Actraiser Renaissance

The updated visual aesthetic, while a good graphical update from the original, took a bit to get used to. Going from beautiful pixel graphics to anime was a bit jarring at first, and I was a bit disappointed it bears striking similarities to multiple remakes of other games. That sort of pop-up storybook style is very nice to look at, but I prefer a style that sticks out and is unique. This one kind of blends in with the rest. I'd say the orchestral remakes of the soundtrack rival the SNES objectively, but I personally like the SNES more. There's some kind of charm to it that felt lost in translation when you're essentially remastering the music instead of doing something out there. Playing this game makes me fall in love with the god-sim half every time, but one area I actually find more fun in the remake is the action segments. The SNES character always feels kind of stiff and unwieldy; the remake character actually makes me feel like an avatar of a divine being, though the monster dens started to feel repetitive after only the third one. For a modern game made with all the available technology we have, and for it being multiple gigs in size, I was pretty disappointed at how many black loading screens there are. You're telling me you couldn't just have the camera fly down to the ground when you decide to leave the sky palace? On that same note, it was also a little irksome that there isn't a zoom in and out option when you're on the ground. It's also astonishing to me that the devs chose to ignore the tiny irritants like the daily timer; no individual day takes very long, but when you're just sitting around waiting for the days to end so the game can catch up to what I've done, it adds up. The thing that made me decide it wasn't worth continuing to play was when I was forced into a raid, one of the new mechanics added to the god-sim aspect. Raids are...okay. The first couple weren't that bad, but another one almost completely wrecked my temple. And these aren't optional; the developers wanted to make sure you were railroaded into experiencing the new content by putting them on the critical path and locking off necessary progression behind them. Definitely not a fan of that. Did they want this to be a love letter to a fantastic SNES game or a new game? It felt a little unfocused. That being said, the ones I didn't have much trouble with were the ones marked as quests which I could choose to engage with when I wanted. That's a good design choice. Despite that, I was eventually forced into a raid without the choice to do it later; it had to happen now for some reason, and I hated that I was put on a timer without feeling confident and competent enough in the new systems. The only real new standalone mechanic I found in the hour I played for the god-sim half was the raids, but that one addition came with a lot of baggage, if you will. To make raids interesting, I guess, there are forts, battlements, towers, materials; basically there are a lot of new little systems that all hinge on the existence of the raids. Take the raids out, and those systems don't mean anything and wouldn't matter at all. It would be one thing if the things you place to protect your settlements could also fight the monsters that periodically come out of the dens, but of course they don't. It also would've been fantastic to be able to fill up every available spot with defense, but of course you can't. You need to actively focus on those things, you can't look away. It's fine in the SNES because it's just the monsters, and you're rewarded for killing them. Not here. Ultimately, the raids are a net negative for the game in my opinion. I honestly would've been fine with random raids if my angel guy could do more than a handful of miracles. That's a bit of a problem in the SNES and does arbitrarily extend playtime, but here the problem is greatly exacerbated due to the number of enemies you have to face. The only miracle I was able to perform more than once before needing more magic wasn't always enough to kill them in one hit. I'd then have to sit and wait for more to spawn, all while my buildings are being destroyed. A silver lining here is the hp restoring items do also heal your buildings, but in a bizarre twist that beneficence doesn't extend to your temple! Putting all that aside, the number one thing that I dislike about the raids is that enemies can spawn from anywhere on the map. Rule #1 of TD games: definite start and end points so the player can make informed decisions about tower placement every step of the way. If I'm severely restricted on the number of towers I can place but don't know where the enemies are going to come from, are there even any tactical or strategic choices to be made? The allies are an interesting addition, but again they feel fumbled. I would've loved to see something akin to a Fire Emblem battle system, and that would've fit right in with the anime visual style. As it is, it comes across as a poor tower defense. And that frustrates me more; you had all the systems for a fantastic tower defense game already there! I love a TD done right. Overall, this isn't a bad way to experience the SNES classic, but you're much better off just playing the SNES. The new content isn't all that fun and the inherent issues were ignored. They didn't know better in 1990. They had 31 years to get it right with this remake. If there was a grade between D+ and C-, that's what I would give this remake.

Absolute ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Action segments are not improved by implementation of a scavenger hunt. First sword swing is now horizontal, rather than an overhead slash, making for more difficulty with flying targets. Bosses are somehow worse, requiring simple attack spam rather than precise movements and positioning. Town sections largely involve staring at the screen, doing nothing as you wait for more mana, which does not regen naturally in any way. Tower defense sections just make me want to play a better tower defense game, which is to say: any other TD ever made, including some of the more questionable ones which can be found on the old flash gaming websites.

Turning Actraiser into a tower defense game was… a choice. I'm going to recommend this with a huge "ehhhhh maybe?" Some other things: the platforming sections aren't nearly as tight control-wise as the original ones. The town planning is significantly different, even if you take the tower defense bits out. The story is significantly fleshed out to the point where it has one, and it's OK but nothing super-great. You can be blocked in the town-building sections by quests that sometimes require you to wait for RNG to give you the right drops from farms and workshops, sometimes for 10+ minutes at a time. The music remaster is very good. The game runs well on Steam Deck with the exception of one platforming stage where there's a particle effect that slows things down a ton. If you can't stand tower defense games, think twice about this one. Maybe watch a video of the gameplay in Fillmore. It's really not the same game as the SNES original. It'll take you around 10-12 hours if you are in a hurry, or 20-ish hours if you are trying to min/max a bit. It goes on sale for less than $15 or so, and at that price, it can be worth giving it a shot. I cleared it on Normal, but have not 100%ed it even at that difficulty, and probably won't. I think it was worth playing through for $12.

Actraiser Renaissance is a modern reimagining of a cult classic that dares to preserve one of the most unusual genre hybrids in gaming while significantly expanding its scope. It blends side-scrolling action with god-simulation city management in a way that still feels distinctive decades after the original’s debut. Rather than simply polishing visuals and controls, the remake aims to reinterpret the experience as a fuller epic about restoration, faith, and the cyclical struggle between creation and destruction. From the opening moments, it is clear that this is not a minimalist revival, but a version that actively seeks to deepen nearly every aspect of the original design. At the core of Actraiser Renaissance is its dual gameplay structure, which alternates between direct action and divine oversight. In the action segments, players control the Lord of Light in traditional 2D stages filled with platforming, enemy encounters, and large-scale boss battles. Combat has been expanded to feel more fluid and expressive, incorporating dodges, directional attacks, and a wider range of magic abilities. These changes modernize the moment-to-moment feel, making combat more engaging and responsive than its predecessor, while still retaining an old-school rhythm rooted in pattern recognition and positioning. Between these combat-heavy moments lies the simulation half of the experience, where players guide humanity’s resurgence across multiple regions. Acting through angels, you shape settlements by clearing land, directing population growth, and protecting cities from monster invasions. What was once a relatively simple system has grown into a more involved management layer, introducing structured objectives, narrative-driven milestones, and tower-defense-style encounters. These additions give the simulation segments more strategic weight, encouraging players to think about long-term development rather than simply filling maps to completion. Narrative expansion is one of the remake’s most noticeable departures from the original. Each region now features its own champions and story arcs, providing faces and personalities to the people you are guiding. These characters add emotional context to the cycle of destruction and rebirth, reinforcing the game’s themes of belief, sacrifice, and responsibility. While the storytelling leans heavily into familiar fantasy archetypes, it succeeds in giving the world cohesion and a sense of progression that ties the action and simulation elements together more clearly than before. The audiovisual presentation plays a major role in shaping the remake’s identity. The visual style adopts a high-definition aesthetic that reinterprets classic sprites and environments with bold colors and detailed animations. While some stylistic choices may divide opinion, the overall presentation is vibrant and readable, especially during busy combat encounters or large-scale simulation events. The soundtrack stands out as a highlight, with remastered compositions that retain their melodic power while benefiting from modern production. The option to switch between classic and updated music underscores the developers’ respect for the original experience while embracing modernization. Despite its ambition, Actraiser Renaissance is not without friction. The expanded systems occasionally disrupt pacing, particularly when lengthy narrative segments or repeated defensive encounters interrupt the natural flow between action and management. Some players may find the increased complexity overwhelming compared to the original’s elegance, especially if they prefer a more streamlined loop. The action segments, while improved, can also feel uneven in difficulty, with certain stages or bosses demanding precision that may surprise newcomers. Yet these rough edges do little to overshadow the remake’s broader achievement. Actraiser Renaissance remains a rare example of a game that successfully merges two fundamentally different genres into a cohesive whole. Its willingness to expand rather than simplify its mechanics gives it a distinct identity in a landscape dominated by more conventional remakes. The game invites players not only to fight evil, but to reflect on the consequences of guidance, growth, and divine intervention. Ultimately, Actraiser Renaissance is best appreciated as a bold reinterpretation rather than a straightforward remake. It honors the spirit of the original while reshaping it into a more narrative-driven and system-rich experience. For players drawn to hybrid designs, strategic city building, and action rooted in classic sensibilities, it offers a thoughtful and ambitious journey that stands apart from most modern releases. Rating: 7/10

This is one of those remakes of an old classic that misses the mark. Added way too much extra nonsense and new game play elements to the overhead sim part of the game. I found myself saying "omg shut the ♥♥♥♥ up" to the constant text boxes while trying to play.

TLDR: If you have a nostalgia itch for this series, this game may scratch it, but it is a Frankenstein of a game, that is trying to do too much at once while trying to cater to the old fans. Occasionally the game, and story, that could have been shine through and it works. Unfortunately those are only brief glimpses. The rest of the time who ever designed this thing needed to switch to decaf and think a little harder about whether they were making a mobile game or a console game. Worth grabbing on a steep sale just to try it other than that I would say skip. Story: You are the God of Fire and Light. You left this world when Humanity no longer needed you to prosper… so you thought. In your absence Humanity lost its way and fell to the lies and deceptions of your opposite, Tanizar the Lord of Darkness and Despair. Summoned by the last desperate prayers of a few remaining believers you return to a world of ruin. Nothing remains of the great civilizations you left behind but a few crumbling buildings and the ghosts of those that fought and fell to the conquering darkness. Yet… you’ve been in this position before. No resources, few believers, and many foes. You’ve beaten Tanzier before. All you need to do is guide your followers to a truth that they’ve forgotten. Gameplay: Oh boy, this game has a lot of game plays. First there is the town management. This mostly consists of clearing various obstacles to growth using the various godly abilities. This usually means causing earth quakes or zapping things with lighting to get them out of the way so the villagers can build. You do not direct what they build where though. You can encourage them to build better building as the city levels up, but they still build whatever, where ever. This can be an issue in a later part. The other part of this mode is guiding your angel boy around so that he shoot monsters to refill your power bar. This is only necessary until the player clears out all of the monster dens. Then it just becomes wait around until the next story bit happens. The next mode is clearing out the monster dens, which basically boils down to wack a bunch of nodes to open a bigger node that you destroy to close the den so the villagers can build a bigger village and move the story along. These are not challenging at all until the last few which more or less turn into bullet hell’s with moving nodes and bigger monsters that turn it into an endurance test Which leads to the next mode: Town Defense. Town defense is a tricky one. It’s a tower defense mode that slowly evolves into more of a puzzle as the game goes on. The first two towns it is a basic tower defense where you plop some forts and towers down and your hero’s for the most part are capable of dealing with the groups on their own with a little help from the previous town’s hero. Then after town three it gets a little more tricky as the towns are bigger and the villagers seem to like build whatever it is the game wants you to defend in the most inconvenient places possible and throws a ludicrous amount of monsters at the player and expects them to manage a point defense system with a battery that seems to stay just above E unless the RNG favors them and generates enough mana potions to at least keep the wrathful lightnings coming down a pretty good clip. This does not happen often later in the game. There are some other tools the player can use such as palisades and alarm bells to either hinder or distract enemies but later in the game these stand up to the monsters about as well as a house with a termite problem. Again one of those things that with a little more work, it could have been a pretty good additon. Next to last is the side scrolling sections. This is more or less what was in the original game with a few modern additions, which honestly don’t add much. The player moves from left to right wacking monsters and performing combos to collect crystals that power up the God of Light and bestow various bonuses to attack power and speed along with a one time half resurrection per life. There are some life bar and magic bar power ups in the levels, but they aren’t very hard to find and at the most might require a second run through the level to get every thing. If the player wants to raise the settlements to their max level this has to be done anyways. The bosses aren’t that difficult, the game even shows you their pattern before the battle starts, and the ones that require some thinking are basically pushovers once the AOE spells are unlocked. Another one that could have used a little more work to make it better. Finally we have the story mode. I will say right off, I wish someone had made a gimmie a minute man mod for this mode. Then again that would probably make the town management mode even more boring. The game pops notifications up at a rapid clip, with barely any time between events. For example, the game says give this community a little while to build, 15 seconds later, their world is on fire somehow and guess who needs to put it out? Even the hero’s have lines saying how ridiculous it is. Putting that aside though this part is the main driver of the game as every story beat is followed by either a new goal or town defense section that moves the story along somehow. Which means it doesn’t take very long to clear every map, unless the player hits a speed bump somewhere. Most of the Hero stories are decent, but it would have been nice if they fleshed them out a little more even if it was in a journal entry or something. The player collects deed scrolls to level up the hero’s that supposedly tells of past and future deeds of said heros, would have been nice to read some of them. Out of the six hero’s the ice elf and the priest are probably the best as the elf’s actually has some weight and the priest’s gives a pretty good idea of how the world fell in the first place. The only other thing with the main story is that your character is the bestest, no matter what happened you are always the bestest. Not sure if the developer was being sarcastic or they were trying to stay true to the original game. It’s been a long time but I don’t remember it being laid on that thick in the SNES version at least. In conclusion, this game tried to be a lot of things and that means unfortunately its not very good at any of them. I’m not sure if its a case of throw things at the wall and see what sticks for our next games or this game was supposed to be something else and Square Enix decided to slap the Actraiser name on it to cash in on nostalgia. Considering what they did with the second game it wouldn’t surprise me. As a plus there are a couple of different modes that the let the game be treated as more of an arcade game, so that might interest some that don’t want to deal with the different modes. If your curious about this game I would say buy it on a deep discount and you’ll probably get a little fun out of it, if you can put up with the disparate parts. One of those game where all I can really say is look for what could have been.

The overworld gameplay loop is pretty simple and fun and the additional characters and story elements are an improvement from the SNES game from over thirty years ago. The side scrolling segments are also simple and fun but the characters and monsters are just so ugly. 3D renders that look bad to me instead of just making good quality sprite work. I'd recommend picking this up on sale if you have nostalgia for the orignal. Playing it on Steam Deck OLED.

I actually really enjoyed this remake. The character development was nice, the siege battles were fun, and overall, it's a nice remake.

doesn't hold a candle to the original.

Headline: More than just a nostalgia trip – I couldn't put it down. I’ll be honest: the initial price tag kept me away for a while. I finally snagged it for 1/3 of the price during the Winter Sale, thinking it would be a quick, small investment to kill some time. I didn't expect it to completely take over my gaming schedule. The Gameplay: You play as a god-like protector, balancing high-speed action with society-building. Movement feels fluid, and while some magic attacks are admittedly OP, they are visually stunning and provide helpful buffs that make you feel truly powerful. The New Additions: The Story: 28 years after the original, the world-building here is fantastic. I was deeply enthralled by the personalities and the relationships between characters. The Heroes: Renaissance introduces legendary heroes. While some regional placements feel a bit odd, their inclusion adds a great layer to the narrative. The Mechanics: The tower-defense and town development aspects could use a little more polish, but they are completely doable and satisfying once you get the hang of it. Verdict: The bosses aren't punishingly difficult—as long as you pay attention, you'll figure them out. If you like a mix of action and strategy with a story that actually makes you care, don’t sleep on this one (especially on sale).