ActRaiser 2

Gameplay for ActRaiser 2 consists primarily of side-scrolling platform action, similar to the "Professional!"/"Action" mode from the original game, while completely removing the city building simulation. The player, assuming the role of the "Master" (still referred to as "God" in the Japanese version), controls a floating palace to inspect the people of the world below. After hearing their plight, the Master descends to the world below to fight the monsters and rid the land of evil. Like the original, each area contains two "acts"; the first act of an area consists of monsters spawned from a lesser demon named after an unfavorable condition, while the second act consists of monsters spawned from the primary evil, named after one of the seven deadly sins, with heightened challenge and peril.

The side-scrolling action for ActRaiser 2 is more advanced than its predecessor. Controlling the Master, who now has a full set of functional wings, the player must navigate through dungeons and avoid certain perils by jumping, flying, falling, and floating to platforms. Armed only with a sword, and a shield which can deflect some attacks, the Master becomes heavily dependent upon magic. Magic is executed by holding down the designated button to "charge up" and is then released, consuming a magic scroll which is limited when the Master enters an area.

The game begins with the Master battling with Tanzra (still "Satan" in the Japanese version). In this game, a backstory is given as to why Tanzra hates the Master so vehemently. Tanzra, who was once the Master's servant, led a rebellion against him, but lost and was banished from the Sky Castle (Heaven).

Ripped and torn, the slain body of Tanzra fell to the underworld. Feeding on the intense hatred each held for the Master, Tanzra's seven deadly sins and their minions combined their power to raise the spirit of their mighty leader. Tanzra, now vowing revenge for his defeat by the Master, unleashed these demons upon the world. The player in this game assumes the role of the Master, aided by his angelic associates, known as Crystallis.

According to developer Quintet, ActRaiser 2 was made at the request of Enix of America, and designed according to their specifications.

ActRaiser 2 was released in Japan on October 29, 1993 for the Super Famicom.

ActRaiser 2 received a 20.3/30 score in a readers' poll conducted by Super Famicom Magazine. The game garnered generally favorable reception from critics.

Quintet reported that ActRaiser 2 sold 180,000 copies worldwide, with 40,000 copies sold in Japan and Europe respectively, and 100,000 copies sold in North America. In 2018, Complex rated Actraiser 2 81st on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time" list. They commented that the game is great despite being strictly a platformer and not having the god elements from the first game. In 1995, Total! ranked the game 38th on its "Top 100 SNES Games" list.

In 1996, Sega announced that they would be publishing a Quintet-developed remake of ActRaiser 1 and 2, tentatively titled Act Remix, for the Sega Saturn, but roughly halfway through development Quintet concluded that the ActRaiser series was outmoded, and they drastically reworked the game, which was ultimately titled Solo Crisis. Quintet started coding a third game in the ActRaiser series, for the Nintendo 64, but never finished it. In May 2008, Fumiaki Shiraishi, the lead programmer for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, noted in an interview that he would like to make an ActRaiser sequel.