One trademark of the 16-bit CD era was the gratuitous use of cut scenes and colorful still images.
No longer bound by the space constraints of cartridges, developers loaded their games with scene after scene.
In some cases, it didn't even matter it the scene had anything to do with the game whatsoever.
Dungeon Explorer II was no exception. It featured some of the best artwork and cut scenes available for the TurboGrafx-16 CD.
Although crude by today's standards, these scenes advanced the story in a way that was rare for games of the time.
**** Spoiler Alert **** - This page contains scenes from all the major events in the game.
Dungeon Explorer II title screen
Introduction - house
Introduction - house being destroyed
Introduction - house destroyed
Introduction - family cowering
Introduction - cyclops
Introduction - village & castle on fire
Introduction - guard attacking Phades
Introduction - guard attacking Phades
Introduction - Phades standing over the fallen guard
Introduction - King
Introduction - Phades confronts the King
Introduction - Phades with the orb
Introduction - Phades again
Introduction - Phades with Natas in the background
Introduction - Princess and Minos
Character - Riot (Bard)
Character - Riot (Bard) with stats
Character - Ardin (Hunter)
Character - Ardin (Hunter) with stats
Character - Sepi (Thief) running
Character - Sepi (Thief)
Character - Sepi (Thief) with stats
Character - Sorn (Cleric) with stats
Dorz' intro - monsters
Character - Dorz (Dwarf) fighting
Character - Dorz (Dwarf)
Character - Dorz (Dwarf) with stats
Character - Fina (Elf)
Character - Fina (Elf) with stats
Character - Efrem (Wizard) with stats
Character - Alex (Fighter) with stats
Solis Castle (bright)
Solis Castle (dark)
King of Solis in the throne room
Phades arrives in the castle
The king speaks
Phades
More talking from the king
Phades kills the king
The king's dying words
The angel in Hyvoris Sanctuary
The angel's dialog
The Tree of Life
The three priestesses in the Tree of Life
Natas' Castle
Phades and Natas
Phades looking annoyed
Natas
Phades and Natas in color
Phades walking
Phades angry
Dialog with Natas before fighting him
Floating castle
Underneath the floating castle
Floating castle attacking
Mushroom cloud after first attack
Castle Pyre being attacked
Giant mushroom cloud after Castle Pyre attacked
Floating castle descending
Floating castle landing
Dialog with Phades before the last battle
Phades transforms - 1
Phades transforms - 2
Phades transforms - 3
Phades transforms - 4
Phades transforms - 5
Phades transforms - 6
Phades transforms - 7
Phades transforms - 8
Phades transforms - 9
Ending - at the bar
Ending - walking into the sunset
Ending - swordsman (this ending sequence is the same regardless of who you actually win with)