Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Released in 1990, Raiden was developed by Seibu Kaihatsu and became one of the defining vertical shoot ’em ups of the early ’90s. It did not radically reinvent the genre, but instead refined ideas established by earlier military shooters into an exceptionally tight and addictive arcade game.
Rating: 8.5/10
The story is deliberately simple. In the year 2090, Earth has been invaded by an alien race known as the Crystals, and humanity sends the Fighting Thunder aircraft into battle. From there, Raiden wastes little time on narrative and immediately concentrates on what matters: shooting, dodging, upgrading your weapons and surviving eight increasingly difficult stages.
The basic controls use an eight-way joystick, fire button and bomb button. Your main weapon switches between two types. The red Vulcan starts as a narrow stream but eventually becomes a huge spread that covers much of the screen, making it excellent for clearing waves of smaller enemies. The blue laser concentrates its fire directly ahead and delivers much greater focused damage against large targets and bosses.
Secondary weapons add either powerful straight-firing missiles or weaker homing missiles. Bombs provide your emergency escape option, although they are not instantaneous. There is a noticeable delay before the explosion expands outward, so waiting until a bullet is already touching your ship is often too late. Learning when to bomb is therefore an important part of surviving the later stages.
Raiden’s greatest strength is how satisfying its basic combat feels. Tanks, aircraft, ships and defensive installations erupt into large explosions, while increasingly powerful weapons transform your initially modest fighter into a screen-clearing machine. Power-ups cycle between colors, forcing you to pay attention if you want to upgrade your existing weapon instead of accidentally switching to another one.
There is also more scoring depth than the simple presentation initially suggests. Medals provide bonus points, hidden items reward exploration of destructible scenery, and conserving resources becomes valuable for serious score attempts. Two-player simultaneous play is another major attraction. Both fighters share the battlefield and can even interact with each other’s fire to produce special attacks, adding an unusual cooperative element.
Visually, Raiden favors a grounded military style. Early stages pass over fields, roads, rivers, bases and industrial areas before the environments gradually become more science-fiction oriented. Enemy tanks and aircraft are nicely detailed, bosses are large and imposing, and the constant explosions give the action plenty of impact. Small environmental touches also help make the stages feel less sterile.
The soundtrack by Akira Sato fits the game extremely well, particularly the memorable Stage 1 theme. Combined with aggressive weapon sounds and booming explosions, the audio gives Raiden a strong arcade atmosphere even though its presentation is less colorful and extravagant than some later shooters.
Its biggest obstacle is difficulty. Raiden relies heavily on fast aimed shots rather than the slower, elaborate bullet patterns associated with later bullet-hell games. Tanks near the edges of the screen can fire directly toward your position, and moving carelessly can steer you straight into another projectile. The ship itself is not especially fast, so anticipating threats is more important than simply reacting at the last second.
Death can also be extremely punishing because losing several levels of weapon power makes difficult sections much harder to recover from. Version differences matter here as well: the Japanese arcade release uses checkpoint-based respawning, while international versions generally allow you to continue from the position where you died. Either way, reaching the later stages on a single credit requires memorization, careful movement and intelligent bomb usage.
Raiden is ultimately a perfect example of refinement over innovation. Its weapon system is uncomplicated, its objective is immediately understandable and its scoring mechanics never interfere with straightforward survival. Yet beneath that simplicity is a demanding shooter with excellent replay value and an enormous skill ceiling.
More elaborate sequels would follow, but the original remains highly enjoyable. With responsive controls, satisfying weapon progression, memorable bosses, excellent two-player action and brutally effective enemy design, Raiden deserves its reputation as one of the essential arcade shoot ’em ups of its era.
Released in 1990, Raiden was developed by Seibu Kaihatsu and became one of the defining vertical shoot ’em ups of the early ’90s. It did not radically reinvent the genre, but instead refined ideas established by earlier military shooters into an exceptionally tight and addictive arcade game.
Rating: 8.5/10
The story is deliberately simple. In the year 2090, Earth has been invaded by an alien race known as the Crystals, and humanity sends the Fighting Thunder aircraft into battle. From there, Raiden wastes little time on narrative and immediately concentrates on what matters: shooting, dodging, upgrading your weapons and surviving eight increasingly difficult stages.
The basic controls use an eight-way joystick, fire button and bomb button. Your main weapon switches between two types. The red Vulcan starts as a narrow stream but eventually becomes a huge spread that covers much of the screen, making it excellent for clearing waves of smaller enemies. The blue laser concentrates its fire directly ahead and delivers much greater focused damage against large targets and bosses.
Secondary weapons add either powerful straight-firing missiles or weaker homing missiles. Bombs provide your emergency escape option, although they are not instantaneous. There is a noticeable delay before the explosion expands outward, so waiting until a bullet is already touching your ship is often too late. Learning when to bomb is therefore an important part of surviving the later stages.
Raiden’s greatest strength is how satisfying its basic combat feels. Tanks, aircraft, ships and defensive installations erupt into large explosions, while increasingly powerful weapons transform your initially modest fighter into a screen-clearing machine. Power-ups cycle between colors, forcing you to pay attention if you want to upgrade your existing weapon instead of accidentally switching to another one.
There is also more scoring depth than the simple presentation initially suggests. Medals provide bonus points, hidden items reward exploration of destructible scenery, and conserving resources becomes valuable for serious score attempts. Two-player simultaneous play is another major attraction. Both fighters share the battlefield and can even interact with each other’s fire to produce special attacks, adding an unusual cooperative element.
Visually, Raiden favors a grounded military style. Early stages pass over fields, roads, rivers, bases and industrial areas before the environments gradually become more science-fiction oriented. Enemy tanks and aircraft are nicely detailed, bosses are large and imposing, and the constant explosions give the action plenty of impact. Small environmental touches also help make the stages feel less sterile.
The soundtrack by Akira Sato fits the game extremely well, particularly the memorable Stage 1 theme. Combined with aggressive weapon sounds and booming explosions, the audio gives Raiden a strong arcade atmosphere even though its presentation is less colorful and extravagant than some later shooters.
Its biggest obstacle is difficulty. Raiden relies heavily on fast aimed shots rather than the slower, elaborate bullet patterns associated with later bullet-hell games. Tanks near the edges of the screen can fire directly toward your position, and moving carelessly can steer you straight into another projectile. The ship itself is not especially fast, so anticipating threats is more important than simply reacting at the last second.
Death can also be extremely punishing because losing several levels of weapon power makes difficult sections much harder to recover from. Version differences matter here as well: the Japanese arcade release uses checkpoint-based respawning, while international versions generally allow you to continue from the position where you died. Either way, reaching the later stages on a single credit requires memorization, careful movement and intelligent bomb usage.
Raiden is ultimately a perfect example of refinement over innovation. Its weapon system is uncomplicated, its objective is immediately understandable and its scoring mechanics never interfere with straightforward survival. Yet beneath that simplicity is a demanding shooter with excellent replay value and an enormous skill ceiling.
More elaborate sequels would follow, but the original remains highly enjoyable. With responsive controls, satisfying weapon progression, memorable bosses, excellent two-player action and brutally effective enemy design, Raiden deserves its reputation as one of the essential arcade shoot ’em ups of its era.
