Raiden (arcade game)

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Raiden
Developer(s) Seibu Kaihatsu
Publisher(s) Fabtek
Platform(s) Arcade, Amiga, Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, MS-DOS, NEC PC Engine, PlayStation, Sega Mega Drive, Super NES, Mobile Phone
Release date 1990
Genre(s) Vertical scrolling shooter
Mode(s) Single player, 2 player Co-op
Input methods 8-way Joystick, 2 Buttons
Cabinet Upright
CPU (2x) V30 (@ 10 MHz)
Sound Z80 (@ 3.579545 MHz)
Display Raster, 256 x 224 pixels (Vertical), 2048 colors

Raiden (雷電 Raiden?) is a 1990 scrolling shooter arcade game that was developed by Seibu Kaihatsu. 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, North America by Fabtek, Taiwan by Liang HWA Electronics, Korea by IBL Corporation, Hong Kong by Wah Yan Electronics, Malaysia as well as other countries.

Contents

[edit] Story

In the year 2090, Earth has suddenly become the target of deranged aliens. Following the invasion, a new cutting-edge weapon, the Raiden Supersonic Attack Fighter, based on the destroyed alien craft, is created for humanity's hope for survival.

[edit] 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 two types of weapons, and the player can collect several powerups for them to make them stronger. There are bombs and missile powerups as well as collectable medals which add to the score. The game was comprised of 8 levels with mass amounts of enemies for a frantic pacing.

After defeating the Stage 8 Boss, the first mission will be completed, and a 1 million point mission clear bonus is received. When each mission starts, it will start back to Stage 1. This time around, enemies shoot faster and at a more rapid rate.

[edit] Ports

Raiden was ported to the FM Towns Marty, NEC PC Engine, Sega Mega Drive (Raiden Densetsu), Nintendo Super Famicom (Raiden Densetsu), Super NES (Raiden Trad), Atari Jaguar, PlayStation as The Raiden Project, Atari Lynx, Amiga, 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. 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 console or PSP.

[edit] Legacy

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

[edit] Main Series

[edit] Spinoffs

[edit] Trivia

  • 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" is the name of a Japanese WWII Fighter

[edit] External links