ActRaiser [Model SHVC-AR]

アクトレイザー © 1990 Enix, Limited.
(ActRaiser)

Actraiser is an action/simulation game. Satan is back and has amassed a new army of monsters and demons. After conquering the gods in war, Satan divided the world into six demonic provinces, each one ruled by a demon lord. The game starts as a cute winged cherub flies down from the sky and calls for help - he sends the player on a quest to save the six fallen regions and their lost cities, and to finally overthrow Satan and his minions. The core of Actraiser is partly inspired by Bullfrog's "god wannabe" Populous, but Quintet managed here to pull off a really effective marriage of action and simulation. Each one of the visited provinces begins with a side-scrolling action stage (called 'Act') where the player controls an armored knight avatar. The objective of this phase is to defeat the local beasts so humans can start to inhabit the region. The simulation phase then kicks in and our deity's mission is to guide the development of a small human settlement, by telling them where to expend their town or by removing obstacles from the land (such as trees or rocks). Although creepy monster lairs are dotted around the surrounding hills and keep generating all kind of foes, the cute cherub can assist the player and strike them with his bow and arrows. As the population grows, the villagers find special items, magic artifacts and even make discoveries - the first being the invaluable ability to build bridges. Soon, they become strong enough to seal all the monsters' lairs and peacefully live out their lives... consequently leaving the player free to explore and rescue another province.