PSX Longplay #72: The Raiden Project (Raiden 1)
15The Raiden Project, originally released in Japan as simply Raiden Project (雷電プロジェクト) is a port of the arcade games Raiden and Raiden II to the PlayStation. It was released in North America as an original launch title on September 9, 1995, in Japan on January 27, 1995 and in Europe in November 1995. This was the only console release of Raiden II.
Raiden is the name of the fighter/bomber that the player flies to destroy and rid mankind of the aliens that have invaded Earth in 2090. Raiden II picks up three years after the player has destroyed the first invasion of aliens and faces a new invasion.Raiden is the name of the fighter/bomber that the player flies to destroy and rid mankind of the aliens that have invaded Earth in 2090. Raiden II picks up three years after the player has destroyed the first invasion of aliens and faces a new invasion.
Raiden consists of eight vertical scrolling missions where the player maneuvers the Raiden craft dodging and destroying enemy robots, buildings, ground targets, and aircraft. There are bombs and missile powerups as well as collectable medals which add to the score. Raiden II is similar, and has additional weapons, new enemies and terrains.
The game can be played alone against the computer hordes or another player can join along to fight simultaneously. There are several types of "weapons" and "power-ups" the player can acquire by destroying enemies that make the Raiden ships more powerful and destructive. Thermonuclear bombs destroy almost everything on the screen, the one exception being the end-of-level bosses.