Editing Star Control II (section)

=== "Greatest design" lists ===
''Star Control II'' is also recognized for its excellence in several creative areas, including writing, design, and music. In 1996, ''Computer Gaming World'' ranked ''Star Control II'' among their top 15 most rewarding game endings, proclaiming that the game "entertains right down to the end, with the some[sic] of the funniest credits since [[Monty Python|Monty Python's]] [[Monty Python and the Holy Grail|''Holy Grail'']]".<ref name="cgw199611best2" /> The game's ending was similarly ranked as the third greatest of all time according to ''[[GameSpot]]''{{'}}s editors,<ref name="GamespotTop10Endings2">{{cite web|title=GameSpot's Best 10 Endings|url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_bestending/page8.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050219174742/http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_bestending/page8.html|archive-date=2005-02-19|access-date=2020-05-11|publisher=GameSpot}}</ref> with their readers ranking it the sixth greatest ending.<ref>{{cite web|title=GameSpot's Ten Best Endings: RC|url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_readers_endings/5.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041009195043/http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_readers_endings/5.html|archive-date=2004-10-09|publisher=GameSpot}}</ref> Moreover, GameSpot twice acclaimed the [[Ur-Quan]] among their top ten game villains, mentioning them at the top of one 1999 list as "one of the very best villains. Even now, we are hard-pressed to find a race of adversaries as complex and three-dimensional as the Ur-Quan."<ref>{{cite web|author=GameSpot Staff|date=1999|title=The Ten Best Computer Game Villains - The Ur-Quan|url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_villains/page11.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020823223224/http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_villains/page11.html|archive-date=2002-08-23|publisher=GameSpot}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=GameSpot Staff|date=1999|title=Reader's Choice: Best Villains - Villains 5-1|url=https://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_villains_rc/page8.html/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991012071819/https://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_villains_rc/page8.html/|archive-date=1999-10-12|publisher=GameSpot}}</ref> ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' also included the Ur-Quan in their 2021 list of best aliens in pop culture, describing them as "tremendous sci-fi villains, importing heady old-school concepts into ''Star Control'''s relentlessly fun space-based action".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hughes |first=William |date=May 8, 2021 |title=The best aliens in pop culture |url=https://www.avclub.com/who-s-your-favorite-alien-1846839754 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508055233/https://www.avclub.com/who-s-your-favorite-alien-1846839754 |archive-date=May 8, 2021 |access-date=May 8, 2021 |website=[[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref>

The world design of ''Star Control II'' is also celebrated, with ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' magazine giving it top ranking on their list of "games that capture the infinite potential of space".<ref>{{cite web|author=Patrick Lindsey|date=2015-01-07|title=8 Games That Capture the Infinite Potential of Space|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/8-games-that-capture-the-infinite-potential-of-space/|publisher=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste magazine]]}}</ref> ''GameSpot'' ranked the ''Star Control II'' universe among their top ten game worlds,<ref name="GamespotTop10Worlds2">{{cite web|title=GameSpot's Top 10 Gameworlds|url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_readers_worlds/p2_01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228215510/http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_readers_worlds/p2_01.html|archive-date=2005-02-28|publisher=GameSpot}}</ref> whereas GameRant listed ''Star Control II'' as the third largest open world map, also noting it as "perhaps the most underrated game of all time".<ref name=":33">{{cite web|author=Jeff Drake|date=2019-11-10|title=The 10 Biggest Open World Games|url=https://gamerant.com/open-world-games-biggest-maps/|publisher=Game Rant}}</ref>

The game's music is remembered as the 37th greatest game soundtrack by the music magazine ''[[Fact (UK magazine)|FACT]]'', describing it as "a lost 80s treasure trove of unreleased techno, synth pop and Italo".<ref name="FACTmag3">{{cite web|author=Brad Stabler |author2=John Twells |author3=Miles Bowe |author4=Scott Wilson |author5=Tom Lea |date=2015-04-18|title=The 100 best video game soundtracks of all time|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fact_(UK_magazine)|publisher=[[Fact (UK magazine)|FACT]]}}</ref> The music of ''Star Control II'' was similarly listed as the second greatest game soundtrack according to ''GameSpot''{{'}}s editors,<ref>{{cite web|date=1999-10-13|title=The Ten Best Game Soundtracks|url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_music/page9.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030406171219/http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_music/page9.html|archive-date=2003-04-06|publisher=GameSpot}}</ref> which was echoed once again by their readers.<ref>{{cite web|date=1999-09-01|title=The Ten Best Game Soundtracks: RC|url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_soundtrack/page7.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030406094309/http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_soundtrack/page7.html|archive-date=2003-04-06|publisher=GameSpot}}</ref>