Random Game O' the Day: Act Raiser

[digitalpress]

The DP Random Act of Creation (tm) hath chosen Act Raiser, the Enix "God game" for Super Nintendo, on this fine day.

Mixing resource management elements from earlier successful titles like Sim City and side-scrolling sword-and-sorcery - and doing both quite well - this early SNES game not only showed off some of the hardware's more unique features (particularly the sound chip and mode 7 scaling) but was a solid title in its own right - something that games using hybrids of past success and flashy tricks seldom claim.

What are your thoughts on the game? Have you played it recently? If so, how does it stand the test of time? What impressed you most about the game... or were you disappointed in it? Write your own mini-review here.

DP Guide sez:

U.S. Game Releases
Act Raiser (SNES, by Enix) $10/R2 +
Developed by Quintet. Great game fusing elements of Zelda II and a medieval Sim City. One of the early titles for the SNES that established what it could do. Released 1991. #SNS-AR-USA.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/super_nes/actraiser.jpg http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/super_nes/actraiser_9.jpg

[Oobgarm]

It still sees use in my SNES rotation. It was one of the three games that made me really want a Super NES, and it makes my Top 5 SNES games list.

The gameplay itself isn't overly original, save for the "Sim" element, but the action is excellent and well balanced. The sim elements are woven almost seamlessly into the action sequences, and vice versa.

The graphics are bold and colorful, and well animated. Clever use of Mode 7 to enter action sequences.

The music? Yuzo Koshiro is a god. The best music on the SNES bar none. Just the track from the first level alone gives me chills listening to it. :D

[Mayhem]

Never actually owned this, borrowed it off a friend. Loved it though. Looking for a complete copy currently, and it's in my Secret Santa list, so if you're my present sender, then this wouldn't be a bad thing to get ;)

[Chunky]

This was my one of my first game purchases for this system! And i was blown away.

This was the first game i played when i found emulation. And i was blown away.

Easily the #1 game in my book, Between the music the fighting and everything else,(the cool spinning zooming m7 shtuff). What a game!

Now #2, i know i played, but it's not rememberable.

[maxlords]

Actraiser is a GREAT game, but it's darn short! I loved it...have a complete one in my collection! I played Actraiser 2 before I played Actraiser, and since I got all the way to the end level in Actraiser 2, I found Actraiser to be a VERY easy game next to it's sequel. For those of you that don't know....the second one is HARD! But yeah, anyone who plays SNES games should have Actraiser....it's an Enix classic!

[Dire 51]

Actraiser is one of the best SNES games I've ever played. There's not much else that I can say that hasn't already been said in this thread, except that if you've never played it, find a way to do so. NOW.

Too bad Actraiser 2 sucked, though...

[Zubiac666]

Too bad Actraiser 2 sucked, though...

"sucked" ?
Uhh I think that's too hard
I like it pretty much
Yeah,the gameplay is a bit unballanced and music is better in Nr.1
BUT it has one of the best(if not THE best) graphics on SNES and I loved that it is "just" straíght action

:-P

[Dire 51]

The control in Actraiser 2 was totally off - almost to the point of being unplayable. That ruined the game right there. The graphics were amazing, the music, while great, wasn't quite as good as the first, but without the control all it was was a pretty picture and good soundtrack. It was a major disappointment.

[ArnoldRimmer83]

Actraiser is a great Snes title. The game had great control, terrific music, and the graphics were very good. The Sim parts helped give the game variety. It was a bit on the easy side, but it was a very fun game to play.

Actraiser 2 was a big disappointment. It was way too frustrating to finish. The controls didn't feel right, and what was up with the sim parts being gone?

[SoulBlazer]

Geesh, what more can I say? :D

Actraiser is one of the BEST SNES games made and still one of my all time personal favorites. The mixing of the Sim and Platform parts worked really well, the graphics were top notch for 1992, the music blew me away, and the gameplay is still quite fun today.

It was games like this that made me kneel down and thank God I got a SNES as soon as it came out. :P

[NE146]

One of the all time great SNES titles. When I first heard the music I was blown away. It really makes the game.

[Sotenga]

Did you say... ACTRAISER?!?!?

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

I honestly grew up playing this game when I was a little young'un. To this day, it is one of my absolute favorites ever. I don't like to keep a top 50 or top 100 list, but if I ever felt compelled to, I would definately include Actraiser in it. :)

Back then, when I was very ignorant on video game trivia, I had no idea that Sir Yuzo Koshiro, the music man of Actraiser, was the same dude responsible for the score to the Revenge of Shinobi and the Streets of Rage trilogy. Any way you slice it, Yuzo is a music God. He's right up there with Nobuo Uematsu, Hip Tanaka, and Michiru Yamane.

[kainemaxwell]

Actraiser was one the first SNES games I borrowed from a friend and I loved it! Every now and then I boot up the rom of it, one day I'll get the actual game. The graphics and music still rock to this day, and my fav Actraiser track is still Fillmore Act 1.

*Boots up mp3*

[NEOFREAK9189]

Actraiser is one of the best SNES games I play 8-)

[Needle]

Actraiser was one of the first games I ever bought for my SNES. It really is a fantastic game, and I play it often, but I still wonder if it's not just a LITTLE overrated. The graphics are crisp but seem over-simplified in some places. I'll probably get slammed for saying that, but so be it! The music is great, butt here is a certain repetition factor (which is noticeable if you play it in the Hard Mode without the simulations in between). There are, I believe, three action scenes in a row with the same music. To this day I still think if they had replaced one of them with the Fillmore Act 1 music, this little tidbit would never stick out in my head.

As for Actraiser 2, yes, it's very very fucking hard, and the controls take a LOT of getting used to. At the same time, it's an incredibly rewarding game to play, if only because it requires the utmost practice. I've only beaten the game on Normal Mode one time. The graphics are some of the best on the system as well.

[Neil Koch]

I liked the game back in the day, but playing it now, I think the action part is a little weak -- kind of a poor man's Castlevania.

[Tetsu]

One of my favorite games of all time. It really hit home, it was the first "hybrid" game i'd ever played that actually performed well in both of its play modes. A great story really polishes off the great graphics and music and everything else already said here. Easy, yes, but satisfying.

[Dire 51]

I liked the game back in the day, but playing it now, I think the action part is a little weak -- kind of a poor man's Castlevania.

Really? It actually reminds me a bit more of Rastan than Castlevania.

[NE146]

It's definitely more Rastan than Castlevania :) But yeah I agree, the platforming hasn't aged too well. But the rest of the game holds it up I think and it works as a total package. Plus you just can't beat the music on the platforming stages :P

[hamburgler]

It took me over 6 monthes just to beat the game.

[Kid Fenris]

Actraiser is a decent game, but it doesn't impress today as much as did in the early days of the SNES. While Koshiro's music remains brilliant, the action stages are fun but rote, and the world-building simulation sequences get kind of dull after a few hours of shooting tiny demons over and over. Still, it's worth hunting down if you've never tried it.

[AB Positive]

Still, it's worth hunting down if you've never tried it.

I guess I'll have to hunt it down then, as I've never tried it.

-AG

[Gamereviewgod]

I don't think it's aged at all really. It's still an outright classic, the platforming sequences ae great. Sure their more simplistic than most, but it's got solid control and the muisc just puts you right into it. The overhead sequences can be a bit annying (constantly trying to take out thosedamned skulls is infuriating), but the overall package is still one of the best for the console.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Well, i think Actraiser is better than Actraiser 2, but both are cool, one of the first SNES games i played and one of the best. 8-)

[mauigamer]

does anybody know how the name came to be. I loved the game but never understood the name. It must be a Japanese translation thing.

[GamecubeFreek]

I bought this game for my friend last Christmas. I didnt play it much, but I watched him play it for hours. Its one of those games that I can find at a decent price any time, so I just keep putting off getting in favor of other games. Hmmm...maybe I should go get it soon...