Shining Force II

Shining Force II is a tactical role-playing game developed by Sonic! Software Planning and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Released in 1993 in Japan and 1994 in North America, it is the sequel to Shining Force and the second installment in the Shining series to appear on the Genesis. The game combines turn-based strategic battles on a grid-based map with an explorable overworld and town segments. Players control a growing force of up to 12 characters per battle, each with unique classes, spells, and abilities. The story follows a young hero named Bowie (default name) who, after a series of demonic attacks on the kingdom of Granseal, assembles a diverse army to confront the resurrected King of Devils, Zeon. Along the way, the party travels across multiple continents, uncovers political intrigue, and recruits over two dozen optional characters, including centaurs, elves, dwarves, phoenixes, golems, and even a time-traveling robot. The game retains the franchise's familiar turn-based combat and class promotion system, but expands the scope with a larger world, secret items, and hidden characters. Its artwork was directed by Yoshitaka Tamaki, who also worked on the manga and anime adaptations of the series. Shining Force II is widely considered one of the standout RPGs on the Genesis, praised for its accessible strategy, charismatic character designs, and replayability. It later saw re-releases on the Wii Virtual Console, as part of the Sega Genesis Collection for PlayStation 2 and PSP, and on the Sega Genesis Mini.