Overview A conversion of the classic arcade shoot 'em up, Raiden follows the conventions of the genre with coloured power up pods that give different weapons when collected.
Comment
Raiden is one of the all-time greats in the annals of shoot 'em up history. It’s not just the excellent graphics and sounds, but the engaging gameplay that keeps you addicted for ages. It’s also capable of throwing up some hair-raising moments, and bullet dodging skills are pushed to the extreme. Thankfully, despite its toughness, it doesn’t get too frustrating. If you have a CD unit, be sure to check out Super Raiden instead for a more complete experience.
sunteam_paul
You say... Raiden is another coin op conversion, and the progenitor to a famous series. This is the kind of arcade game I grew up around, when the home consoles at the time were very basic - think Atari 2600, and you can imagine the huge leap in graphical quality (this game was released in 1990, but it's very evocative of 1941, Twin Cobra etc). I'm watching a video while I write this, and I just want to say, the end of stage tune is the most Taito thing ever.
The gameplay is your standard upward scrolling, kill everything you can vibe, but is slightly unusual in that enemies are tankier than usual, taking more than one hit to die from your peashooter. Thankfully, you can upgrade to the extent that you're spewing bullets across the screen in an unavoidable swarm. The game doesn't do anything technically impressive, but it does just do everything well. The backgrounds are varied and pleasant to look at, and the colour choice is excellent, even as it somehow manages to feel slightly dated. The chiptunes I think are really quite good too, they definitely suit the game. It's pure nostalgia, of the kind that Kyukyoku Tiger offers. I'd say if you love either title, you're definitely going to like the other, although you could also argue if you have one, you probably don't need the other as they're very similar games. soop
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