View source for ActRaiser 2

{{Short description|1993 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = ActRaiser 2
| image = ActRaiser 2 box art.jpg
| caption = North American cover art
| developer = [[Quintet (company)|Quintet]] <br/> [[Ancient (company)|Ancient]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ancient.co.jp/products.html | title=製品案内 &#124; 株式会社エインシャント}}</ref>
| publisher = {{vgrelease|JP/NA|[[Enix]]|EU|[[Ubi Soft]]}}
| director = Masaya Hashimoto
| producer = Yasuhiro Fukushima
| designer = Hitoshi Ariga <br /> Hiroshi Hayashi <br /> Naoko Suzuki
| programmer = Masaya Hashimoto
| artist = Ayano Koshiro
| writer = Ayano Koshiro <br /> Tomoyoshi Miyazaki
| composer = [[Yuzo Koshiro]]
| series = ActRaiser
| platforms = [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]
| released = {{vgrelease|JP|29 October 1993|NA|November 1993<ref name="SNESGamesar2">{{cite web|url=http://www.nintendo.com:80/consumer/gameslist/manuals/snes_games.pdf|title=Super NES Games|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|access-date=2020-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920223937/http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/snes_games.pdf|archive-date=2008-09-20|url-status=live}}</ref>|EU|November 1994}}
| genre = [[Platform game|Platform]]
| modes = [[Single-player]]
}}

'''''ActRaiser 2'''''{{efn|Also known as {{nihongo|'''''ActRaiser 2: Crusade to Silence'''''|アクトレイザー2 沈黙への聖戦|''AkutoReizā 2: Chinmoku e no Seisen''||lead=yes}} in Japan.}} is a side-scrolling [[platform game]] for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] developed by [[Quintet (company)|Quintet]] and published by [[Enix]] in 1993.

The game is a sequel to the original ''[[ActRaiser]]'', but the storyline is not directly connected to its predecessor. Otherwise, the given story draws concepts from the famous religious epics ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' and the ''[[Divine Comedy]]''.

Unlike the original game, which alternately combined platform game sequences and [[god game]] sequences, ''ActRaiser 2'' is only a platform game.

== Gameplay ==
[[File:SNES ActRaiser 2 (ActRaiser 2 - Chinmoku e no Seisen).png|thumb|left|Gameplay screenshot]]
Gameplay for ''ActRaiser 2'' consists primarily of side-scrolling platform action, similar to the "Professional!"/"Action" mode from the original game, while completely removing the city building simulation.<ref name="GP35">{{cite magazine|last=Lundrigan|first=Jeff|url=https://archive.org/stream/Game_Players_Issue_35_December_1993#page/n155/mode/2up|title=Features: ActRaiser 2 - The Warrior God Returns — Behind The Scenes|magazine=[[Game Players]]|issue=35|publisher=Signal Research|date=December 1993|pages=152–157|access-date=2020-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105033618/https://archive.org/stream/Game_Players_Issue_35_December_1993#page/n155/mode/2up|archive-date=2019-01-05|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="GI">{{cite magazine|last=Juba|first=Joe|url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/01/31/wheres-my-sequel-actraiser.aspx|title=Where's My Sequel? – Actraiser|magazine=[[Game Informer]]|publisher=[[GameStop]]|date=Jan 31, 2013|access-date=2020-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603211815/https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/01/31/wheres-my-sequel-actraiser.aspx|archive-date=June 3, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The player, assuming the role of the "Master" (still referred to as "God" in the Japanese version), controls a floating palace to inspect the people of the world below. After hearing their plight, the Master descends to the world below to fight the monsters and rid the land of evil. Like the original, each area contains two "acts"; the first act of an area consists of monsters spawned from a lesser demon named after an unfavorable condition, while the second act consists of monsters spawned from the primary evil, named after one of the [[seven deadly sins]], with heightened challenge and peril.

The side-scrolling action for ''ActRaiser 2'' is more advanced than its predecessor. Controlling the Master, who now has a full set of functional wings, the player must navigate through dungeons and avoid certain perils by jumping, flying, falling, and floating to platforms. Armed only with a sword, and a shield which can deflect some attacks, the Master becomes heavily dependent upon magic. Magic is executed by holding down the designated button to "charge up" and is then released, consuming a magic scroll which is limited when the Master enters an area. When released, the magic may take various forms depending on the position of the Master. This is different from the first ''ActRaiser'' in which the player had to select a particular magic before descending down to the world to fight monsters and was limited to only that magic for the duration of battle. In ''ActRaiser 2'', each magic is designed for particular situations and some magic is more powerful than others. By increasing the difficulty level at the options screen, the time it takes to "charge up" magic is increased, adding more difficulty to the game. The game's difficulty is also increased in that monsters require much more damage to be destroyed. Death Heim cannot be accessed through easy mode.

== Synopsis ==
The game begins with the Master battling with Tanzra (still "Satan" in the Japanese version). In this game, a backstory is given as to why Tanzra hates the Master so vehemently. Tanzra, who was once the Master's servant, led a rebellion against him, but lost and was banished from [[Heaven]].

Ripped and torn, the slain body of Tanzra fell to the underworld. Feeding on the intense hatred each held for the Master, Tanzra's seven deadly sins and their minions combined their power to raise the spirit of their mighty leader. Tanzra, now vowing revenge for his defeat by the Master, unleashed these demons upon the world. The player in this game assumes the role of the Master, aided by his [[angel]]ic associates, known as Crystallis.

Some of the stages in the game are meant to be ironic regarding the blighting nature of Tanzra's demons. The townsmen in the city of Leon are sent to the underground prison of Gratis (meaning ''free without charge'', or referring to "nadie entra gratis", ''no one enters for free'') for not paying their taxes by a newly-appointed king named Kolunikus, who is afflicted by Doom.

After the player slays the first six deadly sins, the [[Tower of Babel]] (renamed "Tower of Souls" in the western versions), the final staged level of the game, appears, in which the Master fights the final sin, Destruction, a mechanically engineered god representing [[Pride]]. Defeating the false god, the player then descends into Death Heim, where he fights again against the seven sins, as well as Tanzra himself, a beast frozen waist-deep in a lake of ice (just as Satan was in the ''Inferno'' in ''The Divine Comedy'').

During the game's ending, it is declared that "The Master will live forever" and, as the credits roll, an image of the statue of the Master is shown slowly eroding over time. The statue's sword and right wing fall off, suggesting the growth of civilization and the increase of mankind's self-sufficiency. This reflects the ending of the original ''ActRaiser'', where the angel speculates that someday the world may be so independent that it will forget about the Master.

== Development and release ==
According to developer Quintet, ''ActRaiser 2'' was made at the request of Enix of America, and designed according to their specifications.<ref name="GP35"/><ref name="DHGFv5i1">{{cite magazine|last1=Kuboki|first1=Kei|last2=Loe|first2=Casey|url=https://archive.org/stream/Gamefan_Vol_5_Issue_01/page/n123/mode/1up|title=Japan Now Interviews - Quintet (GD-Net Game Designers Network)|magazine=[[GameFan]]|volume=5|issue=1|publisher=Metropolis Media|date=January 1997|page=122}}</ref>

''ActRaiser 2'' was released in Japan on October 29, 1993 for the [[Super Famicom]].<ref name="FamAR2CHS"/>

== Reception ==
{{Video game reviews
| CVG = 86/100<ref name="CVGar2">{{cite magazine|last1=Ahmet|first1=Deniz|last2=Rand|first2=Paul|url=https://archive.org/details/computer-and-video-games-magazine/Computer%20and%20Video%20Games%20147/page/n65/mode/2up|title=Review: ActRaiser 2|magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]]|issue=147|publisher=[[EMAP Images]]|date=February 1994|pages=66–67}}</ref>
| Edge = 5/10<ref name="EdgeAR2">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Edge_Gaming/Edge%20Gaming%20Magazine%20005/page/76/mode/2up|title=Testscreen: Actraiser 2|magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]|issue=5|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]|date=February 1994|pages=76–77}}</ref>
| EGM = 9/10, 8/10, 9/10, 9/10<ref name="EGMar2">{{cite magazine|last1=Semrad|first1=Ed|last2=Carpenter|first2=Danyon|last3=Alessi|first3=Martin|author4=Sushi-X|url=https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/a354b13e-0989-4fe3-8c15-0e39294f5bdb|title=Review Crew: ActRaiser 2|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|issue=52|publisher=Sendai Publishing|date=November 1993|page=44|via=[[Video Game History Foundation]]}}</ref>
| Fam = 7/10, 5/10, 6/10, 6/10<ref name="FamAR2CHS">{{cite magazine|first1=Minouru|last1=Noda|last2=Doitsu|first2=Suzuki|first3=Isabella|last3=Nagano|author4=Taco X|url=https://archive.org/details/famitsu-0255/page/38/mode/1up|title=New Games Cross Review: アクトレイザー２ 沈黙の聖戦|magazine=[[Famitsu]]|issue=255|publisher=[[ASCII Corporation]]|date=November 5, 1993|page=38|language=ja}}</ref>
| GI = 8.5/10<ref name="GIar2">{{cite magazine|last1=Anderson|first1=Paul|last2=McNamara|first2=Andrew|last3=Van Der Schaegen|first3=Ross|url=https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-13-november-december-1993_202408/page/n31/mode/2up|title=Super NES Reviews: ActRaiser 2|magazine=[[Game Informer]]|issue=13|publisher=[[Sunrise Publications]]|date=November–December 1993|page=30–31}}</ref>
| GameFan = 94%, 88%, 95%, 94%<ref name="GameFanAR2">{{cite magazine|last1=Halverson|first1=Dave|author-link1=Dave Halverson|last2=Rickards|first2=Kelly|last3=Cockburn|first3=Andrew|title=Viewpoint: Act Raiser 2; Planet SNES: ActRaiser 2|magazine=[[GameFan]]|volume=1|issue=11|publisher=DieHard Gamers Club|date=October 1993|pages=[https://archive.org/details/Gamefan_Vol_1_Issue_11/page/n10/mode/1up 11], [https://archive.org/details/Gamefan_Vol_1_Issue_11/page/n67/mode/2up 68–69]}}</ref>
| GMaster = 41%<ref name="GMasterAR2">{{cite magazine|last1=Lowe|first1=Andy|last2=Ellis|first2=Les|last3=Groves|first3=Will|title=Review: Actraiser 2|magazine=[[GamesMaster (magazine)|GamesMaster]]|issue=14|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]|date=February 1994|pages=68–69}}</ref>
| IGN = 7.5/10<ref name="IGNar2">{{cite web|last=Thomas|first=Lucas M.|url=http://retro.ign.com/articles/884/884740p1.html|title=ActRaiser 2 Review|work=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[IGN Entertainment]]|date=June 26, 2008|access-date=2025-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630071645/http://retro.ign.com/articles/884/884740p1.html|archive-date=2008-06-30|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| ONM = 92/100<ref name="ONMar2">{{cite magazine|last1=McVittie|first1=Andy|last2=Swan|first2=Angus|url=https://archive.org/details/nintendo-magazine-system-uk-17-february-1994/page/32/mode/2up|title=Review: Actraiser 2|magazine=[[Official Nintendo Magazine|Nintendo Magazine System]]|issue=17|publisher=[[EMAP]]|date=February 1994|pages=32–35}}</ref>
| SP = 69%<ref name="SPar2">{{cite magazine|last=Nicholson|first=Zy|title=Import Review: Actraiser 2|magazine=[[Super Play]]|issue=16|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]|date=February 1994|pages=36–37}}</ref>
| TOT = (UK) 87%<ref name="TOTar2">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/total-26/page/54/mode/2up|title=SNES Reviews: Actraiser 2|magazine=[[Total!]]|issue=26|location=United Kingdom|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]|date=February 1994|pages=54–55}}</ref><br/>(DE) 2+<ref name="TOTDEar2">{{cite magazine|last=Amann|first=Hans-Joachim|title=Import Corner: ActRaiser 2|magazine=[[Total! (German edition)|Total!]]|issue=9|location=Germany|publisher=MVL Verlag|date=October 1993|page=74|language=de}}</ref>
| rev1 = ''Game Zero Magazine''
| rev1Score = 70.5/100<ref name="GZMar2">{{cite magazine|author1=Ferrari Man|author2=((????))|last3=Morrison|first3=Chris|author4=Salamander|url=http://www.gamezero.com/team-0/final_word/snes/actraiser_2.html|title=The Final Word game review: Actraiser 2 -- Enix|magazine=Game Zero Magazine|volume=2|issue=5|publisher=Game Zero|date=November–December 1994|access-date=2025-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980121172223/http://www.gamezero.com/team-0/final_word/snes/actraiser_2.html|archive-date=1998-01-21|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''Nintendo Game Zone''
| rev2Score = 69/100<ref name="NGZar2">{{cite magazine|last=Haynes|first=Rick|url=https://archive.org/details/nintendo-game-zone-16/page/n43/mode/2up|title=Review: Actraiser 2|magazine=Nintendo Game Zone|issue=16|publisher=[[Dennis Publishing]]|date=February 1994|pages=44–45}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[SNES Force]]''
| rev3Score = 84/100<ref name="SNESForceAR2">{{cite magazine|last1=Hill|first1=Simon|last2=Evans|first2=Will|url=https://archive.org/details/SNES_Force_Issue_09_1994-02_Impact_Magazines_GB/page/n37/mode/2up|title=Review: Actraiser 2|magazine=[[SNES Force]]|issue=9|publisher=[[Impact Magazines]]|date=February 1994|pages=38–40}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''Super Gamer''
| rev4Score = 82/100<ref name="SuperGamerAR2">{{cite magazine|last1=Pullin|first1=Keith|last2=Butt|first2=Ryan|url=https://archive.org/details/super-gamer-10/page/54/mode/1up|title=Super NES Review: Actraiser 2|magazine=Super Gamer|issue=10|publisher=[[Paragon Publishing]]|date=January 1995|page=54}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''Super Pro''
| rev5Score = 88/100<ref name="SuperProAR2">{{cite magazine|last=Wynne|first=Stuart|url=https://archive.org/details/super-pro-14/page/26/mode/2up|title=Import Review: ActRaiser 2|magazine=Super Pro|issue=14|publisher=[[Paragon Publishing]]|date=January 1994|pages=26–27}}</ref>
}}
{{Expand section|date=October 2025}}
''ActRaiser 2'' received a 20.3/30 score in a readers' poll conducted by ''Super Famicom Magazine''.<ref name="PSMjpv42">{{cite book|chapter=超絶 大技林 '98年春版|language=ja|title={{ill|PlayStation Magazine (Japan)|lt=PlayStation Magazine|ja|PlayStation Magazine}}|volume=42|type=Special|publisher=[[Tokuma Shoten Intermedia]]|date=April 15, 1998|page=157}}</ref> The game garnered generally favorable reception from critics.<ref name="GameProAR2">{{cite magazine|author=Monty Haul|url=https://archive.org/details/game-pro-issue-52-november-1993/page/n99/mode/2up|title=Super NES ProReview: ActRaiser 2|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=52|publisher=[[IDG]]|date=November 1993|pages=94–95}}</ref><ref name="NPar2">{{cite magazine|title=ActRaiser 2; Now Playing: ActRaiser 2|magazine=[[Nintendo Power]]|volume=54|publisher=[[Nintendo of America]]|date=November 1993|pages=44–51, 103, 107}}</ref>

=== Sales and accolades ===
Quintet reported that ''ActRaiser 2'' sold 180,000 copies worldwide, with 40,000 copies sold in Japan and Europe respectively, and 100,000 copies sold in North America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quintet.co.jp/sfc3.html|title=Quintet Game Library: アクトレイザー２|publisher=[[Quintet (company)|Quintet]]|date=1997|access-date=2025-10-12|language=ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980119213915/http://www.quintet.co.jp/sfc3.html|archive-date=1998-01-19|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2018, [[Complex Networks|Complex]] rated ''Actraiser 2'' 81st on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time" list. They commented that the game is great despite being strictly a platformer and not having the god elements from the first game.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Knight|first=Rich|date=April 30, 2018|title=The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time|url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-100-best-super-nintendo-games/|access-date=2022-01-26|website=Complex|language=en}}</ref> In 1995, [[Total!]] ranked the game 38th on its "Top 100 SNES Games" list.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=July 1995 |title=Top 100 SNES Games |url=https://archive.org/details/total-43/page/n43/mode/2up |journal=Total! |issue=43 |pages=45 |access-date=March 3, 2022}}</ref>

{{-}}

== Legacy ==
In 1996, [[Sega]] announced that they would be publishing a Quintet-developed remake of ''ActRaiser 1'' and ''2'', tentatively titled ''Act Remix'', for the [[Sega Saturn]],<ref name="DHGFv4i11">{{cite magazine|last=Loe|first=Casey|url=https://archive.org/stream/Gamefan_Vol_4_Issue_11#page/n163/mode/1up|title=Japan Now - Actraiser Confirmed for Saturn|magazine=[[GameFan]]|volume=4|issue=11|publisher=Metropolis Media|date=November 1996|page=162}}</ref> but roughly halfway through development Quintet concluded that the ''ActRaiser'' series was outmoded, and they drastically reworked the game, which was ultimately titled ''Solo Crisis''.<ref name="DHGFv5i1"/> Quintet started coding a third game in the ''ActRaiser'' series, for the [[Nintendo 64]],<ref name="EGM95">{{cite magazine|url=https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AEGM_US_095.pdf&page=26|title=Gaming Gossip|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|issue=95|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|date=June 1997|page=26|access-date=2018-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008214134/https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AEGM_US_095.pdf&page=26|archive-date=2018-10-08|url-status=live}}</ref> but never finished it. In May 2008, Fumiaki Shiraishi, the lead programmer for ''[[Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King]]'', noted in an interview that he would like to make an ''ActRaiser'' sequel.<ref name="CK:SE'sSATOWWAR">{{cite web|last1=Sheffield|first1=Brandon|author-link1=Brandon Sheffield|last2=Parish|first2=Jeremy|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3655/content_kings_square_enixs_.php?page=6|title=Content Kings: Square Enix's Shiraishi And Tsuchida On WiiWare And Risk|work=[[Gamasutra]]|publisher=[[UBM Technology Group]]|date=May 12, 2008|access-date=2009-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091109150707/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3655/content_kings_square_enixs_.php?page=6|archive-date=2009-11-09|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/snes/563503-actraiser-2 ''ActRaiser 2''] at [[GameFAQs]]
* [https://www.giantbomb.com/actraiser-2/3030-17123/ ''ActRaiser 2''] at [[Giant Bomb]]
* [https://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/actraiser-2 ''ActRaiser 2''] at [[MobyGames]]

{{Quintet games}}
{{Portal bar|1990s|Japan|Video games}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Actraiser 2}}
[[Category:1993 video games]]
[[Category:Ancient (company) games]]
[[Category:Enix games]]
[[Category:Quintet (company) games]]
[[Category:Seven deadly sins in popular culture]]
[[Category:Side-scrolling platformers]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Super Nintendo Entertainment System games]]
[[Category:Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games]]
[[Category:Ubisoft games]]
[[Category:Sequel video games]]
[[Category:Video games about angels]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Japan]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Yuzo Koshiro]]
[[Category:Video games set in hell]]