I know it's unexpected, but the people have something to say.

ActRaiser is where it's all at. Those games are gold I tell ya's.

I've made it my mission to go back and replay both of them because they're just so damn good. This is where we talk about ActRaiser, one of the most innovative series on the SNES.

The series is wonderful in every aspect. The games have wonderful, wonderful music. The greatest three tracks in the series that come to mind are the Deathfield/Almetha track of ActRaiser 2, the Fillmore track of ActRaiser, and one of my personal favorite tunes of all time: The Birth of a People (the town sim theme in ActRaiser).

The gameplay is great. The first game does not have very good platforming gameplay, but makes up for it in the sim mode. The second game has outstanding platforming, but no sim mode. Despite the fact that they didn't really combine the two great gameplay modes into a single game, they are still outstanding. Looking at it this way you can just think the greatness in gameplay is spread out between two games.

The storyline is fantastic, especially for a very early SNES series. They manage to intertwine the element of you being God and helping your children grow with platforming levels in the first game, which was no easy task.

If you haven't played this wonderful series, I highly recommend you check them out. Start with the first one. People complain that ActRaiser 2 is too difficult, and therefore most don't like it. This is far from the truth. If you can get some practice with the first, then you should at least be able to handle normal mode in ActRaiser II. It's well worth it because both are outstanding games.

Who else loves ActRaiser?

Act Raiser kicks ass. I never really played the second one but the first one is awesome. I love destroying buildings with lighting and stuff. DIE HUMANS!

Word up, yo.

I <3 Actraiser.

Great indeed. I always get stuck when trying to fight that evil dragon in Athos though. Damn you dragon! DAMN YOU!! I'm done now.

Yeah, the Dragon can be a real pain. I think him and that flying demon with the armor in Northwall Act 1 are the hardest bosses in the game, excluding the final boss.

Are you using spell scrolls against him? It's been a while since I fought him, but I would think spell scrolls would be very useful since you are invincible while you are using it.

The good news about the Dragon is, since he is not a major boss, you don't have to fight him or the blue flying demon again once you get to Deathheim. You do have to fight that S.O.B. minotaur again though.

*Did anyone else notice Enix do the "refight all the bosses over again before the last boss" deal on the SNES a lot besides me?

Really, you have to do it in ActRaiser I, II, Illusion of Gaia and Skyblazer. At least I think Skyblazer is an Enix game.

Actraiser 1 was a very cool and innovative game. I didn't care for actraiser 2, simply because side-scrollers are a dime a dozen. Even though it has a story, you don't really interact with the story, it just unfolds before you sort of.

Actraiser is freakin awesome!

Actraiser 2 is one of my favorite games on the Super Nintendo. I recently finished it on expert mode, which was insanely difficult to accomplish. Tanzra gave me a lot of trouble, as well as the Gold Dragon when you fight him the second time. Some of those levels, such as the Tower of Souls and the underground prison, are just downright infuriating. I hate how in the underground prison you are forced at one point to execute an absolutely perfect double jump or else fall into the spikes and start the level over again.

Some of the levels in Actraiser 2 are comparable to the frustration of playing levels in Mega Man X6, most notably Gate's Lab Level 2. It eventually gets to the point where the levels are no longer fun anymore because they are so difficult; however, there's nothing more satisfying than hearing that little musical tune after you have killed the boss and the caption "Tower of Souls Cleared" appears on the screen. I think a few tears rolled down my cheek after I saw that.

Actraiser was also a ton of fun.

Oh hell yeah ActRaiser II is one of the best games on the SNES.

I've also completed it on all difficulty modes, and let me tell you that game is hell of a lot of fun when you play it on hard mode. Tanzra really didn't give me as much trouble as he did in ActRaiser I, even on Hard mode. The hardest part of the game for me was Gratis, the prison level.

Not only was Gratis extremely difficult, but you have to fight the most difficult mini-boss in the entire game, plus a very difficult boss in that level. I discovered that you can actually sink into the sewer part and bypass the spike jump, but that was too late unfortunately.

Yes, the levels are frustrating, but the good thing about it is that they are so short. ActRaiser II is all about practice. Because the levels are so short you only need to practice on the difficult one for a few hours before you can finish it. The other great thing is you aren't confined to one level. If you get tired of practicing on one level, you can go to another. I love ActRaiser II so much.

ActRaiser II
Favorite level: Stormrook Castle
Favorite boss: The Demon "Deception"
Least favorite level: Gratis Prison
Least favorite boss: The Demon "Gluttony"
Hardest level: Gratis Prison
Hardest boss: The Demon "Jealousy"
Best Stage music: Almetha/Deathfield
Worst Stage music: Gratis...ugh
Cheapest boss: The Demon "Science"
Easiest boss: The Snail
Hardest mini-boss: The Gargoyle
Easiest mini-boss: The Flytrap
Coolest Spell: Up + Attack (The three orbs hurled forward)
Suckiest Spell: The fire snake
Favorite city: Diligence

And perhaps if you've beaten the game Storm, you could enlighten me on that "secret" level. I had gone through the game on normal mode and decided to finish it on hard in hopes I would get that secret level. No avail. I tore Tanzra a new one and I still didn't get to play the level from the intro. I know there is a code to play that level, but is there any way to unlock it without a code?

If you've played it, who is the boss? I hear that level is really hard.

I thought by playing on expert/hard mode, the only new level you got is Deathheim upon completing the Tower of Souls. Is the code to open that level the same code the one angel gives you before being zapped by Tanzra?

And for the record, I absolutely hate that mid level Gargoyle boss.

I'm not sure on that. I believe that the code the angel gives you is simply the final password. There's a secret code that allows you to play the intro stage (the place that looks like the arew where you fight the final boss in Final Fantasy VI) but I don't know where they give it in the game.

I'm beginning to think they simply don't give it in the game, and you just have to get if from a magazine or the internet or something.

Well, I found a code for the opening screen level, but it doesn't appear to be valid. I think it may be because I'm playing the Actraiser 2 ROM.