ActRaiser
1990 · Action / Simulation · SNES
Overview
ActRaiser combined two entirely different gameplay modes in a single game: side-scrolling action sequences in which the player fought as a god-figure, and a city-building simulation in which players guided human civilisation from above. The alternation between them was seamless in design and unique in concept. Yuzo Koshiro's orchestral soundtrack was considered the finest on SNES at launch.
Deep Dive
ActRaiser was developed by Quintet and published by Enix for the SNES launch window. The action sequences — platforming with combat — were connected to the simulation sequences by narrative: clearing monsters from action stages allowed humans to populate new areas, whose growth funded further action stages. Yuzo Koshiro's soundtrack, composed using FM synthesis techniques he had developed for his earlier work, exploited the SNES sound chip more fully than nearly any other launch-window game.
Developer Story
ActRaiser was developed by Quintet in Japan as a SNES launch title. The combination of action and simulation genres was Quintet's attempt to create a game that justified the new hardware's capabilities beyond graphical improvements. It launched in Japan in December 1990.
Did You Know?
- ActRaiser was a launch title in North America and demonstrated that the SNES could produce game concepts that hadn't been possible on NES-era hardware.
- Yuzo Koshiro composed the ActRaiser soundtrack before Streets of Rage — the orchestral quality caused immediate comparisons to film scoring.
- The simulation mode in ActRaiser was significantly simplified in ActRaiser 2, which removed it entirely — a decision that disappointed players who had considered it the game's most original element.
- The player character in ActRaiser is never named — the manual refers to them as 'the Master,' establishing an ambiguity about the game's theological setting that Quintet carried through their subsequent games.
