Phantasy Star II is one of those old-school RPGs that still holds up—if you can handle the grind. You start off as this rookie hunter named Rolf, just doing odd jobs until things spiral into saving the entire Algol star system. The story gets surprisingly dark for a Genesis game, with twists that actually stick with you.

The combat’s classic turn-based stuff, but with a twist—your party members have these wild skill combos if you figure out how to pair them right. Nei’s dual claws tear through enemies early on, but good luck keeping her alive later. And yeah, the dungeons? Brutal. You’ll be drawing maps on graph paper unless you enjoy wandering in circles for hours.

What really stuck with me was the atmosphere. The synth soundtrack, the weirdly detailed enemy sprites, even the way towns feel lived-in despite the 16-bit limits. It’s janky in places (good luck with that inventory system), but there’s nothing else quite like it. Still one of my favorite RPGs from that era.