ROLLING GUNNER
I’m tempted to get this, but I can’t help but think that playing it will just make me want to play Raiden 2 again instead. To me, every entry in the series since has been a step down graphically, with (as far as I can tell) not enough that’s new and interesting to make up for that.
It’s been a while since I’ve played any Raiden game, though. There’s nothing else quite like that toothpaste laser.
It is the least Raiden a Raiden game has even been.
It is still recognisably Raiden. The first aircraft you can select, the Azuma, is pretty much the classic Raiden model. The Moss twist on the default weapon set (spread vulcan - straight laser - purple toothpaste) that’s been standard since Raiden 3 is here. The environments, enemies, and basic gameplay are all what you would expect out of a Raiden.
There’s a “narrative.” Voiced by a collection of dead-pan actors and plastered over the top-fifth of the playfield, characters stationed on the command ship provide a constant stream of gibberish over every level. They never shut up. I ended up muting the voices and taking advantage of the subtitle mute button (one of the triggers by default).
Then there’s the “cheer” system. I actually don’t find this all that offensive. In effect, it’s just a hyper bar that charges up very slowly by itself. Hit the Cheer Attack button, and your sub-weapons get a massive boost in firepower for a brief time. The hook is that when the game is connected to the network, other players can press a button to"cheer" you on when you achieve certain milestones in the game - reaching a certain score milestone, getting the highest rank on a stage, finding a fairy, etc. You can also do this for other players. Receiving a Cheer makes the bar fill up faster, so there’s a bit of an asynchronous multi “grand struggle” aspect to the game that’s pretty cute.
There are three variants of the Raiden available, each equipped with a sub-weapon that can’t be changed - the aforementioned plain-Jane Azuma gets homing missiles, the slow-but-tanky Spirit of Dragon gets straight-fire rockets, and the nimble, yet fragile Moulin Rouge gets a meager auto-aim twin laser. Each Raiden can be equipped with one of three red, blue and purple weapon types. The Raiden standard set is there as mentioned, however I found a “swing vulcan” red variant that can be aimed left and right that really cleaned house. There’s also a blue laser paired with a gem option that refracts the laser when hit, basically turning it into a giant sprinkler. I actually really appreciate the customisation, as it’s been interesting experimenting with different weapon sets to see what works. That said, I have found myself sticking with one weapon at a time on all my playthroughs.
The gameplay has a much faster, more frenetic pace than previous games. You get a multiplier bonus depending on how quickly you shoot down enemies after they appear, encouraging pattern memorization and efficient route planning. Oddly, weapon power-ups are now managed individually, which is a regression from R3/4’s common power level for red/blue/purple weapons and seems to clash slightly with the game’s accelerated pacing. The bullet count has skyrocketed, too; while older Raidens went all in on super-fast aimed shots from enemies, V has its fair share of curtain fire, too.
Raiden has definitely been going in a different direction since Moss took the reins, and I guess this is the culmination of that route? It’s Raiden, but not as you knew it. Where 3 and even 4/4OK still bore a heavy resemblance to the classic style, V is definitely a harsh detour. You will likely be disappointed if you go in expecting Seibu-era Raiden, because that just isn’t here. What is here, though, is good, and definitely worth a look if an “up-market” STG sounds interesting.
5 Likes
3 Likes
Game Tengoku is out and it is difficult for me to not buy the big dumb version with all the dumb extras.
1 Like
I just paid way too damn much for Garegga and it’s worth every penny.
2 Likes
I mean, I spent fifty bucks on the JPN version, and will probably buy the US version at full price, and I am OK with all of this.
1 Like
I would’ve waited for a sale but I got a ten buck psn code in my notification box out of the blue and said well close enough.
Flashing pink bullets > orange balls imo
1 Like
Gunbird (the first) is out tomorrow on Switch, part of a series of Psikyo ports by Zerodiv. Haven’t played much of (cute breakout/shmup hybrid???) Gunbarich but Strikers 1945-I is solid.
gunbarich is fun and cute. it’s got boss fights and enemies that shoot bullets you can reflect back. out of the three games in your post, i’d say strikers is the worst.
Based on how much i played gunbird in mame32 in 2004 I will be buying this port for reasonable American Dollars.
Criterion are surely above this grubby literalism
Edit: source: https://m.ebay.com/itm/Radiant-Silvergun-Be-Praying-Book-Append-Disk-Sega-Saturn-Japan-TREASURE-/401444342737?nav=SEARCH
10 Likes
1 Like
Steam page is up!
Hyakutaro Tsukumo back in action! Again!
3 Likes
2 Likes
1 Like
I just tried this game for the first time. It is odd the way the characters talk the whole time. I didn’t always follow what they were saying, but I did notice that one of them constantly told me that I wasn’t destroying enough enemies.
I couldn’t figure out what button sent a cheer to another player. Looks like it was triangle. I thought I tried that, but I didn’t notice any effect. Maybe because there was always so much on the screen. I noticed that there were tips and statistics and that you can even switch between pages in the margin to see different things, but I don’t know how you could play the game and also look at any of that.
At times, I had to focus just to tell all the different-colored bullets from the scenery. And there were moments when I stopped even bothering to try to dodge because I didn’t see anywhere to go.
This game reminds me that I prefer sprite-based graphics for my scrolling shooters. (I used to refuse to play any such game with 3D graphics, but I eventually gave in and tried R-Type Delta. And of course it was an amazing game.) In the case of Raiden V, the concept art in the gallery is far more attractive than anything in the game. I liked some of the backgrounds (and definitely some of the music) toward the end of the game, though.
I think I will try easy mode next time. But I’m afraid that the next time I go to play this game, I will be tempted to just play Crimzon Clover again instead. That’s kind of become my standard for modern shooters, I guess.
2 Likes
It’s been too long since playing the DC version and I only figured something was off when the game would just end instead of going to second loop.