Lets all take a moment
to reflect back to the days of the shooter. Yes, that period of gaming where every new
release was either a horizontal or vertical shooter. Raiden arguably set
the standard for the vertical scrolling shooter in the arcades, so much that every
single shooter afterwards seemed all too familiar. As with all popular games of the
day, a sequel was released, but it was unfortunately lost amongst the plethora of copycats
on the market.Now, thanks to the wonders of today's technology, we are lucky enough to receive both of these awe-inspiring shooters in their original arcade form. The games plot isn't neccesary since it's the typical run-of-the-mill alien invasion plot, not to mention that both games are vertical shooters. The games play roughly the same, but the sequel included on the disc puts a few more power-ups in the players hands, making the game somewhat easier than it's predecessor. Both of the games also support two-player simultaneous gameplay with only minor slowdown in the later stages.
Both games can be
easily aged simply by watching the gameplay. The original Raiden looks exactly
like a late 80's, early 90's shooter with simple details and some large explosions when
the bosses finally go down. The sequel is a mild upgrade graphically, but new features
like ships dropping to the ground and taking the games enviroments with them when taken
out is a plus. The newly upgraded "homing laser" is a also a spectacular sight.
Not many games from the early 90's have such memorable soundtracks, but Raiden is that rare exception. Saying that the game's music is in top five all time game soundtracks wouldn't be stretching it. As a bonus, both of these soundtracks have been remixed to take advantage of the Playstation's CD format. Other bonuses include all of the original arcade dipswitch settings, but continues are limited to nine.
Fans of shooters should not be without a copy of this early and rather hard to find PS game. Both of the shooters are easily at the top of their class and some of the originators of the genre. The rarely seen sequel is also one of the underrated greats that many people probably overlooked when it was originally released. Highly recommended to anyone with a PS and a need for some shooting action.
