Actraiser Renaissance: Old vs New | 1990 & 2021 comparison 

Man, I can't believe this. I was literally complaining that ActRaiser should be on Switch in some capacity - the SNES VC specifically - and then I boot up the internet and see this out of nowhere. Fucking blindsided.

Still shocks me to this day that they combined a platform game and simulation game into one. Those were like two vastly different "types" of gamers in the 90s. In the end a masterpiece was born!

The person playing this knew exactly what they were doing when they named their character "Bates..."

I think one touch that surprised me entirely is how every region now have their own theme song. It used to be that all the SIM levels would play the same theme unless you brought the Gift of Music which changed it to that smooth and nostalgic theme song. Not only that, the game allows you to toggle between the orchestrated Remake music or the original SFC... EXCEPT that there are now NEW SFC themes for the areas besides Fillmore composed entirely as SNES soundtrack versions of the orchestrated ones. I found that out entirely by accident and was surprised at how good those new SFC theme songs sound.

Everyone knows the Master's name is SHO'NUFF

I was in middle school when the original ActRaiser first came out on the SNES, back in a time when Dragon Quest was referred to as Dragon Warrior in North America. 0:07 In the old game (the original ActRaiser), the Master’s name can be entered up to 8 characters. In the new game (ActRaiser Renaissance), it’s up 16 characters. Unlike the new game, the old game does not have difficulty levels; the Japanese version of the old game is harder than the North American version. For example, in the Japanese version of the old game, coming in contact with spikes results in instant death, while in the North American version, it merely inflicts damage on the player. The old version also has “Professional” mode, known as “Action” mode in Europe. In the new game, it’s referred to as “Special” mode. The maximum difficulty level in the new game is called Divine difficulty level, which is unlocked after beating the game on Normal or Hard. The new game also has a music player, which is absent in the old game. With the exception of a few tracks, the music tracks are unlocked after meeting a specified condition as shown at the bottom of the screen. The music tracks pertaining to a specific region are unlocked after clearing Act 2 of that region. 4:37 In the Japanese version of the old game, coming in contact with spikes results in instant death. In the Western versions, coming in contact with spikes merely inflicts damage on the player. The same is true in the new game as in the Western versions of the new game on Easy and Normal difficulty levels. In the old game, magic is consumed by means of scrolls. In the Western versions of the old game, all spells consume one scroll per use. In the Japanese version, most spells consume two or more scrolls per use. In the new game, magic is consumed by means of MP as in traditional JRPGs, and like the Japanese version of the old game, in the new game, each spell consumes a specific amount of MP per use. 8:38 In the old game, released in Japan on December 16, 1990, and in North America in 1991, the track “Birth of the People” was used in the town simulation aspect in all realms. In the new game, released worldwide on September 23, 2021, it’s used only in Fillmore, the first realm in the game. The subsequent realms each have a brand new track composed by Yuzo Koshiro for the town simulation aspect. The new game also introduced real-time strategy battles, such as Settlement Siege. Every time you seal a monster lair in the new game, a horde of monsters will try to take revenge on the people and attack the temple. The new game also introduces six heroes, one for each region, e.g. Philotas in Fillmore region. You can also tie Bloodpool to Fillmore in the new game. The new game doesn’t end after Tanzra. It also has a brand new 7th realm, after completing Northwall.

Master bates what a legend

when you think about it Actraiser was such an original idea, an side scrolling 2D action + god sim hybrid, i'm not anti-remasters/remakes or anything, in fact i usually love them, but i just wonder why there's not more "actraisers" nowadays, all people do is rehash the same thing, i do think nowadays the majority of original ideas aren't that original anymore but i feel like doing some rare things in gaming is still better than doing the same thing over and over and over again like the industry been doing in these last few years

The snes ActRaiser is one of my favorite games. The new version looks nice but seems too distracting to look at after a while. Prefer the older simple look.

I would consider this a remake, a remaster would respect the original sprite graphics and older gameplay elements.

this is and will always be one of my fav snes classics. i played this game so much that i memorized the lines lol. looking forward to this!

Me at 8 on a Saturday playing the shit out of this. Can't believe it got a remake.

I’m definitely curious. Haven’t played Actraiser in ages. I think one of my favorite improvements here is the writing, which wasn’t all that remarkable back then. It was fairly simplistic in the original, kind of like a Sunday school special. It will be interesting to see it with some character.

I'm loving the remake, but I miss the bronze-age aesthetic the original had. The new one is just too anime.

I played this game for about a week when I was a kid in the 90's. I forgot it's name, but I never really forgot about it. The songs are amazing earworms that go through my head all the time. I don't like the stock images in the new game.

The sim part is the best. They should make a totally new game focusing more on the city sim and then when monsters appear in any part of your city you go down there yourself and kick ass in a platform version of the area you just built.

What!? Actraiser remake!? Finally! I Hope they will not mess with the music, because it is one of my favourites.

O man, I used to love this game. I love the new sound track and the fact it's the same game setup with just some minor tweaks! It's everything I imagined it could be in the 90's. So Awesome!!! I need to get this.

The original game on the SNES proved the wise old saying “Less is more”.

"Shall we begin, Master Bates" ... spits out coffee

Great comparison vid :)

When I saw the Nintendo Direct, I wasn't ready. I got it on the Ps4 and I don't regret it, the game is still as good as ever but there were some well thought out additions. In short, we find the nostalgia of the 1990s but with a welcome touch of 2021.

luv'd this game bk in the day, excited AF 2play the remake

loved this game back in the day and i just wrapped up the remake last week. was great ! kept things similar to feed the nostalgia but also added some changes to keep it fresh. just a little psa. you can change between the updated audio or play the classic music... both were great.

Thank you so much for this, wonderful.

I really hope they remake other games from Quintet. Specifically the Soul Blazer trilogy. Give me Soul Blazer, Illusion Of Gaia, and Terranigma remakes!

I can't believe 😲😲😲 Actriser is back!! This is a really good news... I can't wait to see the remastered D:

Well, thank you so much for the work of making this comparison, great job. When I first played it was the Japanese version and the owner of the video store warned me: boy there are people who can not even start playing, good accepted and yes I was able to play and I was in love with the game, amazing! But I could never finish this game because of the final boss! First of all it is necessary to beat all the bosses one by one and finally the Tanzra, I think that's his name. Well, it's one of the endless things in my life. Maybe now it's going to work?

This is so damn nostalgic! Awesome!

The battle angel doesn't hold his sword correctly or heroically when he walks along in the 2021 remake?!...

thanks for putting together this comparison. It's a missed opportunity. It doesn't feel like 31 years of progress to me. PC speed has gone up by 10,000 times in the period....

Legend has it that monsters would flee in terror at the mere sight of Master Bates...

This was an instant purchase for me. I had forgotten what the old game looked like it has been so long and found myself wanting to see. I knew someone on RU-vid would make a comparison video. I remember playing a borrowed copy to death as a kid. This new version is great.

thx for this remake!!

"Master Bates". Well done

One of my old favorites: Such an underrated title.

I was surprised to see this! I like it for what it is. Just different enough (so far). I am literally starting it today.

Missed opportunity on making a proper remake…

I live my authentic snes copy of this game. Wouldn’t mind getting a back up lol

Isn't this one of the first city building game or at least part of it. Such an amazing game. Man this brings back memories. They need to do more classics with upgrades like this.

Let's hope the remake ends up getting the full sequel the original deserved.

Wow, that was a nice nostolgic blast. I remember that intro theme from the original and it immediately transports me back to 1992 and my buddy's (pot reeking) bedroom. Damn,... I always loved the soundtrack of this game and I am so happy they kept most of the gameplay and music in tact and just updated it. Its even better now! Some of the old NES and SNES composers are really under-rated. These songs stick with you for decades! I do like the new "Angel" helper, she's cute.

as much as I’d love a remake why did they have to go with pre rendered wonky graphics intend of decent looking 2D sprites?

I still prefer the original, but Renaissance is 2021's GotY.

I literally just found out about ActRaiser and ActRaiser 2. I never played these titles as a child. Luckily, I have a raspberry pi 3 with retro pi 3, that has these titles on it. I played them for the first time and I was completely blown away! The game play, the graphics and the music were awesome. It made me wonder, how didn’t I know about these when I had the Nes and Snes?

I see the name "Bates" come up and I instantly remembered what came next. And I sat here for seconds saying "DO IT!" "DO IT!" So happy you did lol

It has been long time since last time i played it. Like its action and music. I sometimes still reminiscence about it. its one of the few games i play multiple times.

hate to be that guy but those oldschool graphics just have a charm that only they posess and can't be replicated. to me that old style is always superior

Might have to add this to my Steam wish list.

My kids loved watching me play this game back in the day! ❤

It's very reassuring to know that "Master Bates", the Lord of Light has finally "come". Teehee

There’s something just so charming about the SNES graphics that is lost in the remake, but I do enjoy the remake. The siege battles, not so much. Too many.

Actraiser has one of the best soundtracks of the SNES video games

This game I certainly have find memories of on the SNES

Admittedly I do admire the anime style of the new version, as well as the new look of the settlements and the mechanics within them, it's the sprites when going through levels that are more of a miss for me. Also while I do enjoy the expansion of interactions you can have with the townsfolk and the new heroes, doing so constantly is a bit immersion breaking at times. xD

Fantastic game! Bought both from a gaming expo in the 90s for SNES! Game is amazing I gotta grab the remake!

I have been trying to get my hands on Actraiser for decades now. Im too dumb to figure out the Emulator, anyone know where you can get your hands on this for PC by any chance ?

Game: Choose your name Player: Bates Game: Welcome Master Bates! 😱😂😂😂😂

I am a huge fan of Actraiser 2 : hope they make a remake or a new Actraiser 3 game with a lot of action !

I honestly prefer the original's graphics! The new one gives me "Getting Over" it vibes!

I love that the music is still the same! This used to be my favorite game and I still have the original SNES version that I play once in a blue-moon. Thanks for bringing Actraiser back out!

i love them both.

Am I imagining things, or did the 2021 version add Tower Defense into the god sim portion of the game?

I should stop sleeping on this one and give it a shot.

Oh man. Mixed feelings about this one. This is the type of game that should have been remade by fans that love and understand this game. Just look at the intro scene. The original immediately pulls you into the game. You've been awakened into this world. The remake has you fiddling with settings. It's impersonal and cold. This game could be fixed with the proper feedback taken into consideration. But will they take the time to do that? Probably not unfortunately.

Mmmnn it's nice to see they remastered this game which was for me one of my all time favorites, including Actraiser 2 even if it lacked the strategic element. Although im not a fan of the 3d characters, having higher res sprites would have been a far better choise along 3d elements in the background environments to have more depth. Like Castlevania Symphony of the Night did and it worked like a charm.

N acredito que a Square Enix lançou essa jóia, que surpresa! O jogo tá animal, um dos melhores games de todos os tempos!

In the SNES version the scrolling was smooth . In the remake (at least on my switch) scrolling is terrible choppy. The levels have been unnecessarily stretched. I still prefer the original (masterpiece) over this.

This game Looks amazing

Who remembers that stardust magic that could literally one-shot or seriously damage a boss if your lucky and other times.... Meh

all these 16 bit game soundtracks feature such funky basslines. I imagine some elf slapping the funk

People just need to cry about everything these days. The amount of work and love that went into this remake are amazing! They even brought the original composer back to remake his own soundtrack. The added gameplay is welcomed as it allows me to spend more time in the world of Tanzra. Jsut be happy they are remaking great games.

I lost it when you named your character "Master Bates"

I love this game, it was my favorite game when I was young. It was a great surprise when Nintendo release the remake. The remake is very beautifull and very interesting to play. Definitelyy favorite super nes game.

i adore this game.

Master Bates has to rekindle humanity's faith through deeds.

How did I have no idea this exsisted?

You should've done the lightning spell on the bushes. I'm sure that would look epic on the remake.

While listening this 1990 Fillmore stage we can hear sometimes drums track are missing. In Japanese version all is good :)

Damn. The original score is sooooo good. Gets me so pumped along with that, "Heruh!" I love this game.

Ty

I love it.

I don't like how they changed the player character's way of running in the remake.

All I can think of when I listen to the Fillmore act1 music is Korone's loading theme.

I played this as a baby with my dad then 2 blew me away

is it out yet?

The good ol days 😍

I here good and bad things about Actraiser Renaissance but its is one of those forgotten classics

I accidentally bought this for the wii instead of street fighter 2.... I played ActRaiser so much compared to SF2

I kind of love that this looks like a saturn game?

I don't get how games like Mummy Demastered exist with it's beautiful sprite work and this remake managed to have Rise of The Robots visuals

I loved this game back in 1991 still have it in my library today. I was a big fan of Rastan, The Astyanax and this was the closest game the SNES had to offer at time. Great purchase. (Heted part 2 too; slow and too difficult)

De todos los juegos que pudieron haber remasterizado, este es de los últimos que hubiera pensado que iban a revivir, estoy sumamente contenta hasta las lágrimas, este juego lo "rescate" de un taller hace muchísimo tiempo y pues... Me gustó cuando era nima.. La verdad... Se ve muy bien, otro motivo para que la Switch vale la pena... Definitivamente me compro. A estas alturas ya tengo esperanzas que revivan a Valís the Phantasm soldier

I forgot about this game. Right when I heard the music it brought back the memories. I prefer the original music. Even though the new music sound track is amazing

The game that could literally have saved the CD-i

I tried it, my first impression was "OH DAMMIT THIS SEEMS LIKE A GBA TITLE! WATH THE HELL DID THEY DO???"

I prefer the old Fillmore music. That bass slap ..

2:02 lmao :D

Wait, what? There's a remake? Played the hell out of this when I was a kid. Gotta get this one. Now they also need to remake soul blazer.

omg i cant believe this, the GAME WHEN I WAS A CHILD ....