Entry 727 - Act Raiser

Style: Video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: Building the world while tearing down the evils that dwell within its depths

Thoughts: Picture this: you are stuck in stone for an eternity until a small angel decides that it is time for you to revive. You have been given life and you are charged to slay the evil that lies within the depths of a volcano. 

Once the foe is vanquished you are once again greeted by the small angel, only this time it tell you that you need to rebuild the world. This then is the essence of Actraiser. One half civilization builder, the other half dungeon platformer, one entirely unique game. 

Enix had quite the experimental game mindset when it came to the early SNES era, the games we're always a bit hit and miss, but when they hit oh man were they good. On top of that the soundtracks were almost always amazing, and Actraiser is no different... in fact the music itself may be one of the strongest points of the game.

The soundtrack mashes driving, almost rock like songs of the dungeons with the more orchestral and angelic sounds of the world building. The dungeon music though is where the game really shines. When these songs go, they go hard. They have a very similar feel to Castlevania in the way that they are structured and performed. 

No matter where that little angel led me when I was playing this game I always felt compelled to explore more. I always wanted to know what the next challenge was, and even though the game has a bullshit last boss fight I did beat the game when I was really young. I went back years later and played the game again. 

To my absolute shock the game holds up very well, way better than I ever thought it would. I beat the game again, and retain fond memories of both my playthroughs. The fact that the game's music holds up as well as it does is just as incredible as the game itself. Very happy to have this one in my collection.

Written March 3rd 2024