I just recently got a classic 1993 Seibu Kaihatsu/Fabtek USA Bios region version of Raiden II Jamma PCB and have some questions about it:
1.) I've noticed a big double "AA" sized Lithium batter on the Raiden II PCB itself (& is secured to the PCB with a plastic tie-strap)...it is now September 2005 and the Raiden II PCB doesn't save high scores anymore. Would a trip to my local Radio Shack in the USA get me the same type of double "AA" sized lithium battery or would I have to "special order" it through them? -- It is rated at 3.6 volts.
2.) Unfortunately, I only recieved just a "bare-bones" Raiden II PCB along without any arcade paperwork. What are the dip switch settings for a USA Bios "Fabtek" Raiden II PCB anyways?
3.) Is there a dip switch setting to allow "5" lives (besides the usual 1, 2, 3 or 4 lives dip switch settings)? (I swear playing some Raiden II cabinets in the past that offered five lives for a single credit.)
4.) What is a recommended site that would have all the Raiden II arcade paperwork downloadable as PDF format or JPEGs? (I'm looking for the USA Raiden II version arcade paperwork such as the Dip Switch Sheet, Instruction manual, etc.)
5.) What is the average lifespan of a typical Lithium battery (rated at 3.6 volts) used for back-up of high scores and/or game settings on an arcade PCB?
Some observations about the Raiden II PCB itself:
I've noticed that the arcade PCB of Raiden II is more harder than the PSX version on the Raiden Project disc...could be that Seibu Kaihatsu wanted to make an arcade shmup to eat yen, quarters, or tokens by the bucketfuls...it really is hard even on the "Easy" difficulty setting. The simple phrase "Quarter Muncher" holds true at least for the USA Bios region version of Raiden II PCB.
One could continue with the same score by credit feeding a 2-player game (where one puts in two credits and let's the second player die leaving just the 1st player to play by his or her lonesome self and credit-feeding just the 1st player's current score so it doesn't reset back to zero like it does on a single player gaming session...this trick works on the USA Bios region Raiden II PCB).
I've played some Raiden II cabinets that would save high scores and others that would not save any high scores upon powering down for the day.
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
Seibu Kaihatsu/Fabtek Raiden II PCB ?'s...
-
PC Engine Fan X!
- Posts: 8436
- Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:32 pm
I've not found the paperwork for Raiden 2 anywhere on the Internet, but this site has the DIP switch settings. These are also the same for Raiden DX (which is the one I have: )
http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_dips/R/raiden2
I should actually have a copy of the Raiden II manual on the way here from an ebay seller, although I don't happen to have a scanner around right now.
As for the bettery, it shouldn't be necessary for the board's operation (my DX board is missing this battery entirely, and works fine, just doesn't save scores.)
Even though I have my Raiden DX board I'm still trying to get a Raiden 2 as well, since they're actually a lot more different than I expected. I won an auction for one on eBay, but the seller ended up refunding my money after determining that the PCB in the auction was the wrong one.
http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_dips/R/raiden2
I should actually have a copy of the Raiden II manual on the way here from an ebay seller, although I don't happen to have a scanner around right now.
As for the bettery, it shouldn't be necessary for the board's operation (my DX board is missing this battery entirely, and works fine, just doesn't save scores.)
Even though I have my Raiden DX board I'm still trying to get a Raiden 2 as well, since they're actually a lot more different than I expected. I won an auction for one on eBay, but the seller ended up refunding my money after determining that the PCB in the auction was the wrong one.