The Raiden Project (PS1, 1990/1993/1995)
Graphics-7//8 Sound-6.5/7**//7.5/7.5 Control-7.5//8 Challenge-8.5*//9/7.5# Story-4//4?
Level Design-7//8 Frustration-8.5*//8.5/7.5# Fun-7*//7.5/8# Originality-5//5.5
Overall Score-8
*1-player on Colonel difficulty
**Remixed OST
#2-player on Major
Raiden 1:
+
Plenty of options (GUI, Tate mode, difficulty options (v. easy-hard), button config, original or remixed OST (pretty cheesy sounding midi but it's nice to have better drum samples))
2-player co-op
Frequent checkpoints (after using a continue) + post game over assistance (if you die several times you'll get a P power up (fully upgrades your ship)
Two sub weapons (semi-homing or high damage)
Satisfying bomb and explosion sounds
Good bosses overall
Screen also scrolls sideways a bit (unfortunately a bit loosely so it can lead to unfair deaths)
Air and ground enemies (your weapons hit both)
Somewhat destructible scenery
Mini-bosses
Pretty intense action in the last levels
Fairy power up (hard to get (?) but gives you back some of your power ups after death)
+/-
Power ups move around on screen for some time (can be distracting, shorter time for bombs)
Limited continues (9; there's a code for free play though - hold all four main buttons at the credit limit menu)
The game continues in the same area after a beaten boss (just showing the score in between levels; similar to Truxton and other 80s shooters)
Respawn on the spot (default weapon but you do get three bombs)
Shrapnel from your destroyed ship kills nearby enemies
Higher rate of fire the closer you are (means you can kill some bosses very quickly if you get up close)
Hard to gain extra lives (need to get a high score)
Last levels borrow from Truxton (setting and enemy formations) and Hellfire (the music)
No shield or HP upgrade
-
Trial & error (boss patterns, some enemy patterns, some flying enemies can be flown through, some shots can be destroyed)
No speed upgrades
Only two main weapons (spread or high damage) and two sub weapons
No weapon inventory
Muffled and low volume drum samples
Some relatively long pauses during levels and after bosses
Pretty repetitive backgrounds and pacing (enemy variations starts off great but gets repetitive towards the end as well)
Sometimes bland and primitive sounding original (FM) music (most of the compositions are pretty good though)
Some delay when using bombs (means you need to know when to use them against for example certain boss attacks)
Hard to recover later on unless you get a P power up
Loops directly to the next difficulty (past the ending) until you beat the hardest mode?
Repeats some music tracks
Somewhat bland backgrounds and colors overall
Mostly generic looking regular enemies
Raiden 2:
+
Easier to recover after death (the ship drops a couple of power ups)
Improved spritework/colors/background detail/animation
2-player co-op
Very intense action
More interesting bosses and they don't go down as quickly to close range fire
One new weapon (homing laser) and bomb (spread)
Original bomb covers more ground here and triggers slightly faster as well
Improved variety
Somewhat cleaner and louder drum samples + better FM sound design overall
P power up is still there and so is the fairy (hidden somewhere in the background of some stages)
Difficulty options (v. easy-hard - much slower enemy shots on easy)
"fusion" mode (combo spread attack in 2-player when one ship is placed right above the other)
+/-
Faster ship but the enemy bullets are faster as well
Still limited continues (9)
Much harder levels (feels like level 7-8 from the first game by the time you enter the third in RII)
The debris from enemies takes some getting used to at first
Game continues in same area after beating a boss
Respawn and continue on the spot
No shield or HP upgrade
Purple laser obscures enemy shots
Player 1 controls the camera
-
Trial & error (see above, some shots can be destroyed while in "fusion" mode)
No speed upgrades
No weapon inventory
Muffled drum samples and some explosions sound like they're clipping (not a PS1 port issue)
Still hard to recover later on unless you get a P power up
Notes:
-Scores: Raiden//Raiden II
Level Design-7//8 Frustration-8.5*//8.5/7.5# Fun-7*//7.5/8# Originality-5//5.5
Overall Score-8
*1-player on Colonel difficulty
**Remixed OST
#2-player on Major
Raiden 1:
+
Plenty of options (GUI, Tate mode, difficulty options (v. easy-hard), button config, original or remixed OST (pretty cheesy sounding midi but it's nice to have better drum samples))
2-player co-op
Frequent checkpoints (after using a continue) + post game over assistance (if you die several times you'll get a P power up (fully upgrades your ship)
Two sub weapons (semi-homing or high damage)
Satisfying bomb and explosion sounds
Good bosses overall
Screen also scrolls sideways a bit (unfortunately a bit loosely so it can lead to unfair deaths)
Air and ground enemies (your weapons hit both)
Somewhat destructible scenery
Mini-bosses
Pretty intense action in the last levels
Fairy power up (hard to get (?) but gives you back some of your power ups after death)
+/-
Power ups move around on screen for some time (can be distracting, shorter time for bombs)
Limited continues (9; there's a code for free play though - hold all four main buttons at the credit limit menu)
The game continues in the same area after a beaten boss (just showing the score in between levels; similar to Truxton and other 80s shooters)
Respawn on the spot (default weapon but you do get three bombs)
Shrapnel from your destroyed ship kills nearby enemies
Higher rate of fire the closer you are (means you can kill some bosses very quickly if you get up close)
Hard to gain extra lives (need to get a high score)
Last levels borrow from Truxton (setting and enemy formations) and Hellfire (the music)
No shield or HP upgrade
-
Trial & error (boss patterns, some enemy patterns, some flying enemies can be flown through, some shots can be destroyed)
No speed upgrades
Only two main weapons (spread or high damage) and two sub weapons
No weapon inventory
Muffled and low volume drum samples
Some relatively long pauses during levels and after bosses
Pretty repetitive backgrounds and pacing (enemy variations starts off great but gets repetitive towards the end as well)
Sometimes bland and primitive sounding original (FM) music (most of the compositions are pretty good though)
Some delay when using bombs (means you need to know when to use them against for example certain boss attacks)
Hard to recover later on unless you get a P power up
Loops directly to the next difficulty (past the ending) until you beat the hardest mode?
Repeats some music tracks
Somewhat bland backgrounds and colors overall
Mostly generic looking regular enemies
Raiden 2:
+
Easier to recover after death (the ship drops a couple of power ups)
Improved spritework/colors/background detail/animation
2-player co-op
Very intense action
More interesting bosses and they don't go down as quickly to close range fire
One new weapon (homing laser) and bomb (spread)
Original bomb covers more ground here and triggers slightly faster as well
Improved variety
Somewhat cleaner and louder drum samples + better FM sound design overall
P power up is still there and so is the fairy (hidden somewhere in the background of some stages)
Difficulty options (v. easy-hard - much slower enemy shots on easy)
"fusion" mode (combo spread attack in 2-player when one ship is placed right above the other)
+/-
Faster ship but the enemy bullets are faster as well
Still limited continues (9)
Much harder levels (feels like level 7-8 from the first game by the time you enter the third in RII)
The debris from enemies takes some getting used to at first
Game continues in same area after beating a boss
Respawn and continue on the spot
No shield or HP upgrade
Purple laser obscures enemy shots
Player 1 controls the camera
-
Trial & error (see above, some shots can be destroyed while in "fusion" mode)
No speed upgrades
No weapon inventory
Muffled drum samples and some explosions sound like they're clipping (not a PS1 port issue)
Still hard to recover later on unless you get a P power up
Notes:
-Scores: Raiden//Raiden II