Games Like ActRaiser
Quick Answer
The closest games to ActRaiser are ActRaiser Renaissance, SolSeraph, Terranigma, Soul Blazer and Dark Cloud 2. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from ActRaiser, and what does not.
What Made ActRaiser Work
ActRaiser is two games alternating: a side-scrolling action stage and a top-down town-building sim where your population grows while you fight off monsters. That combination is very rare, and people asking usually want both halves, not one.
ActRaiser is Quintet's 1990 Super Famicom game, published by Enix and released in North America in 1991, with music by Yuzo Koshiro. As the Master, a god, you alternate between side-scrolling action stages, where you fight monsters in a statue's body, and a top-down simulation where you guide your people to build towns and send angels to protect them. Fans usually want that rare mix of action and god-game.
9 Games Like ActRaiser
1.ActRaiser Renaissance
The remake, with the simulation half considerably expanded.
Why it fits: Sonic Powered's 2021 remake, published by Square Enix, expands the simulation half with tower-defence-style battles.
What is different: A remake that turns the town-building half into real-time battles defending the towns.
Where to play it: Switch, PS4, PC, iOS and Android.
More about this game →2.SolSeraph
Made explicitly as an ActRaiser successor.
Why it fits: ACE Team's 2019 game, published by Sega, alternates between side-scrolling action and settlement defence.
What is different: An ActRaiser-inspired mix of side-scrolling action and defending villages, with more strategy between stages.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →3.Terranigma
Same studio's later work, and the world-rebuilding theme returns.
Why it fits: Quintet's 1995 Super Famicom RPG is about restoring the world, and was released in Japan and Europe but not North America.
What is different: An action role-playing game where you rebuild the world, with no god-sim layer; never released in North America.
Where to play it: SNES.
More about this game →4.Soul Blazer
Quintet's earlier game, and the direct ancestor of the town-rebuilding idea.
Why it fits: Quintet's 1992 SNES action RPG has you free villagers from monster lairs to rebuild a town.
What is different: A top-down action game where clearing monster lairs brings villagers back; the rebuilding is automatic, not a sim.
Where to play it: SNES.
More about this game →5.Dark Cloud 2
Action dungeon crawling plus town building, done at length.
Why it fits: Level-5's 2002 PS2 game combines dungeon crawling with building towns and changing the future.
What is different: 3D dungeon crawling paired with rebuilding towns piece by piece, plus inventing and fishing.
Where to play it: PS2; later PS4.
Games like this →6.Populous
If the god-game half was the appeal.
Why it fits: Bullfrog's 1989 game is the original god game, where you shape the land to help your followers.
What is different: A pure god game: you shape land and nudge followers, with no action stages at all.
Where to play it: Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Mega Drive and SNES.
More about this game →7.Majesty 2
Indirect kingdom management where you cannot control the heroes.
Why it fits: 1C:Ino-Co's 2009 game has you build a kingdom and influence heroes you cannot control directly.
What is different: A kingdom sim where you never control heroes directly, only post bounties and hope they go.
Where to play it: PC.
More about this game →8.Little King's Story
Building a kingdom and leading it into battle, and charming.
Why it fits: Cing and Town Factory's 2009 Wii game combines kingdom building with leading citizens into battle.
What is different: You lead a band of villagers as a boy king, directing them like Pikmin; no platforming.
Where to play it: Wii and PC.
More about this game →9.Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
For the 2D action half at its most beautiful.
Why it fits: Vanillaware's 2016 remaster is a beautiful 2D action RPG with hand-painted art.
What is different: A 2D action role-playing game across five heroes' stories, with no towns to build.
Where to play it: PS3, PS4 and PS Vita.
More about this game →
Where to Start
ActRaiser Renaissance is the easiest way to play it today. SolSeraph is the closest spiritual successor. Dark Cloud 2 is the pick if you want action and town-building at much greater length.
How We Picked These Games
Few games combine action and town building the way ActRaiser does, so we included the ones that do first, then games that share one half: god-games and kingdom management, or 2D action from the same era or team.
This list is in the free app
Games like ActRaiser, with every reason, works offline in JustLikeGames — plus a pick for tonight and a backlog tracker.
Free · iPhone & Android · no account
How These Picks Match ActRaiser
ActRaiser is catalogued here as a 2D platformer and action-adventure on the Super Nintendo. Six of the nine picks share at least one of its genre tags — six action games, two adventures and one platformer among them. The other three — Populous, Majesty 2 and Little King's Story — are different genres and are on the list for one specific thing ActRaiser did, so read the reason before ruling them out.
Going by the "where to play it" notes, five can be played on PC, four can be played on a PlayStation, six can be played on a Nintendo system and one can be played on an Xbox. SolSeraph is from a small or self-published studio. Little King's Story is the one a child and an adult can play together.
| Game | Genre | Shares with ActRaiser | Where to play |
|---|---|---|---|
| ActRaiser Renaissance | Action, Strategy, Platformer | Platformer, Action | Switch, PS4, PC, iOS and Android. |
| SolSeraph | Action, Strategy, Indie | Action | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. |
| Terranigma | RPG, Action, Adventure | Action, Adventure | SNES. |
| Soul Blazer | RPG, Action, Adventure | Action, Adventure | SNES. |
| Dark Cloud 2 | RPG, Action, Simulation | Action | PS2; later PS4. |
| Populous | Strategy, Simulation | Different genre — see the reason above | Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Mega Drive and SNES. |
| Majesty 2 | Strategy, Simulation | Different genre — see the reason above | PC. |
| Little King's Story | Strategy, Simulation, Family | Different genre — see the reason above | Wii and PC. |
| Odin Sphere Leifthrasir | Action, RPG, Fighting | Action | PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. |
Buy This Game
* Affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Support Justlikegames
Made by one person, for free
I run Justlikegames pretty much for free — covering hosting, APIs, and the hours spent writing recommendation lists by hand. There are no paywalls, no intrusive popups, and no "premium" tier. If the site has helped you find your next favorite game, a coffee goes a long way toward keeping it that way.
Buy me a coffeeEven $3 covers a day of API costs. Thank you 💛
If You Love ActRaiser, Try These
No similar games found yet. Check back soon!
Frequently Asked Questions
More SNES Games Like Pages
Explore Other Consoles
Get Game Recs Weekly
Top picks, hidden gems, and deals — straight to your inbox. No spam, ever.
![Nintendo Super Entertainment System SNES Classic Edition with Two 6-ft. Extension Cable [video game]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/517MdbK-cqL._SL320_FMwebp_.jpg)
![SNES Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Europe), Not Region Locked [video game]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/519IdZxaJAL._SL320_FMwebp_.jpg)
