''ActRaiser 2'' is a side-scrolling
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
developed by
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...
and published by
Enix
was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games.
The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . Th ...
in 1993.
The game is a sequel to the original ''
ActRaiser
is a 1990 hybrid platformer, god game, and city-building game with light action RPG elements for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed by Quintet and published by Enix, combining traditional side-scrolling platforming with urban p ...
'', but the storyline is not directly connected to its predecessor. Otherwise, the given story draws concepts from the famous religious epics ''
Paradise Lost
''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
'' and the ''
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...
''.
Unlike the original game, which alternately combined platform game sequences and
god game
A god game is an artificial life game that casts the player in the position of controlling the game on a large scale, as an entity with divine and supernatural powers, as a great leader, or with no specified character (as in ''Spore''), and plac ...
sequences, ''ActRaiser 2'' is only a platform game.
Gameplay
Gameplay for ''ActRaiser 2'' consists primarily of side-scrolling platform action, similar to the "Professional!"/"Action" mode from the original game, while completely removing the city building simulation.
The player, assuming the role of the "Master" (still referred to as "God" in the Japanese version), controls a floating palace to inspect the people of the world below. After hearing their plight, the Master descends to the world below to fight the monsters and rid the land of evil. Like the original, each area contains two "acts"; the first act of an area consists of monsters spawned from a lesser demon named after an unfavorable condition, while the second act consists of monsters spawned from the primary evil, named after one of the
seven deadly sins
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...
, with heightened challenge and peril.
The side-scrolling action for ''ActRaiser 2'' is more advanced than its predecessor. Controlling the Master, who now has a full set of functional wings, the player must navigate through dungeons and avoid certain perils by jumping, flying, falling, and floating to platforms. Armed only with a sword, and a shield which can deflect some attacks, the Master becomes heavily dependent upon magic. Magic is executed by holding down the designated button to "charge up" and is then released, consuming a magic scroll which is limited when the Master enters an area. When released, the magic may take various forms depending on the position of the Master. This is different from the first ''ActRaiser'' in which the player had to select a particular magic before descending down to the world to fight monsters and was limited to only that magic for the duration of battle. In ''ActRaiser 2'', each magic is designed for particular situations and some magic is more powerful than others. By increasing the difficulty level at the options screen, the time it takes to "charge up" magic is increased, adding more difficulty to the game. The game's difficulty is also increased in that monsters require much more damage to be destroyed. Death Heim cannot be accessed through easy mode.
Synopsis
The game begins with the Master battling with Tanzra (still "Satan" in the Japanese version). In this game, a backstory is given as to why Tanzra hates the Master so vehemently. Tanzra, who was once the Master's servant, led a rebellion against him, but lost and was banished from
Heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
.
Ripped and torn, the slain body of Tanzra fell to the underworld. Feeding on the intense hatred each held for the Master, Tanzra's seven deadly sins and their minions combined their power to raise the spirit of their mighty leader. Tanzra, now vowing revenge for his defeat by the Master, unleashed these demons upon the world. The player in this game assumes the role of the Master, aided by his
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
ic associates, known as Crystallis.
Some of the stages in the game are meant to be ironic regarding the blighting nature of Tanzra's demons. The townsmen in the city of Leon are sent to the underground prison of Gratis (meaning ''free without charge'', or referring to "nadie entra gratis", ''no one enters for free'') for not paying their taxes by a newly-appointed king named Kolunikus, who is afflicted by Greed.
After the player slays the first six deadly sins, the
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages.
According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...
(renamed "Tower of Souls" in the western versions), the final staged level of the game, appears, in which the Master fights the final sin,
Pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...
, a mechanically engineered god. Defeating the false god, the player then descends into Death Heim, where he fights again against the seven sins, as well as Tanzra himself, a beast frozen waist-deep in a lake of ice (just as Satan was in the ''Inferno'' in ''The Divine Comedy'').
During the game's ending, it is declared that "The Master will live forever" and, as the credits roll, an image of the statue of the Master is shown slowly eroding over time. The statue's sword and right wing fall off, suggesting the growth of civilization and the increase of mankind's self-sufficiency. This reflects the ending of the original ''ActRaiser'', where the angel speculates that someday the world may be so independent that it will forget about the Master.
Development and release
According to developer Quintet, ''ActRaiser 2'' was made at the request of Enix of America, and designed according to their specifications.
Reception
''ActRaiser 2'' was seen by some game writers as not as good as the original. The game sold about 180,000 copies worldwide, with 40,000 copies sold in Japan and Europe respectively and 100,000 sold in the US.
Levi Buchanan of IGN wrote that while not as good as the original game, ''ActRaiser 2''s allusions to Medieval religious texts and apocryphal storytelling is "more than welcome".
In 2018,
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
rated ''Actraiser 2'' 81st on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time". They commented that the game is great despite being strictly a platformer and not having the god elements from the first game. In 1995,
Total!
''Total!'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future plc. It was published monthly for 58 issues, beginning in December 1991 (cover-dated January 1992), with the last issue bearing the cover-date October 1996. A "1993 A ...
ranked the game 38th on its "Top 100 SNES Games".
Legacy
In 1996,
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
announced that they would be publishing a Quintet-developed remake of ''ActRaiser 1'' and ''2'', tentatively titled ''Act Remix'', for the
Sega Saturn
The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
.
However, roughly halfway through development Quintet concluded that the ''ActRaiser'' series was outmoded, and they drastically reworked the game, which was ultimately titled ''Solo Crisis''.
Quintet started coding a third game in the ''ActRaiser'' series, for the
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
,
but never finished it. In May 2008, Fumiaki Shiraishi, the lead programmer for ''
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King'', noted in an interview that he would like to make an ''ActRaiser'' sequel.
Notes
References
External links
''ActRaiser 2''at
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...
''ActRaiser 2''at
Giant Bomb
''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...
''ActRaiser 2''at
MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Actraiser 2
1993 video games
Enix games
Platform games
Quintet (company) games
Seven deadly sins in popular culture
Single-player video games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games
Ubisoft games
Video games about angels
Video game sequels
Video games set in hell
Video games developed in Japan
Video games scored by Yuzo Koshiro
Ancient (company) games