Actraiser Renaissance Reviews
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 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.
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.
An outstanding remake with meaningful additions that will appeal to fans of the original and newcomers alike.
ActRaiser Renaissance's plastic look betrays a solid remake with a lot of new content, and plenty of heart.
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 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
There's a generous amount of content, which at 20 hours is four times the completion size of the original. Since this retro remake is a game of three thirds, it'd be a disservice if followers of the original lost faith from initial impressions of the unsightly side-scrolling action, and an overly gabby god game. Yet, fans won't be on cloud nine if a lack of support towards Actraiser Renaissance discourages Square Enix from being devoted to ActRaiser as a promising series.
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 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 certainly is a SNES remake for better or worse. The 2D parts of this game have been remade poorly in regards to mechanics and visual fidelity. The gameplay loop of varying between action platformer and city-building sim did get its hooks in me but will be a harder sell for others. While it proves difficult to remain a strong recommendation, there are nuggets of character dialogue gold in there that are worth seeing through. On top of that, the visuals and music that come with these moments are special and remain evident why this is such a cult classic. If all else, I’m glad I got to check out a deeper cut in the Square Enix catalogue. Flaws and all, it’s at the very least got some heart.
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 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, 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.
A strangle little blend of god sim and hack and slash genres, Actraiser Renaissance is extremely uneven to say the least in almost all facets of its design and yet despite that, it's also oddly compelling and enjoyable. A proper little curio indeed.
The original Actraiser achieved cult classic status back when it first debuted thanks to its unique premise and gameplay. Fortunately, the promised Renaissance is able to more than give this gem another look for those who understandably missed its decades-old launch, and Actraiser Renaissance is an exciting, engaging experience in 2021.
ActRaiser Renaissance is therefore an excellent remake that manages, not without some slips, to update a playful formula that over the years has not found convincing re-proposals. When Renaissance remains faithful to the source material, sonic Powered's work is able to achieve excellent results, but it is when it deviates from the path traced that something begins to fail.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Yuzo Koshiro crushes it with both the classic and rearranged soundtrack, the gameplay is fun and a little bit improved in some cases, and the world is more enjoyable than ever to take in from the skies above and on the ground. I wish some classic pain points hadn’t come along for the ride and that the sprite work was a bit better, but Actraiser Renaissance is still a fantastic title whether you’re walking down memory lane or playing it for the first time.
Actraiser Renaissance is a game with good ideas and a solid foundation for the new content, but it fails to deliver an experience that matches the divinity of the original SNES title.
Review in Spanish | 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