How Cool is Raiden DX on PSX?!!

[Pedro Lambrini]

For ages I'd been happy enough playing Raiden DX on MAME but on a whim I decided to try it out on the Playstation.

Wow! What have I been missing all these years!?

Graphically, the game is pretty much arcade perfect but the real bonus for me is the arranged soundtrack and the (easily) unlockable Viper Phase 1 soundtrack. They both really add to the fun of the game and make the original soundtrack sound a little stale.

So, now it's official. Raiden DX on the Playstation is now my favourite Raiden game... I just wish I had found it a little earlier in life! In fact, I'd say it's in my top 10 shmups list.

It's so nice to find an old style shmup with a new (at least to me) burst of life.

What do you guys think? Does anyone else really like this version

[Pixel_Outlaw]

I like it well enough. Shame I only have the disk.
Better than Raiden Trad I think but even that was OK for the time when you needed your Raiden fix at home.

The worst thing though is when you told a buddy you liked Raiden and he goes off on some Mortal Kombat garbage.

[Jeneki]

If I were going to be stuck playing only one main-series Raiden game, DX would definitely be it. Great fun, and watching aircraft crash and cause mass destruction to background scenery never gets old. The fading medals are a bit above my level, but it does give me something extra to think about in early stages so I don't mind them.

Funnily enough, I remember back in the day I didn't get the PS1 disc right away because I though it looked just like Raiden II. But I picked it up a few years later and playing it myself quickly changed my opinion.

[bigbadboaz]

Yeah, it's really great.

Not sure about today's market but it used to be one of the great bang-for-the-buck import titles too. Easily as good as some of the sought-after titles with inflated prices.

[Pedro Lambrini]

It's still pretty affordable. It's going for around £35 to £40 at the moment on ebay. I reckon that's not bad compared to some other games out there. I certainly feel like it's worth that much.

I love all the wee graphical touches in the game. It just makes the world seem so much more alive. I haven't been this charmed by a game in years... Could be an age thing but I don't find many shmups to be charming these days. They tend to be more like firework displays. Dazzling - yes, but charming? Not so much.

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

The PSX port is not arcade perfect. It doesn't run at the same frame rate and the sound quality and graphical effects are not the same as the arcade version. Sure, it has more options but the arcade version is much higher quality

[Jeneki]

Silly Seibu and their wonky arcade refresh rates. (SPI games are that way as well)

[Mero]

The PSX port is not arcade perfect. It doesn't run at the same frame rate and the sound quality and graphical effects are not the same as the arcade version. Sure, it has more options but the arcade version is much higher quality

Boss timer bonus is way higher as well.

[Strider77]

the sound quality and graphical effects are not the same as the arcade version. Sure, it has more options but the arcade version is much higher quality

Prove it

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

the sound quality and graphical effects are not the same as the arcade version. Sure, it has more options but the arcade version is much higher quality

Prove it

PSX music and sounds are dry and sound scratchy, drums are weak, large explosions lack strong bass, medium explosions lack the light blue shockwave around them from the arcade version, medium brown tank explosion sprites are different, they just reuse the medium explosion sprites and make them bigger, making them look blurry, and enemies don't produce as much debris as the arcade version.

[Pedro Lambrini]

The PSX port is not arcade perfect...

Perhaps, but it's a lot cheaper than an arcade cab.

Playing it tate on a nice 28" screen, sound blasting out of my hi-fi is quite the experience...

[bigbadboaz]

Yeah, there's a "close enough" point where it may not be technically perfect, but bah..

I prefer MAME on a yoko screen so the aspect ratio isn't gimped, but I'm damn happy to have the PSX disc in my collection.

[Eggzone Revolution]

The Raiden series is one I'm not as familiar with. Thanks for the advice, even for checking out the game music, I need to add this to my PSX collection and take note of the MAME version if I enjoy it. Is the arcade music recorded differently than the PSX version?