ST: Raiden DX

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Randorama
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Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:25 pm

ST: Raiden DX

Post by Randorama »

This shmups treatise has been discontinued. Please direct your attention here for the most up-to-date and accurate information. Thank you!




RAIDEN DX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Over the months, Zach Keene's help has made this St much more readable, so this is officially a joint work: i wrote stuff and Zach did the much more important work of putting it in order, add useful infos, and other editing work. Thanks Zach :wink:
Also, thanks to Icarus, who is the co-author of this ST and has put a lot of effort to make it much better than the original, bare-bones version i created in the beginning!Many thanks to our feathered friend!

INDEX



0.0 INTRO THE HISTORY OF THE DIVINE THUNDER AND ITS LEGACY

“Raiden”, as you may know, means roughly “divine thunder”. The first game, as you may know, was basically a doujin homage to early Toaplan titles, with a cover of Flying Shark’s second stage song (“Gallantry”, second stage of the first Raiden). The first Raiden was extremely influential, especially for the original creators of that style: Batsugun had the type A ships as a blatant homage to the basic “Spread+forward” missile combination, with the character associated to the 2p side being the original Flying Shark pilot (Schneider). A few homages also appear in Don Pachi, mainly in some bosses’ attacks and the bee system. Raiden DX itself is an Extra version (with a lot of extras) of the original Raiden 2.Basically the whole score system has been modified, witht the introduction of flashing medals, the Miclus triggering, three different missions, and slightly different secrets mechanics.After this masterpiece, Seibu went to develop a new series, who had to be completely unrelated to the Raiden one.However, “Gun Dogs” didn’t have the charm that the name had: hence, the birth of the “Raiden Fighters” .As a final note, Seibu also produced “Viper Phase 1” , published as a “fill-in” between the two series, which was the Seibu version of Tatsujin/Truxton (…yes, Seibu were Taoplan fans!).Said that, let’s pass to main focus of our Treatise.

1.0 BASIC MECHANICS

Raiden DX i the apex of old skool shmups. This basically means that most of the bullets are aimed at you and only bigger enemies (carriers, mid-bosses and bosses) will shoot patterns.Also, most patterns are basically static (i.e. they must be dodged by exploiting holes and safe spots, or overlapping). The game also offers a lot of scoring opportunities, which more or less balance each other: this means that you can actually ignore one source and still get good scores, as their contribution is never predominant on the overall score (in short: out of 4 main scoring sources, they all roughly conribute in equal parts). Said that, let’s how the game works.

1.1 BASIC ATTACKS AND FEATURES

Your basic attacks are the main weapon and the secondary weapon. Since you have three main attacks and two secodary ones, you can actually have 6 possible offensive configurations. These would theorically raise to 12, considering the two different bomb types, but it’s better not to use them too much, for the sake of your score.

1.1.1 MAIN WEAPONS

The main weapon has three possible variations: Spread Shot (aka Vulcan), Piercing Laser (aka blue toothpaste) and the famous Purple Laser (aka kid colgate toothpaste). The latter is more or less useless, unless you really need to control the rank: beside that, it’s not very easy to use and makes boss fights long, something which is better to avoid. At any case, let’s explore in detail the weapons and how they work. One basic thing: every main weapon can be upgraded 7 times, after that a power up of the same type is worth 5k. If you switch weapon types, you don’t upgrade or get a bonus.

1.1.1.1 SPREAD SHOT (VULCAN)

The Vulcan attack (Red icon) is your classic wide attack: At its maximum level, it covers all the screen and is extremely powerful if you point-blank enemies (by depleting all of your bullets on one single enemy). This is the weapon of choice if you want to score a lot and be sure to cover all the screen, given the slowness of your ships.This weapon will also grants the highest percentage of enemies shot down, given its nature.

1.1.1.2 PIERCING LASER (BLUE TOOTHPASTE)

This is the first true piercing laser of shmups history (blue icon) , more or less.While it was an innovation in the first game, it is technically the worst weapon in the game, for one reason mainly: it’s a full frontal weapon.If the ships would have been quite faster, this wouldn’t have been a problem, more or less: the problem if that, given the slowness of both the Raidens, it’s extremely difficult to handle stages (but not bosses, for instance) with the blue laser. This weapon has its own utility by exploiting an interesting trick, but this is something we’ll cover later in the treatise. One thing is sure, it grants the maximum power (even more than a full spread shot at point-blank ) while remaining at a safe distance, but for the rest is difficult (to the point of useless) to handle.

1.1.1.3 PURPLE LASER ( KID COLGATE TOOTHPASTE)

One of the most bizarre attacks in a shmup, the kid colgate (purple icon) laser is as funny to use as useless, once a player is past the beginner’s phase.Basically it works in this way: the laser must be heated up by tapping quickly, which will transform the frontal laser in a coherent stream. This stream can be actually curved by moving the ship to the left or the right. Not only that, but once it hits a target, it stays on the target until it’s destroyed. Not only that, it will also damage every enemy on its path.Last but not least, it can be overlapped, like a string: for example, you can lock-on a target on your right, then move to the left and then to the right of the target. The fluxus will overlap onto itself, following a torsion principle. The weapon itself is pretty weak, but it can be used to sweep the screen and creat huge overlapping nodes, useful to do “land damage” (i.e. damage everything in a zone). Beside that, it is useful to control rank: this much maligned mechanic is based on the level of your main weapon (and loop, but that’s another aspect), and this means that a more powerful weapon will also be a drawback for your survival chances.The kid colgate attack has one advantage: it doesn’t become much more powerful, just thicker (and able to overlap more) with power-ups, so you can just take one or two power-ups and still be able to kick some asses. Beside that, it’s a pretty useless weapon, sadly.

At this point, let’s analyze the secondary weapons.

1.1..2 SECONDARY WEAPONS

The secondary weapons come in two flavours: forward and homing missiles.Both can be powered-up four times and will grant 5k after that.Also, switching type will void that bonus and the ability to power up.

1.1.2.1 FORWARD MISSILES
The forward missile (yellow icon “M”) is,well , just a salvo of full frontal missiles, nothing more.However, like its ideal counterpart (the vulcan shot), they’re deadly if used at point-blank distance.Basically (and this is valid for both secondary weapons) you will get a new salvo of missiles only once you’ve landed all missiles on any enemy.

1.1.2.2 HOMING MISSILES

Homing missiles are, well, homing missiles. There’s an hidden homage to Toaplan, specifically to Slap Fight, because their trajectories work like the ones in said Toaplan shmup. The point blank principle works too, for this attack, the problem is that they’re a bit less powerful than the forward missiles.However, they will usually hit enemies you even aren’t aware of, so they can be very useful.

1.1.3 BOMBS

There are two types of bomb:nukes and napalm.Tecnically, the nuke is associated to player 1, the napalm to player 2. However, the type you begin with is based on the colour of the thunder at the centre of the” mission selection “screen, when you press the button to choose your path.After 7 bombs of the same colour, you will get 50k for every extra bomb of the same colour:else, you will change colour of your last bomb in stock, then of your penultimate, etc

1.1.3.1 NUKE TYPE

The nuke type (red “B” icon) is the classical bomb that detonates in a given radius to do a devastating amount of damage.While its sheer power is pretty intimidating, the requiring time to detonate is roughly a second: this basically means that you can’t rely on it for a “last defense” approach. I suggest you to use the Napalm type instead, unless you’re not a bomb type and it doesn’t really matter for you.

1.1.3.2 NAPALM TYPE

The Napalm type (yellow “B” icon) is basically weaker than the nuke, but it has the same range and a way shorter (immediate) triggering time. As a “last defense” attack, it works very well, even if it still has a very short delay between the the pression of the button and the actual explosion (unlike, for instance, the bombs in the Takumi shmups).Suggested especially for the ones who don’t have the bombing taboo.

And last but not least…

1.1.4 SHIPS

Yes, the two Raiden ships (1p and 2p) are actually different in their characteristics but, in short, their difference is based on their speed and default bomb (the one you get if you let the mission selection screen time out). Player 1 has faster vertical movement, Player 2 horizontal. Hit areas are more or less the same, let’s say that the final part of the cockpit and the most external parts of wings are not vital.If you actually scratch bullets (i.e. have bullets hit non-vital parts), you will get 5k per bullet. It’s very risky though, so don’t do it unless you’ve finally become a master.

Once we have covered all the basic mechanics of the game, we can analyze in detail the articulated scoring system.The missions will also be covered in this section, being basically different in a few aspects of scoring and the overall enemy sequence.

2.0 SCORING MECHANICS

The scoring mechanics, aside the bonuses for extra power-ups and scratching, are mainly three: medals, end-of-stage bonuses based on medals and bombs and the end-of-loop (or end-of-play) bonuses, plus the secret pyramids. No scoring mechanic is really prevalent on the others, allowing you to tailor your play to fit to your tastes, but of course once you put all various aspects together, you will see serious increases in your scores.

2.1 MEDALS

The medals are he most difficult part of the scoring system to handle, but also the less demanding (in terms of requirements).Basically no medal is fundamental, but if you start taking a lot of medals at their maximum value, they will be worth a lot of points, mainly in three ways.

2.1.1 MEDALS BY THEMSELVES

When you discover a medal by shooting part of the scenery, they will start flashing and slowly fading away in brilliance, until they become dark.After roughly a second, they will flash again for a split second, and then be permanently opaque. If taken at the moment of their discovery, they’re worth 500 points, and the value will decrease, hundred by hundred (400-300-200-100) until they’re worth 10 points. In the split second they’re flashing again, they will be worth 3k or 10k (the blue ones, which are also worth 1k if immediately taken and decrease by 200: 800-600-400-200). This is not really a big source of points, more or less, since 10 medals will be worth 30k, if all taken at their
peak value. There are other aspects, though.

2.1.2 MEDALS AND BOMBS

At the end of a stage, you will receive a bonus which is based on the number M of medals taken since your last death per the number B of bombs in stock, or:

M*B=EOS BONUS (End-of-stage)

As you can guess, the 20 medals of before are worth much more points if, for instance, you have in stock 7 bombs:

10*7= 70k

In later stages you will get a lot of medals (20+), thus having the chance to rack 150+k if you can keep all your bombs in stock (without even considering the bomb bonus!).But there’s more…

2.1.3 MEDALS AND MICLII

The miclii appearances are based on the amount of medals at full value you take. Actually, the blue medals are also based on the amount of of medals you take when just discovered, but Miclii are more convenient (50k at the right moment). This value is based on the mission you’re playing, but it suffices to say that taking more medals at the right moment grants you the chance of getting more Miclii, and thus more chances to boost your score consistently.

2.2. BONUSES

The bonuses you get in the game basically rate your performance, so they can be poor or pretty consistent, based on your skills.

2.2.1 EOS (END-OF-STAGE) BONUS

As we said in the paragraph 2.1.2, you get M*B points at the end of a stage, computed from your last death. This bonus, of course, doesn’t take in consideration the Miclii, but it’s the third most cospicous source of points after the golden pyramids and the End-of-loop/game bonus, being also part of the “guts” vote.

2.2.2 EOL (END-OF-LOOP) BONUS

This bonus is divided in three values: Guts, Percentage of enemies shot down, Percentage of secrets discovered. Guts is also a vote going from 0 to 100, and it’s based on the EOS bonuses (to see how many bombs you used) and the amount of time spent in the upper half of the screen, with the bullets scratched counting as a +1. Every point is worth 5kpts, so a full 100 guts is worth 500k points.
The other two percentages are self-explanatory, with the secrets one being based on the number of pyramids you reveal. Both are worth 1M each if at 100%, so you can get up to 2,5M per loop, if making an excellent play. The EOL is actually awarded at the end of a round or at the end of a play, whichever comes first.

2.3 SECRETS

The secrets are basically 2: the fairy and the pyramids. While the fairies don’t actually contribute to the secrets percentage, they’re useful once you die, because they will appear and toss a few power-ups, whose number is based on the amount of time you’ve stayed alive. The other secrets are the pyramids, whose behaviour is based on the mission you choose. At any case, you have two possible types of pyramids.

2.3.1 GOLDEN PYRAMIDS

The golden pyramids are basically common to all three missions, with the difference that in the
Alpha mission they need some specific conditions to be triggered. In the other missions, however, they just need to be revealed by hovering on the flower patches, which are located at the same point of a stage (there’s one flower patch per stage). At any case, the golden pyramids are worth 200k points each, which is the biggest amount after the EOL bonus.

2.3.2 NORMAL (GRAY) PYRAMIDS

The gray pyramids only appear in appear in Alpha and Bravo missions, even if they work in a different way. In Alpha, they basically are related to the conditions to trigger the golden pyramids, in a one or another, whereas they’re just worth 1,5k in Bravo. Of course, they contribute to the final % for the secrets bonus.

2.3.3 FAIRIES AND CARS

Last but not least, in some points of the game (first stage for example), you can shoot against the scenerry and discover the fairy. The little magic creature will appear after your first death to give you back some power-ups, their amount roughly based on how much time you’ve been able to survive since taking the fairy. At some point you will trigger the “P” power-up, which will basically give you a full power (even for the secondary weapon, if you have any). About the car: if you’re very quick in clearing all enemies before the second boss section, a car will quickly cross the screen from right to left.It’s worth 10k and it only appears in this point, but it’s nice to know, isn’t it?

At this point, we can cover the more complex and advanced aspects, including the various omake that can bre triggered by meeting certain criteria.

3.0 ADVANCED TECNIQUES AND KNOWLEDGE

In this section we’ll cover how to play the three different missions and a few extra tecniques to score more and be faster in the destruction pace.Last but not least, we’ll cover in detail what is triggered when meeting specific requirements and other random stuff.

3.1 MISSIONS AND THEIR SCORING CHARACTERISTICS

The truly great thing about Raiden DX is that the three missions don’t only differ in difficulty, but also in their scoring opportunities: this makes the game incredibly varied, as you can actually choose what kind of approach you prefer, while still playing the same game. These differences are explained in the next paragraphs, of course.

3.1.1. ALPHA MISSION

No relations to the SNK shmup, obviously. Alpha mission is probably the richest of three, for scoring opportunities:let’s see why. First and foremost, you can take medals and, every three medals at full score you get, you trigger a Miclus. There are also a lot of pyramids to be triggered, but every pyramid has some prerequisites to be triggered. Here they are:

For the rest, it’s pretty straightforward, of course if you 1-life it, the EOS stage will be pretty consistent.

3.1.1.1 ALPHA MISSION SECRETS

Here's a list of Alpha/Training mission secrets thanks to Icarus:

The Training Mission should be renamed Score Attack, as it has a larger concentration of secret scoring tricks than any of the other selectable missions. It is also one of the most difficult, but can yield the most points if you can successfully gain all bonuses and loop into Novice Mission (and beyond).

So here's a list of bonus locations, and their requirements.
  • Gold Pyramid 1:

    Image

    This one's quite easy. Activate these two grey silos by hovering over them, and destroy them. Once destroyed, hover over the island, where the Missile container used to be, and a Gold Pyramid will appear.
  • Gold Pyramid 2:

    Image

    FIrst, activate these three grey silos but do not destroy them. Hover a ship's length below the middle of the three grey silos, directly right of the tree, and a Gold Pyramid will appear. Once it does, feel free to destroy the grey silos.
  • Secret Powerup:

    Image

    Occasionally, you can acquire an extra weapon powerup from this stationary powerup carrier, but in order to do so, you must quickly destroy ALL enemies on screen before you destroy the powerup carrier. That includes the occasional tank that appears to the right of the screen. The appearance can often be random, but you will trigger it more often if you satisfy these conditions.
  • Gold Pyramid 3:

    Image

    This one is tricky, as you need to satisfy a few conditions in order to get the third Gold to reveal itself.

    The main condition is that you must destroy the second large tank before the first. The sub-conditions are that the second large tank must not pass the flower patch area (circled in the second screenshot). And the first tank must pass the four grey silos (of which need to be activated and destroyed, marked in the third screenshot).

    Once these conditions are satisfied, hovering at the location in the fourth screenshot - roughly inline with the right side of the blue building - will reveal the Gold Pyramid.
  • Three Red Cars:

    Image

    By quickly destroying these tanks parked along this stretch of road at the third Gold location, you can trigger the appearance of three red cars that, when destroyed, can give you points between 500pts to 10,000pts.
  • Gold Pyramid 4:

    Image

    You need to activate and destroy these three silos, before you hover over this patch of ground to the right of the screen to trigger the Gold Pyramid. Watch out for sniper tanks and choppers.
  • Gold Pyramid 5:

    Image

    This one is probably the most difficult to get. When you reach this island, you see four raised silos and one in the middle, still in the ground. To activate the Gold Pyramid that appears later, you have to activate the center of the five silos, then deactivate the four outer silos. Once the center one is raised and the other four are completely in the ground, destroying the center one will destroy all five.

    You cannot activate the fifth Gold if you do not destroy all five of these silos in this manner.

    Once you reach this area with eight pillars that fire at you, destroying all eight pillars will trigger the appearance of the Gold and four extra grey silos.
  • DX Bonuses:

    Image

    When you come across a train that crawls up it's tracks, firing at you, if you destroy all the carriages on this train, you'll get 10,000pts and a bomb. For every complete train you destroy, you'll gain a bomb, and the bonus will be doubled (up to 80,000pts for all four trains).

    I believe that the DX Bonuses are related to the seventh Gold's appearance.
  • Gold Pyramid 6:

    Image

    Shortly before the boss, after the trains, you'll fly over a small patch of trees to the right of the screen. Hidden in this patch of forest are four grey silos that need to be activated and destroyed. The sixth Gold appears at this patch of dry earth just after this section.
  • Gold Pyramid 7:

    Image

    The activation of the seventh Gold is three-part. First, before you see the first set of trains for the DX Bonuses, you'll see these three silos in the ground. You must activate them, but do not destroy them.

    Secondly, you must get all four DX Bonuses from the four trains.

    Third, you must activate and destroy the sixth Gold. The seventh Gold will then appear in the same location as the sixth Gold.
3.1.2 BRAVO MISSION

In Bravo mission, you get the fixed (i.e. no prerequisites) golden pyramids at the flower patches, the normal gray pyramids as a bonus, a miclus every 5 full-value medals and only five stages. Beside that, the stages are the same as Raiden 2, which may make the mission even easier. For scoring purposes, this is actually the easiest one to handle, because you don’t need to do crazy manouvers to get the golden pyramids.

3.1.2.1 BRAVO MISSION SECRETS AND TRICKS

[Again, this section is brought to you by Icarus.]

Novice Mission contains a number of secrets that are simpler to activate than they are in Training. However, since Novice Mission is classed as a version of the game in it's own right, there are also new hazards that must be dealt with in their own manner. This Novice Mission quickguide will attempt to list all the major areas that need to be addressed for those who are aiming for a high-scoring No-Miss ALL.

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STAGE ONE:
  • GOLD PYRAMID:

    Image

    This one is easy to locate. It's right in the center of the impact crater, so just hover over the area and the Gold will reveal itself. Watch out for the group of tanks that appear to the left on the motorway next to the crater, and the choppers that descend from the top of the screen.
  • FAIRY:

    Image

    The Fairy is hidden in this tree (marked in the screenshot) just after the impact crater containing the first Gold Pyramid. Blast the tree until the Fairy appears.
  • WALKING TANK NO.1
    To quickly destroy the first walking tank, you need to hover right over the turret. Watch out for the shots that are fired from the four exhaust ports located on top of the turret, as marked here:

    Image

    The shots will originate from these exhaust ports, so ensure you are lined up correctly with the turret, or else you'll be shot down while attempting to point blank it.
  • BOSS - WALKING TANK NO.2:
    (recommended weapons: Spread // Straight Missiles)

    The second walking tank is a bit trickier to approach as it will fire it's enclosure attack the second it appears on screen. There are two good methods to getting within pointblank range:
    • Method 1: << TARGET TIME: 9sec >>

      Image

      Hang at the bottom of the screen, and lure the turret to fire at you from an angle. Once the enclosure attack is fired, you can sidestep the main two-way stream and quickly get within pointblank range, again making sure you avoid any contact with the four exhaust ports that fire bullets.

      Once you get within range, the turret will rotate back to it's set 12 o'clock position. the turret will always take the shortest route to the 12 o'clock position, so follow it as it rotates.
    • Method 2: << TARGET TIME: 4sec >>

      Image

      Make your way to the top of the screen quickly before it appears, and watch the top edge of the screen carefully. Maneuver yourself so that you are between the first two legs of the tank, and slowly tap the controller to follow the turret down the screen. The enclosure attack will be fired, but you will be right on top of the main turret, missing the attack completely.

      Watch out for the sniper chopper that appears, as it will fire a shot at you if it is at a far enough distance from your ship.
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STAGE TWO:
  • GOLD PYRAMID

    Image

    Where the flower patch is, hover roughly two "tiles" below it - a tile is roughly the size of the flower patch - and the Gold should appear.
  • AMPHIBIOUS TANK NO.1

    Image

    The first amphibious tank is pretty easy if you have been collecting only Straight Missiles and Spread powerups (you should be one level below MAX for both of them). The main body of the tank will fire an aimed V-pattern at you (meaning it'll always miss you if you stand still), but the three pairs of turret ports will fire aimed shots at you. Once these three ports are destroyed, the turret at the back will fire an aimed spray spread at you.

    The best method to dealing with the first tank is to get as close as you can that the V-pattern will just miss you, and blast the tank until the three pairs of turret ports are destroyed. As soon as they are destroyed, move up a bit more so you are right on top of the boss, and keep attacking, and soon the tank will blow up.
  • AMPHIBIOUS TANK NO.2
    The second amphibious tank is a bit trickier to destroy as it has a slightly higher resilience to damage than the first tank. You should apply the same methods to destroying the turret ports, but as soon as you have destroyed them, you can use one of two tried-and-tested methods:
    • Method 1:

      Image

      Back off from the tank, and squeeze through the gaps in the spray spread attack. Stay in line with the tank, and let your Straight Missiles do the damage.
    • Method 2:

      Image

      Wait a split second after you have destroyed the third pair of turret ports, and then move up and past the tank, missing the spray spread. As soon as the spray spread has been fired, move back over the tank, and the shots and Missiles you fire should destroy it before it gets the chance to attack again.
  • BOSS - DRONE SPAWNER: << TARGET TIME: 15sec >>
    (recommended weapons: Spread // Straight Missiles)

    Image

    To start off, get as close as you can and destroy the twin gun in the middle of the boss, and the two wings. Once these are destroyed, get as close as you can and pointblank the boss. Do not worry about the drones crashing into you, as the Spread should take care of any that get too close.

    As soon as you see all the drones eject off the boss, quickly back off, and listen out for an engine noise, which signals the boss is about to fire it's fast spread attack. Find the gap through the spread attack, and get back up to pointblank range. If you are fast enough, you should not have to deal with the twin enclosure attack.

    If you do have to avoid the twin enclosure attack, make sure you tap your way through and out to the sides of the screen early into it's firing pattern, and as quickly as you can, because if you take too long, the attack will trap you.
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STAGE THREE:
  • GOLD PYRAMID:

    Image

    The Gold is located on the beach next to this flower patch, shown in the screenshot above. Make sure you clear the area of every chopper, tank and boat that appears with the item carrier, as this will ensure that you don't get swarmed while trying to reveal the Gold.
  • BOSS - STEALTH SUBMARINE: << TARGET TIME: 5sec >>
    (recommended weapons: Spread // Straight Missiles)

    Image

    The easiest method I've found to take out this boss is to use non-homing weaponry to destroy all of the little turret ports that adorn the body of the boss. By using Straight Missiles, you give yourself the option of speedkilling the boss, and by using Spread, you can control when and how much damage you deal the boss.

    To start, sit in front of the boss, and wait until the turrets directly underneath the weakpoint activate, and tap fire to send a group of Straight Missiles into them, destroying them instantly. After you have destroyed the first pair of turrets under the weakpoint, move between the bottom corners and the sides of the screen, using the edge of your Spread to destroy the first layer of turret ports.

    Repeat this strategy for the second and third layer of turret ports that are on the body of the boss, but take care not to destroy the covering on the main weakpoint.

    If all is going to plan, you should have destroyed all the small turret ports on the boss' body, and the boss should have moved to the very end of the canal. The only target left is the main weakpoint. Destroy the green cover, and while the large turret activates itself - it will take about two seconds to do so, quickly get on top of the turret and pointblank it with your Spread and Straight Missiles.

    The main complication when dealing with the large turret in this manner is the appearance of the sniper chopper. Once the screen stops scrolling, a single chopper will fly down the screen at regular intervals, but in random locations, and will either fire a potshot at you or attempt to ram you. Since you are already quite high up the screen when you go to pointblank it, it doesn't give you much time to react. Therefore, the trick to dealing with the chopper effectively, and giving yourself the right amount of time to pointblank the main turret, is to time exactly when you destroy the green covering on the boss' weakpoint, so that the chopper appears just as you are making your way up the screen to pointblank the turret.
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STAGE FOUR:
  • GOLD PYRAMID:

    Image

    This Gold is located to the right of the screen, within the ruins of a destroyed building. While it is relatively simple to locate, getting it is made more difficult by the appearance of three large tanks, a flying bomber, and one very fast moving airborne fighter.

    All three types are marked in the screenshots, sorted by appearance order. While the three large tanks and the bomber appear in the same place each time, the fast-moving fighter appears in a random location, so watch the top of the screen carefully to determine it's location. Make sure you destroy all of them before you uncover and destroy the Gold, otherwise one of them will take a shot at you.
  • FAIRY:

    Image

    At some point in the stage, you'll come across a circle of eight pillars set to the left of the screen. When you destroy all of these pillar, a tree will materialise in the center of the circle of pillars. Attack this tree until the Fairy appears.
  • BOSS - FORTRESS: << TARGET TIME: 15sec >>
    (recommended weapons: Spread // Homing Missiles)

    Image

    The first part of the boss that appears is the large... "turret block"... thing... that moves up the middle of the playfield, firing aimed shots at you, and activating turret poles dotted around the large building you fly over. Each of these poles will drop Medals/miclii when destroyed, so collect them to further your end-of-stage bonus. Eventually it'll be joined by two smaller "turret blocks" that appear either side of it.

    Your aim for the whole of the scrolling section (up until the main fortress appears and the screen stops scrolling) is to leave the larger of the three "turret blocks" alive, until it meets up with the main fortress building. This is because the destruction of this large "turret block" starts the boss timer. Once it meets up with the main fortress, quickly destroy it, and then get as close to the main weakpoint in the center of the fortress as you can.

    There will be two pairs of hatch turrets - two either side of the weakpoint - that will open up at regular intervals and fire in an X-pattern. As long as you stay just under the main weakpoint, you'll be safe. When these hatch turrets open, quickly fire a burst of Shot to destroy each pair.

    Once both pairs of hatch turrets are destroyed, get right on top of the weakpoint, and pummel it with Shot to destroy it. If you want to be extra safe - to avoid being sniped as you pointblank the main weakpoint - drop a bomb while you pointblank the weakpoint. This is also to safeguard against it's desperation attack, where it activates all twelve pole turrets to the sides of the screen.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

STAGE FIVE:
NOTE: This whole stage requires you to be on your toes and wary of sniper tanks that can pop out of buildings and from under trees. I recommend equipping Spread and Homing Missiles for the duration of the stage.
  • GOLD PYRAMID:

    Image

    You'll come across the flower patch marking the location of the Gold not long into the stage. However, you'll notice that it's located to the right of a single tree. If you imagine a mirror running vertically down the tree, the Gold itself is located to the left of the tree, where the mirrored flower patch would be.

    Refer to the screenshot if you need to know the exact location ^_^
  • BOSS - RED GUNSHIP: << TARGET TIME: 65sec >>
    (recommended weapons: Laser // Homing Missiles)

    Image

    The first part of the battle involves you approaching and destroying the giant carrier. The very center of the carrier houses a turret that fires in a fast star pattern, while the wingtips fire aimed shots at you. Make sure you destroy the wingtips first, as this will make it easier to attack the carrier.

    Once the carrier is destroyed, the gunship will pop out, wearing some nifty blue armor. Get up as close to it as possible while it's still floating about, and pointblank it until it a few parts of the armor are destroyed. You want to take out the wingtips again, and the two turrets located either side of the front cockpit (marked in the screenshot). Back off when it's about to start it's patterns, and maneuver your way through the patterns - the scatter pattern is easy to dodge, just stay in front of it, tapping to move along the screen with the gunship - until you completely destroy it's armor.

    The red form, it's final form, is it's most aggressive. You want to deal as much damage as you can using your Laser and Straight Missiles, and stay directly underneath it. It's enclosure attack is the most difficult to avoid, you can either stay right under it, and dodge through the small gap where the semi-circular wave of bullets cross, or you can go out wide and dodge though the gaps in the patterns from there... or use a bomb ^_-

    Just keep dealing damage to it from here, and it should blow up after a half a minute of sustained damage.
3.1.3 CHARLIE MISSION

Beside being the most difficult mission, this mission only features medals and golden pyramids. The amount of medals also seems to be a tad lower, with just one Miclus per stage. This also the longest mission, as it features 8 stages and an optional 9th one, which is triggered once you clear all other 8 with one play.

3.1.3.1 CHARLIE MISSION SECRET LOCATIONS

Here's a list of radar box (Gold Pyramid) locations thanks to nZero. Note that these do not appear in the original arcade version, and can be removed from the PS version by turning the "Judgement" setting to OFF.


Level 1 - On an island near the beginning of the level, the island where you get your first missile powerup to be exact. Hover at about the center of the island.

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... Secret.PNG

Level 2 - Right after you leave the town/city like area you fly over for most of the first part of the level, immediately before the river. Near a missile powerup and right before you fight those amphibious gunboats. Hover just above the flowerpatch.

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... Secret.PNG

Level 3 - On an island towards the end of the level, after a fairly long stretch of flying over the sea. Hover just to the left of the flowerpatch, and mind the tanks that pop out.

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... Secret.PNG

Level 4 - On a pedestal about 1/3rd of the way through the level. This one's kind of obvious, the picture should speak for itself.

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... Secret.PNG

Level 5 - Right after passing the outer defenses of the enemy base, you'll come to a sort of courtyard. The flowerpatch is near a Y-intersection of two roads in this courtyard. This one's difficult to get without using a bomb unless you're quick.

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... Secret.PNG

Level 6 - In the middle of a small lunar (?) lake coming up about 2/3rd of the way through the level. Enjoy the pretty water effects while hovering over the middle of the lake and trying not to get shot down Wink

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... Secret.PNG

Level 7 - Towards the end of the enemy spaceship, on the left side, at that area where the four turrets pop out of the ship and open up on you all at once. I think you're actually supposed to hover on the left side, contrary to where I highlighted in the picture. This one's easy to miss, IMHO.

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... Secret.PNG

Level 8 - In that transitional area between most of the level and the approach to the 'final' boss, where all of those tiny red diamond fragments attack you. It's on an island on the left side of the screen, hover to the right of the flowerpatch.

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... Secret.PNG

Level 9 Secret 1 - Yeah, Level 9 has two secrets. Since each is worth 10% in the total score (2.5% found, 7.5% destroyed) they had to get 10 somehow. Anyway, this one is at the the beginning of the first big landmass you come across. Make sure you don't get killed in sight of it, or it won't be there when you start back.

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... ecret1.PNG

Level 9 Secret 2 - The very last secret in Mission Charlie is at the part of a landmass that jags into space, which is right after an area of flying over complete darkness. Perhaps about 3/4 of the way into the level. Same rule applies with this one as the other, don't die when you can see it or you can't get it.

http://www.voidaudio.net/images/RaidenD ... ecret2.PNG

3.2 PS VERSION UNLOCKABLES

From this Japanese page:

Music: Play the game once with "New Release" to unlock the VP1 soundtrack.
Replay: play the game once.
Boss Rush: clear all three courses.
Arcade2 difficulty: beat any course on Arcade difficulty.
Arcade3 difficulty: same as above, on Arcade2.
Arcade4 difficulty: same as above, on Arcade3.
Raiden DX Encyclopedia: clear Expert once.
Master of Raiden replay: clear Training once.
Judgement: clear any course on Arcade4.
Game Speed: play any course once with Judgement off.
Ship Speed: clear Expert course with Judgement off.

(Continuing is allowed for any unlockable with a "clear" requirement, and I don't think the difficulty setting matters unless a particular setting is specified.)

3.3 RANDOM STUFF

Zach says (thanks Zach!):

If you manage to position your ship so that it doesn't have to move (or moves very, very little) when it auto-centers before your bomb/medal bonus is displayed, you'll get some bonus points. I usually only get 5000 points but IIRC 10000 is possible if you really nail it. You need to position yourself vertically so that your shadow is aligned horizontally with your bomb indicator (at least in its default PSX position) and place yourself in the exact horizontal center of the stage. (The center of the screen isn't good enough; don't forget the stage is a bit wider than the screen. )

According to this page the boss timer bonus works as follows in the arcade version (I assume they mean the actual PCB and not the PS version on the Arcade setting).

Code: Select all

<10 secs       (100 - time) * 1500 pts
10-20 seconds  (100 - time) * 1000 pts
20> seconds    (100 - time) * 500 pts
And like this on the PS version:

Code: Select all

<10 secs       (99.99 - time) * 2500 pts
10-20 seconds  (99.99 - time) * 2000 pts
20> seconds    (99.99 - time) * 500 pts
That page also has movies of some of the Expert stages.

Advancing to the other missions, according to Zach:

Supposedly Training will "loop" into Novice (at 2nd loop difficulty), and again into Expert (starting at 3rd loop difficulty, stage 6?) if you complete the courses without dying, bombing, or missing a radar box, and get 99.0% destruction or better. (Presumably this is what the "Mission Advance" message is for on at the end of the PS version's built in replay.)


TO BE CONTINUED, OF COURSE
Last edited by Randorama on Wed Aug 31, 2005 2:54 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Chomsky, Buckminster Fuller, Yunus and Glass would have played Battle Garegga, for sure.
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Post by Icarus »

1) I believe that cluster bombs (the yellow B bomb icons) are the only ones that will nullify bullets, but they will only do so when deployed and not when they are exploding.

2) There is a secret 1up available in Novice and Expert Missions. In Novice, it's located on stage 3 I believe, although I can't remember the requirements to release it - something to do with not destroying a certain group of tanks at the start of the stage. In Expert, it appears midway through stage 4, in a powerup container embedded in the floor.

3) The [P] is released every 25 powerups I think.

I think my info needs to be checked, but I believe that it is correct :P
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Post by landshark »

- In boss rush mode (obtained I *think* after you complete the game on Charlie, continues are allowed), there are powerups and 1ups hidden in the trees between bosses.

- The red-bomb nullifies bullets, but not instantly like the yellow cluster bomb. You have to wait til it hits the ground and detonates.
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Post by raiden »

The first game, as you may know, was basically a doujin homage to early Toaplan titles
I knew it was a homage, but I´m wondering about the "doujin" aspect. Are you implying Raiden was first released on PC and got converted to the arcades? Or is there some way amateurs can produce a game as PCB I´m unaware of?
It also surprises me to hear Raiden was actually an amateur effort, because gathering from the game´s graphical polish, I´d never have thought amateurs could do that (just too time-consuming).
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Post by Randorama »

raiden wrote:
I knew it was a homage, but I´m wondering about the "doujin" aspect. Are you implying Raiden was first released on PC and got converted to the arcades? Or is there some way amateurs can produce a game as PCB I´m unaware of?
Doujin in the homage sense, as one aspect of "doujin" games is that they usually are "homages" ( because rip-off is a bit exaggerated) to other titles.
It also surprises me to hear Raiden was actually an amateur effort, because gathering from the game´s graphical polish, I´d never have thought amateurs could do that (just too time-consuming).
On one side, the graphical polish can be found in the second and the other titles. On the other side, a few programmers on the first Raiden title were "newbies" to the professional videogame scene, to my knowledge (and Seibu helped them in the realization of the product). Just in case: this is an ST (Shmups Treatise) and it deals with gameplay issues. Any off-topic and uncostructive comments will be systematically be ignored, thanks.
Chomsky, Buckminster Fuller, Yunus and Glass would have played Battle Garegga, for sure.
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Post by TVG »

just got this game for 40€ and its ****in great.

thanks for the ST, any indication on hidden stuff would be cool.

im playing on novice, expert obliterates me (but im wondering if i should switch to expert, maybe its funnier once you learn how to play, with the added stages and all...)
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Post by Randorama »

The vagrant wrote:just got this game for 40€ and its ****in great.

thanks for the ST, any indication on hidden stuff would be cool.

im playing on novice, expert obliterates me (but im wondering if i should switch to expert, maybe its funnier once you learn how to play, with the added stages and all...)
I still need to put things in order (and to upload them, go figure...) but the hig score thread on the game has some pics about hidden gloden pyramids, hope it helps (and please ask if you need something else) :wink:
Chomsky, Buckminster Fuller, Yunus and Glass would have played Battle Garegga, for sure.
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Post by TVG »

ok, ive wrote a long ass rant before the forum went down, and now my post is gone.
im going to make it short this time.

just saw the raiden 2 PC review, and noticed it has 8 stages, i tought novice was supposed to be raiden 2 difficulty, but if its raiden 2 minus 3 stages, its just gay...
i find training course boring, and expert too hard, not to mention i prefer the stage design of novice to expert.
this was about to be one of my favorites games ever, until ive read that (and yea, ive credit fed it and tought it was hella lacking something)
not only that, but i dont really like the flashing medal system, its fine for stage 1, possibly 2 but after that the screen is so busy than maxing medals = dying. original raiden 2 has fixed medal value, right? im not really bothered if it doesnt, but still.
just to say that im about to sell this one and buy raiden project instead, its very annoying because ive seen a lot of copies of that in the shop i bought DX, hella cheaper too, and now ill loose money :(, not to mention the ticket to paris.
so whan makes you people play DX over raiden 2? should i change my mind and keep DX?
i find it annoying to play a game harder and different than the original in order to see the last stages (of the original), so instead of having that bitter feeling everytime i play, ill just do what i would have done if i knew some more stuff.
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Post by Zach Keene »

Just noticed something that's probably obvious to everyone else: if you look closely in the Training and Novice missions you can see little grey specks on the ground that indicate the existence of Sol Citadels (the grey pyramids).

Also I don't think they count toward the Radar Percentage in Novice; I get 20% no matter how many of them I destroy. (Usually I only get the radar box in stage 1 before getting creamed in stage 2.)

I don't think the end-of-stage position bonus got mentioned. If you manage to position your ship so that it doesn't have to move (or moves very, very little) when it auto-centers before your bomb/medal bonus is displayed, you'll get some bonus points. I usually only get 5000 points but IIRC 10000 is possible if you really nail it. You need to position yourself vertically so that your shadow is aligned horizontally with your bomb indicator (at least in its default PSX position) and place yourself in the exact horizontal center of the stage. (The center of the screen isn't good enough; don't forget the stage is a bit wider than the screen. ;))

According to this page the boss timer bonus works as follows in the arcade version (I assume they mean the actual PCB and not the PS version on the Arcade setting).

Code: Select all

<10 secs       (100 - time) * 1500 pts
10-20 seconds  (100 - time) * 1000 pts
20> seconds    (100 - time) * 500 pts
And like this on the PS version:

Code: Select all

<10 secs       (99.99 - time) * 2500 pts
10-20 seconds  (99.99 - time) * 2000 pts
20> seconds    (99.99 - time) * 500 pts
That page also has movies of some of the Expert stages.
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Post by cigsthecat »

Is Expert the only mission that loops when completed on one credit?
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Post by Zach Keene »

Supposedly Training will "loop" into Novice (at 2nd loop difficulty), and again into Expert (starting at 3rd loop difficulty, stage 6?) if you complete the courses without dying, bombing, or missing a radar box, and get 99.0% destruction or better. (Presumably this is what the "Mission Advance" message is for on at the end of the PS version's built in replay.)

Never managed this feat myself except on the easier PS difficulties, in which case looping seems to be disabled for any of the courses.
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Post by Icarus »

Only the Gold Pyramids count towards the Radar Percentage bonus. The Grey ones are only worth points, unless they have some other function I'm not aware of.

EDIT: In Training the Grey Pyramids are linked to the Gold Pyramids in that you need to activate/destroy the Grey ones in a certain way in order to uncover the Gold ones. In Novice the Grey ones are for extra points only.
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Post by cigsthecat »

Thanks for the answers guys. Looks like I won't be looping anything.

For Expert, is it still only one golden pyramid per stage? Also are they uncovered like Novice, or are there special conditions like training? Thanks.
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Post by Zach Keene »

So far as I know there's only one per stage and no special conditions.

But, here's something odd. One of the unlockable PS options is called "Judgement", which turns on/off the endgame (or end loop) percentage/guts score bonuses on the Expert course (and apparently the radar boxes along with them.)

In the PS version this setting defaults to On, even before you unlock the option to change it, but if I'm reading the menu description correctly these bonuses weren't originally available in the arcade version's Expert course.

So the point of all this rambling is that if you're playing the PCB, you might not get radar boxes on the Expert course. (Could someone confirm/deny this?)
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Post by Randorama »

Uhm Zach, can i upload your post regarding the advanced missions requirements?
Chomsky, Buckminster Fuller, Yunus and Glass would have played Battle Garegga, for sure.
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Post by landshark »

I wonder if I accidentally toggled this.

It's been a long while since I played, (I can't remember if it was for expert or advanced), but I couldn't find any radar boxes or crystals on the harder difficulty. Which is also why it wasn't as much fun.
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Post by Zach Keene »

Randorama wrote:Uhm Zach, can i upload your post regarding the advanced missions requirements?
Sure thing. Might want to note I'm relying on babelfish and may have misinterpreted though, since I suck too much to confirm the conditions myself. :)
landshark wrote:It's been a long while since I played, (I can't remember if it was for expert or advanced), but I couldn't find any radar boxes or crystals on the harder difficulty. Which is also why it wasn't as much fun.
IIRC the first radar box on Expert stage 1 is on that little island right where the first missile powerup is, and like Novice all you need to do is hover for a while. So I assume if you can't trigger that either

a) you've got Judgement off (should be impossible until you've unlocked the option, but easy enough to check once you have)
b) you're playing the PCB (if I'm correct about this)
c) you just suck. :D
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Post by nZero »

Yes, the arcade version lacks the pop-up bonus secrets in Mission Charlie (Expert Mission).
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Post by MJR »

Finally! thanks for this link zach; I finally found clear hints how to unravel 3rd crystal in training mission. so it appears that you have to destroy tanks in right order, if got it right
3rd it is difficult
Destructive method of the medium boss has become appearance condition
While appearing from after, the boss is first destroyed and the radar which appears afterwards is destroyed and desert zone lastly appearswhile first, the figure -3 appears in beginning, the cover of the boss is destroyed. (Without dividing the fact cover, whether it is possible? to leave)
The timing which divides my cover common projectile discharge the top about simultaneous with 3rd discharge.
Once when it divides with about this timing, the cover of the boss in 2nd it divides and it is thought that > swift attack destruction is easy to do relatively.
The cover while being destroyed, the boss shines the white bullet rebellion.
It is, in the firing at random and while counterattacking consumes here and it can acquire 5000 pts by the fact that it returns.
Still, only the tank being not to appear, just you can aim, aiming, you will see.

The 1st white bullet firing at random 2 times the time where it ends being that the medium boss appears exactly, persevering, you shoot and go to being packed.
It is understood in the figure -4, but it meaning that the tank the small-sized fighter plane appears exactly you will note.
Among beginning the small-sized fighter plane the one which does not go to shooting unreasonably is better, probably will be.
Being to be able to launch swift attack to be able to destroy with this, it does, but there is "a flower garden" of this former example.
When it covers here the medium boss, the NG っ ぽ it is and is, perhaps...

Image Image


Animated picture 600K


Just one place there is a marker of radar appearance on the middle. When it appears the radar, the figure -5 the way being to appear successively
Normally, it will destroy and the ちゃ will be.
After the medium boss is destroyed, the figure -6 the gold radar appears at position.
It seems I got to turn over the monitor on my cabinet again..
:P
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Post by Zach Keene »

Yeah, you have to destroy the second tank first. Fun stuff. :)
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Post by landshark »

Ooooh! That page has videos! Interesting boss strategies too!
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Post by Icarus »

Anyone know what the loop requirements for Novice are, assuming you can loop Novice Mission? Is it still no deaths, no bombs, no Gold Pyramids missed and 99% destruction rate?

I'm kinda hoping that the loop requirements are a bit more relaxed for Novice Mission than they are on Expert...

EDIT: Also, does anyone know what the unlockable options are and their requirements?
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Post by MJR »

I thought it was easier to loop on expert than in novice (I'm not 100% on it, but I think at least on PCB the extra stage appears in expert if you gain enough guts, or 1cc past 1-5) since I've looped expert/charlie mission even with continues, but no matter how hard I've 1cc'd training/novice missions, I've got no result.
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Post by Zach Keene »

Icarus wrote:EDIT: Also, does anyone know what the unlockable options are and their requirements?
From here:

Music: not quite sure what this says. Play the game once with "New Release" to unlock the VP1 soundtrack?
Replay: play the game once.
Boss Rush: clear all three courses.
Arcade2 difficulty: beat any course on Arcade difficulty.
Arcade3 difficulty: same as above, on Arcade2.
Arcade4 difficulty: same as above, on Arcade3.
Raiden DX Encyclopedia: clear Expert once.
Master of Raiden replay: clear Training once.
Judgement: clear any course on Arcade4.
Game Speed: play any course once with Judgement off.
Ship Speed: clear Expert course with Judgement off.

(Continuing is allowed for any unlockable with a "clear" requirement, and I don't think the difficulty setting matters unless a particular setting is specified.)
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Post by nZero »

Zach Keene wrote: Music: not quite sure what this says. Play the game once with "New Release" to unlock the VP1 soundtrack?
Aye, play the game with the "New Release" soundtrack selected and the Viper Phase 1 soundtrack will be added to the soundtrack roster. I usually get Replay, Master of Raiden replay, and Viper Phase 1 unlocked immediately on a fresh memory card (clear Training on defaults using the New Release soundtrack instead of Raiden DX Original).

Thanks for the list, its nice to have the specifics.
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Post by Icarus »

Zach Keene wrote:A very comprehensive list
Thanks for that. I only ever seem to have a handful of unlockables, and was really interested in getting BossRush again (new memory card), to practice my boss strategies :)
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Post by Zach Keene »

I just found this while making another failed attempt to dig up a copy of my Salamander ST: google cache of a Raiden DX thread from the old forum. Of most interest is this post by nZero (the links are currently broken):
nZero wrote:Oh, no problem then, 100% secrets is a lot easier in Charlie, at least assuming you do well enough to open Level 9. Mission Charlie's secrets are much easier to get. They're always one tile to the right or left of the flowers, IIRC.

I was working on a screenshot guide for Mission Charlie for the up and coming original Raiden Trilogy section of the RF Emporium. ...if I would ever be able to catch Alluro online again that is. Anyway, it seems like it might be useful here. Click the links after the descriptions to see where exactly to hover to get the secret to pop up. Be forewarned, they range from 89k to 287k. Um... ignore the scores and absurd amount of lives, the whole point of that game was getting good shots of the locations of the secrets, and in hindsight I should've set the difficulty to VERY EASY so no one would've been shooting at me. Ah well.

Level 1 - On an island near the beginning of the level, the island where you get your first missile powerup to be exact. Hover at about the center of the island.

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... Secret.PNG

Level 2 - Right after you leave the town/city like area you fly over for most of the first part of the level, immediately before the river. Near a missile powerup and right before you fight those amphibious gunboats. Hover just above the flowerpatch.

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... Secret.PNG

Level 3 - On an island towards the end of the level, after a fairly long stretch of flying over the sea. Hover just to the left of the flowerpatch, and mind the tanks that pop out.

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... Secret.PNG

Level 4 - On a pedestal about 1/3rd of the way through the level. This one's kind of obvious, the picture should speak for itself.

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... Secret.PNG

Level 5 - Right after passing the outer defenses of the enemy base, you'll come to a sort of courtyard. The flowerpatch is near a Y-intersection of two roads in this courtyard. This one's difficult to get without using a bomb unless you're quick.

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... Secret.PNG

Level 6 - In the middle of a small lunar (?) lake coming up about 2/3rd of the way through the level. Enjoy the pretty water effects while hovering over the middle of the lake and trying not to get shot down ;)

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... Secret.PNG

Level 7 - Towards the end of the enemy spaceship, on the left side, at that area where the four turrets pop out of the ship and open up on you all at once. I think you're actually supposed to hover on the left side, contrary to where I highlighted in the picture. This one's easy to miss, IMHO.

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... Secret.PNG

Level 8 - In that transitional area between most of the level and the approach to the 'final' boss, where all of those tiny red diamond fragments attack you. It's on an island on the left side of the screen, hover to the right of the flowerpatch.

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... Secret.PNG

Level 9 Secret 1 - Yeah, Level 9 has two secrets. Since each is worth 10% in the total score (2.5% found, 7.5% destroyed) they had to get 10 somehow. Anyway, this one is at the the beginning of the first big landmass you come across. Make sure you don't get killed in sight of it, or it won't be there when you start back.

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... ecret1.PNG

Level 9 Secret 2 - The very last secret in Mission Charlie is at the part of a landmass that jags into space, which is right after an area of flying over complete darkness. Perhaps about 3/4 of the way into the level. Same rule applies with this one as the other, don't die when you can see it or you can't get it.

http://www.vgmusic.com/~nzero/RaidenDXM ... ecret2.PNG

That should about cover it! Let me know if you need any additional help, I'm always happy to share when it comes to this game :D As an aside, the secrets in Charlie are an addition to the PSX port, and aren't in the original (1994) release of the Arcade version. They may be in the re-release (1997) but I've never played that version so I can't confirm.
Randorama
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Post by Randorama »

Zach, right now i'm in a hurry and will be away for the week-end, can you directly work on the ST and upload the material yourself? I'm having problems following this thread. Thanks for the help.
Chomsky, Buckminster Fuller, Yunus and Glass would have played Battle Garegga, for sure.
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landshark
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Post by landshark »

I don't remember seeing this. I know it's on the novice stage 4, don't know about charlie.

Somewhere in the level you will encounter a circle of what looks like silos already raised in the water. If you destroy them all, a tree will popup in the center. Destroy the tree and out comes a fairy.
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Zach Keene
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Post by Zach Keene »

As per Randorama's request I've added the unlockable list, Expert mission radar box list, and the Novice level 4 fairy to the ST.
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