Quintet let you play as a god — fighting monsters below, then returning above to guide the civilization you protected.
ActRaiser launched alongside the Super Famicom's first holiday season in 1990 and did something that had no precedent: it combined two completely different games into a single experience. The action sequences placed players directly inside the world as a warrior, fighting through monster-controlled terrain with tight platformer physics. The simulation sequences removed the player from the world entirely, placing them above it as a god looking down, guiding villagers, expanding settlements, and directing a cherub to clear obstacles. No game before had alternated between these two scales of play. The design logic behind the combination was thematic rather than mechanical: the player was a deity responsible for both combat and governance. Fighting the monsters was not separate from protecting the people — it was the same act viewed from different distances. Quintet made this dual role feel coherent rather than arbitrary. Composer Yuzo Koshiro, working with the Super Famicom's SPC-700 sound chip — notoriously difficult to program for maximum capability — created a score that he has described as one of his personal favorites. The music matched the game's tonal range, moving between the grandeur of divine oversight and the immediate physicality of combat without losing coherence. ActRaiser remains one of the clearest demonstrations that genre combinations, done with conviction, can produce something neither constituent genre could achieve alone.
About this game
Released in 1990, ActRaiser blended two genres no one had dared combine: brutal side-scrolling action and city-building simulation. Players alternated between battling monsters as a godlike warrior and guiding villagers to reclaim the world from evil as a deity. Yuzo Koshiro's orchestral soundtrack — widely considered one of the finest ever written for the Super Famicom — elevated the entire experience into something transcendent.
Key Features
Dual gameplay: side-scrolling action stages where players directly control a warrior statue, and overhead city-building sections where players guide villagers, sow fields, and fight demons via angelic archery. The two modes are narratively interconnected.
Gallery
The Story Behind
ActRaiser launched alongside the Super Famicom in its first holiday season and immediately signaled that the new hardware was capable of something genuinely new. Its genre-blending ambition was ahead of its time, and Koshiro's use of the SPC-700 sound chip set a benchmark that few later titles matched. Quintet, founded in April 1989 by former Nihon Falcom developers including Tomoyoshi Miyazaki (scenario writer for the first three Ys titles) and programmer Masaya Hashimoto, originally conceived ActRaiser as a Dragon Quest-style RPG to serve as a launch title. Time constraints and Hashimoto's preference for action gameplay led to a concept shift, and the hybrid design was completed in half a year, with the city-building elements influenced by the lead planner's fondness for Populous. The game sold 620,000 copies worldwide (400,000 in Japan, 180,000 in North America, 40,000 in Europe).
Tricks & Tales
Composer Yuzo Koshiro has described the ActRaiser soundtrack as one of his personal favorites. The SPC-700 sound chip was notoriously difficult to program, and Koshiro's mastery of it on an early SNES title was considered remarkable by contemporaries. Japanese magazine Micom BASIC ranked ActRaiser eighth in popularity in its March 1991 issue. Electronic Gaming Monthly later awarded it Best Music of 1993, recognizing Koshiro's soundtrack years after the original release.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Super Famicom and SNES region differences operate on two separate levels. First, there is a physical incompatibility: a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge and a North American SNES cartridge have different shell shapes. NTSC-J (Super Famicom) carts are narrower and will not seat in a North American SNES slot without the slot's internal tabs removed or bypassed; conversely, the wider NTSC-U carts cannot even be inserted into a Super Famicom. Second, even where cartridges physically fit — PAL carts share a shell shape closer to Super Famicom and will insert — a lockout chip on the motherboard (F411 for NTSC, F413 for PAL) will prevent the game from booting on a mismatched console. Running a Super Famicom cartridge on a Super Famicom purchased in Japan is of course straightforward; playing it on a foreign console requires either a mod or an adapter that addresses both the physical and the chip-level lock.
Maintenance Tips
The 72-pin cartridge connector is the most common maintenance point. Clean the gold-plated pins on cartridges with a cotton swab and 90%+ isopropyl alcohol; never use abrasive erasers on cartridge contacts. The connector slot on the console itself can be cleaned by inserting and removing a cartridge several times, or with a dedicated pin cleaner. For video output, S-Video provides significantly cleaner image quality than composite and uses the same multi-out port -- a passive adapter cable is all that is required. On early SHVC board revisions, a capacitor near the power LED can leak; inspect the board if the console shows instability. Use the original AC adapter or a verified equivalent: the SFC runs on 10V DC and is not compatible with Famicom or NES power supplies.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese ActRaiser copies regularly.
Will this Japanese Super Famicom cartridge work on a North American Super Nintendo (SNES)?
No, not directly. The Super Famicom and SNES are incompatible in two ways: the cartridge shape differs (the SFC cartridge has a different width and notch layout), and both consoles include a regional lockout chip (the CIC chip) that rejects foreign cartridges. Third-party adapters exist that address both issues simultaneously by bridging the physical shape and bypassing the lockout chip. Some collectors modify their SNES console to disable the CIC chip entirely. A Japanese Super Famicom cartridge is always best paired with a Japanese Super Famicom.
How should I clean a Super Famicom cartridge?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and gently wipe the gold-plated edge contacts visible inside the cartridge's connector slot. Never blow into the cartridge. If the shell needs to be opened for deeper cleaning, Super Famicom cartridges use 3.8mm security game bit screws — the same proprietary screw as the Famicom. Standard Phillips screwdrivers will not fit and will strip the screw heads. Clean gently and allow the contacts to dry fully before reinserting the cartridge.
How do I check whether a Super Famicom cartridge is authentic?
Several details distinguish authentic cartridges from reproductions. Authentic Super Famicom cartridges use proprietary security screws — visible Phillips head screws indicate the shell has been opened or replaced. The Nintendo logo on the back of an authentic cartridge is embossed (raised into the plastic), not printed or applied as a sticker. Natural UV yellowing of the gray plastic, consistent with the cartridge's age, is expected on genuine copies; uniformly pristine white plastic on a 30-year-old cartridge is a warning sign. The QA certification stamp on the back label of an authentic cartridge is a pressed indentation, typically absent on bootlegs. For high-value titles, cross-referencing PCB markings and chip date codes with verified collector databases is recommended.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy ActRaiser
A short checklist for buying a used Super Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge; its shell is shaped differently from the North American SNES and will not fit without modification.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where ActRaiser sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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Trivia Actraiser — Dark Exhibit