So today I just finished blazing through Ys II on nightmare and I must say I am impressed.
I remember reading on the Ys wiki that 1 and 2 were originally meant to be one game, so I was kinda expecting Ys II to just feel like the second half of Ys I. But it honestly felt like its own game and I found it to be a huge improvement over Ys I.
The leveling system felt like a proper system unlike in Ys I were it felt tacked on at the last minute. After all in Ys I you reach max level after the third boss and the only way to improve your stats comes from getting items.
I enjoyed the addition of magic in this game and loved how it wasn't at all what I was expecting. After getting fire magic I assumed I would next ice, lighting, earth and that certain enemies/bosses would be weak against different elements. You know, the standard RPG stuff. Instead each type of magic served a specific purpose and can still remain useful even later on in the game. The alter magic really brings on the charm by allowing you to talk to every single monster and hearing there thoughts on Adol and his quest against them. It really adds so much character to the world and is loads of fun. Return Magic also provides a waypoint system that is necessary for the larger setting created for Ys II
When it comes to nightmare difficulty it is like night and day compared to Ys I. In Ys I bosses attack patterns didn't change but they were a lot faster and did more damage. In Ys II bosses on Nightmare tend to fire a lot more projectiles and probably do more damage too. I know this because time attack is normal difficulty and it was a breeze. I'm really glad I stuck with Nightmare cause on normal I would have been bored to tears. That's because in Ys II the bosses are waaaay easier than Ys I. Apparently a lot of japanese players felt the way I did and told the developers to not make any more cheap bastards like Dark Fact. It means I never spent the insane amounts of time on bosses like I did with Ys I, but at the same time on nightmare they present enough of a challenge to not be boring.
The thing about Ys I is that it really felt rushed and incomplete. Ys II however is a full game that stands on it's own. After playing it I can see why people love this series and am glad I purchased it.
The ending was a lot of fun too. I find it hilarious that Adol has both Lili and Feena, a freaking goddess, pining after him. I'm guessing Lily doesn't show up in future games. So Adol is basically the chaste hero who has loads of beautiful young women offering him the pussy but doesn't take it cause WANDERING ADVENTURER. The road is his mistress.