Shining Force II also know as Shining Force 2 – Return of the King.

The legendary epic returns, and this time it's deadly. When a thief messes with the Stones of Light and Dark, the evil Zeon is unleashed on the masses. Unless the Shining Force can capture Zeon and return him to his prison, the world will never see the light of day again! Featuring a new story, amazing battle scenes, and gruesome fresh monsters, Shining Force 2 picks up right where the original left off. Create a strike force consisting of a dozen members (there are 20 characters to choose from), developing your clan in to a pack of magical warriors. Incredible graphics, endless play, and a rich story make this a brilliant sequel.

Shining Force 2 is a strategy/rpg hybrid with cartoon-like graphics. The game is comprised of two modes: exploration, in which the hero and his companions engage in the role-playing game standard of talking to townspeople, exploring new lands, and furthering the plot; and battle mode, in which the combat is resolved from a tactical point of view, with individual combats being resolved from a close-up view with animated characters.

There are several difficulty levels in the game, selectable when starting a new game. In addition, there is a configuration code that allows cheats to be activated, including the ability to control the enemy units.

To begin, name yourself as leader of the Shining Force team by entering up to eleven characters (the default name is Bowie). Play involves traveling from town to town from an overhead view of the world; talking with characters; visiting shops to purchase, sell or repair items; entering abbeys to cure, raise or promote characters in your party; and preparing for inevitable combat.

As in the original Shining Force, combat involves first moving characters from a top-down view of the battlefield (taking into account each character's movement points as well as the terrain), and attacking if he or she is in range of the enemy. The screen will then change to a view behind your character in the foreground, while the enemy appears in the background. During battle, players can use available items or magic spells to help tip the scales in their favor.

Over twenty characters are available at certain points during the game, and you'll be able to choose eleven of them to form your party. Among the different classes you'll encounter are birdmen, ninjas, archers, wolfmen, robots, rangers, master monks and golems. Each character can use certain types of weapons, the nature of which depends on his or her class. These weapons fall into seven different categories: arrows, spears and lances, axes, rods and magical weapons, knives and ninja blades, swords, and hand-to-hand weapons (gloves, rings and knuckles).

Key members of the Shining Force team include Jaha, a powerful dwarf; Chester, a spear-throwing centaur; Sarah, an Elven Priestess; Kazin, a powerful mage; Slade, a giant rat and master thief; Ash, one of the last phoenixes in the world; and May, a young centaur who is an expert with the bow. Game options include speeding up or slowing down message speed (with one being the slowest and four being the fastest) and saving up to two games in progress via battery backup. Find the right combination of adventurers and vanquish Zeon once and for all!

Shining Force II features:

• 20 playable characters
• New monsters
• A rich story
• Role-playing excitement
• One-player action