Whoa!! Raiden III News for the U.S...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

And here's NCSX's say on the USA PS2 version of Raiden III:

http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/17537.html

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Reluctant Hero]

Holy shit. There's still someone who thinks GS/EB pre-orders do anything. Thought we got rid of all those.

I dunno man, I worked for Gamestop for 6 years (all of college and grad school, '98-'04) and I can say that if the store has intelligent employees then pre-orders do help.

Especially for game that you KNOW will have a low print-run. Like Shumps and Atlus games.

[rapoon]

GL finding it at any ebgames or gamestop. ive called about 20 in my area. notta fucking one got it. i just ordered it off amazon. =/

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I just got the primo call from my local Gamestop here in Riverbank, CA saying that yes, they finally got their intial shipment of Raiden III in just now courtesy of FedEx... ^_~

That fiver for a such a precious copy of Raiden III is indeed a good idea -- low print run ensures that it won't be on the retail game store shelving for very long. Today would be your best bet to try to score one if you haven't pre-ordered one earlier. Just don't wait too long..... ^_~

I'm definitely on my way to go pick it up -- about damn fucking time it showed up..... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Sonic R]

I have reserve Raiden III at Gamestop. I get call last night that it will be arriving today.

I have just leave work and went to Gamestop, I am only person who reserve Raiden III. I take delivery of my game and proceed to remove the shrink wrap right in the store. I go for the manual.

GOOD NEWS-- Option for tate is in tact. There is disclaimer warning and that says that UFO is not liable for any damage.

I am going to go play for a bit.



Funny how the disc says its a 'DVD-ROM' It is actually CD-ROM blue disc

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I have reserve Raiden III at Gamestop. I get call last night that it will be arriving today.

I have just leave work and went to Gamestop, I am only person who reserve Raiden III. I take delivery of my game and proceed to remove the shrink wrap right in the store. I go for the manual.

GOOD NEWS-- Option for tate is in tact. There is disclaimer warning and that says that UFO is not liable for any damage.

I am going to go play for a bit.



Funny how the disc says its a 'DVD-ROM' It is actually CD-ROM blue disc

For our international shmuppers,

Here's the exact wording spelled out on the back of this USA PS2 version of Raiden III:

Raiden is back in full 3D glory!

Blast your way through hordes of enemy spacecraft and battle enormous bosses in this action packed challenge!

The 3 classic weapons return -- "Vulcan Shot", "Straight Laser" and "Proton Laser"

3 Unique sub-weapons

New Modes of Play -- Boss Rush, Score Attack, and more

2 Player Modes -- Co-Op, Versus and Double Play Mode

(and four full-color photos of Raiden III screenshots appear under the above listed wording)

1-2 Players

Memory Card (for PS2) - 41 KB

Analog Control Compatible (for PS2)

For Sonic R,

That warning disclaimer is the same thing said in the original USA PSX version of SCEA's 'The Raiden Project" game, except worded by Seibu Kaihatsu & it's affiliates won't held liable for any damage by rotating your television or monitor. Selecting Tate option is the way to go, my friend..... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[poieo]

Holy shit. There's still someone who thinks GS/EB pre-orders do anything. Thought we got rid of all those.

I dunno man, I worked for Gamestop for 6 years (all of college and grad school, '98-'04) and I can say that if the store has intelligent employees then pre-orders do help.

Especially for game that you KNOW will have a low print-run. Like Shumps and Atlus games.

For just about every situation, pre-orders are worthless and seem to serve as a way for GameStop to be even lazier in their mission to kill the videogame industry. It's pretty much accepted by gamers everywhere that you're better off going to Best Buy and picking a game off the shelf on release day than you are spending $5 that doesn't actually guarantee anything. The stores near me both have great employees, and i don't think they take too much stock in reservations.

Plus, i like the idea that game stock is determined by continued sales instead of one-shot pre-orders. The latter is just an unacceptable burden on gamers and the market for games that aren't blockbusters.

Funny thing is, i'm sure this "unpopular" game will see ridiculously high used prices because it's so "rare".

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Holy shit. There's still someone who thinks GS/EB pre-orders do anything. Thought we got rid of all those.

I dunno man, I worked for Gamestop for 6 years (all of college and grad school, '98-'04) and I can say that if the store has intelligent employees then pre-orders do help.

Especially for game that you KNOW will have a low print-run. Like Shumps and Atlus games.

For just about every situation, pre-orders are worthless and seem to serve as a way for GameStop to be even lazier in their mission to kill the videogame industry. It's pretty much accepted by gamers everywhere that you're better off going to Best Buy and picking a game off the shelf on release day than you are spending $5 that doesn't actually guarantee anything. The stores near me both have great employees, and i don't think they take too much stock in reservations.

Plus, i like the idea that game stock is determined by continued sales instead of one-shot pre-orders. The latter is just an unacceptable burden on gamers and the market for games that aren't blockbusters.

Funny thing is, i'm sure this "unpopular" game will see ridiculously high used prices because it's so "rare".

Not necessarily so, a used copy of USA PS2 Castle Shikigami 2 sells for about ten bucks in the used game bin at the local Gamestop/EB stores when the original retail price was at $9.99 USD MSRP. WTF!?

I'm glad to have bought Castle Shikigami 2 brand new at retail price when it did finally pop up for sale on debut day..... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Reluctant Hero]

Gamestop has slowly been switching to the system of "reserve the game if you want, or the store won't get any copies" for low print run games. So its worth a shot.

And in my experience, your Best Buys, Circuit Citys, and Targets RARELY carry obscure titles like Raiden III. Hell Gamestop isn't even carrying Radio Allergy.

[Nate]

Picked up my copy from Gamestop. When I walked in, the kid behind the counter said, "are you grumpy-Raiden-man"? I just glared at his zitty face.
I can't wait to play it. Problem, though: I no have PS2. The Raiden party is scheduled for Friday at the downtown studio. That Double Play mode is very interesting.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Gamestop has slowly been switching to the system of "reserve the game if you want, or the store won't get any copies" for low print run games. So its worth a shot.

And in my experience, your Best Buys, Circuit Citys, and Targets RARELY carry obscure titles like Raiden III. Hell Gamestop isn't even carrying Radio Allergy.

For Reluctant Hero,

You've summed it up best with Gamestop's reservation system -- it does work wonders...I suppose if I hadn't placed a fiver for that Raiden III game, then would be a higher probability of my local Gamestop store not carrying such a low-print run PS2 game title on debut day..... ^_~

And is Gamecrazy accepting pre-orders for the upcoming USA Gamecube version of Radio Allergy?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Picked up my copy from Gamestop. When I walked in, the kid behind the counter said, "are you grumpy-Raiden-man"? I just glared at his zitty face.
I can't wait to play it. Problem, though: I no have PS2. The Raiden party is scheduled for Friday at the downtown studio. That Double Play mode is very interesting.

For Nate,

It looks like you just might have to break down & buy a spanking brand new slim PStwo just to spend some "quality time" with your sexy new Raiden III babe (unless you have a penchant for one of those original "fat" PS2 consoles -- they too, can pull "an all-nighter" just as well for a small wad of dinero)... ^_~

Makes me wonder how Moss' upcoming Raiden 4 PCB kits will fare on the Taito Type X & X+ PC tower setups on debut day for the Japanese arcade market scene -- it won't be cheap, folks. And that's the plain hard-hitting truth right there... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[The Coop]

So now that some folks have it in their eager little hands, does this US release have anything that the Japan and Taiwan PC release doesn't have?

[Reluctant Hero]

Picked up my copy from Gamestop. When I walked in, the kid behind the counter said, "are you grumpy-Raiden-man"? I just glared at his zitty face.
I can't wait to play it. Problem, though: I no have PS2. The Raiden party is scheduled for Friday at the downtown studio. That Double Play mode is very interesting.

For Nate,

It looks like you just might have to break down & buy a spanking brand new slim PStwo just to spend some "quality time" with your sexy new Raiden III babe (unless you have a penchant for one of those original "fat" PS2 consoles -- they too, can pull "an all-nighter" just as well for a small wad of dinero)... ^_~

Makes me wonder how Moss' upcoming Raiden 4 PCB kits will fare on the Taito Type X & X+ PC tower setups on debut day for the Japanese arcade market scene -- it won't be cheap, folks. And that's the plain hard-hitting truth right there... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

What I wondered is when we'll see the Raiden IV released for the Xbox 360 in the US. With Raiden III's track record, we probably won't see Raiden IV until 2009 for the '360. Even if it even comes out...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Makes me wonder how Moss' upcoming Raiden 4 PCB kits will fare on the Taito Type X & X+ PC tower setups on debut day for the Japanese arcade market scene -- it won't be cheap, folks. And that's the plain hard-hitting truth right there... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

What I wondered is when we'll see the Raiden IV released for the Xbox 360 in the US. With Raiden III's track record, we probably won't see Raiden IV until 2009 for the '360. Even if it even comes out...[/quote]

For Reluctant Hero,

Well, we'll just have to wait for the official announcement of Raiden IV -- and that's a big if and when it's ported out to a specific gaming console with Moss' official blessing..... ^_~

Yep, as with the current rate of releasing USA console shmup ports is going these days, the theoretical 2009 year seems about right on the $$$ (or even possibly stretching into a 2010: "The Year We Make Contact" release date)..... ^_~

Say, SAL-9000, are you related to the HAL-9000 series? (According to the 2001: A Space Odyssey flick, the HAL-9000 series computer first became "aware" on 1/12/1994 -- today's computers have yet to reach that level of "self-awareness" AI plateau benchmark -- perhaps in another alternate universe does such exotic AI matter exist.....) And what's with the black monolith anyways? (Could it be a "fat" PS2 variant console in disguise?) ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[al138]

Funny how the disc says its a 'DVD-ROM' It is actually CD-ROM blue disc

Furthermore, don't you think it's funny that the cover art is so lackluster (the back cover is the saddest I've ever seen on a PS2 title), and yet they print the instruction manual in full color?

This release is full of odd little inconsistantcies, everything from the cover, to the disk, and even the $30 price point for what should have been a budget title.

Oh well, I'm still a sucker for a US release of Japanese shooters.

[Fighter17]

Can anyone of you guys can take a photo of the back?

[al138]

Can anyone of you guys can take a photo of the back?

I don't have the time to scan the back of my copy, but just in case someone does, here is a link to the back cover of the Japanese version to compare it to:

http://www.ncsx.com/2005/ncs091905/raiden_iii.htm

When you see the US version pic, you'll understand.

[Nate]

I'm curious. Is there a story featured in the Japanese ver.? Cause there's not one in the US ver..
Again, only curious. Not that it really matters. Or, does it?

[DJ Incompetent]

Can anyone of you guys can take a photo of the back?

...you...you really don't wanna see the back. It is of MLF blandness. The whole thing can be P-Shopped in like, 15 minutes. Zero effort.

Hell, the Senko no Ronde cover change is better than this package job.

So now that some folks have it in their eager little hands, does this US release have anything that the Japan and Taiwan PC release doesn't have?

I played the Jpn PS2 one. Everything I remember from that one is still in here. One controller Double Play. Replay creation. BGM shutoff. TATE is still there. They even left a superplay to watch on the same disk. All the essentials are go. If there is a change, it'll prolly be nitpicky shit I wouldn't remember. No 480p though. light sadness.



alamone will be hard to catch up to ^_^;;





Anyway, I give UFO Interactive Games a "Thanks for not fucking this up, out of 5"




Didn't see story anything in Jpn ver. same stuff.
Oh yeah, Nate. I pretty keen to your vodkatron disks. Thanks for puttin' them out.

[Sonic R]

back of USA box (sorry for junk pics - I am using phone )



Impressions:

Its exactly like Japan version. Even with the O button confirm X button cancel.

I went through the game in practice mode and just like Japan game everything is unlocked.

[sideshow]

Did the japanese version have 480p or you just saying it sucks it doesnt have it?

[DJ Incompetent]

I'm honestly not sure. At the time the jpn game was booting up, I was holding the face buttons to trigger the progressive prompt, but nothing gave that option. It's possible I didn't get to the buttons in time though. I only had one shot. I don't have access to that version anymore.


If nobody else mentioned it, I don't think jpn version did progressive in the first place.

[Nate]

To PCEfanX:

I saw this small PS2 that was I think silver? At Toys R Us today. That was cute. Anyway, I'm on my way to the studio w/ the 1080. We're getting some training in tonight.

[Xexyz]

The original JPN release was on a CD-ROM right?

Like someone else mentioned, the disc art & back cover have the DVD-ROM logo on them, but the game is printed on your standard blue PS2 CD-ROM.

Also, the back of the case doesn't mention the game supporting Digital Control, but it's still there.

[sideshow]

As far as I know there isnt any PS2 shmup that supports 480p. Not that its a huge deal but would be cool to see one that supports it.

[Ayanami]

I got it today and I am quite happy with the purchase. I did not own a japanese copy, so all the "flaws" are just fine and dandy. (All of the so called flaws are just box art complaints any way.)

[J-Manic]

Shit!

I just back from GameCrazy, and they told me it comes out on 4/20.

[iatneH]

As far as I know there isnt any PS2 shmup that supports 480p. Not that its a huge deal but would be cool to see one that supports it.

I know for sure that Shikigami no shiro II does it.

I have the JP version, but not with me at the moment. However, I don't recall seeing any 480p option on the back of the case. If it did, I would be sure to remember it. So I am maybe 80% sure that the JPN RaidenIII doesn't support progressive.

[Lawfer]

So is the US version picking up at all? And did XS games do a good job at it?