Once again, I find myself in a state of panic as I drop absolutely everything that I'm doing to hyper-fixate on a single game that hasn't been relevant in over thirty years. That game is none other than ActRaiser 2, one in which I fumbled through practically eons ago and forgot about entirely, only to discover that there is indeed some sauce and Quintet did indeed cook with it. Now, I don't know exactly how much praise I can heap onto this action-platformer before it becomes hyperbolic but bear with me. First and most importantly, this was one of those games that Enix of America did no favors. Granted, the complete lack of simulation elements had already doomed the game in the eyes of many, but numerous changes to the difficulty (all for the worse) practically buried its remaining meritorious qualities. This vicious one-two punch created a legacy in which I can't run a search on the game without tripping over a dozen "Wow! This stinks!" posts.
In defense of why ActRaiser 2 is actually great.
Much like the classics of the 8 and 16-bit era, this game was designed to be deliberate. There is weight to every decision and consequence to every action. I don't want to throw around comparisons willy-nilly, but if you can imagine the half-way point between Castlevania and Rocket Knight Adventures, then that's where ActRaiser 2 would be. The pacing is slow and steady. While you have versatile tools to enhance your mobility, using them poorly might just put you in a worse condition than if you had just ignored them entirely. For starters, the double jump is a necessity, but once the jump button is pressed the second time, the hero goes into a glide. You'll quickly learn to press the jump button (or press up) to cancel that glide, else you might find yourself flying off the platform you were trying to land on. Landing from a glide, while looking neat, leaves the hero open to attack. There is a surprising amount of complexity in merely getting around, a weightiness that I'd usually attribute to mech-shooters like Front Mission: Gun Hazard.
Then there's the sword, which is no longer the "one size fits all" solution to every problem. Remember how in 1990's ActRaiser, all you had to do was press the attack button? It didn't matter if the enemy was straight ahead, attacking from above, firing a projectile, or low to the ground. They were all dealt with in one swift all-encompassing stroke. Now, the sword is a tool of precision, where strikes have to be aimed to be truly effective. It's a learning curve where there was originally none, and that's without factoring in the shield. You can block almost everything that's thrown at or dropped on you, as long as you don't move. Adding to the challenge is that enemies are a bit heartier than before, often taking multiple hits to down... or not. This is where the versatility starts paying off. Down-stabs do double damage and dive-bombs do triple damage. Also, if you can work with the brief invulnerability periods and hitboxes, you'll discover opportunities to deliver uncontested damage to adversaries. It feels extremely satisfying.
Magic has seen a creative overhaul. Every spell is available from the outset, and they're cast by holding down and releasing the attack button. Depending on what the hero is doing at the time of relase, his spell can take one of several forms. While standing, he shoots a stream of fire. Holding up causes him to lob multiple projectiles in an arc, and so on. There are seven spells altogether, each with their own utility. Despite the changes to magic, I figure most players will still hold onto all of their charges so that they can eliminate bosses quickly. The catch of course is that charges aren't replenished after a death.
The level design is a blend of monster-filled hallways, large rooms with multiple paths, and obstacle courses. Your wings, sword, and agency are all you have, and that's where the even most simplistic levels shine. Multiple adversaries can and will attack at once, each with their own behaviors. The first might make charge at you, another could be about to attack from above, and there's something further away spitting fireballs. Several threats, all working in concert, and it's on you to figure out the best approach. To emphasize, the sword can't be everywhere at once, and relying on the standard attacks will only get you so far. The answer is often found in using the layout of the immediate area to mount an aerial assault. As much as I'd love to sprinkle around words like methodical, the fact is that the protagonist is pretty slow, which means the player has to think fast. Also, worst comes to worst, there's always trial & error. Healing items are common enough, and you'll have decent number of lives for when big mistakes happen.
It should be noted that "obstacle courses" in this case never reach a point of absurdity. You won't be fluttering through spike-adorned halls while getting sniped at from multiple directions. Mostly, they're just there to add flavor to a stage. Though keep in mind that with all of the platforming and monsters, the possibility of getting knocked into a pit is very real. It's not an overly frequent occurrence, and if you feel like you're leaping into danger, just go ahead and down-stab. The down-stab is lowkey one of the strongest moves in the game, mainly because the hero is invulnerable while performing it. Maybe in some other title it'd be overpowered, but here it's just a part of your arsenal.
Every boss in ActRaiser 2 is worthwhile. No matter their size and shape, every archfiend you'll contend works wonderfully within the game world. One of the noteworthy bosses is a goblin wizard. He flies across the screen at speeds that are difficult to react to, so your best chance of survival is to watch and wait. He flings imposing fireballs from the sides and above. You can't outwalk them, but you can outright block them. Consider this an important reminder to never underestimate your shield. Other fights make full usage of the immediate environment, offering platforms to leap onto or get knocked off of. As mentioned earlier, if you arrive at a boss with a full suite of spell charges, then you likely have the means of destroying them quickly. Timing and positioning are essential, of course, but getting these quick kills is an immaculate feeling.
Besides the fact that you won't get to experience the final boss battle, there's no harm in starting with the Easy difficulty setting. Normal provides a noticeable step up in challenge by adding new enemies, giving bosses more attacks, and slightly shifting the damage values. This shift is quite interesting in that it'll require you to utilize the full skillset instead of just standing and hacking. Rather than strike a single enemy three times, you'll be more inclined to use a down-stab and a strike to defeat them in two. If you can find the space to fly, then a dive-bomb will eliminate them in one. The change in difficulty rewards methodical and versatile playstyles. Indeed, it is a bit tougher than the first entry, but it's still deliberate and fair. Clearly, a lot of time was devoted to ensuring that encounters are balanced and players are given just enough resources to survive.
Fair? Balanced? Yeah, I'm talking about the Super Famicom version of ActRaiser 2. The version we received in the West is... fine. I mean, it's definitely playable. Enix of America just had different values. They wanted a game that would take a week to finish instead of a weekend. I just don't see the value in repeating the same level multiple times over because of changes that only maniacs would appreciate.
Now, this is where I start digging into the minutiae. The hero has 20 HP. He can obtain healing items that restore 2, 10, or 20 HP. In the west, some of those 10 HP healing items now only heal for 5 HP. Worse, some items were removed entirely or replaced with enemies. Contact with spikes or lava has gone from "pretty damaging" to "you'll die in 2 hits". Enemies hit harder and have more HP. This boost is uniquely annoying since it messes with the flow of the game. If an enemy has 4 HP, then that means it takes four strikes, or two down-stabs, or one dive-bomb & one strike. All these extra hits piling on top of each other only serve to bring the pacing down. The increased rarity of healing items only ensures that players have to take extra time with each encounter, just to ensure they don't take any damage.
An instance where a healing item in the Japanese version (Left) is replaced by an enemy in the USA version (Right). |
Combine these changes with a decrease in starting lives, and you end up with a game that's too often defined by trial & error. Mistakes are punished severely. Obstacles that'd normally be a bump in the road have been turned into brick walls. These constant setbacks eventually lead to criticisms that I'd consider unfair. The controls, in my opinion, are perfect. Yes, the hero has a slow walking speed, and his wings require time as well as patience to get the hang of, but they are still an exact fit for this game. All of the necessities are in the player's hands. They even have some exceptional techniques like the invulnerable down-stab (don't forget that shield either!). It's the tweaks brought on by the Western version that are at fault, not the controls.
I don't want to get too heated about it, since the game may as well be ancient history, but to me this is one of the larger issues of the sometimes-nebulous approach developers take to difficulty. With every successive entry in a series, particularly in those that emphasize arcade-like qualities, there is the natural desire to push the envelope, and create a greater challenge for players to overcome. However, this desire is one that - in my opinion at least - has to come from within, not as a response to outside influences. Player feedback should be taken into consideration, but when it becomes to the driving force, then problems start to arise. Like, imagine if an arcade shmup had a location test, but the only attendees were the best of the best, and all of their suggestions were "make the game tougher, more intense, etc." If that's all the feedback you get, then the end result will be a game that only maniacs can appreciate.
Now, ActRaiser 2 isn't nearly as extreme a case, but the signs are clearly there. The changes mandated by Enix of America were in response to what was likely a very tiny (but vocal) minority. I'll also consider the possibility that the "week to finish instead of a weekend" talk was in reference to rentals. The rental market played a massive role in the Western game industry during the 90s. Make the game more difficult, and maybe players will be less inclined to rent. Whatever the case, in their attempts to capture this mythical "hardcore gamer" audience, Enix of America messed up. They took what should've been regarded as a Super Nintendo classic and stuck it in some niche that'd take decades to receive positive recognition.
Perhaps I myself am partially to blame for not seeing it earlier, but this is one video game that deserves better. There is so much here that is good, perhaps great even. There is a richness to the movement and combat that was rare to see in 1993. It's this blend of ideas from Castlevania to Ghouls n' Ghosts that coalesced into something quite special. The more I play, the more I appreciate the amount of care taken by its level designers and programmers.
Whenever you find the time, seriously consider giving the Japanese version of ActRaiser 2 a try, even if and perhaps especially so if you were put off by the Western release that you played all those years ago.