Raiden (series)

Last updated

Raiden
Raiden series logo.svg
Genre(s) Vertical-scrolling shooter
Developer(s) Seibu Kaihatsu
MOSS
Publisher(s) Seibu Kaihatsu
MOSS
UFO Interactive Games
Platform(s) Arcade, Atari Falcon, Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, MS-DOS, PC Engine, PlayStation, Mobile phone, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
First release Raiden
April 1990
Latest release Raiden IV X MIKADO remix
May 6th 2021
Spin-offs Raiden Fighters
Viper Phase 1

Raiden [lower-alpha 1] is a series of arcade games by Seibu Kaihatsu initially available in arcades in Japan and later distributed to other countries by Fabtek and other arcade game manufacturers.

Contents

The game that began the franchise was Raiden . It was ported for the PlayStation as The Raiden Project . In the 1990s, it was ported to various home computers and game consoles of the time. Later ports were released on mobile phones.

Seibu Kaihatsu developed the Raiden games and its related spin-offs from 1990 until 1998. The license of Raiden was later purchased by MOSS in 2005. Raiden III and Raiden IV have been developed on various Taito boards (Taito Type X series), while Raiden V is the first game in the series to be released first on a home console (the Xbox One) and never have an arcade release.

Overview

In each installment, there is a threat to humanity posed by the invasion of Earth by an alien lifeform known as the Crystals. In the wake of the Crystal proliferation, the world joined to form the VCD, which must launch a counter-attack with their powerful weapon based on Crystal technology, the Fighting Thunder attack craft, for the future of humanity. In most of the Raiden games, the Crystals are represented by a large red crystal that forms the core of the games' bosses and is the final boss. The first two Raiden installments had eight stages. Raiden III consists of seven stages while Raiden IV has five. Raiden V introduces branching stage paths that depend on player performance.

Later games introduced new features, such as the ability for one player to control both player ships at the same time. Starting in Raiden III, the "flash shot" scoring mechanic allows players to get high scores by quickly destroying enemies as they appear. A slightly different version of this scoring mechanic was introduced in the Raiden Fighters spin-off.

Games released

Main series

The first three Raiden games were published by Seibu Kaihatsu and distributed by Fabtek (US), The Metrotainment Network (Asia), and Tuning Electronic (Germany). After more than a decade, the original series was revived and licensed by MOSS and published by Taito.

Spin-offs

Viper Phase 1, released in May 1995, has an exhaustible secondary weapon system (indicated by a bar meter). An updated version of Viper Phase 1, released three months later, modified the weapons system to be similar to the Raiden games.

The Raiden Fighters games became associated with the Raiden series. The first Raiden Fighters game was originally a completely unrelated game with the name Gun Dogs during development. [2] Seibu Kaihatsu changed its name to Raiden Fighters just before release because the game drew more income with the "Raiden" name. [3]

Compilations

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: 雷電, Hepburn: Raiden

Related Research Articles

Raiden may refer to:

<i>Raiden</i> (video game) Vertically scrolling shooter arcade game released in 1990

Raiden is a 1990 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Seibu Kaihatsu and published by Tecmo in Japan. The game's story takes place in the year 2090, when an alien species known as the Crystals invaded Earth. Players assume the roles of the Vanquish Crystal Defense pilot duo, taking control of two state of the art Fighting Thunders aircraft to defeat the Crystals and save the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seibu Kaihatsu</span> Japanese arcade game manufacturer

Seibu Kaihatsu Inc. was a Japanese manufacturer of arcade games. The company was founded in 1982 at Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan as Seibu Denshi Inc. (有限会社セイブ電子), but changed to its current name sometime in 1984. It is currently owned by Hitoshi Hamada.

<i>Raiden III</i> 2005 video game

Raiden III is a 2005 scrolling shooter video game developed by MOSS, licensed by Seibu Kaihatsu, and published by Taito. It is the fourth game in the Raiden series. Raiden III uses the Taito Type X arcade hardware, giving full 3D graphics to the series for the first time. The game was published in the US by UFO Interactive Games, in Europe by 505 Games, and in China by Soft-World International Corporation. An enhanced version, Raiden III x Mikado Maniax, was released in 2023.

<i>Raiden Fighters 2</i> 1997 video game

Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive is a 1997 scrolling shooter arcade game by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is the direct sequel to Raiden Fighters, which is a spin-off of the Raiden scrolling shooter video game franchise. This game shares the same game mechanics as its predecessor while expanding on the concepts that defined it. It is followed by Raiden Fighters Jet, the third game in the series.

<i>Raiden II</i> 1993 video game

Raiden II 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.

<i>The Raiden Project</i> 1995 video game compilation

Raiden Project, known outside Japan as The Raiden Project, is a scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Seibu Kaihatsu for the PlayStation. It is a compilation of the arcade games Raiden (1990) and Raiden II (1993). It was released in Japan on January 27, 1995, for North America by Sony Computer Entertainment as an original launch title on September 9, 1995, and in Europe by Ocean Software in November 12, 1995. This was the only console release of Raiden II and unlike previous ports, these versions are based directly on the arcade originals. The Project version of the first Raiden was available as a download from the Japanese PlayStation Network store, which could be played on either a PlayStation 3 or a PlayStation Portable.

<i>Raiden IV</i> 2007 video game

Raiden IV is a 2007 vertical scrolling shooting video game developed by MOSS. It was first released in the arcades in Japan. A home conversion was produced for Xbox 360 in 2008. An updated arcade version was later released for Taito's NESiCAxLive digital distribution platform. Two more versions featuring new content were released: Raiden IV: OverKill for PlayStation 3 and Windows, and Raiden IV x MIKADO remix for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

<i>Raiden Fighters</i> 1996 video game

Raiden Fighters is a 1996 scrolling shooter arcade game by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is followed by the sequel, Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive. This game introduced new game mechanics that separate it from the original Raiden series.

<i>Viper Phase 1</i> 1995 video game

Viper Phase 1 is a 1995 scrolling shooter arcade game by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is a spin-off in the Raiden series set in space.

<i>Raiden Fighters Jet</i> 1998 video game

Raiden Fighters Jet is a 1998 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is a sequel to Raiden Fighters 2, released one year later. Raiden Fighters Jet retains the same game mechanics as its predecessors, while introducing new ones in a departure from the previous games.

<i>Street Fighter IV</i> 2008 video game

Street Fighter IV is a 2.5D fighting game published by Capcom, who also co-developed the game with Dimps. It was the first original main entry in the series since Street Fighter III in 1997, a hiatus of eleven years.

<i>Raiden Fighters Aces</i> 2008 video game

Raiden Fighters Aces is a 2008 video game for the Xbox 360, published by Japanese computer software company Success Corporation. It is a compilation of all three video games in the Raiden Fighters series by Seibu Kaihatsu: the first Raiden Fighters (1996), Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive (1997), and Raiden Fighters Jet (1998).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seibu SPI System</span>

The Seibu SPI System is Seibu Kaihatsu's custom arcade system board. The Seibu SPI system board uses interchangeable game cartridges, however, each cartridge is region specific, and must be paired with a board of the same region. Seibu SPI boards "update" when a game cartridge is changed. This process takes about 10 minutes to complete, and only has to be performed once after a cart change.

<i>USAAF Mustang</i> 1990 video game

USAAF Mustang is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade game originally developed by NMK, and published by UPL in 1990. It was ported a year later to the Mega Drive by Taito, while being renamed Fire Mustang. NMK also developed the Mega Drive version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sega Sports R&D</span> Former division of Sega

Sega Sports Research and Development or Sega Sports R&D is a defunct development division of the Japanese video game company Sega. It was previously known as Smilebit, one of nine semi-autonomous studios which Sega established in 2000. Smilebit was previously known as R&D6 or AM6 which itself was mainly based on Sega PC. Smilebit was known for its sports simulation titles, as well as Jet Set Radio. When Sega started releasing games for other platforms, Smilebit began developing games for the Xbox, with Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta and GunValkyrie. Smilebit was led by Shun Arai as president and Takayuki Kawagoe as director. Kawagoe became president of Smilebit in 2003.

TAD Corporation was a Japanese manufacturer of video arcade games that was founded and headquartered in Mitaka-shi, Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by former employees of the company Data East and was named after its founder and owner name Tadashi "TAD" Yokoyama. They are best known for their first video arcade game, the 1988 shooting gallery-type Cabal, as well as their second one, the 1989 run 'n' gun-style platformer Toki. In Japan, Taito, Tecmo and Sammy assisted TAD in distributing their arcade titles, while Fabtek distributed every arcade title of TAD's internationally with permission. TAD Corporation also licensed its titles for arcade-to-console conversions to other companies such as Ocean Software, Milton Bradley, Rare, Taito and Sega; however, only Cabal and Toki received home conversions. After the release of their last two arcade titles both in 1992: the beat 'em up Legionnaire, and the run 'n gun Heated Barrel; TAD Corporation quietly abandoned its production on February 5, 1993. After ending its business, members were traded to Mitchell Corporation.

Fabtek Inc. was a thriving video kit company founded in Bellevue, Washington, United States and started its operations there in 1987. Fabtek's name was derived from the initials of its founder Frank Ballouz (F.A.B.-tek), a former Atari and Nintendo of America executive who later also founded Irem America. Fabtek was known for licensing arcade games mostly from two manufacturers for distribution: Seibu Kaihatsu and TAD Corporation. Around 1990, Fabtek moved to Redmond, Washington and continued its business there until closing its business in 1999.

NESiCAxLive is a digital distribution system for arcade video games made by Taito. It is similar to the SEGA ALL.Net game distribution system. Taito uses NESiCAxLive to distribute not only its own games, but also allows other companies to use it as a publication platform. On its introduction SNK, Cave, and Arc System Works had agreed to distribute games on NESiCAxLive. Currently, 8 games are operated as alone running titles and 29 titles as downloadable titles on candy cabinets.

<i>Raiden V</i> 2016 video game

Raiden V is a shoot 'em up video game in the Raiden series developed by MOSS. It was released in Japan for the Xbox One on February 25, 2016, with a director's cut version being released worldwide for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows in 2017., followed by a Nintendo Switch version on July 25, 2019, making it the first Raiden game to be made available on a Nintendo console since Raiden Trad on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

References

  1. ↑ "［TGS 2014］Xbox One用シューティング「雷電（仮）」の正式タイトルは「雷電V」に決定。日本マイクロソフトブースでティザームービーが公開中" (in Japanese). 4Gamer.net. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game Flyers: Gun Dogs, Seibu Kaihatsu".
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20010408210026/http://www.ky.xaxon.ne.jp/~ishihara/seibu/rf.html (in Japanese): 元々ＧＵＮ ＤＯＧＳという名前で開発されていたのだが、発売直前になってタイトルが変わった。一説によれば、ロケ時、名前にライデンを使ったことでインカムが上がったためだそうであるが。(Originally developed under the name GUN DOGS, the title changed just before its release. According to one theory, it was because the income was raised by using "Raiden" as the name at the time of location.)
  4. ↑ "Release date on Steam". Steam. Retrieved 16 Dec 2019.
  5. ↑ "Raiden Legacy". Dotemu. Retrieved 16 Dec 2019.
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