With an announcement that left everyone surprised, SQUARE ENIX presented over the last Nintendo Direct Actraiser Renaissance, remake of the original from the late 1990s (but arrived in Europe only in 1993), announcing its immediate publication on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC and mobile. It was a bolt from the blue for all those who loved this classic in its time and a surprise also for those who wanted to recover it for a long time but, given its rarity, it was impossible. This will be the definitive edition with which to enjoy the masterpiece proposed by the developers of Sonic Powered?
- Title: Actraiser Renaissance
- Platform: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC / Steam, iOS, Android
- Version analyzed: PlayStation 4 (EU)
- Type: Platform, Strategy
- Players: 1
- Publisher: SQUARE ENIX
- Developer: Sonic Powered
- Tongue: English (texts)
- Exit date: September 24, 2021
- Availability: digital delivery
- DLC: nobody
- Note: remake of ActRaiser, released in 1990 on SNES, originally developed by Quintet and published by the then Enix
We reviewed Actraiser Renaissance with a PlayStation 4 code provided to us free of charge by SQUARE ENIX via Koch Media.
Divide et impera
Let’s say it right away: the plot is not the focal point of the experience of Actraiser Renaissance, it gives us nothing more than a pretext to throw ourselves into the game world. The latter is threatened by the evil god Tanzra, who unleashed the forces of evil upon it in an attempt to conquer it. We, the “Master” god of light, will reincarnate after centuries of domination over evil and will have to defend the devotees and the world itself, descending through the Sky Palace and clearing the areas infested with the hideous creatures of our nemesis.
It will be precisely with the consequent elimination of a boss who we will liberate one of the six regions of the world, which will be gradually repopulated by devotees. This will attract other mortal heroes who will fight alongside us and swear allegiance to us through the angel, which will be in effect our most faithful performer. Having helped the inhabitants of a region to re-establish a lasting human dominion, we will be able to face the second and last phase to completely free it from the constant influence of Tanzra, facing another platform level in which we will be able defeat one of the guardians and restore peace and hope to the inhabitants.
The monsters that will emerge from the lairs in the meantime during the development of the settlements can be dealt with by moving the angel across the map and hitting them with one of his arrows while the devotees continue with their lives. It will also be possible to do it through the use of the miracles of our protagonist, able to hit large areas of the territory but with a cooldown necessary between one miracle and another. They will not just limit themselves to attacks, but also to rains capable of extinguishing fires, or others to use, depending on the type of region we will be in, to develop civilizations.
The first region, Fillmore, being a green grassland rich in forests, it will not require special attention and will serve more as a tutorial in view of the next areas, more and more intricate, large and difficult to manage. In this sense, the title makes commendable use of a growing difficulty both during the management part and in the platform ones. In these last sections we will have an increasingly complex level design that will require millimeter precision in the combination of jumps and attacks on strategically positioned enemies, often having to make decisions on the moment and with the right timing.
For those who want an even more exciting challenge, it will be possible to change the difficulty of the game at any time from Sky Palace, accessible from the world map or the settlement menu, where it will also be possible to save or load the game.
Forces of evil and how to vanquish them
It is then precisely the management part that represents a good 50-60% of the work. As God, we will be able to guide our disciples to new lands using a grid system that will allow us to open the way for them, freeing it from obstacles such as rocks, shrubs or other, so as to allow them to build in these areas. There will also be monster lairs scattered around the map, from which we will be continuously attacked until we have populated an area sufficiently and the inhabitants will allow us to descend into the depths to destroy the threat.
These short platforming levels will be a pleasant break from the management part, which as mentioned before will become more and more complex. Destroyed then the monster that is hidden inside one of the lairs, the area will be safer. Repeating this action for each of the lairs and finally for the last platform phase (called Act II) of each zone, the region will return to absolute peace and we can move on to the next one.
But that’s not all: there will also be real sieges on our settlements, all orchestrated by Tanzra, who will lead the monstrous hordes and from which we will have to defend ourselves by building fortresses, palisades and guiding the heroes to the areas where they will have to fight. At the same time, as expected, we can use miracles to defeat large groups of enemies and lighten the work of one of these units, which will be defeated if we are not careful. The purpose of these sieges will be to defend the temple, our home and the place where the faithful come to make their requests.
However, it’s not all plain sailing for the management part: some sections are cumbersome and require you to continually destroy and move buildings to optimize defenses or populate some areas with new structures, without the possibility of updating the basic ones. All while we defend ourselves from continuous monsters that emerge from the lairs, while we are also intent on keeping an eye on the offers that come from the devotees and, why not, carry out one of the secondary missions that are offered to us.
This does not become confusing, mind you, but sometimes (especially in advanced stages and regions) there are too many steps that are more time wasting than actual tactical evaluations. But if you count the amount of things to do and the possibility of upgrading the heroes by leveling them up or improving our forts, the counterweight certainly goes to the depth of a really fun and very difficult management part in the last few battles.
The remake you don’t expect
Actraiser Renaissance presents an unusual aesthetic of dubious choice. The remake has indeed opted for a pre-rendered graphic rendering that makes everything fake and “plasticky”, especially in the platform levels and in the world map, where everything is “stuck” on the screen rather than being a cohesive whole. Furthermore, sprites often have resolution problems with respect to the rest of the background. In short, nothing really “bad”, but that makes you turn up your nose and could distract or not please everyone.
Quite the opposite must be done for the drawings of the characters during the dialogues and for the music. The first are beautiful to look at, colorful and with different expressions to communicate moods, while the latter have been properly re-orchestrated, arousing a notable nostalgia. It is however possible to change the soundtrack at any time and opt for the original one, directly from the options menu.
Actraiser it has also been expanded and its duration, although not very high, is the right one to guarantee an intense and fun experience, also given the variety of playing styles adopted and which it aims to provide a hybrid between platforming and a strategy title. The only real risk is that after hours spent growing our settlements there is a bit of nostalgia for some platform section, sometimes a little too distant from each other, and that the repetitiveness begins to be felt. , but this is a flaw that may only emerge late in the game.
Finally, it should be noted that if on the one hand the version we tested on PlayStation 4 did not present any particular critical issues from a technical point of view, it is well known that instead that Switch turns out to be plagued by some inexplicable slowdowns that undermine the general fluidity of the title. An inconvenience that we hope will be solved by any patches.
Who do we recommend Actraiser Renaissance to?
Actraiser Renaissance it is a perfect title both for those who played it in its time, and for those who were not even aware of its existence. In fact, on the one hand, the veterans of the title will find many appreciable changes and moments in which they will be put to the test with the innovations introduced, while on the other the novices will have to deal with the excellent remake of a timeless classic. We therefore recommend the title to these two categories, but also to those looking for something new, thanks to the mix of genres still original and a depth of play to be mastered especially in view of an ever-increasing difficulty.
- Varied and fun to play
- Adequate longevity
- Increasing difficulty
- In the long run a bit repetitive
- Disappointing graphic makeover
- Some unconvincing management aspects
Actraiser Renaissance
The burden of being God
The return of Actraiser with this Renaissance presents us with a lovable title, well packaged and with many interesting news. If the game on the one hand winks at the past, on the other hand it renews the experience with some important tricks. The increasing level of challenge and the quantity and variety of things to do are certainly the strengths of the work, in the face of some disappointing stylistic choices that may not meet everyone’s tastes and some management sections a little diluted. Ultimately though, Actraiser Renaissance it is a successful, intense and fun to play nostalgia operation.