Raiden V

Raiden V (雷電V Raiden Faibu) is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up and the latest entry in the Raiden series, released on February 25, 2016, for the Xbox One in Japan. An updated version, Raiden V: Director's Cut, was later published by UFO Interactive for PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Story synopsis

More information: Timeline of the Crystal War, the story of Raiden V

The events of Raiden V occur 17 years after the onset of the war between humanity and the Crystals, the series’ antagonists. The story follows the campaign of the Bellwether, the flagship of the Vanquish Crystal Defense (VCD), commanded by Richard "Max" Maxwell and communications officer Eshiria Portman. They oversee the actions of the player’s pilot, who flies one of the Fighting Thunder craft.

The campaign spans various locations around the world, during which Max and Eshiria confront the Crystals and face resistance from human threats, including the pirate Valbarossa Hawkeye and Lieutenant Walter Erick Campbell, VCD’s head of weapons development. Directed by Helga Lindenbaum, a councilor of the International Peace Defense Force, the VCD initiates an assault on the Crystals' homeworld to destroy the core controlling Crystal forces on Earth. During the mission, Max and Eshiria uncover the Crystals' true objective: rather than a typical invasion, the Crystals aim to eliminate all life on Earth, cleanse the planet of pollution, and restore habitability, as they did on their own world.

Gameplay

Raiden V retains gameplay elements from previous entries while introducing new mechanics. Instead of traditional lives, the player’s craft has a shield meter that can be replenished with special items or, in Director’s Cut, by completing bonus stages. When the shield is depleted, the craft is destroyed, and the player must continue to resume gameplay. The amount of damage the craft can withstand varies between different aircraft.

The Flash Point mechanic from Raiden III returns with enhancements, featuring a five-level Flash Gauge that affects the scoring multiplier, starting at 2.0 and maxing out at 6.0. The Flash Gauge depletes over time, with faster enemy defeats helping preserve it. At the end of each stage, players earn 10,000 points for each level remaining on the Flash Gauge.

Cheer System

Raiden V introduces the Cheer System, a social mechanic that allows players to give "Cheers" when others achieve scoring milestones, advance through the game, or uncover secrets. As players accumulate Cheers, they gain access to a special ability called the Cheer Call. The Cheer Call clears all enemy bullets on screen and summons a secondary player craft that fires a powerful weapon, which lasts until the Flash Gauge depletes to its initial level. Activating Cheer Call reduces the Flash Point multiplier to 1.0, and any enemy kills during Cheer Call do not contribute to its increase.

Player craft

When starting a new game, the player is given a choice from three different Fighting Thunder craft. All three craft use the same bomb, similar to the Raiden III bomb used by the Fighting Thunder ME-02.

Country	Name	Nickname	Sub Shot	Miltary
Japan	FT-00004A	Azuma	Homing Rocket	Japan Air Self-Defence Force
United States	FT-00002C	Spirit of Dragon	Awl Missile	United States Navy & United States Air Force
France	FT-00003B	Moulin Rouge	Chase Laser	Armée de l'Air (French Air Force)

Weapons

The weapon system in Raiden V, known as Evo-CWS, offers three weapon types, each with three variations, totaling nine possible weapons. Each weapon has 10 power levels.

Vulcan

Wide Vulcan: The classic spread weapon from the first Raiden, with rapid-fire capabilities and starting with a three-way spread.
Swing Vulcan: A continuously firing weapon that swings in the direction of horizontal player movement, providing higher damage output than Wide Vulcan. Based on Simorgh Striscia's normal shot in Caladrius Blaze.
Moving Vulcan: Alters shot width based on vertical movement, offering three streams: a forward shot and side shots that change direction. This weapon is challenging to master.

Raiden V — Charge Laser in action. This is only at level 5 power.

Laser

Lightning Laser: A straight-firing blue laser from the original Raiden, upgraded for continuous high damage output. Power-ups increase the laser’s width.
Charge Laser: A wide, powerful beam that releases upon sufficient charging. Upgrades increase the laser’s width.
Reflect Laser: Fires a standard blue laser alongside a deployable blue crystal. Shooting the crystal refracts the laser into multiple rotating beams, ideal for strategic placement. Power-ups increase the number of refracted beams from three to five.

Plasma

Bend Plasma: A lock-on plasma laser introduced in Raiden II, automatically targeting multiple enemies. Power-ups increase the width and damage.
Catch Plasma: Similar to Bend Plasma but with fixed lock-on heads that attach only to nearby enemies. Multiple heads can target the same enemy for increased damage. Power-ups increase the number and distance of lock-on heads.
Homing Plasma: Fires multiple plasma rays that chase down enemies, similar to weapons in Raiden Fighters 2 and Caladrius Blaze. Power-ups increase the number of rays, firing rate, and damage.

Miscellaneous items

Bomb: Functions like the bomb in Raiden III, instantly clearing enemy bullets and damaging all enemies. Players start with three bombs, with a maximum capacity of seven. Unused bombs earn 5,000 points each at the end of a stage.
Miclus: A hidden blue creature that, when revealed by shooting specific spots, awards bonus points and triggers a Cheer milestone for other players.
Fairy: Appears when the player shoots certain locations, restoring 25% of the shield gauge if the player’s shield is below 50%. Collecting a Fairy also triggers a Cheer milestone.
Sol: A hidden tower that appears when hovering over its marked location. Destroying it awards bonus points and triggers a Cheer milestone.
Medals: Scoring items that appear as golden orbs, with higher-value medals featuring wings. Medals reset to zero if the player loses a life, and end-of-stage bonuses are based on the total collected.

Characters and organizations

Main characters

Name	English voice actor	Japanese voice actor	Home country
Richard Maxwell	Xander Mobus	Kanehira Yamamoto	United States
Eshiria Portman	Rina Hoshino	Ayaka Imamura	Romania
Valbarossa Hawkeye	Sarah Anne Williams	Rika Kinugawa	Portugal
Walter Erick Campbell	Erik Scott Kimerer	Kenichi Inoue	United Kingdom
Helga Lindenbaum	Laura Post	Amano Mami	Germany

Organizations

Name
The Crystals
International Peace Defense Force
Vanguard for Crystal Destruction
SHIFT

Stages

Raiden V includes eight stages played through a single run. Unique to this game, some stages feature branching paths that take players to alternate versions of levels. To encounter the true final boss, Divine Rampart, players must fully power up their Vulcan, Laser, and Plasma weapons to level 10 before reaching the Stage 8 boss, Humpty Dumpty.

Stage	Name	Boss	BGM
1	Manhattan, New York City	Platon	Unknown Pollution
2	Crystal Mine, Middle East	Great Horn	Secret Cave
3	Port Michel, France	Kraken	Apostle's Maraud
M1*	Medal Mission 1	Sea Carrier	Hide-and-seek in a Sea
4	LHC Facility, France	Spice Birds	Intellect and Intelligence
5	Valbarossa's Pirate Ship	Blow of Hornet	Its Name Valbarossa
6	SHIFT Weapons Facility	Messiah	Fortress of Philosophy
M2*	Medal Mission 2	Sky Carrier	Tag in the Sky
7	Esrange Space Center	Angel	Far Journey
8	The Mother Planet	Humpty Dumpty Divine Rampart	Crystal of Abyss

* Medal Missions are exclusive to Raiden V: Director's Cut

Gallery

Videos

Raiden V - Teaser Trailer

Xbox One 『雷電V』 OP

External links

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