Raiden II
| Raiden II | |
|---|---|
 North American arcade flyer of Raiden II. | |
| Developer(s) | Seibu Kaihatsu, Kinesoft (Win) |
| Publisher(s) | Arcade: Seibu Kaihatsu |
| Series | Raiden |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, PlayStation, Windows 95 |
| Release date(s) | 1993 (Arcade)
(Win, Gamebank) 1999-04-09 (Win, CyberFront) |
| Genre(s) | Vertical scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, 2 player Co-op |
| Cabinet | Upright |
Raiden II (雷電II Raiden Tsū) is a 1993 vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was developed by Seibu Kaihatsu. It was the second game in the Raiden series of vertical scrolling shooter arcade games that started with Raiden.
Plot
Three years after the World Alliance Military is triumphant over the Cranassian invasion force, the remaining aliens on Earth have created an army to carry out their original mission to conquer the planet. To combat the collaborative army, a new weapon is developed for the Raiden - the ship designed to save the Earth three years ago - to use in another attempt to save our planet.
Description
This game expanded on the original formula with enhanced graphics and two new weapons - the Plasma Beam, which can lock onto targets but does damage slowly; and the Cluster Bomb, which does less damage than regular bombs but strikes a larger area. There are eight missions in the game, with bosses (unofficially) called Death Walkers, Ichneumon, Shadow Submarine, Fort Cyclops, Dread Bomber, Manticore, Whisper and Cranassian Headquarters.
Port
Raiden II was ported to Windows by Kinesoft and Microsoft Corporation. The Windows version uses Red Book audio for music.
In addition, this game and the original Raiden were released for the PlayStation as The Raiden Project.
Weapons
The player's weapons can be changed and enhanced in power through power-ups which are released by certain defeated enemy craft.
Main weapon
The power-ups once released fly around the screen and cycle in color from red to blue to purple. Guns are at maximum power after collecting eight power-ups; attempting to increase power further will reward bonus points. Changing weapons does not increase power level.
There are three main weapons:
Vulcan (red): A basic shooter. Powering it up increases its spread. It is useful but lacks power unless used at close range.
Laser (blue): A straight firing laser. Powering this up will increase the number and potency of the beams. This is the most powerful weapon.
Plasma (purple): A weapon introduced in Raiden II. Initially similar to the laser, but firing until it turns into a single beam will enable it to lock onto what it hits, allowing the player to move freely while still causing damage. This is not a homing gun; one still needs to guide the beam to the enemy to hit. This is the most effective weapon of the game.
Missiles
When obtained they are fired automatically together with the main weapon and work on air targets. Four power-ups are needed for full power. Like weapon power-ups, these cycle between the possible choices.
Nuclear Missiles (Yellow M): These fly straight forward in a narrow spread and are quite powerful.
Homing Missiles (Green H): These pursue their target automatically. When not fully powered they are weak and slow.
Bombs
They cause damage and eliminate all enemy shots within the effect area. You can carry a maximum of seven at once; grabbing an eighth will only add points, although the bonus is significantly greater if you carry seven bombs of the same type and collect an eighth that is also identical.
Bomb (Red B): A concentrated explosion causes heavy damage to anything within its area. It takes about two seconds to detonate after releasing it so it needs to be timed well.
Cluster Bomb (Yellow B): Although not as powerful, this bomb has wider coverage. In addition, it also comes out faster and lasts longer.
External links
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