Raiden V

Overview

Raiden V is a 2.5D sci-fi vertical-scrolling shoot-'em-up developed and published by MOSS for the Xbox One in Japan on February 25, 2016, in both digital and retail format, with digital releases overseas on May 11, 2016.

The fifth main installment of the Raiden series (and the first to not be released in arcades), Raiden V celebrates the series' 25th anniversary by building up MOSS's earlier entries in the series with a customizable aircraft system (partially based on the Raiden Fighters spin-off series), a new lives system (which is now a shield meter), an elaborate widescreen HUD, and a social interaction system (where players can send "Cheers" to other players as they reach milestones to give them a special temporary buff).

The game also features a detailed story with fully-voiced dialogue, making it the first game in the series to flesh out more of the game's universe (including naming the antagonistic alien force the "Crystals"). The story takes place seven years after the events of the original Raiden (and 17 after the Crystal War began) and follows the Bellweather, the flagship airborne aircraft carrier of the Vanquish Crystal Defense (or VCD). As players take on enemy forces as the silent pilot "Raiden" (who pilots one of multiple Fighting Thunder aircraft), the officers of the Bellweather learn more about their enemy (including human resistance) and coordinate a counter-offensive. The game includes branching paths and multiple endings based on player performance.

The game was later ported to the PlayStation 4 and PC as Raiden V: Director's Cut. Released on September 14, 2017 in Japan and on October 5, 2017 overseas. This version was later ported to the Nintendo Switch worldwide on July 25, 2019.

Gameplay

Fighter Selection

Similar to the Raiden Fighters series, players pick one aircraft from a series:

• The Japanese FT-00004a "Azuma", which has average attack power, durability, and speed. Its sub-shot is the Homing Rocket.

• The American FT-00002c "Spirit Of Dragon", which sacrifices speed for additional durability and attack power. Its sub-shot is the Awl Missile.

• The French FT-00003b "Moulin Rouge", which sacrifices durability and attack power for additional speed. Its sub-shot is the Chase Laser.

Weapon Selection

New to the series, players can customize their main weapon loadout. A similar version was previously used in Raiden IV for choosing between two Purple weapons.

Vulcan (Orange)

The game's default weapon, focusing on rapidly firing vulcan cannon shots.

• V-001 "Wide Vulcan" - The classic Vulcan weapon from previous entries. Shots are fired in one wide arc.

• V-002 "Swing Vulcan" - Shots are fired two narrow arcs that sway left-and-right based on the ship's horizontal movement.

• V-003 "Moving Vulcan" - Shots are fired in three streams: one directly in front, and one on each side, which sway forward-and-backward based on the ship's vertical movement.

Laser (Blue)

Focuses on a laser beam fired directly in front of the ship.

• V-001 "Lightning Laser" - The classic Laser weapon from previous entries. The beam is fired continuously.

• V-002 "Charge Laser" - The beam is charged-up before firing, which allows it to discharge a much larger beam.

• V-003 "Reflect Laser" - The beam is thinner, but can be used along with a prismatic crystal launched in front of the ship (when the ship begins firing) to refract the beam in multiple directions (which spin around the crystal).

Plasma (Purple)

Focuses on attacks that lock onto enemies.

• P-001 "Bend Plasma" - Based on the "Plasma Laser" from Raiden IV (itself based on the classic Plasma weapon from Raiden II). Fires a straight-forward laser beam that locks onto enemies.

• P-002 "Catch Plasma" - Fires multiple short-ranged laser beams that lock onto nearby enemies.

• P-003 "Homing Plasma" - Fires multiple plasma rays from the side that chase down enemies.