Virtual Console Reviews

OMG! This game is very awesome! You can build your own towns, gain levels like an RPG, side scrolling like a Castlevania game, graphics and sound are great! This must come out in both the US, EU! I hope that this is a sign that, SOUL BALZER, BRAINLORD, and 7th SAGA will be released too on the SNES VC! ENIX made some of the coolest games in the 16 bit era! If you like action, adventure, RPG games, download this game!

Apparently its out in Japan now, so fingers crossed it won't be too long down the line. Defintely one of the best SNES games ever...can't wait

I look forward to this coming to the US! I vaguely remmeber playing it years and years ago, but remember it was a good game!

It's a great combination of RPG and Strategy, Actraiser is still one of my favorite games for SNES ever

I really dunno what to expect from this. Maybe I should just play safe and download something else tonight...

I own the SNES version of this; never really got into it. I think I got stuck about halfway through...

Great game, accounted for many a sleepless night when I was younger.

just downloaded this game, and the first level is so hard.
grrr but i'm loving it. Just need to kill the first boss.

is this game optimised or does it still have borders.

I downloaded this and I love it now , I can't stop playing lol

yeah, this game was amazing back in the day. i'm really hopin for future square-enix titles like soul blazer, brainlord, a north american release of terranigma, robotrek, secret of mana and the nes dragon warrior series...

if they actually decide to translate games (though it isn't likely), i'd love to play 7th saga 2, dragon quest 5 and 6 and FFV in the original snes version...

still, this game does rock and I recommend it to anyone who loved the creativity of the early snes titles. it also had a sequel which i'm told was basically just a platformer.

Yeah it has no borders like most Snes games these days. Can't comment on the speed without having the NTSC to coompare it to. Now why cant megadrive games get the same treatment

one of the best snes games ever! 5 stars indeed

I remember recording the music from this game to cassette tape when it first came out; I was so enthralled with it.

Can't wait for it to be released in Canada on Monday

This game reminds me of a pre Dark Cloud.

This game is more than worth the purchase. I have the original japanese cartridge which was well hard to play through. I later played the US version and it made a lot more sense and was a load more fun. I can't wait to go through it again!

Is anyone else finding this game rock hard? I am having trouble with the tree that comes alive on the first level and he is the first major foe!

I am having trouble beating the bosses on this game but i can easily get thougth the rest of the stages which is just the opposite of castlevania 4 were most of the boses are Easy but getting througth the levels is hard.

One of the best SNES games ever. Proably should be in a top 10 list somewhere (in my mind it is). This game is very much worth the price. Get it ASAP and be WOWed!

I gave it a shot because I heard a lot of positive arguments for it. It is really awesome and didn't disappoint me at all, though the game is very hard. Well, I hope some SNES-bombs like Super Metroid or Secret of Mana (Maybe even 2) will come out soon.

But THIS definitely IS a bomb. If you like Platform games, then download it immediately!

Greetings from GER

I was incredibly skepticle about this game. It looked a bit weird and it was also looking dodgy as it's part Action Adventure like Castlevania and part Simulation like Sim City.

Now games like SIm City just don't work on consoles. Well, early consoles. They're really hard to play mainly because it's so hard to distiguish one thing from another. And control wise they're pretty bad.

So I was worried this would be a waste of 800 points. If you're reading this so far nodding along and agreeing with everything i've said, get the game.

You don't have to play the Simulation part of the game. You can choose between "Story Mode" which gives you both Action and Simulation. Or "Action Mode". Which as the name suggests, is all Action baby.

Bear in mind though, this game has no learning curve. It starts bloody hard and I can only imagine that it gets harder.

Extremely happy with this game, very challenging in places (i have lost all my lives 8 times on one boss). Going between god mode to action mode is pure genius. I wish I had owned this title "back in the day". Worth every point.

if you diddnt have a pc to play god games they were still well worth it on consoles.. thanks to populas on the MD and sim city on the ninty i could play god games in comfort of my bed.. but this one was extra special.. dont shun the god aspect of this game because you think its poorly done i think if youve never played a god game in your life this game helped bring out that side of you..

Just plain awsome, a great game. It's a shame they ruined the sequel making it a straight 2d platformer, and removing all the fun. Here's a franchise the I'd like to see picked up as a Wii title.

Great game...definitely check it out.

Great music!

"Ben Johnsen (UK) - 15 Apr 2007, 13:22 GMT

Is anyone else finding this game rock hard? I am having trouble with the tree that comes alive on the first level and he is the first major foe! "

You probably already realized this since it was a few weeks ago that you've posted, but if my memory serves me correctly, the trees aren't a boss as much as a vehicle over some spikes. The first boss is a centaur and ducking in the far left and swinging wildly will take care of him fairly quickly with minimal damage. I haven't played the game through in close to a century, though so time may have made things a bit fuzzy.

People say this game is non-linear. This is a lie. It's pretty linear experience, but a great one!

This game even on normal-mode is quite hard(especially compared to todays games), some of the bosses are just impossible to devise a strategy to beat, unless you use magic(which is compulsory to beat some of these bosses).

I wonder how much harder it could be on "hard-mode" ? ;-0

Still, I'm loving this game so far...

One save file sucks though, as it means My brothers have to wait till I beat the game before they can play.

How are you supposed to beat the final area with only one lot of lives and magic? You gotta fight all the bosses one after the other and they are much harder/faster than usual. As soon as I am out of magic I am out of luck. Has anyone beaten it? Give me some tips.

game has just been rated by the esrb, bout damn time

Excellent, I can't wait for this to come out. Between this, a few others on the VC, and Mario Strikers, I've been feeling like I'm getting the shaft from NoA

Not anymore, yoda. Well... not for Actraiser anyway.

As for this game being linear I think if you compare it to something like grand theft auto it seams linear but compare it to something like castlvania 4 and it seems like a non-linear game.

it is a semi-linear game

It's definitely linear because there are places you can't access until you're at a certain level. On the other hand, you can access multiple areas at once if you have enough experience.

It's as non-linear as a platformer gets at this stage of the game. Honestly a gem in the SNES line-up. To help with the last bosses, figure out the best way to upgrade each town (including the use of bridges and sharing wheat and all that) to power up you character as much as possible. The only other thing you can do is practice and get to know each bosses' patterns. It's not unbeatable, just keep at it. Try to save the magic for the final showdown too where it comes in most handy.

Guess I can't complain (for) now!

Maybe I should make demands more often.

5/5 you better believe it!

this si such an odd looking game...i may have to play.

is it me or is the simulation mode so pathetically easy that it insults your intelligence? I mean the game is pretty cool and all, i like it overall. Its just that in sim mode they pretty much tell you what to do when something comes up.."teddy is lost give him some bread", "we need rain, make it rain".. kind of boring actually, just build in the direction of the monser's lair and move on, thats really all you need to do.

platforming is pretty average. nothing too special there.. music is AWSOME though, i will give it that. but all in all i would give the game a 4/5 for an above average platforming experience and a boring simulation mode. you know just because square made it doesnt mean its an instant 5/5

5 Stars! Everyone should know this game. Anyone should have played it.
The sim part is the best thing ActRaiser has to offer. It is not pathetically easy. There are many secrets hidden in the sim mode! Try to make thunder above the forest, rain on the pyramid or such things... there's pleanty to be found! Plenty surprises! I love this game! Music is GREAT!

i didnt know aout getting it... cuz it luks rather weird and the graphics look rubbish on the rpg section....

One of the first SNES games ever, and still one of the best. Gameplay's somewhat clunky, but magic helps counter that. Terrific soundtrack, great graphics, etc., one of the best VC games.

This is one of the best 'Platformer Sims' available. (If there are any others!)

Well the controls are better than castlevania you have to give it that.

Downloaded this on a random, great game. Whoever thought of platforming and god sim in one was a genius. Highly recomended!

I downloaded this after hearing so much good stuff about from everybody and I'm glad I did! What a great game!

The action scenes were fun and a little Castlevania-esque, but the simulation part of it was a little boring, in my opinion. It's too bad I didn't get as much of a kick out of it as others did.

I would play(download) this game only for the music in it but i already have it on cart too bad no other game comes close to this genre

This is an interesting deal. I had never heard of it before the VC release in my entire life, and I was sceptical at first when reading about, having been a bit disappointed by several of the many existing 16-bit platformers before. Eventually I gave it a shot.
The platforming bits are pretty standard. Short sections, but totally sweet, and a good reminder of the better parts of the fourth video game generation.
The simulation, in my eyes, is a simple yet very charming feature. Nothing to glorify like a creation of Will Wright, but it's got what counts and makes this game very unique.

While I didn't find as much appeal to it as many people apparently did, I found it well worth my points. Not the return of Christ, but far from a disappointment.

I have just downloaded it recenty and I can say that this is a deep and involving game.

May not be a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest games that I was hoping for but this is still a great RPG with Real Time God Sim and Platforming involved.

Well worth my 800 points

very good game indeed

Great game, hopefully they will release the awesome sequel too.

Good game indeed, but I'm stuck on the snowy continent because I messed up the build direction.
The people up there can't build bridges and I haven't found any way of cancelling the current build direction.

@buffdude:

You shouldn't have to cancel the direction... just give them a new one. Choose the building direction again, then lead them somewhere else. I can't remember if that's where you're supposed to or not, but when you go back to the town that learned how to build bridges, they'll offer you the knowledge to do so to share with others. That way you can teach other towns to build bridges.

Fantastic game... and in response to the linearity, it's linear in the sense that it guides you where to go, but you could technically jump around a bit in the order. It doesn't force you to go straight from one part to the next. Just points you in that direction.

I played this game for the first time on VC, and I really enjoyed it. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars because it's way too short!

I didn't get to play this game during the snes generation, but I'm a huge Enix fan so I was really looking forward to this game. Maybe my hopes were too high but I'm a bit disappointed. The controls for the action part are not all that great, and the sim, while fun, lacks the depth of many other sim games of the time. The game is linear and quite brief. 800 points later and you end up with a mediocre platformer + a mediocre sim. If its action you crave, I'd buy Contra for SNES instead.

I never had a chance to play this back in the day so it's cool to play it now. I still remember first seeing it in Nintendo Power.

The platformer sections are quite good but I was disappointed by the mediocre sim bits. Blasting little dragons is just not fun.

A fun game, it was definitely worthy of the 800 points.
Only thing I'm going to complain about is repetition of text in the Simulation sections.

I remember this game from way back, I read the review in Mean Machines, saved up my pennies and bought the import US version (had an adapter)....only to complete the whole game in two nights. I loved it but I breezed through it in about 12 hours.

I can't remember if it had any options to make it harder, did it?

Andy - good old Mean Machines!! What a game, I think I imported the JPN version. Yes there are difficulty level options.

I loved Mean Machines, Jazza Rignall & Co.

Seen on Wikipedia "In the US/NTSC version, the Story Mode featured easier battles, while the action-only "Professional" mode (unlocked at finishing Story Mode), contains the Japanese difficulty level. In the PAL release, the Action Mode ("Professional" mode) is available from the menu screen right from the start."

So I got the easiest version!!

My first VC game and was defenitly worth it. Fantastic concept of sim and action platforming acompanied by one of the best soundtracks of all time. Although I will say that the controls in the platforming levels do feel stiff and limited compared to other games in the genre (e.g. you cant turn mid jumping) which really adds to the games already cruel difficulty. However the god sim section of the game was really well done for an early gen SNES game, and it is a good starting point for people like me who were never into these kind of games due to their complexity. 4 Stars from me

I remember getting this and Super Castlevania IV around the same time, and this game really suffered from the inevitable comparison. The action/god sim combo was a nice idea, but I can't help feeling that neither element really stands on its own, and aside from the absolutely phenomenal music the action levels are only decent. Actraiser II focused entirely on the action and was a better game for it. That would make a nice VC addition. Still, there are much worse games than this in the VC library right now.

This is one of the best vc games out there. a MUST HAVE FOR ANY SIM AND/OR ACTION GAME LOVER.

Very fun, addictive, compelling, and unique. The only downside is that some of the platforming bits can be very tricky, but still a great game.

This is a great game and quite innovative. I downloaded this after a bit of research and heard few bad things about it. And wow it's quite a surprise. I'm quite impressed by it. It's reminiscent of Castlevania but adds in the whole Sim experience. I'm stuck on one part though. It's the part in Bloodpool where the villagers are fighting and I don't know how to stop it. For now I just left them to their fighting.

One of the best RPG/ action games made on the SNES! Nothing bad to even say about this one. I hope they bring Orge battle to the wii virtual console, I love that game!

Bloddy Great Game.

Top game, owned it back in the day as well.
A remake on the DS would be great.
4/5

This is a tough one to critique. Platformer+God-sim is pretty much the craziest proposition I've ever seen on paper, but the two really succeed in complimenting each other, as the fruits of your God-sim successes carry over to the platforming bits and that crazy last battle(s). The mechanics of the platforming aren't all that ambitious, and the God-sim portions are likewise rather simple, though the aesthetic appeal is certainly there and the writing is nothing if not charming. In short, I can't think of a better example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, and what we have, as a result, is a unique and soundly-executed package. 4/5

ActRaiser is a bit shallow game, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still really great. It blends two totally different game styles really well together. Yeah, the platforming is kinda clunky, but it's there. You gotta hand it to Enix for actually trying something different.
4/5

I don't usually like to say graphics and sound are that big of a deal, but I think they're a big factor in my love of Actraiser. While the action and sim sections on their own are merely good, I think the art and music in the game and the pacing between the two styles are what makes it great. Personally, I like being able to platform for a while and then chill out on the sim stages. It makes you excited about each section when you start it. It's a shame there was never a TRUE sequel. Essential part of my library.

This was one of the first titles I downloaded on the VC. I had fallen in love with it as a child and still love it just as much now. It is also still a difficult game, even if it was actually made easier for North Americain release. There's really no game out there that has even attempted to follow its formula of platformer + sim...

Back in the day when I had a SNES, I rented this game and after 1 hour, I went back and returned it.Of course, I didn't know better then .
Great game, looks and sound great. I found it rather easy, except for the last stage, and overall, it was over pretty quick, I finished it in about 3 days of casual playing. If you have the spare Wii points, go ahead and download it right away, but if you need more value for them, I'd suggest you buy games with more replayability.

It's a short game, but a great game nonetheless and really a lot of fun. I recommend this game. Action-simulation mixture really adds a lot of depth and it's very original.

It's a great action-sim game. It becomes a challenge, and better, once you finish the game since you will unlock "HARD MODE!". In this mode you only play the side scrolling levels, thats great, you will have all the HP but no MP plus the enemies's attacks hit for 2 hp instead of 1 hp, so careful planning is at stake.

dude. thhe lest level of the game is impossible. you have to fight evry boss in the game in a row and you dont get healed or any extra lives.

What a great title! A great mix of RTS + Action. After dl this game, I was reminded how I could walk through this game in my sleep, however. Thus, it's a good first challenge, but replay value is somewhat limited.

Yeah, I can beat this game pretty quickly, even if I take the time to max the populations. Even so, it's one of my favorite games for the SNES and I'm glad I downloaded it for VC.

A very good game that has aged gracefully. Awesome music and funny god-sim parts. A bit hard in some places. Must have in every ways.

I read about the game being quite difficult, so I started playing in Beginner mode. In my opinion, it is a bit hard at first, but once you finish Filmore, it gets pretty easy on "Beginner". I also have to agree about the controls being a little stiff.

Nevertheless, ActRaiser's a pretty awesome game. Maybe not as deep as some titles but still worth it.

From all the positive reactions, i might give this game a shot

When this game came out, I had to buy it ! I didn't have the game before, but I knew it was great.

Great game, "unique". But, too short

Note : A lot of people say there's no Square-Enix game on VC... error

This game KICKS ASS, download it now, NOW, NOW!

Its a good game, but the last level (fighting all the bosses again) is difficult. I haven't gone back to it since I got to that bit. I might give it a try again at some point..

Yes, the last level isn't very entertaining, fighting stronger versions of the six main bosses again. Kinda like Megaman.
Surprisingly the final boss is quite easy.

This game is one of my favorite VC titles. One thing though, how do you get/use magic in the platforming sections?

This game kicks butt. The music in the first level sounds awesome, and the idea of building cities and killing monsters is a perfect mix. For 800 Wii points this is a must. Even if you aren't into the whole Sim's thing, the Platform levels are great!

I'm looking for a substitute simulation-type game to My Life As A King, since that game's too costly. Should I get this or Simcity? I'm thinking this.

@Mr. Cheez
Get this, as long as you enjoy action/platformers as well.

That's what I thought. I suck at simcity enyway. Too much micromanagement. XD