He rated the book 5 out of 6, saying, "The seafaring stuff [is] the best of its kind I’ve ever seen." Andy Butcher reviewed "Palladium Fantasy RPG" 2nd Edition for "Arcane" magazine, rating it a 7 out of 10 overall. Butcher comments that "if you haven't got any of the other [Palladium] games and your campaign is based firmly in the Palladium World, then there's a great deal of useful stuff here." In a 1996 reader poll conducted by "Arcane" magazine to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time, "The Palladium Fantasy RPG" was ranked 26th. Editor Paul Pettengale commented: "Well, the rules are almost identical to those in "Palladium's Rifts" roleplaying system, and as such it's well suited to existing players of that game, who will have little to learn. Even newcomers should have little difficulty with "The Palladium Fantasy RPG", though. The rules lie somewhere between "AD&D" and "Rolemaster" in complexity, and combine character classes with a simple skills system. A good alternative to the better known Fantasy RPGs."