Raiden DX review for the Playstation



The original arcade game was released in 1994 by .
The PS conversion was released in 1997 by .
Raiden DX is more than an updated Raiden II.
Check the How to.. section of this site for instructions on how to succesfully rotate your monitor.
It has three main courses:



There's training, novice & expert.
-Training is one BIG level in which you have just one credit to complete it.
After you play training (doing well) you receive the Viper Phase.1 arrange music & the replay option.
-In novice you play 5 levels
-In expert you play 8 levels + one bonus level!

In Raiden DX you can choose three different musical themes. wow that's a first!
The music in this game is probably it's best feature. Very nice indeed.
included is a full screen "vertical arcade mode".
At least in Japanese version which I have.
I also have an american version of Raiden Project which also has a vertical arcade mode, but that mode is only to play horizontal as the controls are fucked up & to play with a vertical rotated monitor you have to rotate your controller as well, and.......I couln't get used to it!
Check the How to.. section of this site for instructions on how to succesfully rotate your monitor.

Raiden DX is a very average shoot 'em up. It's nowhere when compared to the Psikyo shooters like Gunbird which was released that same year.
I guess Raiden Project & Raiden DX have gotten so much attention because they are, apart from Strikers 1945 part 2, the only vertical scrolling shoot 'em ups to have been released in the U.S., & maybe in Europe as well.
The game is still an okay shoot 'em up. In particular the first level bosses are impressive (two four footed mechs).
Also the shrapnel & debree that flies around when you shoot things is impressive. For that alone I give the graphics a 6 rating instead of a 5.
On major gripe that should not be overlooked is that your ship moves very slow! Fortunatly there are speed-up icons but when you die your transmission gets shifted into first. (^_^)
Futhermore this game is very traditional. I think there is more to unlock. The replay function is nice; for which you need some blocks to save.




FACT FILE     

Vertical arcade mode   Yes
Unlimited continues    No 
Levels                 10 
Aircraft               1  
BGM Audio test mode    No 
CD player audio        No 



Verdict:

Playability 6
Music 8,9
Lastability 7
Graphics 6

Overall 6,9


screenshots: