Unique game but overrated. Great action stages meet repetitive town-building sequences.
The character in this game is a benevolent deity who is trying to restore his followers' belief in him. He primarily uses a sword to slash his way through some really cool environments. The fighting levels are side scrolling, and the action stages are the strong point of this title. Most are relatively short but fun, with some pretty cool bosses at the end of each one. So far they haven't been too challenging, but still the action is great. After defeating the first boss in each area you are free to re-build the town and restore belief in the people's hearts.
The city building is pretty fun, but kind of weird. It's like Sim City but not quite as elaborate. In this mode you have to protect the village that you're building from little flying creatures, and you also cause miracles that the people request such as rain, sun, wind, etc. As the population of each village grows you will level-up. The people begin to worship you and give you offerings. After the town gets as big as it's gonna get, the villagers will urge you to go to the second and final action stage in each town. After defeating the second boss in each area, peace is restored to the land and it's occupants.
Overall score: 7.7
I definitely understand why people seem to love this game so much. Very inventive and unusual, killer action levels, awesome lead character, good story, and the sound effects and music are enjoyable. It's hard to go wrong with Actraiser because of all the things it does right. But WHAT is with that flying baby character!? City building is fun, and does give you some time to relax and enjoy the game without having to constantly battle and sweat. But I can't get over that. I'd rather be a colorful orb or something.
Reccomended course of action: I would reccommend Soul Blazer instead.