Space Quest II is a 1987 graphic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line, the studio behind the Leisure Suit Larry series. It was released on DOS, Macintosh, Apple II, Amiga, and Atari ST, but never came to any of the main home consoles of the era.
Upon release, Space Quest II was praised as an improvement over its predecessor in every way. From the puzzles, the animations, the humor – it was all better. While Sierra On-Line never revealed any solid sales numbers for the game, the developer did claim it was a huge financial success, hence why the series returned for several more sequels.
Space Quest II Premise
©Screenshot from Space Quest II.
The gameplay of Space Quest II is extremely similar to many adventure games of the same era. Movement is done via directional arrow keys, while any commands you have for the character must be typed into the command box.
Puzzles are a big gameplay element of Space Quest II. The game employs a trial-and-error approach, requiring you to try multiple ways of completing a task before you eventually stumble onto the right solution. This certainly won’t be for everyone, as it can be frustrating having to die just to figure out the right way forward.
Interaction with other characters is extremely limited, with the exception of a couple of extremely short gameplay sequences. Again, this is a choice that fans of the genre may not be expecting. Instead, most of your interaction comes by picking up items and figuring out how they need to be used in order to progress.
Space Quest II Main Characters
©Screenshot from Space Quest II.
Despite being an adventure game, Space Quest II doesn’t actually have a particularly large cast of main characters. The game is more about how the protagonist, Roger, interacts with his environment rather than others. Here are the main characters in Space Quest II:
- Roger Wilco: Roger is a janitor-turned-hero who is the protagonist of the game. After returning to life as a janitor after his heroics in the previous game, he finds himself in a situation where he must step up again.
- Sludge Vohaul: Sludge Vohaul is the main antagonist of the game. He is Roger’s arch-nemesis, and a scientist with evil plans.
Space Quest II Titles in the Series
©Screenshot from Space Quest II.
The Space Quest series is a series of sci-fi adventure games, laced with a strain of humor that serves as a parody of franchises such as Star Wars and Star Trek. Many sci-fi properties tend to take themselves too seriously, but that’s not an accusation that could ever be hurled at Space Quest.
Unfortunately, the series never wavered from its adventure game roots to adapt to the reality of what players wanted from new releases. As a result, the Space Quest series ended with its sixth iteration in 1995. It hasn’t been seen since. It’s a shame, too. The final game ended on a cliffhanger that was never resolved, which is frustrating for those with an investment in the narrative.
Will we see more Space Quest? It’s unlikely, but never say never. After all, Sierra On-Line’s other main property, Leisure Suit Larry, has seen a resurgence in recent years, proving that parody adventure games can still succeed in the modern era. Let’s hope Space Quest has the same fate.
- Space Quest I (1986)
- Space Quest II (1987)
- Space Quest III (1989)
- Space Quest IV (1991)
- Space Quest V (1993)
- Space Quest 6 (1995)
Space Quest II Cheat Codes
©Screenshot from Space Quest II.
To use the cheat codes in Space Quest II, you need to activate the game’s Debug Mode. You can do this by entering either “backstage” or “dbg” during gameplay. After this, you’ll be able to enter the following cheat codes:
| Cheat Code | Cheat Code Effect |
|---|---|
| set var | Assign a new value to the chosen variable. |
| position | Change your current X/Y coordinates. |
| clock | Shows the in-game clock. |
| show mem | Displays the memory usage. |
| get object [item number] | Allows you to get any in-game object. |
| reset flag | Resets the chosen flag. |
| set flag | Sets the chosen flag. |
| show pri | Show priorities of current screen. |
| show flag | Shows the chosen flag. |
| show var | Shows the chosen variable. |
| tp [room number] | Teleport to chosen room/location. |
Some of the codes above require the use of an item or room number in order to work as intended. We’ve got all the Space Quest II item and room codes below – simply put them into the relevant cheat as seen above.
Space Quest II Room Codes
| Room | Room Code |
|---|---|
| Airlock | 3 |
| Alarm Hall Airlock | 53 |
| Alarm Hall East of Escape Pods | 55 |
| Alarm Hall West of Escape Pods | 57 |
| Asteroid Entrance Scene | 48 |
| Asteroid Shuttle Bay | 49 |
| Bathroom | 76 |
| Canyon Bottom | 23 |
| Central Swamp | 14 |
| Cliff Area | 18 |
| Crevice Area | 16 |
| Crevice Cave | 25 |
| Dangling in Crevice | 22 |
| Dark Maze | 30 through 37 |
| Dark Maze Entrance | 38 |
| Dark Maze Exit | 39 |
| Eastern Android Hall | 68 |
| Eastern End of Alarm Hall | 52 |
| Eastern End of Floor 3 | 60 |
| Eastern End of Floor 4 | 70 |
| Eastern End of Floor 5 | 80 |
| Eastern End of Shuttle Bay | 50 |
| Eastern Swamp Shore | 15 |
| Escape Pod Countdown | 92 |
| Escape Pod Hall | 56 |
| Floor 3 | 61, 63, and 64 |
| Floor 3 Janitor Closet | 62 |
| Floor 4 | 71 and 74 |
| Floor 4 Janitor Closet | 72 |
| Floor 4 Outside Bathroom | 73 |
| Floor 5 | 81 and 84 |
| Floor 5 Alien Cell | 82 |
| Floor 5 Janitor Closet | 83 |
| Gem Cave | 27 |
| Help Screen | 103 |
| Hovercraft Crash Site | 10 |
| Hovercraft Ride | 9 |
| Hunter’s Camp | 19 |
| Inside Elevator | 69 |
| Inside Escape Pod | 93 |
| Inside Shuttle | 46 |
| Insurance Salesmen Doom Xenon | 95 |
| Landing Platform Base | 45 |
| Leaving Vohaul’s Asteroid | 73 |
| Life Support Pump | 88 |
| Mailbox Area | 20 |
| Man Eating Mushrooms Clearing | 47 |
| Name Selection Screen | 98 |
| Rock Face Waterfall | 43 |
| Root Maze | 21 |
| Shuttle Docking Scene | 1 |
| Snare Woods | 17 |
| Snared Creature Area | 12 |
| South End of Canyon | 29 |
| Space Tube Eastern End | 91 |
| Space Tube Western End | 90 |
| Starting Area | 2 |
| Station Control Room | 4 |
| Station Shuttle Bay | 5 |
| Sticky Tree of Killer Bugs Area | 11 |
| Terror Beast Area | 44 |
| The only plain Alarm Hall | 58 |
| Tiny Glass Jar | 87 |
| Touchdown on Landing Platform | 8 |
| Trap Hall | 66 |
| Underground River Fork | 40 |
| Underwater Cave | 26 |
| Vohaul Introduction | 6 |
| Vohaul’s Chamber | 86 |
| Vohaul’s Console Desk | 89 |
| Waterfall of Doom | 41 |
| Western Android Hall | 67 |
| Western End of Alarm Hall | 59 |
| Western End of Floor 3 | 65 |
| Western End of Floor 4 | 75 |
| Western End of Floor 5 | 85 |
| Western End of Shuttle Bay | 51 |
| Western Swamp Shore | 13 |
| Windowed Alarm Hall | 54 |
Space Quest II Item Codes
| Item | Item Code |
|---|---|
| Basket with Paper | 31 |
| Berries | 22 |
| Cage Key | 34 |
| Dialect Translator | 35 |
| Empty Spore | 38 |
| Glass Cutter | 32 |
| Glowing Gem | 24 |
| Keycard | 36 |
| Lighter | 33 |
| Order Form | 20 |
| Oxygen Mask | 39 |
| Plunger | 28 |
| Puzzle | 37 |
| Rope | 25 |
| Spore | 23 |
| Stone | 27 |
| Supporter | 21 |
| Toilet Paper | 29 |
| Waste Basket | 30 |
| Whistle | 26 |
Space Quest II Cheat Code FAQs
©Screenshot from Space Quest II.
How Do You Enter Debug Mode in Space Quest II?
There are two ways for you to enter Debug Mode in Space Quest II. At any point during gameplay, enter the words “backstage” or “dbg.” You don’t need to enter both – either is fine. After this, you should be able to enter any of the cheat codes mentioned above!
How Do You Teleport in Space Quest II?
After enabling Debug Mode, all you need to do is enter “tp [room number]” into the console. This enables you to teleport to any room in the game, even if you’re not supposed to have access to it yet.
How Do You Get Items in Space Quest II?
Getting every item in Space Quest II is easy. Once you have enabled debug mode, you need to enter the code “get object [item number].” This makes it easy to obtain all of the items in the game without actually having to properly search for them.
Does Space Quest II Have Achievements?
No. While Space Quest II was technically rereleased on Steam as part of the Space Quest Collection, Sierra On-Line never went back to add achievements to any of the games. As a retro game, achievements were obviously never part of the original game, either.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Space Quest II..