Brandish 2: The Planet Buster Renewal (PC-98)

Brandish 2 Renewal is Nihon Falcom’s upgraded edition of Brandish 2: The Planet Buster. It shipped for the NEC PC-9801/9821 on 21 July 1995 (six 3.5-inch HD floppies plus a hybrid data-&-audio CD, all hard-disk–installable). Falcom moved the whole adventure into the “Renewal engine” first seen in Brandish Renewal and later reused for Brandish 3 Renewal: 256-colour redrawn portraits & UI and a full-screen auto-map replace the 16-colour originals. A new/retouched J.D.K. soundtrack (extra battle, shop and ending themes) is streamed direct from the bundled CD. Gameplay tweaks—quicker weapon-draw, smarter enemy path-finding, XP re-balance—shorten the notorious early-game grind. HD installation cuts loading to seconds; save data is now kept in a single folder, making floppy swaps optional once installed. The 40-floor labyrinth and “Time-Attack” epilogue remain intact, but cut-scene timings were tuned for the faster engine. Brandish 2 Renewal sold well enough that the same tool-chain powered Brandish 3 Renewal six months later.