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Raiden
Feb 12, 2011 10:41:45 GMT -5
Post by Discoalucard on Feb 12, 2011 10:41:45 GMT -5
www.hardcoregaming101.net/raiden/raiden.htmPart 2 of our monthly shooter coverage brings a look at Seibu Kaihatsu's Raiden series. It was recently reinvented with the 3rd and 4th installments, which I'm not a huge fan of it, but the Raiden Fighters Aces pack released on the XBox 360 not too long ago is an amazing value. They're older, but definitely better games.
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Raiden
Feb 12, 2011 11:21:46 GMT -5
Post by Ike on Feb 12, 2011 11:21:46 GMT -5
On page 2 at the top of the page it has the PAL Raiden Project cover listed as the Japanese cover.
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Raiden
Feb 12, 2011 12:47:57 GMT -5
Post by justjustin on Feb 12, 2011 12:47:57 GMT -5
Awesome article, very thorough. An arcade near where I lived in Japan had a Raiden DX machine and I would play it a couple times a week, every week, without fail. Definitely one of my all time favorite games, so I read that section with extreme scrutiny and it's spot on. A lot of people don't get what makes DX do great, or even what makes it different from Raiden II (at a passing glance) so I'm glad to see it so well explained to show that it's the pinnacle of the "classic" series.
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Deleted
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Raiden
Feb 12, 2011 15:42:30 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2011 15:42:30 GMT -5
Thanks, Justin! That World of Stuart article I linked to explained to me all the intricacies of DX and how most passed it off as just a slightly enhanced Raiden 2, when it's definitely quite a bit more than that.
Man, though, why is Seibu Kaihatsu passing off the series to MOSS now? SK is doing NOTHING else, though... on the other side of the coin, I'm surprised they're still even alive.
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BulletMagnet
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"Who PLAYS this stuff?!"
Posts: 138
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Raiden
Feb 12, 2011 16:34:40 GMT -5
Post by BulletMagnet on Feb 12, 2011 16:34:40 GMT -5
I vaguely recall hearing that MOSS is basically Seibu 2.0, employing many of the same people, and was mainly started to avoid outright bankruptcy. Don't quote me, though.
A couple of other things worth consideration -
1) If memory serves the 1P and 2P ships move a bit differently in the early Raidens - the former is quicker when maneuvering vertically, while the latter is a bit speedier horizontally.
2) Perhaps it should also be noted that both ships are somewhat slow for the genre, and that success is often tied to keeping on the move near-constantly to outrun the many "aimed" bullets enemies fire off, especially since a) Your hitbox is pretty big, and b) Most enemy shots don't flash and can be hard to see when they begin to move faster later on. After all, Raiden did inspire the shmupping term "sniper tank".
3) Perhaps a bit picky, but I'm tempted to note the importance of the "point blank" technique to do big damage when using the wide-shot weapon, especially since you'll need to rely on it a lot to keep from being overwhelmed by minor enemies thanks to your ship's sluggish speed.
4) Another minor thing, but you might want to mention that Raiden Project on the PS1 was one of the first console shooters to include a tate mode option - I hesitate to say THE first, though. I also remember hearing that certain regions' releases possessed "restart point" options that others didn't, though I'd need to double-check that one.
5) Raiden DX got a reprint on the PS1, which is mostly the same but doesn't include the Battle Balls demo, IIRC.
6) Viper Phase 1's stage end bonus tends to drive score attackers nuts, since so much emphasis is placed on not letting a single baddies escape, and letting even one go can put a big dent in your score (which, once again, is especially frustrating when you have to use a slow ship), so maybe that deserves a mention.
7) For Raiden Fighters Aces, originally a compilation (I think for Fighters 1 and 2 only) was planned for the original XBox, but was canceled - some years later it finally resurfaced again on the 360. By the way, Valcon is the US publisher (though it did release the game at a measly 20 bucks new, which might be worth a mention), not the developer - Gulti is. Also, the Japanese print (published by Success) came with a replay DVD, but required a patch to fix some bugs - this was included on-disc for the US version. Europe is supposed to be getting a PAL release soon, though it's been delayed numerous times. The US release of Raiden IV also came with a soundtrack and access to a "secret file" PDF of illustrations and other information online.
8) The segment on medaling is a tad unclear - while you do generally want to build up the small medals' value before snagging a Slave and moving on to more valuable ones, it is possible to activate the mid- or high-value sequences early by getting a Slave or two before this is done. If you do this, you'll need to destroy one or both of your Slaves to "downgrade" the medals and build them up from there before you're able to get at the really valuable ones, as all three "levels" of medal must be maxed out first.
9) Also, the medaling system is a bit different in Raiden Fighters Aces, as opposed to the other two - collecting a medal from a flying enemy while you've got at least one Slave causes it to actually float around your ship, and it will absorb all other medals it touches, growing bigger and more valuable each time. If you let it grow to its maximum size (2 million-plus points) before collecting it, your next step is to let a large group of medals appear onscreen at once - they'll explode and vanish if you do it right. From here, enemies will start dropping 10,000-point rewards, which can be increased to 100,000 if you don't miss any - this increases the rank and makes the game tougher, though.
10) Actually, the formation that the Slaves take in Raiden Fighters doesn't depend simply on whether or not you've collected an extra Slave icon after you've maxed out - it depends on how many lives you've got left and how many bombs you've got in stock. The sum of those two numbers determines which formation is activated when you collect the extra slave pod.
11) On the whole, perhaps it ought to be mentioned that 1-ups are very rare throughout the series, and totally absent from the Fighters games - no matter how high you score, once you lose your starting 3 lives you're done. You do get a life at the end of the "loops" included in the higher difficulties on the Aces port, though.
That's all I could think of offhand - hope it helps.
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Raiden
Feb 13, 2011 6:45:54 GMT -5
Post by Vokkan on Feb 13, 2011 6:45:54 GMT -5
9) Also, the medaling system is a bit different in Raiden Fighters Aces, as opposed to the other two - collecting a medal from a flying enemy while you've got at least one Slave causes it to actually float around your ship You mean Raiden Fighters Jet right? What game you're refering to in point 8 I don't know, but then I haven't read the article either.
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BulletMagnet
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"Who PLAYS this stuff?!"
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Raiden
Feb 13, 2011 9:19:13 GMT -5
Post by BulletMagnet on Feb 13, 2011 9:19:13 GMT -5
Gah, yeah, I meant Jet.
I meant the first two games (medaling is pretty much identical in both), I shoulda been clearer on that.
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Deleted
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Raiden
Feb 13, 2011 10:32:12 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2011 10:32:12 GMT -5
Raiden IV has one of the most bastard-ish Achievements in history. "Full Proficiency" requires you to clear the entire game playing as both P1 and P2 on one controller. I've beaten the first level.
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Raiden
Feb 13, 2011 15:38:33 GMT -5
Post by PooshhMao on Feb 13, 2011 15:38:33 GMT -5
Good to see that Raiden article finally up there Some thoughts - I disagree rather strongly with your repeated statement that Raiden is the precursor to modern danmaku shmups. If anything, it's traditional gameplay is pretty much the exact opposite (relatively few but directly aimed bullets, large hitbox). The VP1 article neglects to mention the fourth weapon, the green napalm missiles (though they're mentioned in the Raiden Fighters one). Seems weird that the other three subweapons are mentioned, while the fourth one isn't. Also, no clue where you have the term 'neutron missiles' from - I've always assumed the official name was napalm missiles. Some spelling errors - it's 'Dogyuun' instead of 'Dogyunn', and 'Operation Hell Dive', not 'Hell Drive'. Apart from that, great read. Also thanks for the link to the old shmups.com review, which I wrote (under the Neotype moniker) over 11 years ago , which caused Malc to coin the memorable toothpaste laser term in reply.
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Raiden
Feb 13, 2011 16:10:13 GMT -5
Post by Vokkan on Feb 13, 2011 16:10:13 GMT -5
I meant the first two games (medaling is pretty much identical in both), I shoulda been clearer on that. Wow, I didn't recognize that as anything RF2 related. Must be because I play textbook medal-unlocking with no deviation.
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Raiden
Feb 13, 2011 23:11:03 GMT -5
Post by Discoalucard on Feb 13, 2011 23:11:03 GMT -5
I fixed a few of the smaller things here, but this: I disagree rather strongly with your repeated statement that Raiden is the precursor to modern danmaku shmups. If anything, it's traditional gameplay is pretty much the exact opposite (relatively few but directly aimed bullets, large hitbox). I don't know if I'd call it the opposite. If DDP is the first danmaku, then you can trace it back to DP and Batsugun, then further back Truxton, which pretty closely parallels Raiden. I don't think it's that much of a stretch to call it a precursor honestly.
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Raiden
Feb 14, 2011 1:01:53 GMT -5
Post by justjustin on Feb 14, 2011 1:01:53 GMT -5
Yeah, I've always viewed Raiden (especially DX) as a refinement of Toaplan's vertical shooters, and old style ones in general. I don't see any danmaku origins in the series. Bosses do tend to spray tons of fast moving bullets in specified patterns, but you dodge them primarily by making large sweeping motions or being in the exact right spot at one point in time, not careful tapping or short zigzagging through constant walls of bullets like in danmaku.
Mahou Daisakusen would be an equally likely candidate for influencing danmaku, as well as the aforementioned Batsugun and Donpachi. Compare those to Raiden II and DX, and I think the credit goes to Toaplan, Raizing and Cave instead of Seibu Kaihatsu. To me, Raiden was more concerned with creating a paradigm for the traditional style than going in new directions like its contemporaries.
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Raiden
Feb 14, 2011 1:04:17 GMT -5
Post by Weasel on Feb 14, 2011 1:04:17 GMT -5
Kudos to the author for introducing me to the term "toothpaste laser."
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Raiden
Feb 14, 2011 2:34:39 GMT -5
Post by Rambo M on Feb 14, 2011 2:34:39 GMT -5
You might give a shout out to Raiden X, an excellent Flash remake of RII that serves as a plenty accessible intro to the series, with a gamesave ability no less. It also tries something neat the series never did: different bombs for each main gun. The vulcan bomb is the typical giant explosion, the laser bomb is an energy blast that "eats" the screen for major damage, and toothpaste bomb sends relatively weak lasers across the entire screen for a couple passes.
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Raiden
Feb 14, 2011 9:11:53 GMT -5
Post by PooshhMao on Feb 14, 2011 9:11:53 GMT -5
I don't know if I'd call it the opposite. If DDP is the first danmaku, then you can trace it back to DP and Batsugun, then further back Truxton, which pretty closely parallels Raiden. I don't think it's that much of a stretch to call it a precursor honestly. You're talking about shmups, not danmaku shmups. Why stop at Raiden and not call Space Invaders the precursor to all danmaku?
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