Raiden (Franchise) Archives - The Greatest Game Music

Raiden DX Soundtrack (PlayStation)

Raiden DX Soundtrack (PlayStation), Go Sato, 1997

Raiden DX is the perfect example of why it got difficult keeping up with the Raiden franchise and its music at some stage. The game is effectively an updated version of Raiden II, making it the strongest entry in the franchise’s classic period. Recycling levels from Raiden II and mixing in completely new stages, Raiden DX presents its content via three different courses players can take. One is essentially a reprise of Raiden II. The other two modes consist of one massive level and of a whole new set of stages that increase Raiden II’s already considerable difficulty level. A full three years after its 1994 arcade release, Raiden DX received a PlayStation port that added more bonus goodies, including new options and a demo of developer Seibu Kaihatsu’s puzzle game Senkyu.

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Raiden Soundtrack (FM Towns)

Raiden Soundtrack (FM Towns), Akira Satoh, 1991

You could argue Raiden wasn’t a terribly innovative or flashy title, released at a time when there was no shortage of shoot’em ups jostling for the genre throne. Still, Seibu Kaihatsu’s game turned into one of the best-known vertical shoot’em ups, spawning an extensive franchise that would see new games released even decades after Raiden first delighted arcade audiences in 1990. What did set the game apart from the competition was not just its refinement of existing gameplay concepts but also its almost proto-bullet hell approach, filling the screen with tons of projectiles. As would befit a popular shoot’em up from the genre’s golden era, Raiden was released across many computer and console platforms. Likely the best contemporary port was the FM Towns conversion – a familiar story at the time, given the platform’s superior processing power.

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Raiden V Soundtrack

Raiden V Soundtrack, Yoshimi Kudo, 2016

You’ve got to appreciate true dedication. Take the development staff of Seibu Kaihatsu, creators of the Raiden franchise. The company slid into financial woes from the late 1990s and focused on adult mahjong arcade games. However, its staff members left Seibu Kaihatsu, formed a new company called MOSS, bought the rights to the Raiden franchise – and ensured that its legacy would continue through several new instalments. After creating the franchise’s third and fourth titles, MOSS hit a milestone with Raiden V in 2016 – an impressive 26 years after the original Raiden hit arcades. As with previous franchise titles developed by MOSS, Raiden V picked up solid – if not always ecstatic – reviews. Not surprisingly, Raiden V introduced few innovations to the formula that the series had thrived on, but once again promised solid bullet hell-entertainment (that was slightly more accessible to novices than previous Raiden games).

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