The Raiden Project

Did You Know?

• The opening animation is a 3D rendering of the player's ship taking on the first stage boss from Raiden II.
• Raiden Project includes a Horizontal Mode that lets users turn their monitors vertically to play in the proper arcade aspect ratio.
• The conversion offers difficulty settings, credit limits, selection between original and rearranged soundtrack, on-screen text positioning, and the ability to save high scores with a memory card.

Plot

In Raiden, set in 2090, alien lifeforms called the Crystals invade Earth. The world unites under the Vanquish Crystal Defense organization and builds the Fighting Thunder aircraft from Crystal Technology. In Raiden II, three years after the Crystals' defeat, remnants of the invasion force regroup. The Vanquish Crystal Defense develops a new Fighting Thunder model with a new weapon for the renewed conflict.

Gameplay

Each of the two games has eight vertically scrolling stages that get harder as you go. You pilot a Raiden fighter, blasting foes and evading their fire. You can pick up bombs, missile upgrades, and medals for a higher score. One or two people can play at once; with two players, a special attack lets you damage enemies by shooting your partner's ship.

Reception

Famitsu reported first-week sales of 61,346 copies in Japan and lifetime sales of 120,651 copies. Micom BASIC Magazine ranked the game second in popularity in its April 1995 issue. Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers praised it as an outstanding arcade translation, particularly valuing the inclusion of Raiden II, which they found more challenging and fun than the dated original. GamePro's Bonehead, however, considered both games very dated with repetitive gameplay and overdone concepts, and noted slowdown in two-player mode, concluding the compilation was closer to where games have been than where they are going. Next Generation assessed it as a solid indicator of the PlayStation's sprite-manipulation ability that would appeal to early adopters, but found it ultimately shallow due to endless credits and poorly structured action.