Actraiser 2

Review by Smoothie

Introduction

Actraiser 2 is often described as an insanely difficult where it is impossible to accomplish anything. However, this is not entirely true. The game is extremely hard the first time you play it, in fact, it's extremely hard for awhile. But eventually, after you get acquainted with the game, i.e. learn to deal with the clumsy controls and which magics are good, it gets a lot easier. The problem is that there are no easy levels, so this is not a game for people who lack patience. Most games have easy first few stages to give the player time to master it, then the levels get progressively harder. Actraiser 2, on the other hand, allows you to play the different levels in any order you want, so all the levels assume the player has already mastered the game and thus seem very unfair. It's not hard to see why so many give up on this game so fast. The stage you are supposed to play first is actually one of the hardest ones.

Graphics - 9/10

For the most part, Actraiser 2's graphics are very good, definitely among the top caliber for SNES. Colors are very good.

Sound - 8/10

Pretty good. The sound effects aren't incredible, but they are above average. I always liked the chopping sound of your sword swinging.

Music - 10/10

Definitely the game's strongpoint. The synthesized orchestral tracks do an excellent job of setting the mood for each level. Actraiser 2's music is easily among the best for the SNES. It even won the "Best Music" award in EGM.

Gameplay - 5/10

It's cool that your character has wings, but gliding is just not done well, you slide when you land after a glide and this often causes you to fall into pits. Plus, your sword is so short that it's almost impossible to hit some monsters and most bosses without getting hit yourself. The magic in this game was a cool idea, but poorly executed; only two of the eight spells are at all useful.

Replay Value - 4/10

I've heard there are multiple endings, but very few people will have ANY desire to play this game over again.

Overall - 68/100

Even if you have the patience to actually learn the system, the fact is that Actraiser 2 is an unremarkable side-scrolling action game that lacks any depth. In the first Actraiser game, you had the side-scrolling action mode and also a SimCity-esque civilization building mode. Neither would have made a good game on their own, but together they made a great one. In Actraiser 2, however, the civilization mode is gone and the changes made to the side-scrolling action mode are badly done, so you get a double-whammy. Worse still, there is no way to upgrade your character at all, he will be the exact same guy in the last level he was in the first one. Actraiser 2 is a mediocre game and a very bad sequel, though it had some good ideas and, I think, could have been a great game.