Story

Somewhere deep within the Andromeda Galaxy lies the Algol Star System. The parent star, Algol (referred to as "Algo" by this point in the timeline), has three planets orbiting about it. First is Palm (formerly "Palma" in the original Phantasy Star), the home of the government. Governors, treasurers, and great thinkers dwell here in great ivory towers, away from the hubbub of everyday life. Next is Mota (formerly "Motavia"), the shining jewel. Once a dry desert planet infested with ant lions, Mota has been transformed into a blue and green tropical paradise. Domed farms grow crops, and the water is regulated into dammed rivers. Life on Mota is sweet, peaceful, and easy. The people have everything they want and do not need to work. Farthest out is Dezo (formerly "Dezoris"), the ice planet. Little is known about this mysterious and dark planet.

One thousand years have passed since Alis and her friends liberated Algo from the evil Lassic. Algo has since prospered under the care of a giant computer called the Mother Brain. The Mother Brain regulates the climatrol tower, the bio-systems lab, and all other things that provide whatever the Mota people need.

The game begins with a short monologue in which the character Rolf recalls a strange recurring nightmare he has been having. In the dream, a young girl who resembles Alis from the first game is battling a demon, although he, himself, does not know anything of her identity. Although Rolf is nearby, he is unable to even move or speak while the demon is striking at the girl. Finally, just before the demon kills the girl, Rolf awakens. From his home in the Motavian capital Paseo, Rolf goes to the central tower to meet with the commander, the head of government on Mota, in order to receive his newest mission.

The series' primary antagonist, Dark Force, the embodiment of evil, returns in Phantasy Star II as one of the enemies Rolf and his friends must defeat. Mother Brain, a computer system built to control and maintain the Algo Star System, begins malfunctioning and must be investigated by Rolf. During the adventure, the party discovers Neifirst, a half human, half bio-monster, that is also part of Nei. Being part Biomonster (biologically altered animal), she was an outcast from society, causing her to loathe mankind and, because of this, sabotage Mota's Climate Control system, as well as the biosystems laboratory, causing a drought on the planet. Nei confronts Neifirst with her actions and attacks her in a one-on-one fight, but is defeated and killed in the process. Straight afterward, Rolf and the remaining party take over and finish Neifirst off, bringing an end to the Biomonster hazard, but this sets another disaster in motion.

The central lake is being overflowed with water, and Rolf and his friends were the only ones who could prevent Mota from a massive flood. They agreed to open up the surrounding four dams, but after unlocking the last one, they are captured and sentenced to death upon the Gaira satellite; it begins orbiting to Palm, and, once in contact, both the satellite and the planet are completely destroyed. The group is rescued in time by Tyler, a space pirate.

The heroes travel to Dezo to seek out Lutz (Noah was an incarnation in the first game), and after Rolf awakens him from a long sleep, he informs them that the people of Algo have now devoted themselves to Mother Brain and, because of this, the entire system is near its fate. They are also, in order to save Algo, to recover the powerful Nei objects that are capable to fight against both the Dark Force and Mother Brain.

There are a total of eight playable characters in Phantasy Star II, each with his or her own personality, weapons and abilities. With only one exception, all of the characters can be renamed by the player at the time of their introduction.
While the characters' personal impact to the story in this game is negligible at best (due to the characters being interchangeable at the player's leisure, none of them besides Rolf and Nei have any speaking roles apart from their own introduction and the game's ending), all of the characters' backstories and motivations are further given form and explained in their respective text adventures.

Rolf

(Japanese: ユーシス, Yūshisu, Eusis) Rolf is the primary protagonist of Phantasy Star II, as well as the latest descendant of the main protagonist of the original Phantasy Star, Alis Landale. Rolf is a government agent of Paseo in employ of the commander of Mota. He is the best all-around fighter in the game, as he learns a pool of useful techniques although all are not as potent as the other characters such as Amy. He is also the only character to wield a sword as a weapon of choice, but he can also use knives and some guns.

Nei

(Japanese: ネイ, Nei, Nei) Nei is one of the few Numans to have ever lived. At the start of the game, Rolf initially refuses to take Nei along on his mission, but reluctantly agrees after she pleads with him. Nei is extremely agile, but starts out rather weak physically; however, she grows twice as quick in level as all other characters, allowing her to catch up, and also possesses a few curative techniques. Her main, and only, choice of weapons are bars (claws in the Japanese version).

Rudolf "Rudo" Steiner

(Japanese: ルドガー・スタイナー, Rudogā Steiner, Rudger Steiner) Rudo is the first character to join Rolf and Nei on their adventure. He was originally a member of the Algo army who was married with a daughter, but when the biomonster outbreak initially occurred on Mota, his family were killed in an attack; he swore to avenge his family and left the army to become a hunter. He meets up with Rolf and Nei shortly after they arrive in Arima. Rudo is physically the strongest character in the game, although he is the only character without any techniques. Because of his massive strength, he can also wield heavy armor. He can mainly wield guns, but also knives, as weapons.

Amy Sage

(Japanese: アンヌ・サガ, Annu Saga, Anne Saga) Amy is the fourth member of the party, arriving after the party reaches Oputa. Amy is a doctor who worked at a hospital in River Town, one of the Motavian villages. She is the slowest fighter in the game, so she would usually be the last one of the traveling party to attack in a battle phase, but possesses strong healing and supportive techniques. Amy can wield staffs, knives and small guns as weapons.

Hugh Thompson

(Japanese: ヒューイ・リーン, Hyūi Lean, Huey Reane) Hugh is the fifth member of Rolf's party after the investigation of the Biosystems Lab. He is a biologist and former student of the Motavian University. Because of his biological background, he has a very strong understanding of plants and biomonsters. Although Hugh is not particularly strong, his techniques are very effective against biomonsters. Like Amy, he can wield knives, staffs and small guns.

Anna Zirski

(Japanese: アーミア・アミルスキー, Āmia Amirusuki, Amia Amirski) Anna is the sixth member of the adventuring party, joining up after the group reaches the city of Zema. Anna is both a hunter and a guardian whose purpose is to bring peace to Mota, thus she is more known as a Counter-Hunter, with no will or bear of giving up. She has also been required to hunt both biomonsters and other humans who turn bad. She is one of the most physically strong fighters, but only learns a few techniques. Her main weapons of choice are slashers, but can fight with knives and whips as well.

Josh Kain

(Japanese: カインズ・ジ・アン, Kainzu Ji An, Kainz Ji An) Kain is the seventh character to join Rolf after Kueri is visited. He once aspired to being an engineer, but often broke things he tried to repair. Prior to the game, he was recruited by an anti-Mother Brain movement gang due to his infamous knack at sabotaging electronics, before eventually teaming up with Rolf to serve the same purpose. Kain is a balanced fighter with very strong techniques against robotic enemies, which is proven in the game as it progresses, making him a valuable member of Rolf's team. He can also wield short weapons and some handheld guns.

Shir Gold

(Japanese: シルカ・レビニア, Shiruka Rebinia, Shilka Levinia) Shir is the final character to join up with Rolf's party after they reach Piata (the last city on Mota to be visited). She was born into a wealthy and well-to-do family in Motavia, was blessed with the best education and had everything she could ever desire, but wanted to seek adventure since she was provided little of it, thus becoming a thief. Shir is the fastest character in the game, even being the one to attack before most characters, and can wield small weapons. She is also very useful since she has a knack of stealing items that are otherwise impossible to obtain; however, the only catch is once she steals, she will automatically leave the party, and wait for the others to return back at Rolf's home in Paseo.

Localization changes

• 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 the 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.
• While the tracks in the soundtrack are the same for both versions, the snare drums are much louder in the Japanese version.

Ports

It was re-released as a port in two different forms for the Sega Saturn and Game Boy Advance named Phantasy Star Collection. It was also released on the Sega Smash Pack Volume One for the Dreamcast. The game is available through Nintendo's Virtual Console service as of February 18, 2008. 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. 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 original game was released.

Remake

A remake, named Phantasy Star Generation 2, was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 in 2005 as a part of Sega Ages.

Phantasy Star Generation 2, much like Phantasy Star Generation 1, 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, thus negating her death partway through the 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 the 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.

Sega of Japan have abandoned their plans for a Phantasy Star IV remake in favor of a compilation featuring the original iterations of Phantasy Star I-IV.

Phantasy Star II was a landmark game in its time, "a game of many firsts" according to Nintendo Power. It was the first RPG for the Mega Drive, and the first 16-bit console RPG to be released in North America, arriving several months before even the original Final Fantasy, another key game in the genre's popularization in that territory.

The original Phantasy Star game was a big game for its time, and because of the advancements in technology between the Master System and Sega 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.Phantasy Star II was reviewed in 1990 in Dragon, issue #160, by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars, describing it as "one of the best role-playing games yet to be released for any video game system." Game designer Roe R. Adams (who worked on Wizardry) gave Phantasy Star II a positive review in Computer Gaming World, 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."Raze gave the game a score of 90%, concluding that it is a "challenging quest packed with gameplay." HonestGamers also reviewed the game, giving it a score of 10 out of 10, praising the game's apocalyptic mood and difficulty. Levi Buchanan of IGN gave the iPhone version of the game a score of 8.5 out of 10, praising it as an "awesome game" with a "real sense of discovery" and one of his "favorite final twists in videogames." On GameRankings, it is listed as the highest-rated game of 1988, with an average score of 85% based on a sample of 4 reviews. It also has an average press score of 9.0 out of 10 on GameStats.

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, and the demand for extensive strategy guides for such games (Phantasy Star II included one with the game itself). Phantasy Star II's purely science fiction setting was also a major departure for RPGs, which had previously been largely restricted to fantasy or science fantasy settings. 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. 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. It also made a bold attempt at social commentary years before the Final Fantasy series started doing the same.

Phantasy Star II has made a number of "Greatest Games of all Time" lists: it was number 97 on EGM's list of The 200 Greatest Games of Their Time, and in August 2005 it was inducted into GameSpot's Greatest Games of All Time list.Nintendo Power has called Phantasy Star II, along with Phantasy Star IV, one of the greatest role-playing games of all time. In 2011, GamePro included the game in its "20 Games That Defined Role-Playing Games" list.Mega placed the game at #29 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time, with its sequel slightly higher up the list.

• Phantasy Star II Text Adventures
• Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom