This is easily the hardest jrpg I've ever played through. Rough and frequent enemy encounters, confusing dungeons, a menu interface not really giving you any item or spell descriptions and a couple really obtuse puzzles and progression moments, especially for recruiting new party members.

However, with a headbopping soundtrack, cool semi story beats and awesome worldbuilding Phantasy Star II has its own identity that helps the journey stick out despite its very occasionally steep difficulty curve and mundane area designs.