ActRaiser
Encyclopedia
is a 1990 Super Nintendo Entertainment System
action
and city-building
simulation game developed by Quintet
and published by Enix
(now Square Enix
) that combines traditional side-scrolling platforming
with urban planning god game
sections. A sequel, ActRaiser 2
, was released for the Super Nintendo in 1993. In 2007, ActRaiser became available on the Wii
's Virtual Console
download service in Europe, North America and Japan. A version of the game was also released for European mobile phone
s in 2004.
After several hundred years, the Master awakens fully recovered to discover that he has lost his powers due to the lack of belief
in him. As the game progresses the Master defeats the Tanzra's lieutenants and recovers his powers by rebuilding the civilizations of his people and communicating with them through prayer. After all lieutenants have been slain, the Master commences an assault on Tanzra's stronghold Death Heim, eventually defeating him.
After the defeat of Tanzra, The Master and his servant revisit the many civilizations that they had helped to build and observe the people. During their observations, they note that nobody is at the temple worshiping the Master . The servant observes that although the people once prayed to the master in times of trouble, they no longer feel a need to because they are not in danger. The Master and his servant then enter the sky palace and depart into the heavens to await a time when they may be needed.
The player plays as "The Master", the main protagonist
of the game. Although the Master is never directly controlled, the player interacts with the world by controlling an angel and an animated statue. The player plays as an angel during the simulation sequences of the game, and as the statue during the action sequences.
The overhead-view simulation mode involves protecting and guiding the Master's new civilization towards prosperity, beginning with two humans. This portion of the game requires the player to take actions that encourage the growth of the population, including road planning and using lightning, rain, sunlight, wind. and earthquakes as miracles. The Angel can interact with the monsters in the area by shooting them with arrows as well as aid the Master by indicating where to build and use miracles.
One obstacle in the simulation mode is the presence of flying monsters which attempt to impede the progression of a civilization. The source of the monsters are several lairs around the region which continuously spawn the creatures as the servant kills them. As the population expands, it can seal the lairs of monsters, which prevents them from spawning, and eventually eliminate all the flying monsters in the land. Doing so increases the civilization level of the region, allowing more advanced structures to be built and increasing the potential population. Once all the lairs have been sealed the population will begin to build the most advanced homes available to the people in that region. The Master levels up by increasing the total population of the world, granting an increase in hit points and SP, used in performing miracles.
Each area has two side-scrolling action sequences, one before the building simulation and near the end. In the action sequences, the player controls a human-shaped statue brought to life by the Master. The player must jump from platform to platform while defeating monsters to accrue a score. At the end of each action sequence, the player must defeat a boss
.
The final level is an action-sequence boss marathon, culminating in the final fight against Tanzra.
, reveals, the protagonist's original name was God
, and the antagonist is Satan
. According to Douglas Crockford
's Expurgation of Maniac Mansion, Nintendo of America had a strict policy regarding game content in the early 1990s, especially in regards to material which could be deemed offensive, a blanket category which prohibited the inclusion of any overtly religious themes or plotlines in a game. Hence, the main character of the game became "The Master", although the allegory
remains obvious, as he travels the globe in a palace on a cloud, accompanied by an angel; slays demons; creates life; performs miracles; and is prayed to by the populace of the world. The bosses are based on real-world religion or mythology, such as Greek mythology
and Hinduism
. The concept of religion is further explored at the end of the game, when the Angel and "Master" discover that the churches of the world have become empty, people having lost their concept of faith and need for a deity now that their lives have had all suffering removed. They leave the planet, to come back when needed.
arcade platform. This arcade version featured only the action stages, similar to the "Professional!" mode in the retail version. Among other changes, the game had a different scoring system, and was much more difficult than the retail version: for example, contact with spikes is instantly fatal to the player, instead of merely causing loss of HP.
Square Enix made a port of the original ActRaiser for mobile phone
s, published by Macrospace on September 1, 2004. It consists of the first three side-scrolling levels of the game, with the town-building portions completely omitted, and is generally seen as inferior to the original game.
ActRaiser also became available on the Wii
's Virtual Console
. It was released in Japan on March 20, 2007, in Europe on April 13, 2007, and North America on May 28, 2007. As the game was published by Enix
, Square Enix
currently holds the rights to the Virtual Console edition.
. Its release within six months of the launch of the console demonstrated the compositional potential it represented to future projects, underscoring its ability to use and manipulate comparatively high quality samples. A single disc soundtrack for the game was released on January 25, 1991 in Japan. A shorter arranged soundtrack titled Symphonic Suite from Actraiser was released on September 21, 1991. In 2004, a medley of music from the game arranged by the original composer was performed live at the second annual Symphonic Game Music Concert
in Leipzig, Germany.
ActRaiser was awarded Best Music of 1993 by Electronic Gaming Monthly
. On December 12, 2003 ActRaiser was inducted into GameSpot
's Greatest Games of All Time. It was rated the 150th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power
's Top 200 Games list.
In 2007, ScrewAttack
ranked ActRaiser #1 on their "Top 10 Big Names That Fell Off", which listed games that in days past were extremely popular, whether good or bad, but have since all but faded away (Actraiser was described in a decidedly good way). It was also #10 in their "Top 20 SNES Games" list.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
and city-building
City-building game
City-building games are a genre of strategy computer game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management...
simulation game developed by Quintet
Quintet (game developer)
is a Japanese video game developer, founded in 1987 or 1989. The company name is derived from musical terminology, as well as 5 elements of game design - planning, graphics, sound, programmers, and producers...
and published by Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
(now Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
) that combines traditional side-scrolling platforming
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
with urban planning god game
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/supernatural powers, as a great leader, or with no specified character , and places them in charge of a game setting containing autonomous characters to...
sections. A sequel, ActRaiser 2
ActRaiser 2
ActRaiser 2, released in Japan as , is a side-scrolling platform game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console developed by Quintet and published by Enix in 1993 and is the sequel to the popular game ActRaiser...
, was released for the Super Nintendo in 1993. In 2007, ActRaiser became available on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
download service in Europe, North America and Japan. A version of the game was also released for European mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s in 2004.
Plot
The plot follows a god-like being known only as "The Master" in his fight against Tanzra, also referred to as "The Evil One". According to the instruction booklet, The Master was defeated in a battle with Tanzra and his six lieutenants. The Master retreated to his sky palace to tend to his wounds and fell into a deep sleep. In the Master's absence, Tanzra divided the world into six lands, one for each of his lieutenants; they later turn the people to evil.After several hundred years, the Master awakens fully recovered to discover that he has lost his powers due to the lack of belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
in him. As the game progresses the Master defeats the Tanzra's lieutenants and recovers his powers by rebuilding the civilizations of his people and communicating with them through prayer. After all lieutenants have been slain, the Master commences an assault on Tanzra's stronghold Death Heim, eventually defeating him.
After the defeat of Tanzra, The Master and his servant revisit the many civilizations that they had helped to build and observe the people. During their observations, they note that nobody is at the temple worshiping the Master . The servant observes that although the people once prayed to the master in times of trouble, they no longer feel a need to because they are not in danger. The Master and his servant then enter the sky palace and depart into the heavens to await a time when they may be needed.
Gameplay
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the game. Although the Master is never directly controlled, the player interacts with the world by controlling an angel and an animated statue. The player plays as an angel during the simulation sequences of the game, and as the statue during the action sequences.
The overhead-view simulation mode involves protecting and guiding the Master's new civilization towards prosperity, beginning with two humans. This portion of the game requires the player to take actions that encourage the growth of the population, including road planning and using lightning, rain, sunlight, wind. and earthquakes as miracles. The Angel can interact with the monsters in the area by shooting them with arrows as well as aid the Master by indicating where to build and use miracles.
One obstacle in the simulation mode is the presence of flying monsters which attempt to impede the progression of a civilization. The source of the monsters are several lairs around the region which continuously spawn the creatures as the servant kills them. As the population expands, it can seal the lairs of monsters, which prevents them from spawning, and eventually eliminate all the flying monsters in the land. Doing so increases the civilization level of the region, allowing more advanced structures to be built and increasing the potential population. Once all the lairs have been sealed the population will begin to build the most advanced homes available to the people in that region. The Master levels up by increasing the total population of the world, granting an increase in hit points and SP, used in performing miracles.
Each area has two side-scrolling action sequences, one before the building simulation and near the end. In the action sequences, the player controls a human-shaped statue brought to life by the Master. The player must jump from platform to platform while defeating monsters to accrue a score. At the end of each action sequence, the player must defeat a boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
.
The final level is an action-sequence boss marathon, culminating in the final fight against Tanzra.
Religious subtext
The game is seen as an allegory for Christian monotheism. As the Japanese text for the prequel, ActRaiser 2ActRaiser 2
ActRaiser 2, released in Japan as , is a side-scrolling platform game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console developed by Quintet and published by Enix in 1993 and is the sequel to the popular game ActRaiser...
, reveals, the protagonist's original name was God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, and the antagonist is Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. According to Douglas Crockford
Douglas Crockford
Douglas Crockford is an American computer programmer and entrepreneur, best known for his ongoing involvement in the development of the JavaScript language, and for having popularized the data format JSON , and for developing JSLint...
's Expurgation of Maniac Mansion, Nintendo of America had a strict policy regarding game content in the early 1990s, especially in regards to material which could be deemed offensive, a blanket category which prohibited the inclusion of any overtly religious themes or plotlines in a game. Hence, the main character of the game became "The Master", although the allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
remains obvious, as he travels the globe in a palace on a cloud, accompanied by an angel; slays demons; creates life; performs miracles; and is prayed to by the populace of the world. The bosses are based on real-world religion or mythology, such as Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
and Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. The concept of religion is further explored at the end of the game, when the Angel and "Master" discover that the churches of the world have become empty, people having lost their concept of faith and need for a deity now that their lives have had all suffering removed. They leave the planet, to come back when needed.
Version differences
Besides the language and the subtext omissions discussed above, there were some drastic changes between the Japanese and other versions. A few graphical and musical changes were made (the original logo typeface being much more stylised, and without the intercap "R"), and the action sections are more difficult in the Japanese version. In the US/NTSC & PAL versions, time flows more quickly in the simulation mode, greatly shorting the amount of time needed to complete the area. This also decreased the number of enemy encounters. 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. Story Mode features three difficulties: Hard (Japanese), Normal (American), and an exclusive Easy mode.Ports
A modified version of the game was made for the Nintendo Super SystemNintendo Super System
The Nintendo Super System is an arcade system used to preview Super NES games in the U.S. It was essentially the Super NES hardware with a menu interface that—similar to Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 hardware for NES games—allowed players to play select SNES games for a certain amount of time depending...
arcade platform. This arcade version featured only the action stages, similar to the "Professional!" mode in the retail version. Among other changes, the game had a different scoring system, and was much more difficult than the retail version: for example, contact with spikes is instantly fatal to the player, instead of merely causing loss of HP.
Square Enix made a port of the original ActRaiser for mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s, published by Macrospace on September 1, 2004. It consists of the first three side-scrolling levels of the game, with the town-building portions completely omitted, and is generally seen as inferior to the original game.
ActRaiser also became available on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
. It was released in Japan on March 20, 2007, in Europe on April 13, 2007, and North America on May 28, 2007. As the game was published by Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
, Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
currently holds the rights to the Virtual Console edition.
Audio
Among many things, the game is recognized for its score, which was composed by Yuzo KoshiroYuzo Koshiro
is a Japanese video game music composer and audio programmer. He is regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune music and video game sound design...
. Its release within six months of the launch of the console demonstrated the compositional potential it represented to future projects, underscoring its ability to use and manipulate comparatively high quality samples. A single disc soundtrack for the game was released on January 25, 1991 in Japan. A shorter arranged soundtrack titled Symphonic Suite from Actraiser was released on September 21, 1991. In 2004, a medley of music from the game arranged by the original composer was performed live at the second annual Symphonic Game Music Concert
Symphonic Game Music Concert
The Symphonic Game Music Concerts are a series of award-winning, annual German video game music concerts initiated in 2003, notable for being the longest running and the first of their kind outside of Japan...
in Leipzig, Germany.
Reception
The game sold about 620,000 copies worldwide, with 400,000 copies sold in Japan, 180,000 in the USA and 40,000 in Europe.ActRaiser was awarded Best Music of 1993 by Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
. On December 12, 2003 ActRaiser was inducted into GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Greatest Games of All Time. It was rated the 150th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
's Top 200 Games list.
In 2007, ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
ranked ActRaiser #1 on their "Top 10 Big Names That Fell Off", which listed games that in days past were extremely popular, whether good or bad, but have since all but faded away (Actraiser was described in a decidedly good way). It was also #10 in their "Top 20 SNES Games" list.
External links
- ActRaiser at Square-Enix.comSquare Enixis a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...