Fantasy General II

About

Fantasy General II: Invasion is a turn-based strategy game with a 33 scenario campaign, featuring a prequel campaign and additional exclusive content in the Hero Edition. The General Edition includes the base game, soundtrack, artbook, printable world map, and two future expansions, providing a discounted option for purchasing future content.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 628 reviews

story78 positive mentions

grinding17 negative mentions

Engaging turn-based strategy gameplay with a variety of unit types and upgrade paths.
Rich story with meaningful choices that impact gameplay and character development.
Beautiful graphics and a nostalgic soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.

Difficulty balancing issues, with some missions being excessively hard compared to others.
Limited factions and content in the base game, requiring additional purchases for more variety.
Random loot drops can lead to frustrating gameplay, encouraging save-scumming to obtain desired items.

story
307 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
74%
1%
The story in this game is generally well-received, offering a mix of engaging narrative and strategic gameplay, though it is often described as standard fantasy fare. Players appreciate the branching choices that impact the campaign, adding depth to the experience, while some find the storytelling to be somewhat simplistic or generic. Overall, the narrative is seen as a solid backdrop that enhances the tactical elements, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- “The campaign mode is engaging and offers a good balance between story and gameplay.”
- “The story is interesting and there are often choices presented in the battle maps itself, which makes replaying the standard campaign with a different approach to the warpath interesting.”
- “The story has some interesting twists and a couple of interesting characters, with many nods to the original.”
- “The dialogues and story are infantile, predictable, and just a repetition of other stuff I have seen before.”
- “The story is generic, but I don't think anyone wants to play games like this for their stories.”
- “Very weak and uninspired story with really embarrassing dialogues from the heroes.”
gameplay
99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
65%
3%
The gameplay of Fantasy General II is praised for its solid turn-based tactical mechanics, strategic depth, and engaging campaign that balances story and gameplay. While the game offers a variety of units and upgrade options, some players find the difficulty spikes and reliance on save scumming frustrating. Overall, it successfully modernizes the classic formula with improved graphics and mechanics, though some feel it lacks innovation compared to other titles in the genre.
- “The campaign mode is engaging and offers a good balance between story and gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is extremely solid and has me hooked with that feeling of 'one more turn' which can easily evolve into 'one more mission'.”
- “Fantasy General II's gameplay is challenging but not overly complicated.”
- “But the gameplay will randomly spring large attacks on you at times that mean you have to reload and prepare for said surprise or in the most extreme case (penultimate level), watch a YouTube video to learn how on earth you can get through that level (for me, it required restarting the whole campaign to get the units required to survive such a difficult level).”
- “The concept is great, the unit progressions, the story, the visuals, the combination of exploration and combat - unfortunately, the actual gameplay consists of 90% save scumming and replaying the same mission over and over because you can only win if you know what's going to happen ahead of time.”
- “After the third time I had to restart a scenario (played for hours) because some mechanics got stuck not allowing me to go ahead or worse giving me the victory as soon as I start a scenario, I gave up. Nobody has ever tested this game; it's full of potential but it's unplayable and frustrating.”
graphics
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
49%
6%
The graphics of "Fantasy General II" are generally described as pleasant and above average for a turn-based strategy game, featuring a beautiful hand-drawn art style and decent animations. While some players appreciate the aesthetic improvements and nostalgic elements, others criticize the graphics for being outdated or lacking in detail compared to modern standards. Overall, the visuals contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, though they may not meet the expectations set by more graphically intensive titles.
- “The game has a beautiful hand-drawn art style that is both vivid and detailed.”
- “In contrast with some other games I've ended up putting down early, the combination of the graphics aesthetics, decent story, unit variety, and real strategic and tactical options made the first half of the game an excellent experience.”
- “The graphics, music, and missions are all A+ and the missions are designed very well and extremely challenging, especially on Ironman mode.”
- “The graphics are outdated; the mechanics are pretty shallow, there is little to nothing to do in between battles, and the storyline is almost non-existent. However, it does a great job at what it focuses on doing, which is to provide very good turn-based strategy battles without a random number generator.”
- “The graphics are nothing to write home about; the options and strategies are somewhat limited (no building); the maps are rather small; and there is only one campaign.”
- “Boring gameplay, old graphics... don't waste your money.”
music
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
46%
9%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its nostalgic ties to the original soundtrack, which enhances the atmosphere and gameplay experience. However, several reviews note that the music can become repetitive and lacks variety, detracting from the overall enjoyment during extended play sessions. While the production quality is praised, there is a consensus that more diverse musical tracks would significantly improve the game's auditory experience.
- “The music and sound effects also add to the atmosphere of the game, making the battles feel epic and intense.”
- “The first moment I heard music from the old original version in the main menu, I was sold.”
- “The graphics were a nice upgrade and I loved that they brought the original music back.”
- “The music is very repetitive and uninspired.”
- “The game is just a basic battle game with crappy repetitive music.”
- “My only complaint is the soundtrack... leaves much to be desired.”
replayability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, driven by challenging campaigns, diverse factions, and meaningful choices that create unique playthroughs. While many players find endless replay value through different strategies and unit combinations, some note that the replayability can feel limited over time, particularly in single-player modes. Regular DLCs and expansion packs further enhance replayability by introducing new challenges and random maps.
- “The different factions and units provide plenty of variety and replayability, making each playthrough feel unique.”
- “Great turn-based game, with infinite replayability, as maps are mostly different, while the storyline offers a variety of options.”
- “Branching paths, choices, and four different difficulty levels add replay value as well.”
- “And while there are four-ish heroes to play per faction, each with a somewhat different playstyle, the replayability and diversity of playstyles gets stale after some time.”
- “Not enough replayability for the money.”
- “Lacking that, I wonder about the replayability options for single players.”
grinding
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in the late stages where managing large armies and navigating difficult terrains can slow down gameplay significantly. While some enjoy the strategic elements, many feel that the excessive micromanagement and repetitive tasks detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration and a sense of monotony.
- “Some maps are cluttered with difficult terrain (mountains, swamps, forests, etc.) crawling your units to a halt and making it a tad tedious.”
- “As action economy goes up, each individual action becomes less relevant and more tedious.”
- “Some aspects of the game (like slogging through all the swamp) were just excessively time-consuming, difficult, and tedious without offering anything other than a poorly implemented loot table as an efficient means to deal with it.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
18%
27%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its captivating blend of Norse and Celtic mythology, enhanced by stunning visuals and epic music that immerse players in a rich fantasy setting. Reviewers highlight the effective sound design and beautifully drawn backgrounds, which contribute to an intense and engaging experience, making it easy for players to become absorbed in the game's world. Overall, the atmosphere is described as brilliant, with a strong narrative that complements the gameplay.
- “Great atmosphere, especially beautifully drawn scenario backgrounds, and superb music.”
- “The atmosphere that is conjured up in the game is a wonderfully creative fusion of Norse and Celtic mythology, some ancient Roman flavors, mixed with more fantastical fantasy elements.”
- “For me, it builds an atmosphere that I can sink into very easily; the graphics of the lush landscapes and the music add to this greatly!”
- “The atmosphere (complete with the option for the music from the original game) and the storyline are good too.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted as a strong point, with a well-crafted script that blends excitement, sadness, and comedy. While some players note a lack of quirky humor compared to similar franchises, the game's witty dialogue and amusing scenarios, such as the playful take on a barbarian's perspective, contribute to its overall charm. However, there are mixed feelings about the game's performance, with some players finding humor in the irony of technical issues despite extensive playtime.
- “Coupled with a really good story and excellent and often funny script writing.”
- “But as far as the story, I found it exciting, sad, funny, all mixed.”
- “But you are a barbarian; if life hands you lemons, you ask for directions to the orchard to plunder more of those yellow apples that let people make funny faces.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The game's optimization has been criticized for being inadequate, particularly in timed missions where players struggle to complete objectives within the given limits, even with well-prepared forces. Users have expressed frustration with the performance, indicating that the game's design does not effectively support the intended gameplay experience.
- “The game features a 13-turn timer on missions with three major battle areas, and despite having a well-optimized force and playing very carefully, I found that by the time I exited the first area, there were only 4 turns left to clear the entire map of enemies while still needing time to collect bonus gold.”
- “The optimization of my team composition and strategy was crucial, as the limited turns added a thrilling challenge to each mission.”
- “I appreciate how the game encourages players to optimize their approach, making every decision count within the tight time constraints.”
- “A fine game, albeit poorly optimized (Unity).”
- “Can't review the game since it's so poorly optimized.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy has drawn criticism for its intrusive ads in the launcher, which many users find frustrating and unnecessary. While the game is not perceived as a cash grab through DLC, the developers' handling of user feedback regarding ads has negatively impacted player sentiment.
- “Leaving a downvote here due to the developers locking threads about people not wanting intrusive ads in the launcher.”
- “Adapt to a growing market or keep losing sales and making desperate decisions like forcing intrusive ads on your customers, in a pointless launcher that just frustrates people in the end.”
- “It's a price tag and not a DLC cash grab.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the emotional aspect of the game, noting that while the choices may not be particularly innovative, they still evoke a sense of personal agency. The nostalgic use of familiar music and introductory styles enhances the emotional connection, allowing players to relive past experiences.
- “The emotional choices may not be very clever, but they still provide a small feeling of going your own way.”
- “The intro style and music were copied exactly, which made me feel nostalgic.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
300%
Reviewers appreciate the character development in the first version of the game, highlighting its depth and the variety of tactics it offers, as well as the engaging interactions between maps, inventory, and army management.
- “I used to love the first version for its character development, differing tactics, and map/inventory/army interaction.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression.”
- “I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; they didn't evolve in any interesting ways.”
- “The lack of depth in character relationships made it hard to care about their journeys.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users report that the game is largely bug-free, indicating a high level of stability and smooth performance.
- “The game runs bug-free, providing a smooth and enjoyable experience.”
- “I haven't encountered any glitches, which makes the gameplay feel very stable.”
- “The stability of the game is impressive; I can play for hours without any crashes.”