''Phantasie II'' is the second game in the ''

Phantasie ''Phantasie'' is the first video game in the '' Phantasie'' series. Gameplay Based on the Isle of Gelnor, ''Phantasie'' allows a group of six characters to adventure the countryside and try to defeat the evil Black Knights and their sorcerer l ...

'' series of

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

Gameplay

In 1986, SSI published the next part of the ''

'' series, ''Phantasie II''. Again, the Dark Lord Nikademus was the nemesis. This time Nikademus had fashioned an evil orb, and with it he cast a curse on a beautiful island named Ferronrah and enslaved its people. The player's mission was to find and destroy the orb. ''Phantasie II'' used the same graphics and fighting as the original ''Phantasie'' game, with one improvement to combat: the ability of any character class to target any enemy rank with a thrown rock. There were improvements in the complexity of quests, but little was done to innovate the series. One option which endeared many veterans was the ability to transfer characters from ''Phantasie I'' to this sequel. The manual included in ''Phantasie II'' was identical to the one included with ''Phantasie'', plus a small card explaining the differences. ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' noted this was advantageous in terms of how players of the original would have an easier time getting into the game, but disadvantageous as to some particularly tedious mechanisms of both games, particularly "the infamous Distribution and Selling rigamarole". The review continued to note that characters imported from the original have their equipment removed as well as most of their gold and experience, affording only a slight head start over newly created characters.

Reception

''Phantasie II'' sold 30,100 copies. ''

Compute! ''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', is an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET. ...

'' in 1986 recommended it to those seeking a more traditional role–playing game than SSI's ''Rings of Zilfin'' or who enjoyed ''Phantasie''. Scorpia criticized ''Phantasie II'' for not changing its predecessor's "infamous Distribution and Selling rigamarole", including a bug with the handling of money. The magazine concluded that "although flawed in certain aspects, ''Phantasie II'' is an interesting, and overall good, game of the RPG type" and recommended it to fans of the first game. Reviewing the

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

version, ''

Antic Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller (ANTIC) is an LSI ASIC dedicated to generating 2D computer graphics to be shown on a television screen or computer display. Under the direction of Jay Miner, the chip was designed in 1977–1978 b ...

'' in 1987 liked the lack of disk-based

copy protection Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy prevention and copy restriction, is any measure to enforce copyright by preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media. Copy protection is most commonly found on vid ...

and

permadeath Permadeath or permanent death is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the p ...

. The magazine concluded that ''Phantasie II'' "is very fun to play, and you will spend much time solving the puzzles". ''Antic'' also approved of the Atari 8-bit version, praising the "practically transparent user interface". It concluded that "''Phantasie II'' is a fine addition to anyone's software library and a must to all adventurers".

Reviews

* ''

Casus Belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bou ...

'' #33 (June 1986)

References

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External links

Review
in ''

Commodore Power/Play ''Commodore Power/Play'' was one of a pair of computer magazines published by Commodore Business Machines in the United States in support of their 8-bit home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market i ...

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in ''

ANALOG Computing ''ANALOG Computing'' was an American computer magazine devoted to Atari 8-bit computers. It was published from 1981 until 1989. In addition to reviews and tutorials, ''ANALOG'' printed multiple programs in each issue for users to type in. Almo ...

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in ''

Family Computing ''Family Computing'' (later ''Family & Home Office Computing'' and ''Home Office Computing'') was an American computer magazine published by Scholastic Corporation, Scholastic from the 1980s to the early 2000s. It covered all the major home comp ...

''
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in '' Compute!'s Gazette'' 1986 video games Apple II games Atari 8-bit computer games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games FM-7 games MSX2 games NEC PC-8801 games NEC PC-9801 games Role-playing video games Sharp X1 games Single-player video games Strategic Simulations games Video game sequels Video games developed in the United States