One of the surprise September 2021 Nintendo Direct launches is ActRaiser Renaissance. It is a remaster of 1990’s ActRaiser, a unique hybrid of side-scrolling platform action game and city-building originally released on the SNES.
Players take on the role of the Lord of Light, a god who must defeat Tanzra Lord of Dark and his forces before they destroy civilization. The game takes place in two phases. One is a side-scrolling combat mode in which players defeat monsters using their weapons and magic and liberate the lands. The second phase is a top-down strategy mode where players control an angel that must help build up the liberated areas while defending the city from enemy forces.
Actraiser Renaissance will also add new stages and boss battles to the template of the original, while benefitting from enhanced graphics and controls. Players will be able to switch between the original soundtrack and remastered music from composer Yuzo Koshiro, as well. The game will also incorporate autosaves, new difficulty levels, and other enhancements.
Actraiser Renaissance is immediately available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC, and iOS and Android devices. Sega and Zeno Clash developer ACE Team also developed an ActRaiser-like game called SolSeraph for Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2019.
