It’s good to hear from you again Star! As always, you always raise up some cool facts and I appreciate your opinions on these old SNES titles. BTW, I know you’re not so much a fan of SNES Hook as I am, but it’s all good. As you said, to each their own. Hook is slow and I can see where some may consider it an “awkward mess.” But I love its visuals, soundtrack and “whimsical” atmosphere. It is a nice precursor to what would eventually become SkyBlazer.

Oh yeah, I agree with you on the whole ActRaiser 2 vs. Actraiser 2 thing. That stuff annoys me too even though I tend to let many things slide when it comes to this hobby. However, it’s definitely one of my small pet peeves when I see people spelling the capital R as little r, lol. I can totally relate with you on that one!

Yes, leaving the "ActRaiser" moniker for this follow-up (which is as much of a follow-up to the first ActRaiser as Alundra 2: A New Legend Begins was as much of a follow-up to the preceding Alundra; in that, despite sharing somewhat similar gameplay elements, it really isn't as is it its own separate entity–which is how it should be treated in my opinion, as its own thing) despite lacking the micro-transaction world-building elements of the first game was a huge mistake on Enix's part and I agree that this game would not have received as much umbrage as it did had it been named something else. =( Poor victim of expectations (that and SquareSoft's Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, but that's neither here nor there)

That being said, what I appreciate the most from this game is that Quintet took a lot of risks not just in terms of religious symbolism, darker tone, and atmosphere but in challenge value as well. I like that you have a variety of sword controls this time around (in that you don't just swing ahead of you but upwards and downwards, the latter of which can be done while standing or crouching), I like that you had a shield as well which could block enemy projectiles, and I concur the wings do take some getting used to but when you get them down pat they can take you places after a bit of practice.

It's true that the pacing in this platformer is a bit slow, but I'm of the opinion that if you're going to have a slow-paced platformer than it should be done with purpose, otherwise what you wind up with can feel like an awkward mess (i.e. Produce's Super Adventure Island, Jorudan's Chōkō Gasshin Xardion and Gōsō Jinrai Densetsu Musya, and Ukiyotei's Hook, but these are just my personal examples). ActRaiser 2 is the kind of game that in my humble opinion is paced slowly but done so with a point. This is the kind of platformer that punishes you if you try to rush (blindly) and/or feel overconfident and rewards you if you go with patience, perseverance, a slow and steady pace (better to face one enemy at a time than be overwhelmed by fighting all of them at once, and memorizing their patterns can go a long way), and DETERMINATION. … Err, anyway.

Visually this game is gorgeous and a huge improvement over the look of its 1990 predecessor, I like the sense of detail in the Demon's Cave and Stormrook (those gold particles inside the palace and how outside it's contrasted with a beautiful blue sky, very complementary; the golden dragon boss you fight is also one of my favorite bosses), although I'm less of a fan of how the majority of enemies (apart from the bosses and the ant/xenomorph hybrids, H.R. Giger would be proud, RIP) were designed in a slightly comical way compared to how serious God/Master and his allies were drawn (also, starburst effects for each successful swing as if it were Ancient's Burning Knuckle/Streets of Rage… that was weird). This is supposed to be a serious game, but the tone feels offset by silly-looking monsters like Gules (especially ones sporting Mohawks), but maybe that's just me. =/

While the music here isn't quite as strong its predecessor, Yuzo Koshiro's Mahler-influenced soundtrack still complements the atmosphere even if it works primarily when heard during the proceedings as opposed to listening to it out of context (always a challenge to follow-up a strong soundtrack). Lots of riveting string work at play, although the mid-boss theme stands out stronger than the actual boss theme for me.

I like the stylized font used during the Heaven/Sky Palace sequence (it's elegant in style), and I strongly appreciate that it's got three difficulty settings as well as a password system (it's better than being stuck with only one save spot like its predecessor, not that it's that big a deal as it's not very long, but I digress).

Many people cite ActRaiser 2 as the nadir of Quintet's sextet of Nintendo 16-bit games, but in my opinion that goes towards their co-developed venue Slapstick/Robotrek alongside Ancient (it's solid lighthearted fun, but its rushed translation and Ayako Yoda's inconsistent soundtrack ranging from terrible to tolerably listenable are points against the turn-based RPG for me, though I do love how at the start of it Illusion of Gaia and this game are referenced–though the fact that they typed it as "Actraiser 2" instead of "ActRaiser 2" bothers me on a personal level; one of my pet peeves is when I see people type the name with a lowercase "r" as opposed to the upper case "R" (not a problem if they're talking about the Japanese version of the first game, very much so if they're talking about the localized edition); only the Japanese version of the original had the lowercase "r" while the American/European version and second game regardless of version sported the capitalized "R"… do people not notice the uppercase letter in the name? It's right there!! I'm sorry, I know it's not something that'll bother everyone but it personally irks me whenever I see it; I blame Enix of America for that).

No, this game is not perfect and no, it's not for everyone (in the same way that Namco's Xandra no Daibōken: Valkyrie to no Deai is not for everyone, but that's neither here nor there). Yes, the world-building sim element is glaringly absent, and yes, it can be frustrating at points. But I feel that there is definitely more good than bad if you stick with it and give it a chance, and it's definitely worth exploring when you're in the right mood. Objectively ActRaiser 2 is a step backwards but on a subjective level I actually prefer this game the most (even though the first game worked so well that it didn't really need a sequel to begin with, but because it was hugely successful it was inevitable and Enix saw an opportunity but at the expense of part of what made it so impactful in the first place). Quintet meant well with this game in my opinion, and I do enjoy playing it once in awhile (I love it), but I completely understand why anyone wouldn't like it.

To each their own