I never played ActRaiser

[Liquid Snake]

love Yuzo koshiro's music.................AWESOME!!!!

 

[Steve]

Get on it Steve, and then bump this thread in August when you do finally maybe play it for ten minutes

Due to an RPG save I lost (son of a bitch), I got fed up and took that game out and decided it was time to finally play ActRaiser. Played for an hour and am currently at Blood Pool I think it's called. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with what I've played so far. I'm not a sim guy at all, so at first the sim part was a bit intimidating for me. But I got the hang of it 5 minutes into it.

Basically you use lightning bolts to clear bushes and shit, and then you build your towns section by section, trying to cover up the monster lairs. I like that you can level up and that's how you gain extra life bars. Very cool how they combined action platformer with sim and even a few RPG elements. I like the little messages my people give me, and I like how they treat me as a God, lol.

Does watering crops matter much? Do previous towns have to be maintained as you progress in the game? Do you have to check back on old towns and water crops to keep things fresh for the natives?

Action parts are plain-ish as most have said, but yeah, combine the two and it adds up to a nice package. I'm looking forward to spending the next week or so trying to beat this game. I can only imagine how blown away I would have been had I played this 25-ish (!) years ago.

BTW, when the ActRaiser dude gets hit in the action section, he sounds a lot like Simon Belmont from Super Castlevania IV getting hit. Or is that just me?

 

[Tanooki]

Crop watering helps and doesn't. I think it helps encourage growth to maximum as it's a living versus a damaged square and it or a hotel/stable(large building)/windmill of sorts ends up there otherwise. I have an old Nintendo Power code book around here somewhere, I know the max levels each town can hit, fillmore can be a bit pissy cutting short if there are too many of the large structures.

Watering, try doing that in bloodpool in the lake -- nice surprise if you find the spot. Also not just rocks/trees/houses can be cracked with lightning, certain spots can find certain magical rewards too. I'm dropping hints but trying not to spoil it entirely. The game has a few spells, mostly they're found, not earned or leveled into. You can also find scrolls in the stages or by doing secondary things in the stages (being in bloodpool I'm sure you've met Teddy that annoying brat.) The Sim needs to not be over thought. Take it more as leveling up in an RPG without doing combat persay. Best thing to do is waste the monster generators that don't give items, but those who level up the town quality (3 tiers) and leave one around as killing the demons gives back health. Always use the weather for the obvious sand->water->grass or marsh->sun->grass as you can build more.

The game on the whole shouldn't take more than 4-6 hours to knock off, it's a short fast fun ride while it lasts. Still stands the test of the SNES time on legit releases being in the very top tier of musical scores due to the sampled audio. You'll hear what I mean once you discover a way to change how the music plays in the game.

 

[HornheaDD]

I finished the game again yesterday, still as fun as before. That lion/gryffon boss in Bloodpool, I'd forgotten how easy it is. Still a blast to play. I actually really enjoyed the sim part of it and wished it could go a little further.

I was gonna give Actraiser 2 another chance but Demon's Crest caught my eye and I'm still going through Terranigma for the umpteenth time.

 

[joecommando]

Personally I hate the Sim part but I love the sidescrolling action so the game is Meh to me, But I can Certainly see why people love it, Just not for me.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Due to an RPG save I lost (son of a bitch), I got fed up and took that game out and decided it was time to finally play ActRaiser. Played for an hour and am currently at Blood Pool I think it's called. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with what I've played so far. I'm not a sim guy at all, so at first the sim part was a bit intimidating for me. But I got the hang of it 5 minutes into it.

Basically you use lightning bolts to clear bushes and shit, and then you build your towns section by section, trying to cover up the monster lairs. I like that you can level up and that's how you gain extra life bars. Very cool how they combined action platformer with sim and even a few RPG elements. I like the little messages my people give me, and I like how they treat me as a God, lol.

Does watering crops matter much? Do previous towns have to be maintained as you progress in the game? Do you have to check back on old towns and water crops to keep things fresh for the natives?

Action parts are plain-ish as most have said, but yeah, combine the two and it adds up to a nice package. I'm looking forward to spending the next week or so trying to beat this game. I can only imagine how blown away I would have been had I played this 25-ish (!) years ago.

BTW, when the ActRaiser dude gets hit in the action section, he sounds a lot like Simon Belmont from Super Castlevania IV getting hit. Or is that just me?

How could you, of all people, have never played ActRaiser?

SNESFRAUD

 

[Tanooki]

Glad to see more people trying it out or returning after years. I'm tempted myself to do it, but I've got an annoying backlog of games and still want to commit some time to my MVS and my pinball machine in a regular basis.

 

[LoneSage]

Steve yes, I watched a longplay of Actraiser after I made the thread and the way the guy sounds like Simon after getting hit caught me off-guard.

 

[andsuchisdeath]

Glad to see more people trying it out or returning after years. I'm tempted myself to do it, but I've got an annoying backlog of games and still want to commit some time to my MVS and my pinball machine in a regular basis.

Oh great one, explain to the plebs how broken actraiser 2 is. I've been meaning to learn more.

 

[Steve]

How could you, of all people, have never played ActRaiser?

SNESFRAUD

Call it one brutal backlog lol.

Played it for three hours today -- time flew. Really digging it. Stuck at last boss though. Gauntlet giving me some trouble but I will give it another go tomorrow. The game is super easy and only the gauntlet presents any kind of challenge.

Great ideas that could have been fleshed out a bit more -- I wouldn't have minded a 10-15 hour game but that's just me.

 

[Steve]

Just beat it. Actually quite easy for a boss rush. The continues help and although they have intimidating life bars, they lose health fast. Overall, I love this game. Thanks for getting me off my ass and finally play it!

 

[LoneSage]

Thanks for getting me off my ass and finally play it!

Cool I made a difference in someone's life. Maybe I should make more 'I never played ____' threads.

 

[Tacitus]

Actraiser is such an awesome and weird mix of game. Someone else said it best, it's more than the sum of its parts.

It needs a proper sequel. I did a copyright search and it's still active. Would've been a great game to scoop up and homebrew or crowdfund a sequel to...

 

[Tanooki]

Just beat it. Actually quite easy for a boss rush. The continues help and although they have intimidating life bars, they lose health fast. Overall, I love this game. Thanks for getting me off my ass and finally play it!

Now try out Professional! mode if you think it's so easy. Stock lives, NO SIM mode, straight run of all the action stages. Unless you really do have those patterns down by the time you get to the boss rush/end game it'll make you its bitch. I enjoy the standard game because it's not overly hard, it's a great game for when you want something fun, unique, semi-casual almost (once you learn it), that won't anger you for any reason (other than your own stupidity), and can be killed straight in an afternoon or slowly over a few days for fun. It's a pleasure title, short but not painfully slow, easy, but not sesame street either.

Oh great one, explain to the plebs how broken actraiser 2 is. I've been meaning to learn more.

Sorry. I'm new to MVS ownership, only had the pocket color in the past around the time this site was born. I'm long term die hard recovering (thanks to douche flippers and Nintendo quality and sanity going to hell) Nintendo fan. I know more than what is probably healthy from memory alone when it comes to their 8 and 16bit US libraries and a small part of the Japanese and PAL too. This was my first retail game along with Gradius III after getting the console the day it came out so it has a lot of good memories for me that piece of shit sequel crapped all over (and I wasted good money on as a teen without a job which stings even more.) I beat that piece of shit because I paid like $50 for it new in the day and felt obligated to as it would be time before I got another.

 

[andsuchisdeath]

Sorry. I'm new to MVS ownership, only had the pocket color in the past around the time this site was born. I'm long term die hard recovering (thanks to douche flippers and Nintendo quality and sanity going to hell) Nintendo fan. I know more than what is probably healthy from memory alone when it comes to their 8 and 16bit US libraries and a small part of the Japanese and PAL too. This was my first retail game along with Gradius III after getting the console the day it came out so it has a lot of good memories for me that piece of shit sequel crapped all over (and I wasted good money on as a teen without a job which stings even more.) I beat that piece of shit because I paid like $50 for it new in the day and felt obligated to as it would be time before I got another.

So..what does this have to do with my question? I'll continue to assume that you don't know what you're talking about.

 

[GregN]

I either rented it as a kid or borrowed it from a friend. I remember it was tough. I liked the "Ummm-Umm" sound he made when you swinged a sword.

 

[Tanooki]

So..what does this have to do with my question? I'll continue to assume that you don't know what you're talking about.

I didn't respond to you, that's all. It wasn't even a question looking at it, especially since I lightly explained it already so it looked more like you were stating that I explained to the plebes what was wrong.

This is from memory as it has been years. The difficulty on it wasn't balanced, it didn't increase by stage as some were easier after hard stages, even in stage some places yo-yo'd oddly in spots due to odd design even with some nearly (if not unavoidable) cheap hits, and then the bosses were a painful slam either way. The single jump, slash (high, center, low) type mechanics were fine, but the double jump is just busted by design. You whip your wings out to coast, but you have no way to tuck them in causing you to land and flutter for nearly a couple seconds which extremely often being sliding off platforms or into hurtful spots/enemies, much of which in the game are small and person sized. You can try and combat it by jumping immediately hitting the platform to do a hop but you still slide a little so you need to almost under jump and land early. Preference but the game also cheaped out, removed the battery placing a long password in there which if I recall right saved the stage but not all the other potential perks or 1Ups you snatched up which aren't very common.

 

[oliverclaude]

ActRaiser revisited...

I had the chance to play ActRaiser yesterday, in order to proof my opinions about it, already presented in post #2. The game let's you choose, if you want to play it with the sim, or without it. Simply press down on the d-pad in the start screen, till the invisible option called Professional!! shows up. I tried both variants.

Needless to say, the game put a spell on me; like immediately. The unrefined launch game graphics derive their charm from exactly that simplicity of theirs. Where in other games smaller sprites are a drawback, here, they work for the benefit of the surroundings, making them appear huge and dense. Because little details are sparse, everyone of them is clearly highlighted for the player, making him acknowledge them easily, bestowing him with a pleasing feel of satisfaction upon noticing.

The gracious way, your sprite jumps, distinguishing vertical and diagonal jumping with two different sprite postures. The kneeling, after a descend from higher platforms, which gives you a gentle feel of gravity or the way, your golden god sprite reaches back with his sword for a heavy strike, when your jump extends forward. Or the different move sets for each fanciful enemy, including nervous zig-zag flying of Kassandora's dessert mutants, or the masterly use of a shield by the Northwall giants.

These are all very cool little gems waiting for you to discover, but I have to agree, that you only get the whole Raiser experience in the first game, if you do include the sim. The one-sided narrative dialogs with your angel are the best feature here. The rest of this Populous in-a-nutshell sim is nice, tho serves merely as a decorative stage for the numerous appearances of your sweet, talkative, winged servant, who seems to break through the heavy glass front of your CRT with his suggestive power.

Quite an experience that was, to play this game again. More magical, than nostalgic, if that makes any sense .

 

[Loris Biaggi]

Actraiser is an awesome game!

 

[smokehouse]

I had the chance to play ActRaiser yesterday, in order to proof my opinions about it, already presented in post #2. The game let's you choose, if you want to play it with the sim, or without it. Simply press down on the d-pad in the start screen, till the invisible option called Professional!! shows up. I tried both variants.

Needless to say, the game put a spell on me; like immediately. The unrefined launch game graphics derive their charm from exactly that simplicity of theirs. Where in other games smaller sprites are a drawback, here, they work for the benefit of the surroundings, making them appear huge and dense. Because little details are sparse, everyone of them is clearly highlighted for the player, making him acknowledge them easily, bestowing him with a pleasing feel of satisfaction upon noticing.

The gracious way, your sprite jumps, distinguishing vertical and diagonal jumping with two different sprite postures. The kneeling, after a descend from higher platforms, which gives you a gentle feel of gravity or the way, your golden god sprite reaches back with his sword for a heavy strike, when your jump extends forward. Or the different move sets for each fanciful enemy, including nervous zig-zag flying of Kassandora's dessert mutants, or the masterly use of a shield by the Northwall giants.

These are all very cool little gems waiting for you to discover, but I have to agree, that you only get the whole Raiser experience in the first game, if you do include the sim. The one-sided narrative dialogs with your angel are the best feature here. The rest of this Populous in-a-nutshell sim is nice, tho serves merely as a decorative stage for the numerous appearances of your sweet, talkative, winged servant, who seems to break through the heavy glass front of your CRT with his suggestive power.

Quite an experience that was, to play this game again. More magical, than nostalgic, if that makes any sense .

I think you missed your calling, you should write descriptions on Japanese candy packages...

 

[GohanX]

the double jump is just busted by design. You whip your wings out to coast, but you have no way to tuck them in causing you to land and flutter for nearly a couple seconds which extremely often being sliding off platforms or into hurtful spots/enemies, much of which in the game are small and person sized.

You can press up to do a controlled float or down to do a dive, both will land you without the wing flutter.

I played through ActRaiser 1 over the weekend, it's still a masterpiece of a game. Last night I popped in ActRaiser 2, set it for hard, and the first stage broke my back and made me humble. It's been too long since I played this, so I set it for medium, had a great time. I'm probably about 1/3 of the way through the game now, the stages are a little rough but if you take your time they aren't too difficult. Most of the bosses in medium can be killed by spamming magic, especially the up magic where you toss some magic balls. I have no idea how I'm going to fight these guy on hard where magic does very little damage.

 

[Tanooki]

I recall that now the dive, problem is the default is to flutter and slide. It just made things not fun when you're in battle, especially a tighter or more complex one as it was accident prone to flutter to damage or your death. It was bad design, not broken, just stupid. Also as you said the stages are a bit rough, I do remember that now too, I think the lack the more direct/concise flow of the original.

And also I don't recall if it's true for AR2 or not, but in the original you could play the stages quite out of order if you wished, or even just play the first act and go all over ranking up extra powers too. It gave a bit of a variance in how to attack the game each time.

 

[LoneSage]

i like this thread because people played a game because of me saying i never played it, thats cool

 

[xsq]

i like this thread because people played a game because of me saying i never played it, thats cool

but you still haven't played it, right?

 

[GohanX]

I recall that now the dive, problem is the default is to flutter and slide. It just made things not fun when you're in battle, especially a tighter or more complex one as it was accident prone to flutter to damage or your death. It was bad design, not broken, just stupid.

Those of you who say that ActRaiser 2 has bad controls really need to start sucking less.