Actraiser Renaissance Reviews
The 2D action was the best part of the original ActRaiser, and it’s still the best part in ActRaiser Renaissance. The other gameplay modules certainly have been greatly expanded and fleshed out to the point it changes the entire experience, and sometimes at the expense of the player’s enjoyment, due to the new systems requiring absurdly long and frequent tutorials. No matter what though, the music is pure fury.
The rearranged soundtrack coupled to new compositions is stunningly awesome, as Yuzo Koshiro recaptures brilliantly the spirit of the original and the gameplay of the side-scrolling sections is even better than in the original. However, the questionable choices in the art direction, the bugs, poor performance and the, at times, way too wordy expanded script, mar the experience in such a way that what should have been the masterful return of a masterpiece instead turns out to be a nice introduction to the classic for new audiences, but not much more. There's no shaking the feeling that this re-release was not treated with all the care that such an important landmark title deserved. The extra content sweetens the deal somewhat, and encourages fans of the original to come back for more, but the price of admission for such an end result is a bit too much perhaps.
Actraiser Renaissance, however, is a remake that should have simply stuck to the basics that made Actraiser great. Instead, what you get are moments of greatness broken up by far too many moments of mediocrity.
All in all, Actraiser Renaissance is a great game that serves as a wonderful introduction to Quintet’s work. It might perhaps have been nice for the package to include the option to play the original SNES version as well as the new version, but the new additions to the formula work extremely well and make the strategic aspect of the game feel much more fleshed out. This feels like a modern game now — even if it looks like a Saturn game — and once you let it get its hooks into you, you’ll want to see it through right to the end, if only to hear more of Koshiro’s magnificent music.
The original Actraiser was one almighty game. Originally released back in 1990 on the SNES (aka the Super Famicom) the game mixed action-platforming with a pretty in-depth world builder. Actraiser managed to capture your imagination and gave you the tools to literally play God. Since the initial release there’s been a less than memorable sequel – Actraiser 2 – then a few decades of slumber happened to our Lord of Light.
Actraiser Renaissance marks the return of a classic that could not make a big name for itself in its day. With its totally renewed visual and sound aspect, it aims to conquer the hearts of players looking for cocktails of atypical genres. And boy does he get it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Actraiser Renaissance was definitely a surprising announcement to behold. It really goes to show that if there is a dedicated team out there, any game could possibly be up for a remake or remaster. But was this remaster truly needed? I would say it has its place. Similarly to the original, this game won’t appeal to everyone. The side-scroller section gives just a taste of what you would look for, with forgettable levels and (mostly) easy boss battles. The town building portion drags on, and the sieges can sometimes drag that irritation out. After the third world, it can start to get a bit repetitive. Fight in a side-scroller level, inhabit your new land, guide the people, beat the boss of that area, rinse and repeat. It is a charming game in of itself. Of course, I can’t really speak for those who have played the original, whether they should pick this game up or not. For those with no experience in this game, however, I can say that it’s an interesting experience. The experiences with the action side-scrolling and town building may leave you wanting more. But both portions are done competently enough that you may find yourself passing a few hours by fulfilling missions and defending your towns from monsters.
Actraiser Renaissance is a tasty mix of many genres. At the same time a plateformer, a strategy game and a shooter, we can say its his own unique genre. Early adopters will find their way around quite quickly, while newcomers will enjoy it. A very nice tribute to a game that marked its time.
Review in French | Read full review
Actraiser Renaissance is a surprise return of a long-lost classic, but one which falls flat in execution in more ways than one. It has moments of brilliance, and there is undoubtedly substance and depth in its many systems. Still, all the moving parts don’t come together cohesively or logically, and it ultimately feels like two completely unrelated games taped together as one, with neither fully complementing the other. Old school fans will no doubt find the experience worth investing in after the tedious start, but for most other players, there are just plenty of far better alternatives.
ActRaiser Renaissance arrived at exactly the right time. It perfectly builds on everything good about the original. More importantly, it makes the the city simulation portions even more engaging by adding RTS elements.
Actraiser Renaissance is a remake of the SNES original that mixes several genres and allows us to be gods to guide humanity to a world of prosperity and peace.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Actraiser Renaissance is a remake that takes the content of the original game a few steps ahead but may not be liked by everyone due to some problems.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Actraiser Renaissance is a remake of Quintet and Enix's classic Actraiser released in 1990 that became a cult game in its own right. This is the perfect opportunity to recover that classic that has received many new features and improvements in its updating, although all not so well received. Despite the controversial tower defense mechanics and the graphical aspect of the action phases, the final experience is well worth it, and we hope that it will lead to the arrival of other of the great Quintet classics.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Actraiser Renaissance is not necessarily aimed only at the fans of the original and this is actually a good thing because although the developers have kept the core premise and mechanics intact, they have also expanded on them which has given us a nice fantasy story with colorful characters, a more modern combat design and a deeper system in the management parts.
Review in Persian | Read full review
See, again, that’s part of what makes this either work for people or not. This is a game that brushes up against a lot of different genres without diving too deeply into any of them, and some players are going to either clock out from that or find that they like one or two parts but not all three. It is kind of a weird game and it is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But if the idea of the game sounds interesting to you? Hey, this is a classic remastered and improved, and it’s well worth the asking price.
Actraiser Renaissance is an odd beast. It’s not exactly visually pleasing, and it takes an eternity before it becomes actually interesting, but if you endure its first couple of hours, you’ll be greeted with the reason why the half dozen people who played the original back in the 90’s love it to death to this very day.
There’s a little something for everyone, including adjustable difficulty, improved RPG elements, a deeper storyline, and competent combat. It’s great to see a beloved classic recaptured with much-needed modern updates while ensuring the charm of the original never loses its place.