Raiden 3 PC better than PS-2 version. New Raiden IV

[retroborg]

Last year I bought Raiden 3 for the PS-2 but I wasn’t that impressed primarily due to the fact that the purple “snake” laser was missing, the graphics weren’t that impressive for PS-2 standards and the over all gameplay just didn’t feel like Raiden.

However, yesterday I played Raiden 3 on the PC and I was greatly impressed!

For some reason the gameplay and the over all speed was quite improved and the graphics looked a lot sharper. Especially in TATE when rotating the 19” TFT monitor vertically, it looked awesome and felt like a vertical arcade monitor.

Now, if they had added the Purple snake laser it would have been perfect!

Is it my imagination, or does Raiden 3 PC really take advantage of the better PC graphics hardware compared to the PS-2?

I also noticed that the intro sequence was shortened on the PC version.

I hope they haven't cut the ending sequence as well, as I haven’t completed it yet.

By the way, anybody knows whether Raiden 4 will be released for the PC some time next year? The classic purple snake laser is present on the arcade version of Raiden 4; I would love to see it on my PC!

Very sinister looking fire power (Raiden IV):

http://raiden.mossjp.co.jp/raiden4/arcade/gamecapture.html

Cool Raiden IV Wallpaper with the Snake laser:

http://raiden.mossjp.co.jp/raiden4/arcade/wallpape1_1280.htm

http://raiden.mossjp.co.jp/raiden4/arcade/download.html

Various Raiden 3 shots:

[JB0]

Last year I bought Raiden 3 for the PS-2 but I wasn’t that impressed primarily due to the fact that the purple “snake” laser was missing, the graphics weren’t that impressive for PS-2 standards and the over all gameplay just didn’t feel like Raiden.

However, yesterday I played Raiden 3 on the PC and I was greatly impressed!

For some reason the gameplay and the over all speed was quite improved and the graphics looked a lot sharper. Especially in TATE when rotating the 19” TFT monitor vertically, it looked awesome and felt like a vertical arcade monitor.

Now, if they had added the Purple snake laser it would have been perfect!

Is it my imagination, or does Raiden 3 PC really take advantage of the better PC graphics hardware compared to the PS-2?

It's not that the PC port takes better advantage of the hardware, it's that the arcade version runs on PC hardware.

The Type-X hardware the arcade version runs on is actually a 2.5GHz P4-Celeron PC running XP Embedded.

Seriously, it has PCI and AGP slots, the ATX backplate and EVERYTHING. I'd link pictures if System16 wasn't down right now. It's a standard PC in a metal crate.

Not to start any platform fanboy wars or anything(I can think of reasons to own the 32x, for Bushnell's sake! I think I'm fairly platform-agnostic. ), but a gaming PC IS a LOT more powerful than a PS2.

Stands to reason that a PC "port" of a Type-X game would be far closer to arcade-perfect than a PS2 port.

[MilSpex]

Raiden III is the best game on PS2 for my money. I haven`t missed burning coins at the arcade like I used to on it.

[retroborg]

Wait until you play Raiden Project, the arcade perfect compilation of Raiden I & II for the PS-1/2!

Not only does it feature awesome arranged music tracks (Even a CD soundtrack was released last year!) it also has a cool panorama mode that stretches the display to fit on the whole screen (Regular TV) eliminating those annoying black vertical borders on the sides!

[JB0]

Wait until you play Raiden Project, the arcade perfect compilation of Raiden I & II for the PS-1/2!... it also has a cool panorama mode that stretches the display to fit on the whole screen (Regular TV) eliminating those annoying black vertical borders on the sides!

Ewwww....

I mock the "turn the screen sideways" options, but I at least see a POINT to them.

I can't for the life of me fathom why someone would want to dork up the game by stretching everything to hell.

[retroborg]

Panorama mode in Radein Project specifically, is the best stretching mode I've encountered on a vertical shooter, as it does not deform the display like it would in other vertical shooters and it looks perfect.

However I don’t see the point in the “turn the TV side way mode” as not many people would attempt the risk by turning their TV on its side just to play a shooter.

Now with Raiden 3 PC it’s a different story, as a lot of TFT monitors give the ability to rotate them 90 degrees vertically from its pivot.

So it’s a pity Panorama mode was not used in other vertical console shmups.

Edited September 17, 2007 by retroborg

[mikeszekely]

Not to start any platform fanboy wars or anything(I can think of reasons to own the 32x, for Bushnell's sake! I think I'm fairly platform-agnostic. ), but a gaming PC IS a LOT more powerful than a PS2.

If someone wants to start a platform fanboy war over that comment, they'd need to get their head checked. I've bought and played maybe two PC games in the last 3-4 years, and I own over 200 PlayStation 2 games, and I am, for all intents and purposes, a console gamer. But c'mon, the facts speak for themselves. I mean, maybe a 294MHz Emotion Engine, 32MB of RDRAM, and the Graphics Synthesizer chipset were pretty advanced and held their own against PC hardware from 1999... but the hardware you cited for the Type-X speaks for itself.

[Chewie]

While Raiden 3 was fun the 80,000 times I played it, I personally feel there were WAY too many particle effects on the screen all the time. I don't know how many times I died do a shot that I thought was debris.

I also thought the side to side movement was really slow. Granted I am sure the arcade was like that too, I am just used to being to move left to right much faster.

[JB0]

Panorama mode in Radein Project specifically, is the best stretching mode I've encountered on a vertical shooter as it does not deform the display like it would in other vertical shooters and its looks perfect.

However I don’t see the point in the “turn the TV side way mode” as not many people would attempt the risk by turning their TV on its side just to play a shooter.

Now with Raiden 3 PC it’s a different story, as a lot of TFT monitors give the ability to rotate them 90 degrees vertically from its pivot.

So it’s a pity Panorama mode was not used in other vertical console shmups.

You forget the average shooter fan is a bit nuts.

Vertical mode winds up giving you arcade-identical graphics, since the resolution winds up being the same as the arcade one. Hence the draw.

And I believe the option originated on the Dreamcast, which had VGA output(CRT PC monitors can usually be rotated fairly easily, though LCDs are certianly extremely friendly in that regard).

[yellowlightman]

I'm not a big fan of Raiden, so I never bothered with Raiden III.

TATE mode is awesome, though. Way nicer than having black bars on the side of the screen, for vertical shooters.

[JB0]

I'm not a big fan of Raiden, so I never bothered with Raiden III.

TATE mode is awesome, though. Way nicer than having black bars on the side of the screen, for vertical shooters.

Know what'd be REALLY nice? A "horizontal" mode. Where it rotates the game area AND controls, and uses a redesigned HUD. Essentially make it a horizontal scroll game, for those of us that want the better view area but can't, or won't, rotate our displays(I use a 32" CRT for gaming. Like hell I'm manhandling it around just to play a shooter arcade-proper).

[Flaming Guantlet]

Know what'd be REALLY nice? A "horizontal" mode. Where it rotates the game area AND controls, and uses a redesigned HUD. Essentially make it a horizontal scroll game, for those of us that want the better view area but can't, or won't, rotate our displays(I use a 32" CRT for gaming. Like hell I'm manhandling it around just to play a shooter arcade-proper).

I only know of one shooter that ever did that, and it was Ikaruga.

[JB0]

I only know of one shooter that ever did that, and it was Ikaruga.

Ikaruga had that option?

I must've missed it somewhere in my distaste for the game as a whole...

Was it in the DC release, or added for the 'Cube version?