Monsters Beware! The Master has Descended!
For a game that was made in the very early 90's, this one possessed an originality that has not been duplicated since. The pixels are quite visible, yet the gameplay is smooth and very satisfying. You start out as an orb of light descending from your Sky Palace to occupy a statue, then accompanied by a sword and very good music proceed to slay numerous goblins, demon monkeys, and a bug or two before jumping off a cliff and slaying a centaur that launches thunderbolts from the tip of its jousting lance. After you have triumphed, you raise your sword in the air and receive bonus points as it says, ACT-1 CLEAR. Then, the game starts to get a little strange.
Now you are a cherub, armed with arrows that needs to help the people build a town, all while preventing them from being kidnapped by bats and torched by dragons. The overhead view of this segment of the game is called the Simulation Mode, and it is crucial to increasing your power for the remaining stages, 13 in all. The neat thing about this is that it is not necessary to go in order. After freeing the town from the simulation monsters, the people will beg you to slay an even bigger monster, but you can ignore them, or even send lightning down to burn their homes for bothering you. Though you are a deity, at one point in this game it is not possible to proceed until you deliver a loaf of bread to some kid! Still, you get to kill a bunch of demons and purify a lake once you, these people's God, bring their boy the bread, but then the town decides to sacrifice the same boy to the wolf monster by the lake. Now you have to rescue him, but before you do, send an earthquake to level the town for giving in to the demands of the wolf monster. It is very satisfying, and it will make you stronger once they rebuild the town.
There has been nothing like ActRaiser before or since, and that includes the game's sequel, a good game in its own right, but not ActRaiser. With the Action Mode, the simple gameplay of swinging a sword, a low swing, and a jumping swing, works to its advantage, and the sound made when killing an enemy, a very video game sounding EXPLODE is all too gratifying. Pick this one up and understand the craze! You will not be sorry.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned