Actraiser Renaissance is something that completely came out of nowhere. Nobody had a pseudo-remake/revival of the SNES classic on their 2021 bingo card that’s for sure. So is this revival version worth playing and does it succeed at bringing Actraiser to a modern audience?
The original Actraiser game launched in 1990 on SNES. It was developed by Quintet and published by Enix. The original game was a niche classic at the time and combined platforming with “God Sim” elements. A sequel was released a few years later but ultimately dropped the simulation elements in favour of being a pure platformer.
Square Enix have decided to revive the franchise now in 2021 in the form of Actraiser Renaissance. This reimagining of the classic game features a tonne of new material. Actraiser on SNES was fairly basic looking while Actraiser Renaissance features a new look and an anime aesthetic to its story scenes.
Players in Actraiser Renaissance will take on the role of the Master. Effectively playing as God himself, you are tasked with helping your loyal subjects restore their world to its former glory. A great demon lord has laid siege to the lands and controls the world and it’s up to you to lead your people to victory and reclaim the lands that were corrupted by the demons.
The story of Actraiser Renaissance is one of its best aspects. There are now visual novel type scenes which unfortunately are not voiced but the story explained in these scenes is still as great as ever. Players will start the game off by descending from their Sky Palace to the lands of Fillmore. Once in Fillmore, you’ll platform your way through a level and defeat a boss enemy. This then unlocks the “God Sim” aspect of Actraiser Renaissance.
Actraiser Renaissance can therefore be split into two overarching parts. The platforming gameplay and the “God Sim” gameplay. Platforming in Actraiser Renaissance involves moving your character around in a level defeating enemies. You can sword slash, combo sword slash, upward slash and downward sword slam as well as use magic spells. The platforming gameplay, while simple, is excellent.
Square Enix has opted to give this part of the game a makeover too but this is a bit of a mixed bag. Instead of purely remastering the old gameplay of the original Actraiser, Square Enix have opted for a more realistic art styled look. It’s a visual upgrade but it just doesn’t have the same level of retro pop that the original Actraiser has. Purists will definitely not like this look but for newcomers, it serves its purpose.
Enemies in Actraiser Renaissance are numerous and defeating them is essential to progressing through a level and facing off against the boss of an area. Boss battles in Actraiser Renaissance are incredibly enjoyable with each boss having a specific attack pattern that you need to learn. Actraiser Renaissance features three difficulty levels and if you want to enjoy the game with infinite lives, the easy mode offers this ability. Playing on normal, you will have 5 lives and given the difficulty of some of the boss battles, chances are you will die a few times before finally defeating them. The game isn’t exactly hard but it does require some level of dodging skill. Thankfully players can use an evade button as well as block attacks by crouching and assuming a defensive position with their character.
Moving onto the “God Sim” aspects of Actraiser Renaissance, this is where you will spend most of your time in this game. Players will use the Master’s Angel to defend their civilization’s town in a specific area from monsters that spawn from lairs. Firing arrows at these monsters defeats them and grants you “SP” which can be used to perform “Miracles”. Miracles in Actraiser Renaissance now have different levels and this affects their area of effect. For example, a level 1 lightning spell targets a small region while a higher level version has a larger radius.
Performing miracles is a necessity in Actraiser Renaissance since you will need to guide your people to build their settlements. Guiding your people involves directing them in cardinal direction blocks until you run out of points. Your villagers will then move into those blocks and build farms, houses and more. This however can be blocked by natural elements such as trees or shrubs and the environment itself. Using a miracle to clear trees is therefore necessary before further expansion can be done.
Players will also encounter monster lairs which are huge gaping holes in the land where monsters spawn forth from. Once you reach a monster lair by guiding your people to it, they will encircle it and allow you to descend from above, enter platforming mode and fight off a “Spawner” located within. This then clears out the lair and allows you to continue to build in the area.
Actraiser Renaissance also has a “Tower Defense” style element to the simulation aspect where you will have to direct heroes to defend your village against monster attacks that come in waves. You can also build defensive forts which can attack both land-based and airborne monsters. This is an incredibly tense, yet oh so fun aspect of the game since you’ll be actively assigning your hero to fight off monsters at different spots while performing miracles to smite them too.
The story of Actraiser Renaissance is great with the visual novel story segments featuring gorgeous looking character designs and feeling quite a lot more personal than in the original game in the process. Players will grow to like their disciples as well as the heroes they command throughout the game and this is well done. It really is just a shame that Square Enix didn’t implement voice acting in the game because it would have really been appreciated here. The plot of guiding your people while helping them out, getting to know your heroes and ultimately defeating the demon lord is enjoyable albeit slow to get going at first.
The soundtrack of Actraiser Renaissance features both the classic OST as well as the newly remastered and rearranged Renaissance versions of the iconic themes and more. The original Actraiser composer, Yuzo Koshiro, is back and the OST of the new game features some great electro and orchestral tracks. Fillmore’s theme in particular stands out as being extremely catchy.
Overall, Actraiser Renaissance is a solid revival of the franchise for 2021. Some gameplay elements that have been reworked will definitely grate purists who prefer the original game but for newcomers, this is a great introduction to the franchise. After playing this version, try out the original if you haven’t played it. Both games are excellent in their own right but Actraiser Renaissance as the modernised counterpart is well worth playing through even if purists may dislike the design choices made. If you’re a fan of platformers and enjoy some mild town management and tower defense style games, this game will definitely appeal to you.
Actraiser Renaissance was reviewed on PC and can be purchased here for £24.99
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Android, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Developers: Sonic Powered Co. Ltd., Square Enix
Publishers: Square Enix
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