There's a few games that, while playing, I can only think something along the lines of "damn, this is so good." ActRaiser is one of those rare gems. There's just something about the pacing and mechanics that feels absolutely perfect. Although it wasn't the first to do the mash-up thing, it was executed incredibly well. The two widely different gameplay types somehow blended beautifully, like hot sauce and bleu cheese. And literally playing god was pretty intense and awe-inspiring.
A sequel was released which kept the original action sequences intact, and arguably made them better. But unfortunately, god game / shooter sequences weren't used. While ActRaiser 2 is certainly not a bad game, it is lacking the divine nature of the original. Hopefully, a re-envisioning will not leave out half of what made the original so amazing. If Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King co-creators Fumiaki Shiraishi and Toshihiro Tsuchida get their wish, a new ActRaiser may be in our futures. While my gut tells me that it's likely to appear as a big-budget retail release exclusive to the 360 and PS3, it's nice to dream.
