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Raiden (雷電) is a video game franchise of shoot 'em ups created by Seibu Kaihatsu and later developed by MOSS.
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 together 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
Games in the 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.
Main series
| Game name | Release year |
|---|---|
| Raiden | 1990 |
| Raiden II | 1993 |
| Raiden DX | 1994 |
| Raiden III | 2005 |
| Raiden IV | 2007 |
| Raiden IV: Overkill | 2014 |
| Raiden V | 2016 |
Spin-offs
These games were developed by Seibu Kaihatsu and have no relation to the main Raiden series.
| Game name | Release year |
|---|---|
| Viper Phase 1 | 1995 |
| Raiden Fighters | 1996 |
| Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive | 1997 |
| Raiden Fighters Jet | 1998 |
Compilations
The first two mainline Raiden games were ported into a compilation title, The Raiden Project, in 1995 for the Sony PlayStation.
The three Raiden Fighters games were being developed as a compilation title for the Microsoft Xbox in 2003, but it was cancelled when its developer, New World System, went out of business. A sample disc of this compilation that contained the first Raiden Fighters was released[1]. It took until 2008, a full decade after the release of Raiden Fighters Jet, for any of the Raiden Fighters games to be successfully released on a home console, with Raiden Fighters Aces for the Microsoft Xbox 360.
| Year | Title | Release platform | Included games | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Raiden Project | Sony PlayStation |
|
Seibu Kaihatsu | Sony Computer Entertainment America (North America) |
| 2003 | Raiden Fighters Evolution[1] | Microsoft Xbox (cancelled) |
|
New World System[1] | N/A |
| 2008 | Raiden Fighters Aces | Microsoft Xbox 360 |
|
Guilti | Success Corp.[2] |
| 2015 | Raiden Legacy | Moblie, Steam (Windows) |
|
DotEmu[3] | DotEmu |
Characters
.png "Richard Maxwell (Raiden).png (146 KB)")
.png "Eshiria Portman (Raiden).png (151 KB)")
.png "Valbarossa Hawkeye (Raiden).png (60 KB)")
.png "Walter Campbell (Raiden).png (209 KB)")
.png "Helga Lindebaum (Raiden).png (199 KB)")
Fighters
Red Raiden
Blue Raiden
Organizations
| Name | Nickname | Role |
|---|---|---|
| The Crystals | Cranassians | Antagonist |
| World Allied Forces | World Alliance Military | International Peace Defense Force Vanquish Crystal Defense |
Logo gallery
.jpg "Raiden 25th Logo (V2).jpg (47 KB)"){kind=logo}
External links
- Official Website (Japanese)
References
| Raiden video games | ||
| Raiden series | Raiden ● Raiden II (DX) ● Raiden III ● Raiden IV (Overkill) ● Raiden V (Story) | |
| Raiden Fighters series | Raiden Fighters ● Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive ● Raiden Fighters Jet (text transcript) | |
| Compilations | The Raiden Project ● Raiden Fighters Aces ● Raiden Legacy | |
| Other Seibu Kaihatsu/MOSS shmups | Stinger ● Scion ● Air Raid ● Viper Phase 1 ● Caladrius (Blaze) ● Raiden NOVA | |