Developed by Origin Systems and published by FCI (North America) and Pony Canyon (Japan), in 1993, Ultima: Runes of Virtue II is the sequel to Ultima: Runes of Virtue, although in reality it is more of a remake than a sequel.

It follows exactly the same template as previously, but with a few additions and changes. This time there are cut scenes, and a story, and – frankly – they’re a pain in the ass because they’re not skippable. Secondly, some dungeons have “line-of-sight” conditions, which means that you can only see, on-screen, areas you’ve already been to. Thirdly, Runes of Virtue II is larger in scope, and more difficult, and it is likely that you’re going to get stuck at certain points. Thankfully there are reset switches for some puzzles.

You can again play as either a fighter, a mage, a ranger or a bard, on easy, medium or hard difficulty. The gameplay is one big maze, full of monsters, and locked doors looking for keys. The combat is again in real-time (which can sometimes make it tricky), and the game is split between the overworld view, and the interior view.

Overall, Ultima: Runes of Virtue II I’d say just edges its predecessor, in terms of detail, gameplay and challenge. While it’s not the best RPG on the Game Boy, it still gives an interesting game, after all these years.

Ultima: Runes of Virtue II was also released for the Super Nintendo.

More: Ultima: Runes of Virtue II on Wikipedia