Is ActRaiser 2 Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ย. 2024
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Drunk's writing is so good to listen to and the way he presents it has perfect pacing and gives enough information to fully understand what he feels about these games.
I recently got Actraiser 2 and i have to say its a great game on its own, it has a steep learning curve (the first stage throws everything at you right from the start and you are forced to get familiar with the game mechanics before you can move on) but it also feels very rewarding when you beat a boss/level.
I would compare it to ghouls and ghosts (very similar look and feel, also the slow approach and deathtraps), These games force you to take a slow approach, getting to know the levels and making smart decisions instead of running through it.
I can still remember how i rented both games from a video rental store back when i was like 7 or 8 years old and i couldnt even beat the first levels, well that was a waste of money, but now i can beat both games and it feels sooo rewarding :D
+MrBroken030 I get where you're coming from with the SGnG comparison, but there are some major, major differences: 1, the weapons and powerups in SGnG are SO much more helpful than the weapon upgrades in Actraiser 2. 2, the level design is much more accessible in SGnG. And 3, there's a better balance between enemy speed and your own speed in SGnG. Everything is much too fast in Actraiser 2.
+SNES drunk thats all true, especially the part about the level design (damn labyrinth levels, looping scrollers and one pixel jumps) but i think the great range of moves, special moves and magic spells that you can perform in actraiser 2 makes it managable even though you are much slower than your enemies.
For example the down thrust attack and the dive attack have invincibility until you land on the ground, which is pretty broken, using magic also grants invincibility and some bosses can be killed with just a few magic spells (the first boss can be taken down with 2 casts of the triple fireball).
Actraiser 2 really grows on you, the engine gives you a lot to work with and the presentation is top notch (love the overworld theme, it gives the feel of dread and epicness).
I also wanna note that i have never played actraiser1, im still waiting for good deal on that one (that first stage theme kicks ass).
Sounds like super ghouls n ghosts is more fair, since enemies and environmental effects and bosses always have patterns to learn and master.
Up for a challenge?
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@@MrBroken030 why dont you emulate actraiser 1?
Imagine being a kid in the 90, an Actraiser fanboy. How awesome the combination of city building and action platforming was, you go to the video store, hyped to see that they actually made an Actraiser 2, oh man, this going to be a great weekend.
...
...
I want my 4$ back.
I agree. Thankfully I rented it and only played twice. Tried so hard to like it but it was hard. I’ll stick with the first one unless they come
Up with an improved remaster.
I installed it on my Super NES Classic after discovering the hidden pleasures of its predecessor. I want my $0 back.
even actraiser fanboys in the 90s had game magazines available so you knew the sim part was gone and the difficulty got cranked up as well. still me and my buddy could not wait to play and and we were not disppointed with what we got in actraiser 2.
And the music and sound effects are just as good as the graphics.
And you can select what order you want to complete the stages in.
And lastly while the playable character is a bit slow, he compensatorily has a ton of moves and magical abilities at his disposal.
He can even block projectiles with his shield.
I bought this game when I was kid without having played the 1st Act Raiser, so I was able to appreciate it for what it was.
Both games are great in their own right.
Quintet was a great company, their games had some interesting themes and ideas, sad they imploded.
Might be worthwhile to devote an entire video on them.
I thought it was just me. This game is really difficult and really beautifull!
It is not for everyone, it is an extremely rewarding game that is challenging as hell with a steep learning curve, but certainly not "broken". It rewards players that have patience and intelligence. The weak need not apply. Personally, I love it and it is in my top 10.
Patience and intelligence are unfortunately in short supply with many of these people. Once you really understand how to use the play mechanics your character is one of the most badass characters in gaming history. You can completely destroy anything and everyone with your powers in mere seconds if you know what you're doing.
@@davidaitken8503 Agreed!
Took me about 1 month to finish it when I was 10. I had already beaten hard games like Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 but this one was special.
But the fact that you want to help the villagers so bad kept me focus and super concentrated... I didnt want to fail them, so I persisted.
I have not felt like that quite often in games, this one was particular.
Great video!
I played this one back then and it really left an impression : the "7 deadly sins" theme is so badass, the monsteres are disguting and vile, I couldn't wait to see what the next stage would be like.
Actraiser 2 is not broken at all, trust me. There's a lot of neat tricks you can do with your character to totally destroy enemies and evade their attacks.
By example you can attack and then hold the button to do 2 hit combos (eg. stand + crouch attack) and repeat. The enemies can't even move while you're doing that.
Also the sword plant makes your character kind of invencible while you're doing it so you can abuse the game mechanics in a creative way to pass the game in a more fair way. Besides there are very powerful magics like the Phoenix or the 3 fireballs. They can do a big deal of damage to the bosses if used correctly.
So the gameplay is much complex and nuanced than in the first one but you need to practice your swordplay first. After that this game should be so much easier, I promise.
I learned all that stuff even when I was not into speedruns, and some years ago I helped the guy who did the first speedrun. I have really good memories of this game.
Finally, a fair review of ActRaiser 2! Great video.
Wow, what are the odds that we both put out a Quintet video on the same day? Excellent video man. :)
I think what is unique in Actraiser 2 is that the enemies are actually their to kill you.The have several attacks can leap over gaps to close distance can move from above platforms to attack you combat is actually a obstacle as appose to just platforming.Take super Castle vania for example most enemies are literally there to be killed 3 hits from your wip as they walk toward you its gratifying but not a obstacle .Enemie combat is a evolution on the first game which in itself is superior to most games .
This was one my favorite games growing up, right up there with ghouls and ghosts.
Actraiser 2 is one of the best platformers on the system. It took me years to get to the mechanics of this game. But if you manage to beat the first two levels, you will notice that the game is not that hard and the controls are actually brilliant. Every magic can be very useful in certain situations, too. Besides that, how the theme of the 7 Deadly Sins is presented through the level design, music and bosses is without words. I would say this game and Hagane are one of the most overlooked and underrated games ever.
Think I have to give it another try, it was so freaking hard...and I beated all the Star Wars games, people say those are hard, but Act Raiser 2 was a lot harder.
The Star Wars games are not bad, but they are just unfair. Most of the gameplay is try and error. Actraiser 2 is the exactly opposite. Takes a while to get to the machanics, but if so it's totally fair.
Betäubtes Faultier In addition to the level design based on the Deadly Sins, I like the overarching references to Paradise Lost and the Inferno.
It also deserves praise for its unorthodox take on the boss rush, as refighting the bosses in new locations makes some of them easier and some of them harder, especially the dragon and his wind breath.
Betäubtes Faultier I can see that with the Super Star Wars Games, and it is certainly more precise than most generic criticism of the game’s difficulty, but I still don’t see it.
Most enemies go down without effort, even before the 2nd game’s unique special moves, and health pickups are plentiful throughout the trilogy.
The last two levels of Jedi suck though, because of the insistence on not putting the Falcon onscreen like in earlier stages. The controls aren’t explained either...
"without words" that's well said about the theme. It is both spine-chilling and grandiose/beautiful, the biblical proportions come through in spades. some of those bosses are straight up disgusting
Succeeding at this game is worth the effort. The guys at Quintet were on a whole other level, and they knew how to make a game that could provoke a kid into deep thought, contemplation, patience, practice, and a yearning for perfection. The 1st level is frustrating when you finally defeat that plant monster, only to miss the jumps, fall into the swamp and die, then have to start over.
Practice makes perfect. When you can learn this game's unique dynamics, learn the hit detection for the aerial movements, and earn the title of MASTER, this game is more enjoyable and satisfying than anything. The important thing for getting good at this game is patience, and if you read all of what I have written, you may have enough to play and enjoy this game to its fullest. I have not beaten it yet, but it has become one of my favorites.
Personally... I was playing this game yesterday is one of my SNES all time favorites. But is not a easy pick and play is a challenge but when you master the character moves is find he is a powerful being.
One of the best character designs, i remember the main character in this game
I love this game. It took me a while, but I eventually became comfortable enough with the controls to beat it on hard difficulty. Once you give it some time, and learn how to glide and cancel, and also learn a few enemy patterns, it's doable.
I just finished this game and have to say I liked it way more than I expected.
When I started to play I died a few times on the first mid-boss, after managing to beat that one I got one or two Game Overs at the boss of stage 1 and thought like: 'Ok well, that game looks nice but it's too damn hard for me."
however, for some reason I tried once more a day later and was able to figure out the first boss and getting more used to the controls of the character.
After that point it went supringly smooth and I sometimes even managed to beat levels within only one attempt and finished the whole game not too much later.
I am not writing this to praise myself. In fact I consider myself not a great gamer and I always struggled with games like the older Castlevanias and similar ones. I just think Act Raiser 2 is not as hard as people think it is. It's more like that it has a rough gateway but after passing through that it becomes quite the rewarding experience and not nearly as frustrating as it seems at first.
Looks like a really good game.
It's like Super Star Wars and its sequels: beautiful, but fundamentaly flawed.
personally, i think this game totally outshines actraiser 1 as an action game and stands up very well on its own
One hundred percent disagree. This game lacks everything that made the original charming. For what it is by itself it's just a run of the mill arcade game.
@@bitter-bit i said "as an action game" for a reason. i still like actraiser 1 more as a whole but i don't find the platforming levels to be particularly interesting.
bel I’m playing through it now and I’m really enjoying it. The flight controls in particular are surprisingly nuanced. I bought it a couple months ago but I was scared off by its reputation. I’m glad I gave it another shot because it’s way better than it gets credit for.
@@brux357 i'm glad you see what i see in this game! i admit my initial comment was a bit rash but i really do think this game is tragically overlooked
The city building portions of the first game were fun the first 2x I did them, but after that I just wanted to get to the action portions of the game. I beat this game back in the day, but man it tough.
The town building was the best part!
Took me lot of time to finish this Game ...still one of my favorites
Jesus that is a beautiful and badass looking game. I like all the world building stuff of actraiser but I am grateful for a pure action actraiser title.
If that Enix request story is true, I think it's quite ironic that they removed the part that was apparently too hard and just made the rest of the game even more hard.
I never understood the flak this game gets. I played this as a child and loved it. Yes, it's hard as balls but there's nothing wrong with that. The music and the atmosphere really draw you in. I am surprised you didn't mention anything about the soundtrack.
It's just a problem of expectation, you would expect it to be like the first Actraiser, for me it was a huge disappointment to lose the town building since the diversity in the gameplay was what made me love Actraiser.
What music. The music from the first is so memorable I sing it to this day. This game is completely forgettable. :(
I also can't believe he didn't say anything about the soundtrack. But I really enjoyed more Actraiser 1, even though I played ActRaiser 2 many many years before.
Things are definitly different for different people. Actraiser2 fr me is the best game ever. I was never super good at games but this wn I beated till the end so I even desagree it's dificult. It's just amazing!
I used to play this game when I was a kid. IMO it's awesome.
Beautiful graphics, beautiful soundtrack..
I'm surprised he didn't say anything about the soundtrack.
top 5 game. art direction, mid-bosses, bosses, shield mechanic, flight mechanic and special powers. that diving stab though.
Yup. About 100 videos in to this playlist. Can't stop watching....
I owned ActRaiser 2 when I was 11/12 years old and played the heck out of it. It's a great game. It is *very* hard though. I made it about 3/4 through the game but never was able to finish it.
One of these days I'll go back and savescum my way through it.
I played and beat this game many times when I was a kid. it's not that hard. the graphics is great. the music is great. the game play is great. I actually played 2 before 1 and thought 1 wasn't as fun as 2.
Actraiser 2 is amazing
Definitely one of the most disappointing sequels. The town building sim was probably the best part of ActRaiser. It was ambitious, yet still simple, due to the time, I guess. But it was quite unique for the time to basically be playing god. It was nice how they seamlessly combined the sim and action aspects. Oh and the music...Yuzo Koshiro never lets you down.
But, I just couldn't get into the second game. Meh.
I Completely agree with you..... I was soooo disappointed when I got this that year for Xmas after Loving the first one. Damn.... I remember the sorrow I had still to this day after my first hour session with it.
I hated Actraiser 1 but loved the 2nd game when I was a kid.
Today I love them both honestly.
playing it trough once the town building was funny and soothing and made you feel like a god. but replaying it it got boring but I wanted to beat these bosses again and did not like the pure action mode either because you could not choose your favorite magic. getting trough the sim part til the next action part got started was annoying on replay. my opinion.
this game is amazing. top 5 snes game.
I loved the town sections in the original game. The action parts were also great. Never got to play the sequel
I love the first actraiser and i like actraiser 2, but the latter was definitely an acquired taste, you gotta have the flight mechanics figured out to a tee before you can start having actual fun, but when you do it's a very nuanced and rewarding system
This game is difficult, beautiful and rewarding....just like FromSoftware's games.
Fascinating... my only "experience" with this game was seeing it on the shelf at the store back when I was a kid... I ended up with Xardion from that visit. Haha. Thanks for these reviews!
Getting rid of the god-simulator portion of the game really ruined the potential of this game.
In hindsight, definitely, but in 1991, it's really easy to see how someone at Enix would have looked at ActRaiser and decided that the unusual strategy/sim elements were what stopped it becoming a mainstream hit.
Agree with both comments. It just didn't hit with "sequelitis" as anticipated. Appreciated magic being stance based but hated difficulty. Still recall GamePro giving it a Music if the Year award. Deservedly so, but a third game might've really found a nuanced balance for the ages. Thinking DMC here, oddly enough... 🤺
The first isn't better, it's an opinion. It was easier and short..
"For better or for worse" : for worse. It was an insane decision. With that graphical upgrade if they had kept the city building everyone would still talk about this game today.
I felt like the best way to avoid being hit, in Actraiser2, was to take your time (inching forward) and ensure that you kill every enemy especially those closest to you. You control more like a tank in this game compared to the original. Also, you downward slash does twice the damage as your regular attack. This game was/is awesome....wish they left the sim stuff in tho.
Almost 8 months earlier than Roo's video while also less awkward and more concise.
Great review and hope you continue to improve your craft.
I have both ActRaiser games for the SNES. The first is awesome and the second is a SNES master piece, great graphics, awesome music but gameplay is not for everyone but when you get you use to it you can find “the Master” is a killing machine and can destroy an army of demons and big bosses with his sword.
PD All things that fight with you in the stages are demons and only in one stage are demons and humans
They should've stayed with the SIM world like the first game. It was fun and different and you don't get bored when you can play "2 games in 1"
I've read an interview where it sounded like they wanted to include the sim parts again but Quintet, being an extremely small studio, simply didn't have the resources to do both genres while adding all of the cool stuff that they did into the action sequences. As much as I love the uniqueness of Actraiser 1, I consider Actraiser 2 to be one of the top 5 greatest games of the 16 bit era. SNES Drunk doesn't have a clue how to play the game. He isn't even playing it on the hardest setting and yet he's still struggling with it more than someone like me playing it on hardest setting. I'm not trying to brag or bash him, I'm simply saying he hasn't yet grasped how to really play the game properly yet. We were all there once and even after beating the game dozens and dozens of times on the hardest difficulty setting I still don't feel as though I've truly "mastered" the game. There is a ton of depth to the combat the likes of which I've never encountered in another sidescrolling action game.
"There's no tactic that will save you in some situations."
"It's not a broken game."
That sounds like the *description* of a broken game right there. I've been trying to play this on the Super NES Classic and I keep thinking that Quintet designed it like this on purpose, in revenge for Enix making them strip out the world building segments. I'm not even sure Quintet wanted to make more ActRaiser games, let alone one like this.
It's hilarious how speed runners have blown this game wide open.
I think a glitch got used at two points in the 50-ish minute run, otherwise it's just a guy who has mastered the game's combat system. I saw some of a tool assisted playthrough, but that was so slow it made me sleepy, they didn't even try gliding.
I passed on it when I found out it didn't have the town building part back in the day.
You know what's interesting is the Japanese version of this game is much more balanced than the American version. What's interesting is that Japanese Super Famicom games are notoriously more difficult than the American counterparts. The damage ratios are more balanced out, some enemies are significantly weaker. It's really surprising that it's like that and after playing both versions the Japanese version is the most enjoyable version. If you can find a cart or a ROM of the Japanese version I highly suggest it! Regardless of the simulation portion being taken away this version is more approachable. Hell even if you have a patch that translates it (or just play the American version) then just try it that way.
This is dark souls for the snes. It takes some learning, but is absolutely worth it. I think this is the best looking game on the system.
Beating this game on difficult was so satisfying. It's not broken it just demands greatness.
Scrapping the city building is why this game was just okay...as an independent platformer, it would have been great, but I was expecting an Act Raiser sequel...
Oh brother. This game is absolutely amazing. Your basically hating on it because of a title screen. Taking it as its own thing it is one of the greatest games ever made, for those with the patience and skill to learn how the combat actually works (not shown in this video). The game is not "broken" nor are you "too slow".
@@davidaitken8503 You replied to the wrong person.
I grew up in a Christian Catholic house, so when I played Actraiser 2 for the first time I used to believe that the game took place during the events of the book of Revelations, more specifically the final battle against Satan, and that you played as Michael the Archangel. Of course this was way before I learned english (since I'm not from an english speaking country) and read the story.
You are essentially God in this game fighting Satan. That is basically what the plot is.
I remember getting this when I was 4 years old on Christmas morning
Getting the hang of death field on "hard" is soooo gratifying. I go for it as my first level pick.
Im playing through this game for the first time and on hard mode because im a glutton for punishment and death field gave me the most trouble out of any level. Finishing it felt soooo good though.
Volgarr the Viking
This was the game I got with my SNES for Christmas, and for a long time was the only game I owned. At the time I lamented the loss of the strategy element (it was babby's first strategy game, any exec who thought it was too hard to figure out was marketing to actual cavemen). Games like Ninja Gaiden & Ninja Turtles had stymied me with their last bosses, but I got really good at Actraiser 2, and was able to 1cc it by the end. In no way is it broken, it's very manageable once you have the enemy locations & boss patterns down.
I owned this game in my youth. I can attest to everything this man said.
Me as a kid at my uncle's house: "I like to play this one."
Uncle: "Don't. It is very hard. It took me 8 months to beat it."
This was amongst my first self funded SNES purchases because I loved the first one... I loved the art and music... but where the first made you feel like you were a GOD... in this one I felt like a minor angel... the magic was worthless in hard mode and even in easy it was a bit steep
I don’t know how I beat it as a kid. I can barely survive the first levels today 😅. There was a really cool video games magazine here in Germany back the called - surprise - „video games“. I remember they had a difficult scale from 1 to 9 but gave this game a 17 😂. The ending was really cool and the graphics are impressive until today. Funny that you mentioned the strategy part was removed to make the game more accessible as I think the first part is much more accessible due to the character controls and the comparably easy difficulty. The first one had an action mode without the strategy part anyway, so it gave you all options.
This game looks incredible! Coming from someone who hasn't played Actraiser 1, this looks like an excellent action-platformer. The only negative I can see is that the character moves too slow. I'm surprised the difficulty turned you off of the game when it looks like the same "play by the game's rules" difficulty that you ended up accepting in Super Ghouls and Ghosts.
Actraiser 2... I don't like it as much as the 1st game but for me is still worth playing it despite it's difficulty (especially if you use the password to enter difficulty 202, that difficulty makes the game experience go on a different direction, as almost everything instant-kills you and the enemy has insane amount of HP, but is still possible with some stuff the game has, call it glitches, mechanics or whatever, you have to use them in your favor to survive difficulty 202, the other difficulties those helps for sure, but you can beat the game without those for the most part).
with a couple of hours to spare and a face full of adderall, this game is certainly worth playing today 😇
I know people hate this game but seriously it is really really fun and good. You have unlimited continues. So if you like it even a little, stick with it and you will get better and pick up on the controls. Then it is even more of a blast, but yeah everything said here is valid. Great game but not for everyone.
Actraiser 2 is actually a prequel to first game, which may explain why they got rid simulator stuff cause civilazation hadn't yet been destroyed....... Or not but it's as good as answer as any.
sigh You mere mortals are complaining about Actraiser 2 being too hard and you aren't even playing it on the hardest setting? Bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha. Actraiser 2 is one of the top 5 greatest games of the 16 bit era. You are not too slow, you just need to learn how to kill multiple enemies simultaneously, use invincibility frames to your advantage, and use the enemies loss of "hurt box" when they flash to your advantage. The combat in Actraiser 2 is extremely deep and even after beating it dozens upon dozens of times over the years, I still don't feel as though I have truly mastered it.
P.S. Although I'm usually not a fan of speed run videos, there is one of Actraiser 2 where they actually go into quite a bit of detail about some of the tricks and techniques I mentioned and explain it far better than I ever could. It's worth a watch.
Me and my dad enjoyed this more than the Star Wars games, tbh.. We would rent games together and spend the weekend trying to beat it..
This a SNES Dark Souls. Pretty difficult game. I love the soundtrack!
This is harder than dark souls!
I could never get over how slow he moves! Was it just me or did it feel like he was walking through mud?
The town building was the best part of Actraiser in my opinion.
The huge clunky melee platforming was a chore.
My favourite stage was the one with the giant ants. Because their design reminded me of Xenomorphs. Also the music.
Definitely a cool level. I honestly can't decide which stage is my favorite because they all have so much stuff in them that is cool and unique.
This was w/o a doubt my favourite game as a kid! I totally forgot about it
definitely enjoyed this one more than the 1st one... and boy is it hard, it' really really hard, especially death field. I do believe there's a mondo hard hack out there that just puts it in god tier hard.
It was good at it's time, and the difficulty is steep. But it's visually stunning and the music was great.
it's way too hard but if someone can enjoy it then I guess good for them
3:03 Wait... the Seven Deadly Sins?
I believe I've heard that one before... ;)
Great game
I put both of these on my sega mini. Shits dope
beat it on expert. yup. Dont know how many tries that damn tower cost me.
Protip: The dragonflies are gods too.
Awesome game, i always see it as demons crest like.
Act Riser: Whining on world building aspects slowing gameplay
Act Riser 2: it's just too hard!
I think it's funny that he's complaining the game is too hard when he isn't even playing it on the hardest setting.
Never bothered with this one because I adored the simulation part of the first game.
I never made it past the first level. Brutal, brutal game.
I loved this game and beat it too.
Bought it back in the day and endured it in hard just to get the ending's final picture...
That's why I liked demonscrest
Looks pretty sick
Music doesn't help also. The first game had better music in my opinion. It has that Castlevania or Contra vibe.
great review. Would have liked to see you comment on this game's beautiful music. Agree with your assessment of difficulty.
The first ActRaiser was an absolute classic. One of my favorites outside the wealth of RPGs on the SNES.
But the sequel? The sequel was just way too hard. I'm pretty sure I never got to the first boss, and I've played and beaten some of those classic "difficult" games like Ninja Gaiden and the NES Ninja Turtles game.
Just goes to show even crap games will have some fans.
hey SNES DRUNK, i'n a "bit" late but is this similar to Demon's Crest? I want to play it, it looks awesome as hell but you say it's really hard. Either way I'm going to play it but just wanted to see what you had to say. I love your videos!
Subscribed, I dig your videos!
+Michael Stanton Thanks Michael
Spot on review
Never played the 1st one, but had this one as a kid. I loved the graphics, but it was way too hard for me. I never did finish it.
At first, the town building sim from the first game didn't interest me much, but by the second town it became the primary reason I wanted to play. The action sequences became secondary. So the lack of a sim in the sequel and it's frustrating difficulty makes it hard for me to want to play it.
Maybe if they would've fixed the jumping and gliding mechanics, the game would have been much easier.
I loved it. took me a few years to beat it though.
I really disliked the game as a kid because they got rid of the city building part of the first one which I really liked and would have wanted them to expand on. But yeah, the graphics are great for an SNES game and at that time that might have been still worth it playing the game. But today as there are games with so much better graphics I really don't see the point as there is nothing other games didn't also do and better.
First level is avgn material