ROMiniscing: ActRaiser (Super NES)
[ Superior ] Epic Legendary
There are only so many variations to the Platforming model, but when the market was saturated with this genre, we gamers were treated to every possible iteration. Whether they were inserting RPG elements like in E.V.O. or pushing the model to its limit like in Kid Chameleon, developers built some amazing experiences from the “Platformer” scaffolding. One game that demonstrates this particularly well is Enix’s Hack-and-slash platformer\City-building Sim ActRaiser. And so, let’s ROMinisce.
With that combination of genres, a bit of explanation is in order. If you haven’t played it, ActRaiser is the story of a god seeking to reawaken the world, which has been decimated by a Dr. Robotnik demon of sorts. Instead of furry creatures, he has turned the former human inhabitants into monsters which you must kill to release their souls. Each geographic zone is split into two “acts.” Act One involves you clearing the overworld of monsters (Hack-and-slash) and reestablishing mankind (City-building). Once mankind has repopulated the area, their priests will discover the chamber of the zone’s boss and you’ll embark on Act Two: Clearing the boss (Hack-and-slash) and maximizing the population of the area (City-building).
As you can tell, the game swings between two very different mechanics, which stops it from ever getting tedious. By simplifying these mechanics, ActRaiser manages to be very accessible. The two pieces are intertwined such that maximizing the overworld population gives you more health\magic for Platforming while your score from Platforming affects maximum population. Though the hack-and-slash sections are mechanically identical to Rastan and other games of the era, the City-building constitutes a greater portion of the playtime. So, you never feel like you’ve done this a hundred times before. Assuming you don’t use the Magical Stardust scroll, the game can be quite challenging as well, especially the menagerie of bosses in the finale.
Stardust making a boss a piece of cake.
Ultimately though, I ended the game feeling like I had played two very elemental versions of different genres. The city-building is nice, but very simplistic… the hack-and-slash is the same. The storyline is obviously nothing more than a framework for these elements and though the religious allegory is nice, an assault of clichés and bad exposition (particularly the ending) stops it from being compelling. Still, I feel like all of these things are intentional, and the ultimate litmus test is whether or not you have fun, which I most certainly did.
The verdict? ActRaiser is a fun bit of genre-hybridizing classic gaming with interesting (albeit simple) mechanics. Playing a god caters to the narcissist in everyone, slashing apart dragons with a sword never goes out of style, and developing cities has and always will be fun. Combining the three is a stroke of genius and though ActRaiser doesn’t push these mechanics to their maximum (and the sequels abandoned the formula altogether), it still delivers a solid 10-or-so hours of fun. If you liked DarkCloud for PS2 even a tiny bit and have a couple hours to kill, ActRaiser is a definite Wii VC or ROM download recommendation.
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Tags: action rpg, company-enix, company-quintet, company-squareenix, emulation, erdtirdmans, god game, hack and slash, platformer, reviews-try, ROMiniscing-superior, rpg, single player, snes, wii vc