A hybrid action style RPG, perhaps the first?
Actraiser v1.00 by Aeon Genesis
Reviwed By MO of Super Famicom Central (R.I.P.)
The Story
The world is maintained by "The Master." Tanzra "The Evil One" is the eternal enemy of The Master and wishes to conquer the world. His six Guardians attacked The Master in a battle that lasted several days. After the battle, the Master retreated to his Sky Palace, which floats in the sky atop a cloud, to tend to his grave injuries. He erected a barricade and fell into a long and deep sleep. With The Master incapacitated, Tanzra divided the world into six lands, each ruled by one of his guardians. The Master awoke several hundred years later with his injuries completely healed, but his power had been removed as the people turned towards evil. He removed his barrier from the Sky Palace, determined to free the world from The Evil One.
Actraiser was the fourth Super Famicom title boasting fantastic graphics and sound considering the fact that it was such an early title. The game looks and sounds better than later titles during the Super Famicom's dominance. Actraiser is very unique and considered to be one of the first games to combine action with simulation like no other.
To put this in a "nut shell" you play The Master role trying to reclaim the earth back from the Demon named Tanzra along with his guardians. The lands need to be made clear of monstrous creatures, enabling humans to be reborn. You will then create various environments, building towns etc, clearing rocks, trees with your various magical powers to make the land habitable. Problems arise during the course of the build and you will need to stop disputes between humans, also you will cure diseases and douse fires. Once all the problems have resolved a monstrous creature appears and threatens the balance of your society, you will need to come down to earth and battle with the creature and destroy it.
Each area is divided into 2 acts, first the simulation aspect and then followed by the action (12 stages). I have never been a fan of Simulation games however, I love the tasks involved and they are fun and keeps you very busy and interested. Finally you have the side-scrolling act to look forward to, I find this to be similar to "Castlevania" apart form the difficulty (yes, very easy) even the end of level bosses are easy to defeat.
The graphics in Actraiser are fantastic both in Simulation mode and Action mode, particularly the Action mode, it has some of the best graphics for the Super Famicom. The back drops and sprites are excellent, great attention to detail - nothing is neglected. I almost forgot, expect to see "Mode 7" too. The music score is unbelievable for a console back in 1990, it all adds to the great atmosphere and gaming experience. It's a shame the game is easy (FYI, easier on the Snes version).
Glitches
None what so ever! Erm... it helps if you know Japanese!!? Otherwise you can rely on the good old trial and error technique and you soon remember what to do. Trust me, that's how we done it back in 1990!!
Availability
Actraiser is another easy title to find on Ebay. Expect to pay £15 for a (MIB), £10 (CIB) and £3 for a loose cart. Don't be fooled by rogue sellers, I would not pay more than the afore mentioned prices.
Ratings
Graphics: 90%
Sound: 96%
Playability: 91%
Lastability: 91%
Fun Factor: 90%
Total 91%
Final Thoughts
Actraiser puts the fun into a Simulation game and introduced a unique style into the game genre, encompassing its action elements. I for one consider this game to have one of the best graphics and music for the Super Famicom, The game is widely recognized for its music score. One of the medleys from Actraiser arranged by Yuzo Koshiro was performed live at the second annual Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany in 2004. Actraiser is a great game, fun and very satisfying to play. It was an innovative game for it's time, another must have title for the serious collector!!
Not exactly game related but awesome none the less, there is a band with a "similar" name, ACT RAISER. They have a pretty sweet video for their song Ghost Princess by CAT*TRASH who has done some more pretty awesome videos.
Scenario
Tomoyoshi Miyazaki
Programmer
Masaya Hashimoto
Yuki Imai
Graphic Designer
Ayano Koshiro
Masahiko Takai
Akishi Imai
Takashi Shichijyo
Music Composer
Yuzo Koshiro
ENIX Staff
Takao Kawaguchi
Keizo Mochizuki
Takashi Yoneda
Yuichi Kikumoto
Kouji Mitsumori
Kenjiro Kano
Tetsuro Shimoda
Yoshie Fujimori
Jyunji Yagi
Keiko Ito
Hideki Yamamoto
Miwako Matsumoto
Keiko Taga
Yasuko Sekiguchi
Special Thanks
Hirotomo Morisada
Nobuyoshi Yoshii
Hironobu Teshima
Katsuhiko Shibata
Tomokazu Murata
Akihiro Yamanaka
Tadahiro Kurosawa
Mitsuru Ishizaka
Masaya Nomoto
Soichi Tazawa
Hiroshi Nakazato
Yutaka Fusejima
Toshinari Takahashi
Makoto Goya
Assistant Producer
Shigeki Maruyama
Director
Masaya Hashimoto
Producer
Yasuyuki Sone
Publisher
Yasuhiro Fukushima
Copyright
1990 Quintet
1990 Yuzo Koshiro
1990 ENIX
THE END
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Country
USA
Internal CRC
83DB
CRC32
EAC3358D
MD5
635D5D7DD2AAD4768412FBAE4A32FD6E
SHA-1
E8365852CC20178D42C93CD188A7AE9AF45369D7
SHA-256
B8055844825653210D252D29A2229F9A3E7E512004E83940620173C57D8723F0
ROM Speed
200ns (SlowROM)
ROM Size
8 Mb
ROM Bank
LoROM
ROM Type
Normal + Battery
SRAM Size
64 Kb
Internal Title
ACTRAISER-USA
Common Filenames
Act Raiser (U).sfc (GoodSNES v0.999.5)
ActRaiser (USA).sfc (No-Intro 2011-12-24)
ActRaiser (NTSC)(Eng)(1.0).sfc (Zapatabase 2011-01-30)
Country
Japan
Internal CRC
25C0
CRC32
BEE9B30C
MD5
3CB1A7AE9FD34A56015F752FD138070E
SHA-1
F031FC983A2EED4D69E223B256ECE5F037FB5D5D
SHA-256
3655833FD0FB4985C3DBBF28141F65564F7A228EE92D81A12982EF7CB952A51B
ROM Speed
200ns (SlowROM)
ROM Size
8 Mb
ROM Bank
LoROM
ROM Type
Normal + Battery
SRAM Size
64 Kb
Internal Title
ACTRAISER
Common Filenames
Act Raiser (J).sfc (GoodSNES v0.999.5)
Actraiser (Japan).sfc (No-Intro 2011-12-24)
Actraiser (NTSC)(Jap)(1.0).sfc (Zapatabase 2011-01-30)
Country
Germany
Internal CRC
CD74
CRC32
29A78AF9
MD5
FD56459ABA757C35B9892AEDE9D24304
SHA-1
2BE890711DEC987CA1375C0B5D0844997DE96566
SHA-256
01923DB83E0E8B19D476483649D956E3E24CFC918CA04A6AA04FAA29BA8E4C41
ROM Speed
200ns (SlowROM)
ROM Size
8 Mb
ROM Bank
LoROM
ROM Type
Normal + Battery
SRAM Size
64 Kb
Internal Title
ACTRAISER-EUROPE GRM
Common Filenames
Act Raiser (G).sfc (GoodSNES v0.999.5)
ActRaiser (Germany).sfc (No-Intro 2011-12-24)
ActRaiser (PAL)(Ger)(1.0).sfc (Zapatabase 2011-01-30)
Country
France
Internal CRC
877C
CRC32
A27E2664
MD5
4D7084EFDAAC42131BF9C68FAD358EBD
SHA-1
2F913B33F8C2B4EA2CA18AC91F3ED08F02285227
SHA-256
6CC2CADFCB4FBA4C1ABB2A1D06B49B840BEC65D75ACAA0AC8831576442E7E96A
ROM Speed
200ns (SlowROM)
ROM Size
8 Mb
ROM Bank
LoROM
ROM Type
Normal + Battery
SRAM Size
64 Kb
Internal Title
ACTRAISER-EUROPE FRA
Common Filenames
Act Raiser (F).sfc (GoodSNES v0.999.5)
ActRaiser (France).sfc (No-Intro 2011-12-24)
ActRaiser (PAL)(Fre)(1.0).sfc (Zapatabase 2011-01-30)
Country
Europe
Internal CRC
2687
CRC32
09097B2B
MD5
9B36075B53DEC1A506B1F9334E670C63
SHA-1
B76621E0B9D882C8B8463203F5423CA7D45CC5BF
SHA-256
146A68436FA9DBE728DDC7355821384765325E356CB8B9B193A4F22333ED52A0
ROM Speed
200ns (SlowROM)
ROM Size
8 Mb
ROM Bank
LoROM
ROM Type
Normal + Battery
SRAM Size
64 Kb
Internal Title
ACTRAISER-EUROPE ENG
Common Filenames
Act Raiser (E) [!].sfc (GoodSNES v0.999.5)
ActRaiser (Europe).sfc (No-Intro 2011-12-24)
ActRaiser (PAL)(Eng)(1.0).sfc (Zapatabase 2011-01-30)
ActRaiser
ActRaiser
ActRaiser
ActRaiser
ActRaiser
ActRaiser