Download Phantasy Star II Improvement ROM Hack

                                    Phantasy Star II Improvement
                                         v4.1 (Aug 02 2020)

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Disclaimer
==========
- No ownership is claimed by vivify93 over Phantasy Star II or the franchise from which it
  originates.

- Apply this patch only to "Phantasy Star II (USA, Europe) (Rev A).bin".

- Send bug reports to vivify93 via PM on ROMhacking.net or by posting in the project thread.

- If a modder wishes to use this in their project, they are asked to please credit vivify93.

- Players are encouraged to keep a backup of their original ROM or project in case an error occurs.


What began as a simple patch to rewrite Phantasy Star II's menu text in proper case blossomed into a
fix and enhancement project. The philosophy behind each gameplay improvement has been to promote
user-friendliness while rebalancing the underutilized characters, without heavily altering the
game's central design or difficulty.

* Each and every bug fix from lory1990's disassembly has been implemented.
* The script has been carefully examined to correct continuity errors and flow issues.
* New equipment and altered tech growth to make Hugh, Kain, and Shir more useful.
* Nei learns more techs and can use more equipment.
* And of course, menus have been written in mixed case.
* There are also equipment and ability lists enclosed to help navigate Phantasy Star II. These are
   NOT needed to enjoy the project.


There are two patches included.

- PSII_Improvement_v41_Standard (Default Patch):
   Includes all changes up to the current version of PSII Improvement, with the original game's
    post-battle experience and meseta rewards.

- PSII_Improvement_v41_Doubled:
   Again, all changes up to the current version of PSII Improvement are present, but post-battle
   experience and meseta rewards are doubled.

Apply only one of these to the ROM.
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Overview
========
Gameplay:
- 2x EXP/MST version provided.
   Please choose either the Standard Edition patch or the Doubled Edition patch; do not apply one
   atop the other.

- Shir no longer steals from Dezo shops. Must still be LV 10 to steal item VISIPHONE.

- Implemented all bug fixes in lory1990's PSII disassembly. Includes corrected stats of weapon
   LAC DAGGER. (Credit to lory1990)

- Walking speed doubled. (Credit to lory1990)

- Allies/enemies only flash once when damaged. (Credit to veo)

- Implemented unused enemy VANLEADR to Blue and Green Dams. (Thanks to Fauntleroy)


Text:
- Script tweaked all around to fix the most egregious mistakes.

- Lore terms conform to standards set by Phantasy Star I: Palma, Motavia, Dezoris, and Algol all
   return written in full. Includes Gaila's radar graphic. (Credit to lory1990 for radar)

- Proper case text for menu selections, menu labels, location labels, enemies, equipment, items,
   and abilities.

- Naming screen adjusted to allow for lowercase letters, "-", and "." (Additional fixing credit to
   lory1990)

- Item, equipment, and enemy names updated, taking advantage of the full 10-letter limit where
   necessary.


Equipment and Shops:
- Weapon BOW GUN removed; weapon Wave Shot (Equip: Hugh, Kain / 40 damage, one-handed) added.
   Rudo starts with 1 SONIC GUN equipped as opposed to 1 BOW GUN.

- Weapon WHIP removed; weapon SilverClaw (Equip: Nei / +59 ATK, +7 DEF, one-handed) added.

- Footwear HIRZABOOTS removed; armor ElastcVest (Equip: Nei / +33 DEF) added.
   Amy and Shir can equip LONG BOOTS as opposed to Anna.

- Weapon FIRE STAFF casts tech GIFOI when used as an item.

- Rolf and Kain can equip helmet LACONIAMET as opposed to Rudo and Hugh.

- Nei starts with 1 weapon STEEL BAR equipped.

- Nei can equip the following:
   * SNOW CROWN
   * NEICROWN
   * SilverClaw
   * GR SLEEVES
   * TRUTH SLVS
   * ElastcVest
   * CRYSTCAPE
   * NEICAPE

- Hugh can equip armor CRYSTCHEST and LACONCHEST.


Techs:
- Tech FANBI absorbs 30 HP from an enemy.

- Amy learns tech GRA at LV 5 instead of FOI, and GIGRA at LV 31.

- Anna and Kain no longer learn tech FOI; Anna also no longer learns ZAN.

- Nei's tech acquisition overhauled:
   LV  1 - RES
   LV  8 - ANTI
   LV 16 - SAK
   LV 20 - NASAK
   LV 24 - SHIFT
   LV 27 - GIRES
   LV 33 - SAR
   LV 44 - GISAR

- Shir's tech acquisition overhauled:
   LV  1 - FOI
   LV  6 - RYUKA
   LV  6 - HINAS
   LV  8 - RES
   LV 11 - ZAN
   LV 15 - GIFOI
   LV 18 - GRA
   LV 22 - GIZAN
   LV 25 - GIRES
   LV 28 - GIGRA
   LV 33 - NAZAN
   LV 36 - NAGRA
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Changelog
=========
v4.1

Tech Changes:

- Mistakenly launched previous version with Shir's original tech acquisition. Rectified in newest
   revision. (Thanks to TrekNerd314)



v4.0

Mod recreated from scratch, ported to lory1990's Phantasy Star II Disassembly.

Gameplay Changes:

- Provided alternate version of the project that doubles EXP and MST from enemies.


- Shir no longer steals from shops on Dezo at all. Unlike previous revisions of this mod, she must
   still be LV 10 to steal item VISIPHONE.


- Applied Phantasy Star II - Fast Walking to improve character walking speed. (Credit to lory1990)
    * Alarm on Gaila sounds earlier due to this change.


- Applied Phantasy Star II - Fast Battles, reducing the time a damaged unit flashes. (Credit to
   veo)


- Amy, Hugh, and Shir default to battle command Attack rather than Defend.


- Added unused enemy VANLEADR to Green Dam (1F, 2F) and Blue Dam (2F, 3F). (Thanks to Fauntleroy)
    * Formation VAN/VAN changed to VAN/VANLEADR.
    * Formation HVYSOLID/VAN changed to HVYSOLID/VANLEADR.



Text Changes:

- Script has been examined to correct a handful of grammatical errors, context issues, nonsensical
   phrases, and plot errors. The revision process was not as intensive as Reparations: PSIV, as I
   personally find PSII's English translation and general writing to be high quality. Lore terms now
   conform to standards set by Phantasy Star I.


- Planet names on Gaila's radar graphic amended to reflect series standards. (Credit to lory1990)


- Menu selections, menu labels, enemies, equipment, items, and abilities are now written in proper
   case.


- Characters are now permitted to be named with lowercase letters, as well as "-" and "."
   (Letter access fix credit to lory1990)


- Enemy names take advantage of the full 10 letter limit.


- Expanded menu labels.
   * Item action menu expanded to fully spell out "Give" and "Toss".
   * Equipment list and hand designation labels expanded to fully spell out "Right". (Credit to
      lory1990 for additional fixing)
   * Library menu expanded to fully spell out "Mother Brain".


- In the Japanese original, the "Nish" heavy armor (As well as the NEIARMOR) were "Harnisches," and
   the other two heavy armor were simply "Armor". This has been replicated by renaming the Titanium
   and Ceramic types of Armor as "Mail".


- In the Japanese original, the "Cape" women's armor were fibrillae dresses, except for the
   CRYSTCAPE and NEICAPE, which were force fields. This has been replicated by renaming the Crystal
   and Nei types of women's armor as "Field", and all others have become "Tunic".



Equipment and Shop Changes:

- Weapon BOW GUN removed; weapon Wave Shot added.
    * Stats - Equip: Hugh, Kain / 40 dmg, one-handed.
    * Rudo joins the party roster with 1 SONIC GUN equipped as opposed to 1 BOW GUN.
    * Paseo weapon shop now sells SHOTGUN instead of BOW GUN.
    * Ryuon weapon shop now sells Wave Shot (49000 MST) instead of KNIFE.


- Weapon WHIP removed; weapon SilverClaw added.
    * Stats - Equip: Nei / +59 ATK, +7 DEF, one-handed.
    * Can be found in Climatrol, replacing FIBERVEST chest.
    * Zema weapon shop now sells SILENTSHOT instead of WHIP.
    * Anna's SEE STRNGTH profile says "[...] she is a vicious fighter with a slasher or knife."


- Footwear HIRZABOOTS removed; armor ElastcVest added.
    * Stats - Equip: Nei / +33 DEF.
    * Can be found in Roron North, replacing CERAM BAR chest.
    * Amy and Shir can equip LONG BOOTS. Anna can no longer equip them.
    * Aukba armor shop now sells LONG BOOTS instead of HIRZABOOTS.


- Weapon FIRE STAFF casts tech GIFOI when used as an item as opposed to FOI.


- Rolf and Kain can equip helmet LACONIAMET as opposed to Rudo and Hugh.


- Nei starts the adventure with 1 weapon STEEL BAR equipped.


- Nei can equip the following:
   * Helmet SNOW CROWN
   * Helmet NEICROWN
   * Weapon SilverClaw
   * Shield GR SLEEVES
   * Shield TRUTH SLVS
   * Armor ElastcVest
   * Armor CRYSTCAPE
   * Armor NEICAPE


- Hugh can equip armor CRYSTCHEST and LACONCHEST.


- Extra MAGIC CAP chest in Skure is now a free LAC SHIELD.


- Several shop changes on Dezo:
   * Aukba armor shop now sells KNIFEBOOTS instead of SANDALS.
   * Zosa weapon shop now sells LASR BAR instead of BOOMERANG.
   * Ryuon armor shop now sells JWL RIBBON instead of RIBBON.



Technique Changes:

- Tech FANBI absorbs 30 HP from an enemy instead of 10.


- Amy learns tech GRA at LV 5 instead of FOI, and GIGRA at LV 31.


- Anna no longer learns techs FOI, ZAN.


- Kain no longer learns tech FOI.


- Nei's tech acquisition has been overhauled:
    Before          After
   LV  1 - RES     LV  1 - RES
   LV 16 - ANTI    LV  8 - ANTI
   LV 20 - SAK     LV 16 - SAK
   LV 28 - NASAK   LV 20 - NASAK
                   LV 24 - SHIFT
                   LV 27 - GIRES
                   LV 33 - SAR
                   LV 44 - GISAR


- Shir's tech acquisition has been overhauled:
    Before          After
   LV  1 - FOI     LV  1 - FOI
   LV  6 - RYUKA   LV  6 - RYUKA
   LV  9 - HINAS   LV  6 - HINAS
   LV 12 - RES     LV  8 - RES
   LV 15 - GIFOI   LV 11 - ZAN
   LV 18 - ZAN     LV 15 - GIFOI
   LV 24 - GRA     LV 18 - GRA
   LV 27 - GIZAN   LV 22 - GIZAN
   LV 30 - GIRES   LV 25 - GIRES
   LV 33 - NAZAN   LV 28 - GIGRA
   LV 36 - GIGRA   LV 33 - NAZAN
   LV 45 - NAGRA   LV 36 - NAGRA


Bug Fixes:

- Incorporated almost all of lory1990's bug fixes. Please note that only the fixes available in his
   disassembly have been implemented. (Credit to lory1990)

   * Music during final conversation in Esper Mansion doesn't freeze.

   * Weapon LAC DAGGER's stats corrected to +45 ATK, +7 DEF.

   * Battle step counter no longer increments due to entering a new map.

   * Player can no longer run from bosses.

   * Formula for stat ATTACK behaves properly if there is a larger disparity between fighter's
      ATTACK and target's DEFENSE.

   * Stat DEXTRTY properly factors into physical attack accuracy.

   * Stat LUCK properly factors into evasion.

   * Tech SHINB now allows party to escape from biomonsters and evil creatures.

   * Enemy TOADER's Agility Down ability functions properly.

   * Missing animation frame added to missile attack of enemies MECHOMAN, SONOMECH, and ATTMECH.

   * Allies and enemies no longer automatically physically attack after paralysis wears off.

   * Uzo Mountain and Climatrol examine text fully display.

   * NPCs no longer start in the wrong direction with the wrong animation frame upon entering a map.

   * NPC inventor in Kueri says "Now let me see, what can I work on?" after delivering item
      MRURA LEAF.

   * NPC old man in Paseo no longer gives part of Lutz's speech after Climatrol.

   * Errant word "destruction" no longer displays during final boss' speech upon declining to fight.

   * Characters in lineup will only move after leader moves.

   * Rearranging a party of Rolf alone displays "Nothing happens."

   * Camera adjusted upon embarking and disembarking Jet Scooter.

   * Jet Scooter disembarkation alignment issues corrected.

   * Jet Scooter can no longer be controlled during the flood cutscene.

   * Tile collision detection in Menobe corrected.

   * Prologue correctly recognizes Start Button.

   * Dams appear closed, rivers appear empty if idling into prologue after beating the game.

   * Techs SAR, GISAR, NASAR, SAK, NASAK, and ANTI play sound effects when used out of battle.

   * Inventory glitch in Central Tower storage fixed.

   * Pressing B and C together over "NEXT" will no longer glitch ITEM, TECH, and EQP menus.

   * "PUSH START BUTTON" appears immediately after title screen loads.

   * Initial battle command cursor behavior fixed.
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Credits
=======
- lory1990: Bug fixes, Fast Walking, Shir stealing enhancement, name screen menu fix, expansion of
   "RGHT" to "Right", Gaila radar graphic insertion, Gaila alarm tweak, Phantasy Star II
   disassembly.
   https://www.romhacking.net/community/3272/

- veo: Fast Battles.

- Fauntleroy: Idea to implement VANLEADR.

- Sajinoyoni: Steam host, idea for several script updates.

- Fantasy Anime: As always, providing helpful save files for testing purposes.

- Sega

...and all you Phantasy Star fans out there! See you in the Algol system!
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