increased in that monsters require much more damage to be destroyed. Death Heim cannot be accessed through easy mode. Synopsis 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 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. Some of the stages in the game are meant to be ironic regarding the blighting nature of Tanzra's demons. The townsmen in the city of Leon are sent to the underground prison of Gratis (meaning free without charge, or referring to "nadie entra gratis", no one enters for free) for not paying their taxes by a newly-appointed king named Kolunikus, who is afflicted by Greed. After the player slays the first six deadly sins, the Tower of Babel (renamed "Tower of Souls" in the western versions), the final staged level of the game, appears, in which the Master fights the final sin, Pride, a mechanically engineered god. Defeating the false god, the player then descends into Death Heim, where he fights again against the seven sins, as well as Tanzra himself, a beast frozen waist-deep in a lake of ice (just as Satan was in the Inferno in The Divine Comedy). During the game's ending, it is declared that "The Master will live forever" and, as the credits roll, an image of the statue of the Master is shown slowly eroding over time. The statue's sword and right wing fall off, suggesting the growth of civilization and the increase of mankind's self-sufficiency. This reflects the ending of the original ActRaiser, where the angel speculates that someday the world may be so independent that it will forget about the Master. Development and release According to developer Quintet, ActRaiser 2 was made at the request of Enix of America, and designed according to their specifications. Reception ActRaiser