Play Shadow of the Beast II Online

Summary

Shadow of the Beast II still carries the unmistakable Roger Dean artwork that graced the original box, and the game even arrived with a black T‑shirt showcasing that same surreal scenery. The soundtrack, crafted by Tim Wright, leans heavily on the rack‑mounted Korg M1/R, delivering 17 tracks that include a title theme and a game‑over tune backed by real sampled electric guitars.

When the title made its way to the Mega‑CD, the developers took the chance to overhaul the audio with a brand‑new score, add voice‑acted dialogue, and sprinkle in FMV cut‑scenes, while also polishing the graphics and easing a few of the toughest platform sections. Those changes didn’t stop at the CD; the game also appeared on Atari ST and FM‑Towns, each version preserving the core blend of relentless combat and brain‑teasing puzzles.

Gameplay is a nonstop assault through a dark, mysterious world where you must juggle sword‑swinging against monsters and ogres with clever puzzle solutions to progress. Despite the flashy upgrades, contemporary reviewers noted that the animation feels stiff and the controls feel clunky, rating the Sega CD version poorly and calling it a relic of its Amiga days.

Storyline

In Shadow of the Beast II, the half‑beast hero Aarbron roams the cursed lands of Karamoon, driven by a desperate quest to rescue his sister. She was snatched from their mother’s cottage by the dragon‑form of the Beast Mage Zelek, a loyal servant of the dark lord Maletoth. Along his perilous journey Aarbron gains an unlikely ally in Barloom, a wise dragon who guides him through treacherous forests teeming with Tree Pygmies and the Crystal Caverns infested with goblins. The hero must also confront and defeat the malevolent dragon Ishran before he can face Zelek. The story culminates in a final showdown with the Beast Mage, where Aarbron fights to free his sister and end the darkness.