original Strider (who is referred in the game's manual as the "Evil Master"). Although the main character uses the same sprite as in the Mega Drive version of the original Strider, this Strider is addressed in the manual as "Hinjo" (instead of "Hiryu", the actual code name of the original protagonist).

The player controls Hinjo similarly to Hiryu in the first Mega Drive game (with the ability to slide and move under ceilings retained). Instead of a gun like in the home computer versions, Hinjo throws shurikens but only if he collects them first. Instead of transforming into a robot when he confronts a boss, Hinjo collects orbs throughout each stage instead. These orbs will surround Hinjo and protect him when he faces the stage's boss. The player can choose between Hiryu's original sword from the first game or a new "sweeping" sword.

Strider II was also released for the 8-bit Master System in Europe. This version features gameplay similar to its Mega Drive counterpart. Unlike the Mega Drive, the Strider's supply of shurikens are unlimited, but he can only throw two on-screen at the same time. Due to the few buttons on the Master System's controller, shurikens are thrown while the player is standing still. This version was converted to the Game Gear and released in North America as Strider Returns.

The Mega Drive version of Strider Returns was poorly received among critics and fans of the original game, and is regarded as a vastly inferior game.

Ken Horowitz of Sega-16.com compared Strider Returns to "seeing a loved one revived as a mindless zombie". Travis Fahs, writing a Retro feature for IGN, noted that U.S. Gold had attempted to improve the sequel for its Genesis port but was ultimately unsuccessful, saying "you can't polish a turd".

Curiously though, the computer versions of Strider II had some positive reviews, among them Matt Bielby of Your Sinclair magazine, who went so far as to claim that Capcom wanted to use the Sinclair port of this game as the basis for a coin-op sequel. Capcom later produced their own sequel, Strider 2, which followed up on the original Strider and ignored Strider Returns.