Raiden (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
is a scrolling shooter arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

 that was developed by Seibu Kaihatsu
Seibu Kaihatsu
is a Japanese manufacturer of arcade games. They are best known for the Raiden series of games. The company was once called Seibu Denshi.-Games by Seibu-Kaihatsu:* Stinger * Kung-Fu Taikun * Knuckle Joe...

. It was the first game in the popular Raiden series of scrolling shooter arcade games.

Raiden first made its debut in September 1990. The game was distributed in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 by Tecmo, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 by Fabtek, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 by Liang HWA Electronics, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 by IBL Corporation, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 by Wah Yan Electronics, Malaysia as well as other countries.

The title in Japanese translates to "Thunder And Lightning". Rai means thunder, and den means lightning. The closest English approximation of the pronunciation is /RHY-den/, not /RAY-den/. "Raiden
Mitsubishi J2M
The Mitsubishi J2M Raiden was a single-engined land-based fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Jack".-Design and development:...

" is the name of a Japanese WWII Fighter

Story

In the year 2090, Earth has suddenly become the target of deranged alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...

s 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.

Gameplay

The formula of the game is simple and typical for the era of this game. The player pilots the "Raiden Supersonic Attack Fighter" through waves of enemies, and several levels. There are three types of weapons, and the player can collect several powerups for them to make them stronger. There are bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...

s and missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...

 powerups as well as collectable medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...

s which add to the score.

Fighter

Raiden fighter always starts with vulcan main weapon.

When player dies, the fighter drops items, based on the former fighter's weapon powers.

Weapons

  • Main weapon. There are 8 weapon levels:
  • Vulcan: Fires wide formation shots (max 7 directions).
  • Laser: Fires forward-concentrating shots.
  • Sub weapon. There are 4 weapon levels:
  • Homing Missile: Fires enemy chasing missiles.
  • Nuclear Missile: Fires forward-concentrating missiles. When it hits an enemy, the blast persists for a short period.
  • Bomb: Destroys bullets on screen, and damages enemies in the blast area. There is a moment of delay between pressing bomb button and explosion.


When a player's fighter shoots the other player's fighter, the attacker's projectiles transform into 'stars' that radiates from the attacked fighter.

When player dies, the fighter's fragments become projectiles that damage enemies.

Items

  • Red icon: Switches main weapon type to vulcan main shot. If the fighter already uses the weapon, the weapon power level is increased by 1, or gets 5000 points if weapon power is already full.
  • Blue icon: Switches main weapon type to laser main shot. If the fighter already uses the weapon, the weapon power level is increased by 1, or gets 5000 points if weapon power is already full.
  • H: Switches sub-weapon type to homing missile. If the fighter already uses the weapon, the weapon power level is increased by 1, or gets 5000 points if weapon power is already full.
  • M: Switches sub-weapon type to nuclear missile. If the fighter already uses the weapon, the weapon power level is increased by 1, or gets 5000 points if weapon power is already full.
  • 1UP: Increases life stock by 1.
  • P: Maximizes both main shot and sub shot levels, assuming the fighter has the weapon type. If both shot type powers are already full, players gets 10000 points.
  • B: Increases bomb stock by 1. If player already has 7 bombs, player gets 5000 points.
  • Medal: Increases score by 300.
  • Miclus: Increases score by 3000.
  • Fairy: Increases score by 10000.

Stages

There are 8 stages in the game.

When continuing after all players are dead, player resumes from a predefined check point.

At the end of each stage, player gains stage bonus equals to the number of medals gained in a stage with current life, multiplied by number of bombs player possesses, multiplied by a 1000. If medal or bomb stock is 0, the count is equal to 1 for each affected field for scoring purposes.

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.

Ports

Raiden was ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...

 to the FM Towns Marty
FM Towns
The FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...

, PC Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....

, Mega Drive (Raiden Densetsu), Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

 Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

 (Raiden Densetsu), Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

 (Raiden Trad), Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Panasonic...

, PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

 as The Raiden Project
The Raiden Project
The Raiden Project, originally released in Japan as simply is a port of the arcade games Raiden and Raiden II to the PlayStation. It was also a launch title for the system released September 9, 1995.-External links:...

, Atari Lynx, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...

, MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...

, and the mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

. The MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...

 port was coded by Nigel 'Freddy' Conroy, Steve Cullen and Martin Randall, and was spearheaded by Martin Hooley.
The original Raiden (not the Raiden Project) is available as a download from the Japanese PlayStation Network store. The downloadable version can be played on the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 console or PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

. There also exist port of game for Atari Falcon
Atari Falcon
The Atari Falcon030 Computer System was Atari Corporation's final computer product. Codenamed Sparrow, the machine was based on a Motorola 68030 main CPU, and had a Motorola 56000 digital signal processor, a feature which distinguished it from most other microcomputers of the era.-History:The...

 made by Imagitec Design.

Raiden Trad

Raiden Trad is a spin-off of the original game for Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

, Sega Genesis and FM Towns
FM Towns
The FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...

.

The Super NES version includes the following changes:
  • Player always continue from the place where last player died.
  • After dying, a fairy appears in the middle of screen to drop a main weapon, a sub weapon, and a bomb, instead of dead fighter dropping items.
  • Main shot only has 7 power levels. In case of vulcan, it only fires 5 ways at highest level.
  • Player can carry maximum 9 bombs.
  • Limited number of continues.
  • Auto-fire option.
  • At lowest homing missile level 4 missiles are fired instead of 2.
  • When bomb explodes, it hits every enemy on-screen, including enemy outside blast range.
  • After all bosses in a stage are destroyed, player's fighter are forced to move to centre of screen, which may cause remaining enemy bullets to hit the fighter.
  • Mid-size gunship that flown off the bottom of screen does not fly back up.
  • Enemy fires fewer bullets, and has lower life points.
  • The locations of medals are changed.
  • Redesigned stage 6, which eliminates land terrains.
  • The stage 6 boss becomes a recycled stage 2 boss, now named Flying Fox Mk-II.
  • Stage 7 boss already has pre-attached side turrets.
  • Redesigned stage 8 boss, which is now a stationary boss.
  • If the stage clear bonus exceeds 65535 points, the actual gained score is the remainder of the score divided by 65536.
  • Stage 0 is now called stage 8.
  • After completing stage 8, the game ends with surviving fighter(s) landing on damaged mother ship, with ending messages and credit.
  • Player cannot enter names in high score table.


The Genesis version is closer to the arcade game, but includes the following changes:
  • Laser and nuclear missile are weaker.
  • Sound samples (especially explosions) are less loud.
  • After completing stage 8, a special stage 1 is added.

Soundtracks

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

Legacy

Based on the success of the first Raiden game, several sequels and related games were made.

Main series

  • Raiden II
    Raiden II
    is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was developed by Seibu Kaihatsu. It was the second game in the popular Raiden series of vertical scrolling shooter arcade games that started with Raiden.-Plot:...

    (1993)
  • Raiden DX
    Raiden DX
    is the third installment in the Raiden series of arcade games developed by Seibu Kaihatsu.-Gameplay:The gameplay of Raiden DX is similar to that of its predecessor Raiden II in ways of weapons, levels, and bosses; however its expert stage mode branches slightly from the formula.-Alpha Stage:A...

    (1994)
  • Raiden III
    Raiden III
    is a revival of the classic Raiden series of scrolling shooter games. It was developed by the Japanese company Moss with some assistance and license by Seibu Kaihatsu which produced Raiden and Raiden II, and published in Japan by Taito in 2005...

    (2005) - developed by MOSS Ltd
  • Raiden IV
    Raiden IV
    is an arcade game that follows up from the events of its precursor, Raiden III. It was developed by the Japanese company Moss, under the license of Seibu Kaihatsu, and currently in co-operation with Taito.-Plot:...

    (2007)

Spinoffs

  • Viper Phase 1
    Viper Phase 1
    is a 1995 scrolling shooter arcade game by Seibu Kaihatsu, and is the spin-off in the Raiden series. This game is often referred to as "Raiden in space".-Story:...

    (1995) - A spin-off of the "Raiden" series.
  • Raiden Fighters
    Raiden Fighters
    is a 1996 scrolling shooter arcade game by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is followed by the sequel, Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive. It introduced unique gameplay elements that are a departure from the original Raiden series.-Plot:...

    (1996)
  • Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive
    Raiden Fighters 2
    is a 1997 scrolling shooter arcade game by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is the direct sequel to Raiden Fighters, which is part of the Raiden scrolling shooter game legacy. This game shares the same intense gameplay as its predecessor, as well as expanding on the concepts that defined it...

    (1997)
    • Raiden Fighters 2: 2000 Operation Hell Dive
      Raiden Fighters 2
      is a 1997 scrolling shooter arcade game by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is the direct sequel to Raiden Fighters, which is part of the Raiden scrolling shooter game legacy. This game shares the same intense gameplay as its predecessor, as well as expanding on the concepts that defined it...

      (2000) - A version with little changes
  • Raiden Fighters Jet
    Raiden Fighters Jet
    is the third and last game in the Raiden Fighters series. This game retains the same intensity and manic gameplay as its predecessors, while introducing several new mechanics.-Gameplay:The Hybrid Attack from Raiden Fighters 2 returns in this game...

    (1998)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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