Closest thing to Actraiser out there?

[Paul Campbell]

I've been thinking about Actraiser a lot lately. Not playing it, just thinking about it. It's one of my all-time favorites. The reason I'm thinking about it but not playing it is because I've already played through it a dozen times, and I dislike the side-scrolling action scenes. But I LOVE the overhead aspect of the game, which is remarkable because I normally do not have have even close to enough patience to allow a game like that to grab hold of me, but somehow Actraiser managed to do the impossible. And lately I have been longing for something else to feel like Actraiser did. Something I could get involved in, and really sink my teeth into, even if it's only for a few minutes a day. The problem is that I don't know what I'm looking for, since Actraiser is literally the ONLY game of its kind I know of. Maybe I need some kind of Sim-World game or something, I don't know, but I have a hankering for something Actraiser-like, and I'm hoping someone has some advice for me. I don't care what system it's on, but a relatively recent system would be easier since I have those hooked up in my living room all the time. Any suggestions? Remember, I LOVE Actraiser, but I have ADD and a short attention span...

[ActRaiser]

So...I got nothing. That's my favorite game of all time. I wish we had had a true sequel with the sim parts included.

In theory Dark Cloud and Dark Cloud 2 might whet your appetite. They are on the PS2 and I believe most recently available for download on the PS4.

Both were games that allowed you to fight in dungeons of some sort and then gradually rebuild your town. I played a little bit of each but never really had time to sink into it.

From Dust might be something you could check out. It's on various newer systems as a download game. I believe there's a demo available on the 360. It's more of a puzzle, rebuild, destroy the world to get your people from one side to the next type game. You can effect the terrain and environments to make things happen.

Part of the charm of the original ActRaiser was its allegory of good vs evil with you being God himself. Every game I've played since then tend to side step that whole aspect of the original.

For the a phone game check out Boom Beach. You gradually build up a base and have skirmishes. It's simple, allows for a few minutes a day of diversion and rewards you with seeing your base expand. I've probably been playing it for a year now and haven't spent any money on things.

If anyone else has suggestions I'd love to read them.

[ActRaiser]

Would a Harvest Moon game be any good? It's a bit off from the normal sim like aspect of things but still has quests of sorts while slowly getting your farm together. I've never played it but was considering it as an option.

There seem to be a whole bunch of variations on it. Here's one that combines dungeon crawling with building out a world (I think).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rune_Factory

Yeah, I got nothing good here from a "Yep, that's an awesome clone." ActRaiser was too good of a game. It's ruined us.

[Paul Campbell]

Those are interesting suggestions. Harvest Moon has interested me in the past. I'll reiterate that I'm not even that interested in the "quest" aspect, just the simulation, overhead aspect. I'll look into Harvest Moon a bit more and see if there's a glimmer of hope there...

[CaptainCruch]

Not really Act Raiser, but maybe you could give a try to Wonder Boy II or Wonder Boy III on Sega Master System (for the platform-adventure aspect)? Also, Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma (SNES) are action-RPGs like games by the same developer.

Another game that combines action with strategy elements is Brutal Legend (Xbox 360/PS3). Little King's Story (Wii/PSP) may also fit your needs: it offers a blend of simulation, strategy and rpg.

Furthermore, many people online recommend 'A Valley Without Wind' (Steam/PC) as a good Act Raiser-like game (I haven't played it).