Raiden (video game)

Raiden
Japanese Arcade flyer
Developer(s)	Seibu Kaihatsu A,I Co., Ltd. (TG-16, PCE CD) Micronics (Super NES) Imagitec Design (DOS, Jaguar) Fabtek (Lynx)
Publisher(s)	Tecmo Arcade JP: Tecmo NA: Fabtek TW: Liang HWA Electronics SK: IBL Corporation HK: Wah Yan Electronics Genesis JP/NA: Micronet TurboGrafx-16 JP: Hudson Soft NA: NEC Technologies Super NES JP: Toei Animation NA: Electro Brain FM Towns JP: KID PC Engine Super CD-ROM² JP: Hudson Soft Jaguar NA/EU: Atari Corporation JP: Mumin Corporation MS-DOS WW: Acer PlayStation JP: Seibu Kaihatsu NA: SCEA EU: Ocean Software Lynx NA/EU: Telegames PlayStation Network JP: HAMSTER Corporation Windows WW: DotEmu
Producer(s)	Hitoshi Hamada
Designer(s)	Tetsuya Kawaguchi
Composer(s)	Akira Sato
Series	Raiden
Platform(s)	Arcade Arcade, Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, FM Towns, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Mobile phone, TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine Super CD-ROM², PlayStation, Sega Genesis, Super NES
Release	September 1990 Arcade WW: September 1990 Genesis JP: 6 July 1991 NA: 1991 TurboGrafx-16 JP: 22 November 1991 NA: 1991 Super NES JP: 29 November 1991 NA: April 1992 FM Towns JP: 1991 PC Engine Super CD-ROM² JP: 2 April 1992 Jaguar NA: December 1993 EU: June 1994 JP: 15 December 1994 MS-DOS WW: 1994 PlayStation JP: 27 January 1995 NA: 9 September 1995 EU: November 1995 Lynx NA/EU: 1997 PlayStation Network JP: 29 March 2007 Microsoft Windows WW: 16 May 2013
Genre(s)	Vertically scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, co-op
Cabinet	Upright
CPU	(2x) V30 (@ 10 MHz)
Sound	YM3812 (@ 3.579545 MHz), OKI6295 (@ 1 MHz)
Display	Raster, 256 x 224 pixels (Vertical), 2048 colors

Raiden^{[lower-alpha 1]} is a vertically scrolling shooter video game originally developed by Seibu Kaihatsu and distributed by Tecmo in Japan on September 1990. It was the first game in the Raiden series of vertical scrolling shooter arcade games. The arcade version was also distributed in North America by Fabtek, Taiwan by Liang HWA Electronics, South Korea by IBL Corporation, Hong Kong by Wah Yan Electronics and in a few other countries such as Malaysia, though the publishers in those countries are unknown.

Raiden takes place in the year 2090 where the Earth has suddenly become the target of an deranged alien empire race known as the Cranassians and after the invasion, the World Alliance Military builds a new cutting-edge weapon based on a captured alien craft, the Raiden Supersonic Attack Fighter, as the only hope for humanity to survive. The game is inspired by other games in the genre such as Capcom's 1942 and Toaplan's Twin Cobra.^[1][2]

In addition to the original arcade version, several ports were released to multiple consoles and computers such as Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Super NES, FM Towns, PC Engine Super CD-ROM², Atari Jaguar, MS-DOS, PlayStation, Atari Lynx, among others. Ports for both the Amiga and the Atari Falcon were in development by Imagitec Design but ultimately never released.^[3][4]

Raiden was successful in the arcades, despite doubts by the staff at Seibu Kaihatsu, managing to sell 17,000 units worldwide and it was well received by players and critics alike.^[2] Console and computer ports of the game received generally positive reviews as well and due to the success of the original, multiple sequels and related games were developed.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot from the arcade version.

Raiden is a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up game consisting of eight stages where the player maneuvers the Raiden fighter craft dodging enemy bullets and destroying enemy robots, buildings, ground targets, and enemy aircraft. There are bombs and missile power-ups as well as collectable medals that players can collect, which increases the score at the end of each stage. When the player dies, the fighter's fragments become projectiles that damage enemies.

On occasion an enemy carrier aircraft comes down and destroying it reveals two types of weapon power-ups: The Vulcan and the Laser, which they can be powered-up multiple times, while other times it reveals bombs and missile power-ups, which can be increased multiple times as well and on rare instances an P icon appears, which instantly power-ups the ship to the max. There's also two types of missile: Napalm and Homing missiles.

Shooting on the right spot of the playfield will reveal either of the two hidden bonus items: Miclus, who was a boss in Seibu Kaihatsu’s 1985 title Wiz, which grants 10,000 points and a fairy that grants 30,000 points if either two bonuses are picked up. After defeating the Stage 8 boss, the mission is completed, and player receives 1 million points for each completed loop. Afterwards, it will start back to Stage 1. This time around, enemies shoot faster and at a more rapid rate. Each stage increases in difficulty the more players progress into the game.

In multiplayer, players can also generate a stream of shots by shooting in front of another Raiden ship to deal damage to enemies as well. If all lives are lost during a gameplay session, the player will start at the last checkpoint reached.

Plot

In the year 2090, Earth has suddenly become the target of deranged aliens known as the Cranassians. Following the invasion, the World Alliance Military builds a new cutting-edge weapon, the Raiden Supersonic Attack Fighter. Based on a captured alien craft, it is humanity's only hope for survival.

Ports and related releases

Raiden was ported to the FM Towns, PC Engine, Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, Super NES, Sega Genesis, Amiga (unreleased), MS-DOS, and the mobile phone. The MS-DOS port was coded by Nigel 'Freddy' Conroy, Steve Cullen and Martin Randall, and was spearheaded by Martin Hooley. There also exists a port of game for the Atari Falcon, made by Imagitec Design.

The SNES, Genesis, and FM Towns ports were given the name Raiden Trad, or Raiden Densetsu (雷電伝説) in Japan. The reason for this is unclear; like all other ports of this game, they were not made or published by any of the same groups, and are wildly different from each other.

Soundtrack

A Raiden/Raiden II soundtrack was published by INH CO.,LTD. It includes soundtracks from Raiden (arcade, PlayStation), Raiden II (arcade, PlayStation), Raiden DX (arcade) and Raiden Densetsu (FM Towns), as well as a booklet; Go Sato liner note; gallery.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Scores
	Arcade	Genesis	TG-16	SNES	PCE CD	Jaguar	DOS	PS1	Lynx
GameRankings	N/A	50%[5]	N/A	57%[6]	N/A	60%[7]	N/A	65%[8]	N/A
Review scores
Publication	Scores
	Arcade	Genesis	TG-16	SNES	PCE CD	Jaguar	DOS	PS1	Lynx
AllGame	[9]	[10]	[11]	[12]	N/A	[13]	[14]	[15]	[16]
ASM					4 / 12[17]		8 / 12[18]
Atari ST User	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	40%[19]	N/A	N/A	N/A
Consoles +		67%[20]
Edge						5 / 10[21]
EGM		29 / 40[22]	30 / 40[23]			24 / 40[24]
Famitsu		27 / 40[25]	28 / 40[26]		29 / 40[27]			27 / 40[28]
GameFan						329 / 400[29]
Genération 4						62%[30]
MAN!AC						61%[31]
Mean Machines		81%[32]
Mega Fun						63%[33]
TurboPlay	N/A	N/A	8 / 10[34]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Video Games						60%[35]		83%[36]

Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Atari Jaguar version an average of 6 out of 10. The four reviewers agreed that it was virtually identical to the arcade version, but were divided about the quality of the game itself. Two of them described Raiden as "above average", and two described it as mediocre, saying that the ship moves too slow, enemy fire often blends in with the background, and the graphics are subpar given the Jaguar's capabilities.^[24] GamePro similarly criticized that the gameplay is outdated, the ship moves too slow, and that the graphics do not live up to the Jaguar's potential. They concluded that "A snoozer like Raiden just seems out of place on a powerful system like the Jaguar."^[37]

Legacy

Due to the success of Raiden, several sequels and related games were made.

Notes

References

External links

• Raiden at the Killer List of Videogames
• Raiden at MobyGames
• HAMSTER page
• INH soundtrack page