Petz II

Petz II is the second installment of the Petz series, released in 1997 for Windows 95 as two separate games, Catz II and Dogz II. It was developed and published by PF Magic and distributed by Mindscape.

Petz II was a major graphical overhaul for the series and introduced many core game play components such as integration of Dogz II and Catz II and being able to adopt multiple Petz. It was also the first Petz game to feature online integration such as Downloadz and was the first release to combine both versions into one game when installed on the same computer.

Its successor, Petz 3, was released in 1998.

Premium editions of both games featuring all Downloadz were released in April 1998, as well as an add-on pack featuring all Downloadz on a separate CD for players who already owned both games.

New Features

 * A complete overhaul of graphics and AI, setting the standard for the rest of the series.
 * The player can adopt multiple Dogz and Catz at once.
 * Supply Case allows players to put away and take out Petz.
 * Toyz can now be added to and removed from the Supply Case.
 * Travel between the Adoption Center, Toybox and Playpen.

Game Play
Let's talk about it.

Breeds
Each base game came with five breeds, updated versions of the ones from Catz and Dogz.

Downloadable Content
Petz II was the first Petz game to support optional Downloadz from Petz.com.

Breeds
10 new breeds were released from November 1997 to August 1998.

Toyz
12 Toyz were available to download: Auto-Rolling Ball, Beach Ball, Boomerang, Flowers (with Butterfly), Heart Candy, Music Box, Plate of Leftovers, Plush Cat, Plush Dog, Satin Pillow, Surprise Box, and Toy Car.

Other
26 wallpaper, which would later become standard for the Playpen in later games, were released as online content.

The Web Fun Pack was first released as a Petz II download as well as two Petz desktop themes for Microsoft Plus.

Web Fun Pack
Petz II was the first release in the series to feature the Web Fun Pack, a collection of clip art and sound effects intended for use on fan sites.

Petz II Add-On Pack
The Petz II Add-On Pack was a CD compilation of Petz II Downloadz in a CD-ROM format. It included all new breeds, Toyz and wallpaper as well as 26 Playpen wallpapers, the two Windows themes and the Web Fun Pack. It was released in the US in 1998.

Case photos kindly provided by Mythic Silence.

Merchandise
Small bean bag toys called Fuzzy Beanz, produced by Trendmasters, were packaged with some copies of the games. They came in four varieties that may have been bundled with a cat and a dog, a Mutt and a Persian and a Great Dane and a Siamese.

Some deluxe copies of the game came with a white T-shirt featuring art of a Mutt and a Calico.

Trivia

 * Players with only one of Dogz II or Catz II installed can still play with breeds from the missing version by changing the file suffix from  to   or vice versa.
 * Petz II contains toggleable debug features.