ActRaiser

"An epic tale returns."

In this game the player takes the roll of the Master, a god-like figure who resides in a floating palace and only seems to directly come to the planet when there are monsters to slay, and that of a chibi angel armed with bow and arrow. This game is fairly unique, especially so for its time by incorporating two gameplay modes. This game is divided into a city building simulation mode and 2D side scrolling missions.

Originally released in the early 90's, this game has made a return on the Wii's Virtual console.

Gameplay
Gameplay is where this game really shines. In the simulation part of the game, the player controls the chibi-like angel armed with a bow and arrows. During these sections the player must fly around and dispatch evil flying monsters that plague the town's citizens, while simultaneously guiding the direction of the town's growth and using elemental magics to change the terrain in effort to further benefit the citizens of each town.

These portions of the game are surprisingly easy and fairly entertaining, though sometimes specific difficulties may arise. Scripted events will happen to the townspeople which will require the player to preform various tasks to save the people. These events will either require the use of an item, magical spell, or involve a side scrolling stage to help the citizens.

Each town that is visited by the player will be able to produce items that may be taken and used as "offerings." While a hand full of these items are designed to be single use items for town events, most are rather forgetful items that are of little help. There are instances of incredibly useful items that increase the Master's MP or give him new spells to use in the side scrolling stages. These are the true treasures that the people may offer the player, and the ones that should be sought out the most.

Guiding the growth of town is sadly overly simple, consisting of moving the angel to a position and telling the people to extend the town to that specific location. The magic system for the simulation sections of the game also suffer the same fate. The magic given to the player for the simulation mode is very situational and rarely useful outside of one or two town events. Overall, there is a diffident desire for more options and variety in the simulation areas of the game, but they still pleasant and noteworthy additions to the game.

The side scrolling missions are where the difficulty lies. Each area has a couple side scrolling missions for the player to take, and the difficulty progresses at a steady rate. In these areas, the Master takes possession of a statue, turning it into an avatar with a huge two-handed sword, and gets to go to town on various baddies. While the actions that the player can preform are limited to jumping, crouching, attacking, and casting the single magic equipped for the level, the side scrolling action doesn't get stale. Most of the magic obtained for these missions tends to be useless , while one of them specifically tends to be vastly stronger than anything else the Master can do.

These areas do pose some tough challenges. The player tends to get knocked backwards pretty far when struck by any attack, and that can cause some severe frustration on stages with lots of pitfalls. Enemies are repetitive with their movements, and so are the bosses, but death will find even the most experienced player on many occasions. Luckily these areas have check points at all the right locations, so a death won't be too much of a setback.

Story
The story is simple, yet works well for the type of game that it is. Monsters have taken over the world, and it is the player's job as the Master, a god like entity, to save his people by vanquishing the monsters and guiding the people back to creating the civilization that they once had. The story is not deep at all, and is mostly explained with short conversations with the leaders of each town.

Graphics
The 2D graphics hold up fairly well today, and were decent when the game was released. The simulation sections of the game have detailed houses and terrain, but have a stale color used for the grass. When clearing snow or desert from areas, the transition from the snow to the area that was cleared vanishes and becomes a straight line. While odd and ugly, this does not deter from game play.

The side scrolling areas present themselves with detailed sprites and backgrounds. Each area presents its own terrain and style which is done on a good level. Enemy sprites tend to be reused in areas with different color patterns, but this wasn't uncommon with games of that era.

Sound
The sound and music is great for a 16 bit game, however it's nothing that even compares to anything in modern games. The music isn't anything that will be remembered years down the road, or even weeks.

Replay value
There is really no replay value for this game as the simulation aspect is completely scripted from the events that happen to the people in the city, to the rewards given for dealing with the problems that arise. The side scrolling areas are fairly short as well. There is a score given for each area, so that may provide incentive to start another play through, but outside of that there really isn't much.

Conclusion
All in all, this game is worth the price on the Wii's Virtual Console. Though one play through may be all that is needed for this game, the play through is a wondrous unique experience with a blend of both side scrolling action and simulation city building.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/08

Game Release: ActRaiser (US, 05/28/07)