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The Raiden II (雷電Ⅱ)[1] is a fighter first introduced in Raiden II and is part of the Fighting Thunder line. It has appeared in later games under different names with different weapon loadouts.

Loadout[]

The Raiden II uses the same weapons that the original Raiden fighter used, in addition to two new weapons introduced in the second game. Weapon names in quotes are unofficial names.

  • Wide Vulcan: The Raiden II fires a wide-coverage low-power shot spread.
  • Lightning Laser: The Raiden II fires a powerful laser beam straight forward.
  • Bend Plasma: A new weapon for the Raiden II, it starts as a rapid-firing forward shot. Continuing to shoot this weapon overcharges it and turns it into a continuous plasma beam that locks onto a target and can lock on to additional targets as well, dealing damage to all affected targets simultaneously.
  • Homing Missiles: A secondary weapon that chases down nearby targets.
  • Nuclear Missiles: A secondary weapon that fires forward, dealing secondary damage through its explosions.
  • "Thermonuclear Bomb": A special attack with a delay before deployment, it deals damage to all targets in a large area, clearing enemy bullets.
  • Diffusion Bomber[1]: A new special attack for the Raiden II, it is a cluster bomb that covers a wide area, deploys immediately, and damages targets while clearing away enemy bullets.

Other names and appearances[]

After its first appearance in Raiden II in 1993, the Raiden II fighter has appeared in later games in the Raiden series and the Raiden Fighters series under different names.

  • Raiden mk-II: The Raiden II fighter was given this name in the Raiden Fighters series. It also appeared in Raiden IV under a slightly different name, Raiden Mk-II, gaining the upgraded Proton Laser as one of its new weapons. In the Raiden Fighters games, the Raiden mk-II uses a modified Bend Plasma weapon that immediately deploys in its lock-on form, the Homing Missiles, and the Thermonuclear Bomb as its loadout.
  • Raiden mk-IIβ: The 2P blue version of the Raiden II was given this name in the Raiden Fighters series starting with Raiden Fighters 2. It uses the Wide Vulcan, Nuclear Missiles, and Diffusion Bomber as its loadout. As the Raiden mk-IIβ, it was given a faster movement speed than the Raiden mk-II to make each ship distinct in the Raiden Fighters games.
  • Fighting Thunder Mk-II: An unofficial name adopted by Seibu Kaihatsu.
  • Plasma Laser[1]: The original name for the Bend Plasma by Seibu Kaihatsu, later given its current name when Raiden V introduced two new types of Plasma weapons: the Catch Plasma and the Homing Plasma[2].
  • Plasma Lock-On Beam: a name given to the Bend Plasma on Fabtek's arcade instruction card for Raiden Fighters 2.[3]
  • Toothpaste Laser: A fan name for the Bend Plasma, coined in the late 1990s by Malcolm Laurie (Malc)[4], founder of the shmups website SHMUPS!

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://archive.org/details/raidentheaceshigh/page/n2/mode/1up (in Japanese): この戦況を打開ずるために、世界連合軍は新兵器“プラスマレーザー "と“拡散ボンバー”を搭載し、更に機動性の増した"雷電II"上を開発した。(In order to overcome this war situation, the World Allied Forces have developed the new weapons "Plasma Laser" and "Diffusion Bomber", and the more mobile "Raiden II".)
  2. http://raiden.mossjp.co.jp/raiden5/eng/xboxone/machine_02.html
  3. https://www.arcade-museum.com/images/118/1181242155270.jpg
  4. http://www.shmups.com/reviews/raidendx/index.html
Fighters
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