Actraiser

[Phil]

Actraiser

Preface:
I first played this game by accident and was pleasantly surprised, by a healthy mix of strategy and action. And it has a cute baby in it!!!

Graphics:
I thought they were nice, the mode 7 map was nicely used, the top down strategy was functional and nothing special. The platform sections were fun and well done. The end of level bosses however were very well thought out and executed, like a pot noodle.

Sound:
I played most of the game on GP32, so I can’t really comment on it. But after a quick overview, its again substance over style, nothing special.

Playability:
This is where the game gets good, it’s fantastic, simple strategy; good, platform; good, bosses; good, problem solving; good, mix it all together, it’s great!

General:
From this review, your probably thinking that Actraiser is an o.k game but seriously you should try it you’ll either love it or hate it. I loved it, it just has a certain quality that pulls you in.

Compatibility:
It works perfectly on the defaults, very playable.

I give it:

4/5

 

[ralp99]

the sound in Actraiser is extremely noteworthy, composed by the rather famous Yuzo Kishiro (i think is how it's spelled) - he did revenge of shinobi, streets of rage, etc. DEFINITELY play this game in an emulator that supports the bgm! (or better yet, the actual console)

 

[Endymion]

I personally was not attracted to the audio in this game, but it's not really what is important. I loved this game also. Actraiser 2 is a sequal to this game worth checking out.

 

[diablo2]

is this on genesis?

 

[triksR4rabits]

I personally was not attracted to the audio in this game, but it's not really what is important. I loved this game also. Actraiser 2 is a sequal to this game worth checking out.

WTF are you talking about! The sound was the best part of this game and Actraiser 2 was a piece of shit! Completely different game. Sorry, just had to put in my 2 cents.

@ diablo2- snes only

 

[diablo2]

thank triksr4rabits

but i think he said the audio wasn't very special because sound quality on osnes isn't insainly good and most people play with sound dissabled

 

[CrazyDesi]

Sound never makes me do nothing really. I mean as long as its something I'm happy. I can live with no sound on too, but the TV's gotta be on or something lol.

 

[dochuge]

Actraiser is a good game. I remember buying it for my SNES way back when. Maybe 91? Anyhow, I remember it beeing a bit TOO easy though and it seemed like I got to the end of it pretty quickly. So I enjoyed the game but was slightly disappointed. Actraiser 2 is pure hack n' slash and does away with any strategic elements of the first. Still, the first game is unlike any other game for the SNES or any console for that matter. I enjoyed the music, BTW, but my favorite SNES soundtrack is Castlevania IV, by a long shot.

Sorry, there was no Genesis version.

 

[DaveC]

Pot noodle?

 

[geo12]

Act Raiser is one of my favorite SNES games. I think it was better than any of the Castlevania games. I don't really remember what the sound was like. I'd still give it a 5/5.

 

[SeX1eStAsaBa]

I just recently beat Actraiser 1 and 2. GREAT games. I also beat Dracula X and Castlevania IV =)

 

[jmetal88]

Interesting. I bought Actraiser the other week by accident, but haven't played it yet. From the sound of this review, I should get around to it pretty soon though.

 

[mindlord]

Actraiser is in my top 10 favorite SNES titles. The music is actually quite good, but chip tunes aren't everyone's cup-o-tea. To be honest I usually turn the sound down on all my games and listen to some appropriate music. This is one of the few games where I enjoyed the music enough not to mute it.

It is short, and I was sad when I beat it in the time it took me to rent it. For it's day it was a totally unique game with it's blended genres, not that the strategy part was particularly strategic, but it added a bit of story and exploration to what would otherwise be considered a slightly above average platformer. 4/5

 

[rokdcasbah]

Interesting. I bought Actraiser the other week by accident, but haven't played it yet. From the sound of this review, I should get around to it pretty soon though.

Like others have said, it's a short game, which is unfortunate, because it's a lot of fun.

There are two modes that you go through alternately. The first mode is a pretty good side-scroller, almost like Castlevania or Ghouls 'n Ghosts but with less to do. The second is a city-building mode. You assign villagers to a patch of ground and they start building on it. As you do this, there are flying demons that you have to kill.

Demons spawn from 3 or 4 places on the board. You can only build next to where you've already built, so you keep building out until you hit the caves that the demons come from, and then seal them up. Sometimes a village comes up with a new technology that you can go back and upgrade the older ones to.

Each level has a boss which must be taken care of in, you do this in 'platform mode'. There's a little bit of story going on in the background, for instance, a kid gets lost in a cave, so you go there to rescue him and they thank you with some gift (usually an extra power you can use against the flying demons).

IMO where it falls short is the simplicity of both modes. It's too barebones to be a good strategy or sim game, and the run-and-jump levels go by too quickly for it to be a good platformer. The end result is fun but you can't shake the feeling that you're playing a subpar rts glued to an ok platformer. The flying demons make things a little more interesting but it still would have been better with a little more to do in the building mode than just put the cursor over a square patch of land every so often. You just build wherever until the board is full, then move on to the next city. Every so often you revisit a city, so it's not completely linear, which is good.

But still a really fun game that, for good or bad, leaves you wishing there was more of it. What it does get right: immersion. Cool story (almost like Okami - you're a god who gains power by gaining praise from people you help) and interesting music that's in a somewhat baroque style, like classic Castlevania tunes. Awesome graphics on the side-scrolling sections. Decent amount of dialoge.

It's been mentioned but: sadly, while there's a sequel, it is nothing like the original. Caveat emptor.
If anyone's played Sigma Star Saga for GBA, then you can imagine how they're similar.