Raiden IV x Mikado Remix coming to Switch on April 22, 2021

[Shelcoof]

Physical PS4 and PS5 versions coming to Japan.

Does anyone know what the difference is between the special edition of the PS4 and the Standard edition?

[therealjondoe]

Physical PS4 and PS5 versions coming to Japan.

Does anyone know what the difference is between the special edition of the PS4 and the Standard edition?

I think the special includes cds of the original and new soundtracks

[Flashman]

I need to try and put more time into this, I picked it up on the Switch when it was released. Great music and I enjoy the game, but it's rock hard almost from the second level - I quickly realised the 1cc was probably out of my reach, which made me loose interest to a degree, though I credit fed it once or twice.

[NeoStrayCat]

Kinda surprised the Xbox version gets an updated version of Raiden, since they only released vanilla versions of Raiden IV and V. Either way, since the Mikado Remix version is coming to Steam, I wonder if the Overkill version of IV will still be sold on Steam/GOG even after Mikado Remix is out, considering companies sometimes remove the old version for the new one. Though there are expections.

[heli]

The PS4 version disc is in stores.
I wonder what the PS5 version have to offer for a old game ?
Why would anyone buy the PS5 version that locks you out from playing on PS4 ?

[heli]

Reversible cover

[John4300]

This might use a new topic, but I'm using this one nevertheless.

Seemingly Raiden IV: Overkill is getting removed from Steam.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app ... 2746913127

This could mean that the new port (Raiden IV x Mikado Remix) might take it's place, or something else of interest.

[FunktionJCB]

This might use a new topic, but I'm using this one nevertheless.

Seemingly Raiden IV: Overkill is getting removed from Steam.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app ... 2746913127

This could mean that the new port (Raiden IV x Mikado Remix) might take it's place, or something else of interest.

Thanks for the heads-up.

[Firehawke]

Outside of the soundtrack, if you own Overkill on PC, is there any reason to get the new version of Raiden 4?

Now if it were Raiden 3, that I could potentially see because the existing PC version is a shaky low-res port of the PS2 release-- assuming they actually support proper resolutions with that release.

[Jeneki]

Spotted this on PSN/Steam, released today if anyone's waiting for the digital.

[Steven]

Did anyone get the PC version yet?

Edit: yes, someone got it: me. Impressions when I can get a chance to play it, but I'm guessing it's probably going to be identical to the PS4 version but perhaps with faster loading.

BTW are there any differences when playing on 2P side in this game?

Edit 2: well, I played it for a while and it's Raiden IV x Mikado Remix... but you knew that, didn't you? It seems identical to the console versions, complete with the oddly blurry text everywhere. Framerate counter stays at 57Hz. Yay, now I know the framerate of the arcade version! Not sure if I can force 60Hz through vsync or whatever, but I'm not sure if I really want to bother with that anyway. I don't have VRR, so it stutters slightly, but it's not too bad. This game HATES the Astro City Mini arcade controller. Actually, pretty much everything except the Astro City Mini and Astro City Mini V hates that controller, so this is no surprise. I'll screw around with it a bit more to see if I can get it to work, but it looks like it's registering left as up and right as down or something. I suppose I could rewire the controller, but fuck that, I'll just use something else instead.

So, yeah, it's Raiden IV x Mikado Remix, but on PC. Yay~

[sunnshiner]

Bit of a bump, sorry. Is there a fix/bodge for the horrendous screen tearing in this version or do I have to go 'back' to my vanilla GOG Raiden IV? I've only run it on a laptop with HD620 graphics (no option for vsync, cheers Intel you wankers) and haven't had time to try it on my desktop yet.

[Steven]

VRR should fix it. *is sad because he doesn't have a VRR monitor*

I'm very glad it's screen tearing and not stuttering, though.

Edit: oops, was thinking of Mushihimesama for some reason! VRR should still fix it, though.

[sunnshiner]

Ok, bit of an update-ette if anyone's chewed, I tried running it on my pc with vsync enabled and it's stopped the screen tearing but there's a slight stumble (not a stutter as such but it's noticeable in the same way the odd frame pacing in Sega Rally Revo (62.5 FPS- who the fuck even does that? Oh, yeah, Sega...) is noticeable.

[Klatrymadon]

Does anyone else find the game looks quite muddy and low-res on PS4? I'd be happy with this if it meant the performance was great, but it seems to stutter all over the place, too...

[pulsemod]

it doesn't look low-res to me on PS4 pro at least, except for the menus and UI which have looked awful on every release of the game so far. the game's colour scheme is pretty muddy though. I haven't noticed stuttering during gameplay either, I'd be surprised if the base PS4 couldn't handle this port, but...

[Klatrymadon]

Yeah, I'm playing on a Pro, too! It's just slightly smeary and indistinct in a way that the PC Overkill port wasn't, almost akin to the loss of quality when saving an image as a jpeg, heh. There aren't really any display options beyond resizing the tate window, so it'll just have to do!

[Darkseed_5150]

I played the PS4 & Switch versions and they both use filtering. I went back to the pc version and it looks a lil jaggy now in comparison.

[Loom1es]

Does anyone else find the game looks quite muddy and low-res on PS4? I'd be happy with this if it meant the performance was great, but it seems to stutter all over the place, too...

I find the PS4 version stutters badly, especially noticeable from the start of stage 1 during the faster scrolling section. The ships movement also stutters. Its only slight but once i noticed it i cant not see it. The pc Overkill version runs smooth and is much better. I have put a lot of time into Raiden III X Mikado on PS4 and its a significantly better port than Raiden IV, i also prefer the game which i was surprised by as its often disliked by fans of the series.

[cj iwakura]

Does UFO exist to do anything other than port Raiden IV at this point!?

Some ports of Radirgy would be nice...

[Klatrymadon]

Does anyone else find the game looks quite muddy and low-res on PS4? I'd be happy with this if it meant the performance was great, but it seems to stutter all over the place, too...

I find the PS4 version stutters badly, especially noticeable from the start of stage 1 during the faster scrolling section. The ships movement also stutters. Its only slight but once i noticed it i cant not see it. The pc Overkill version runs smooth and is much better. I have put a lot of time into Raiden III X Mikado on PS4 and its a significantly better port than Raiden IV, i also prefer the game which i was surprised by as its often disliked by fans of the series.

Ah, thanks for this! Yeah, it's still very choppy for me. III is my favourite game in the series, but I was going to skip the Mikado version as I assumed it would be just as iffy as this one. Glad to hear otherwise!

[Loom1es]

Does anyone else find the game looks quite muddy and low-res on PS4? I'd be happy with this if it meant the performance was great, but it seems to stutter all over the place, too...

I find the PS4 version stutters badly, especially noticeable from the start of stage 1 during the faster scrolling section. The ships movement also stutters. Its only slight but once i noticed it i cant not see it. The pc Overkill version runs smooth and is much better. I have put a lot of time into Raiden III X Mikado on PS4 and its a significantly better port than Raiden IV, i also prefer the game which i was surprised by as its often disliked by fans of the series.

Ah, thanks for this! Yeah, it's still very choppy for me. III is my favourite game in the series, but I was going to skip the Mikado version as I assumed it would be just as iffy as this one. Glad to hear otherwise!

Raiden III X Mikado is great, well worth tracking down and playing especially if you already like the game. From my playthroughs i have found no fps drops or stuttering. The soundtrack is superb, there are lots of arranged tracks which can be assigned to any stage, building your own soundtrack has been one of my favourite things and really surprised as to how much it added to the game.

[BIL]

Picked up the PS4 version on a whim. Hell of a game, I have to say; been ages since I 1ALLed the 360 port. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy its balance of newschool accoutrements (tiny hitbox, upped speed, instant bomb) and relentless pelting Toaplanesque. It's a perfectly-judged razorline; adding a shade of daredevilry perfect for bloodening raids, and letting you swervingly "Fuck me!" escape death by the seat of your pants, where you'd be summarily "Ah, fuck" annihilated in I/II/DX. The graze hitbox and its VFX+SFX are sooo good - amazing sense of being right in the thick of it, sparks flying, whether threading through flak, or going nose-to-nose for a venomous pointblank. Reinstating the oldschool Raiden mkII in a "flying fortress" role (lower movement and bomb speed, and a longer powerup curve, but even deadlier firepower) is an excellent nod to conventionally stricter, route-intensive gameplay.

It even looks good, with an obviously equivalent affection for the classic games' grimly functional machine designs and smouldering, shrapnel-raining destruction. Doesn't match II/DX's legendary detailing, but captures their vengeful spirit more than aptly; a dread monster tank catching fire, then sizzling with voltage, before finally detonating in the tick damage of a bomb's outer limit one of countless countless authentic Seibu vitriols. Eat this Divine Thunder, you fuckin lousy pricks! Love the ships' classic switch to VTOL during ground bosses! Killer SFX, too. I don't seem to hear *the* Raiden Explosion, but it's a fine rolling cacophony regardless. Go Sato an augustly tuneful pleasure as always; st2/"Cannot Retrace's" release just as you skim over the dam is gorgeous!

Score attack seems rad too, love the beefy ultraviolence of those Overkill bonuses. IV also seems particularly careful with its bullet visibility, too, compared to not just III and V, but frankly some of the classic 90s titles. Load times are brief, input response is razor-sharp, I'm overall happy I gave this a go despite being happy enough with the 360 disc. Not without one annoyance, unfortunately...

Does anyone else find the game looks quite muddy and low-res on PS4? I'd be happy with this if it meant the performance was great, but it seems to stutter all over the place, too...

For better or worse, I suspect that consistent ~1hz hitch isn't related to poor performance, just the usual result of a sub-60hz game running at accurate speed on 60hz console. It annoys the shit out of me too, always. The first order I'm giving this T-800 I'm building is forcing Toaplan, IREM, Seibu and other Japanese arcade devs to code at 60hz, at gunpoint.

I don't recall the 360 port doing this, which makes me think it was forced 60hz. So as with that system's Ketsui vs the PS4's, I suspect the newer ones are technically more accurate. And more annoying.

Ah well. Sounds platitudinous, but I do begrudgingly forget about it once I get stuck in, these games being so intensely commanding of one's total attention. It mostly bugs me in Stage 2's first half, with the wheeling high-altitude view of cityscape. During the more conventional low-altitude stuff, I barely see it even if I'm looking. I really wish they'd offer a speed toggle, the way Hamster often do on ACA, for times when I can't be arsed to care about a <1fps speed discrepancy.

[Steven]

This bump made me want to play this game again, so I did. For some reason my framerate counter is saying 50FPS now for some reason instead of 57 like it was before. Edit: somehow I set my computer to 50Hz when I was messing around with stuff the other day and didn't notice it until now. This game still kicks my ass really hard, and it's too bad that the arcade mode has the weird scoring thing where the charge missiles are usually better for score than the speedkill mechanic, but I have always really liked it, especially the music.

Go Sato an augustly tuneful pleasure as always; st2/"Cannot Retrace's" release just as you skim over the dam is gorgeous!

I think you may want this: https://www.youtube.com/live/qmVBLcEOe7 ... are&t=5023

[BIL]

So rad to see him get a bit of the Yuge/Uemura STG rockstar treatment. You know what the best part of Raiden III Mikado is? Blasting st2/"Electric Resistance" out of the airlock so Sato can have the first three stages to himself. Always irked me, that tepid Castlevania riff! Unlike Sato's customarily bloodening st3/"Dawn of Sorrow," accompanying the immortally gratifying harbour liberation. *ring ring* Hello? What the f... Yeah, damn straight I blew up all your cranes! I needed the 1UP! You still got all your containers back, stfu!

[Steven]

I put the PS4 version of this game in my PS5 for the first time just to see how it is compared to the PC version and holy shit the loading times on PS5 are significantly longer than on PC. Isn't the PS5 supposed to have Blast Processing™ or whatever and yet it still loses to my 2017 PC with an ancient-ass SSD from like 2015? I want my fucking money back, Sony.

Joking around aside, it reduces the loading times on basically every other PS4 game I have to the point where they are mostly non-existent, so this is kind of strange. I guess it doesn't really matter, but it is interesting to see that it still takes a few seconds compared to the practically instant loading on PC, although everything else seems more or less identical, although I haven't compared image quality or anything like that and I am kind of too lazy to do so. I wonder how the PS5 version is, but apparently that version has more than double the lag of the PS4 version, so do not want!!!

So rad to see him get a bit of the Yuge/Uemura STG rockstar treatment. You know what the best part of Raiden III Mikado is? Blasting st2/"Electric Resistance" out of the airlock so Sato can have the first three stages to himself. Always irked me, that tepid Castlevania riff! Unlike Sato's customarily bloodening st3/"Dawn of Sorrow," accompanying the immortally gratifying harbour liberation. *ring ring* Hello? What the f... Yeah, damn straight I blew up all your cranes! I needed the 1UP! You still got all your containers back, stfu!

Raiden = Sato as far as I am concerned, and he's up there with the best shooting composers like Namiki, Uemura, and Yuge, but he has his own style that is completely different from theirs.

There is that other Sato, Akira, who did the original Raiden, but Go said at that Raiden III live that Akira was never actually employed by Seibu Kaihatsu, which is pretty damn interesting and makes me wonder how that came to happen. It should be in there somewhere around where they play Gallantry.

Yep, right here he talks about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmVBLcEOe7U&t=1108s
For 30 years he thought that Akira worked at Seibu Kaihatsu, but nope lol

[BIL]

For the longest time, I thought Akira Sato and Go Sato were one and the same - upon closer inspection, I really appreciated how two musicians can capture a mood (STOICAL GAMUSHARA) within two very different modes. Raiden 1 is a hard-hitting but always-soulful OST, even the cheeky Hishouzame st2 cover made its own... Raiden II's melancholy rock is quite unlike any other VGM I can recall, offhand; it's wonderfully uncompromising, barring lone banger "Flap Towards The Hope," without leaving the first game's decidedly sombre orbit.

Bit of a Silent Hill 1 & 2 situation, two unrelated creators producing something that clicks together sublimely, regardless.

[Steven]

Yuge and Uemura are somewhat similar, with Yuge being a trained pianist and Uemura being I believe a self-taught guitarist. Uemura talks about the whole Toa-bushi thing in a video on his Youtube channel, which is a goldmine of really great Toaplan stuff, but it's of course entirely in Japanese.

I'll see both Sato and Uemura (and Hiro from Sega, Iwadare, Matsumoto from CAVE/City Connection, Tomoyo from Taito/BETTA FLASH, and probably some more people. Tatsujin is apparently going to be there, so Yuge or Iwabuchi might be there) on Saturday at that Tokyo Game Music Show, and I've been playing Raiden a decent amount since the last time I saw Sato, so I'll definitely let Sato know that his work is greatly appreciated, and also apologize for recommending him to play the Bitwave Toaplan games, which turned out super broken lol.

[BIL]

Listening back to Raiden DX's arcade BGM (much nicer than the PS1 port's, which is very serviceable, but loses a layer of richness), I remember why I assumed Sato & Sato were one dude with a nom de guerre, haha. I'm not sure if Go arranged Akira's Raiden 1 BGMs, here, but they're absolutely gorgeous; acquiring a stately aspect that further recalls II's own sound. I particularly like how they kept that unmistakably machinegun-firing drum sound, also heard in III Maniax's A-Side tracks.

I have to say, I've rarely heard an arrangement of "Rough And Tumble" I like as much as the original. Even if they preserve the song's delicately dissonant balance of forlornness and conviction - lots of ASTs lose this, pepping it up - there's always something just a little off (in DX's case, the slightly farty bass tuba OG is just as low, but has a mechanistic coldness, playing sublimely off the bell tones and firecracker drums). The idiosyncrasy reminds me of Toaplan's stuff like Hellfire and Teki Paki (far moreso than Kyuukyoku Tiger, ironically enough); as MJR put it recently, that sense of the sound hardware being painstakingly tweaked and wrought by hand into the desired audio image.

[Steven]

Raiden DX has fucking amazing music. I made sure to play it at Taito Hey when I was there 2 days ago for that exact reason; I just wanted to hear Gallantry. I am pretty sure Go did the arranged versions on DX, but I will go ask him tomorrow. Want me to say anything to him for you?