ActRaiser

"An Underappreciated Little Gem"

The Super Nintendo will always be my favorite game console. It was the system I played during my younger years, when video gaming was everything and I didn't have to worry about earning rent money or getting a handle on my student loan payments. Ah, those were the days... just me and my two best friends, enjoying some amazing games.
One of my favorite titles from that era is 'ActRaiser,' a unique game that mixes sword-and-sorcery action with a fun little city-building simulator. You play the role of a god who has been shaken from some sort of eternal slumber, to do battle with the Supreme Evil Guy. I don't remember his name, but does it really matter? Anyhow, you've gotten a bit soft during your divine nap, so you need to rebuild the world's villages and get the people to love and worship you again. As you clear out the monsters from the land and carefully nurture your people's villages, your power grows. Needless to say, it will all lead to a battle of good versus evil, which as plots go, is an oldie but still a goldie.
The game is divided into two different modes: combat and city-building. Every time you enter a new realm, you'll assume the form of a sword-wielding knight and clear out the area of all offending beasties. These scenes consist of fairly basic 2D platforming action, with such classics as moving platforms, tricky jumps, and spiked floors. The combat is fun, but if the game was only in this mode, it would be a slightly above-average title at best.
However, the real meat of 'ActRaiser' is the town-building mode. Once you've wiped out the monsters in a realm, you watch your followers move in and begin to build a new place to live. This mode will remind people of a simplified 'Sim City.' Of course, there will be problems with the rough terrain, and the people will require your help. You can use various weather effects to help clear the land, such as sunlight to dry up swamps, or rain to wash away the desert. And naturally, little monsters will pop out of the nearby Monster Lairs to try to harm your followers. So you'll need to guide your peoples' building paths to seal up the lairs and make their living conditions a bit more safe. As your people expand and seal the Lairs, they will uncover items that you can use. Watching your little towns grow is great fun, especially as they evolve from rickety mud huts into sturdy, populous houses.
Naturally, each realm will have a true evil lurking somewhere, which will be uncovered once your village has expanded enough. You'll have to assume knight form and head back into the fray, to tangle with the 'boss' monster of the realm. Once that critter has been smashed, the town is safe at last, and you can move on to the next area with a clean conscience. Of course, you may wish to stay in the village for a while longer, to look for hidden items or to completely fill up the liveable land with your followers. (More population means more hit points, and those always come in handy in these wacky video games.) You can also go back to any previous realm to see if anything new is afoot.
The delicate balance between the combat and the city-building is the key to 'ActRaiser,' and it works brilliantly. The 2D platforming sequences are relatively short, but they'll satisfy your cravings for action. Then, after you've slashed some nasties with your sword, you'll be content to settle in for the more long-term pleasures of building a little village from scratch. Since the things you gain from city-building (hit points and spells) are crucial to the action sequences, you can't neglect either aspect of the game.
This game has average-to-great graphics, depending on who you ask. I think it looks fantastic for a first-generation Super Nintendo game, with large characters and appropriately adorable townspeople activity. Heck, since we're discussing a 16-bit game, does a graphical discussion even matter anymore?
Now, the sound is a whole other story. The effects are decent at best, but the music is just plain wonderful. The two village themes are both beautiful in different ways, and very calming. The action sequences often have gorgeous, rousing tunes, which make you want to grab a sword yourself and hack up some evil monsters. I know people who paid good money for the symphonic version of the 'ActRaiser' melodies, and I don't blame them one bit.
In fact, if the game has any weakness at all, it's length. Like many great games, 'ActRaiser' ends too quickly. A dedicated player could beat it in a few days, or even a single afternoon if he or she has played it before. I've replayed the game many times, but that is probably for nostalgia's sake.
Still, as far as I'm concerned, no Super Nintendo library is complete without this game. There's nothing else quite like it, even on the newer systems. If you're in the least bit interested, hunt down a copy of this game and play the heck out of it. It's a game that will wedge itself into collection of fond gaming memories.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/28/01, Updated 11/28/01