Raiden Fighters Jet is a 1998 arcade video game developed by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is the third game in the Raiden Fighters series.
Plot synopsis[]
More information: In-game text transcript
The XTF-1 Project is a next-generation tactical fighter project—a wing that opens up routes less traveled. It seeks to assess pilots who aim for the limits.
When the game begins, a heads-up display on a machine tells the player that they will do virtual exercises on a simulator. It encourages players to do their best and get as high a score as possible. Only those who receive excellent scores in the simulator will qualify to fly a new aircraft, the Ixion.
Several of the simulation exercises recreate past battles against foes from the previous two games, such as Randall Gigas and Vahrstor from the first Raiden Fighters, and Hummingbird and Red Eye from Raiden Fighters 2. Player scores at the end of each simulation level govern what level they enter next. When the player achieves a high enough score in the simulator, it will transmit an emergency broadcast to them from the Air Force Intelligence Department.
What's left of the former dictatorship's army have captured a friendly city. A weapons factory in that city that is developing a state-of-the-art bomber, and the enemy plans to capture it. The player is sent out in the Ixion to eliminate the enemy from the area. If the bomber is in enemy hands, it must be destroyed in secret.
If the player struggles in Real Battle Phase 1, they will be told to withdraw after defeating Simon Quartz at the end of the next stage, leaving the bomber in enemy hands. Otherwise, performing well in Phase 1 and defeating Simon Quartz will trigger a final fight with the stolen bomber, then against the nuclear missile the bomber launches upon destruction.
Gameplay[]
The Hybrid Attack returns from Raiden Fighters 2, and is given a different visual appearance.
Gameplay in Raiden Fighters Jet is similar to that of the previous games, but with changes to set this game apart. The Hybrid Attack from Raiden Fighters 2 returns in this game with a new visual appearance.
Medals[]
The medal system begins with a mechanic different from the previous games. Medals generated by this mechanic appear as military service ribbons with attached medals. Airborne version of these medals are attracted to and follow any active Slave wingmen or player craft that grazes enemy bullets. Airborne medals fuse with other medals (both in the air and on the ground) when they are close to each other.
Medals in this mechanic range from 100 points initially to the 2,048,000-point Eagle Medal. Collecting the Eagle Medal triggers a condition that will cause nine 100 point medals to explode when on screen simultaneously.
After the explosions, all future medals dropped will be the golden X-Medals from the previous games. Their point values are increased in the same way, by collecting them one at a time. X-Medals start at 10,000 points and max out at 100,000 points. Any X-Medal worth over 10,000 points that is dropped off screen will cause all future generated X-Medals to be reset to 10,000 points. Unlike the previous games, players cannot recover point values of X-Medals even when a higher-valued one remains on-screen.
Scoring[]
The scoring bonuses from the previous two games return in this game. Discovering these scoring bonuses in a short time interval will increase a scoring multiplier by 1, up to a maximum of 9×. This scoring multiplier is applied to future scoring bonuses, and it will reset to 1× when all bonus messages ("DISCOVERED THE MICLUS!", "QUICK SHOT!", etc.) disappear.
Game modes[]
Raiden Fighters Jet contains the following game modes.
Normal Mode[]
In this mode, stage progression depends on player performance. If the player performs well in a stage, the next stage will have a higher level number, allowing the player to reach the real levels (Phase 1 and Phase 2) earlier. In other cases, the next stage will have a lower level number, or the stage-loop ends early. The most advanced stages in the game, Real Mission (in which the player repels a terrorist attack) can only be reached by performing extremely well and not continuing. Real Mission Phase 2 has two bosses; the second true final boss (called the XTB-1) can be reached by not dying in Phase 1. In the Japanese version, there is only 1 stage loop; in other versions, there are 2 stage loops, with 2nd loop unable to progress further than the highest level in 1st loop.
| Stage | Name | Boss | BGM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Launch Base | Four-Tread Tank | Simulation Level 01 |
| 05 | Mines | Heavy Bomber | Simulation Level 05/15 |
| 10 | Seashore | Randall Gigas | Simulation Level 10/30 |
| 15 | Jungle | Twin-Cannon Tank | Simulation Level 05/15 |
| 20 | Desert | Wild Weasel III | Simulation Level 20 |
| 30 | Stratosphere | Jet Carrier | Simulation Level 10/30 |
| 35 | Sunset | Hummingbird Vahrstor |
Simulation Level 35/50 |
| 40 | Open Sea | Hovercraft | Simulation Level 40 |
| 45 | Ice River | Nuclear Submarine | Simulation Level 45 |
| 50 | Snowfield | Seed Skater Wild Weasel III Red Eye |
Simulation Level 35/50 |
| EX1 | City Sky | Jasper Virtuos | Real Battle Phase 01 |
| EX2 | Weapons Factory | Simon Quartz XTB-1 |
Real Battle Phase 02 |
NOTE: Names in italic are unofficial.
Special Mode[]
This is a boss rush game mode, where players play through all stages' boss encounters. The true final boss is always available in this mode.
Expert Mode[]
Available in the Japanese version, enemies return fire after being destroyed.
Fighters[]
The ship select screen
Most of the fighter craft from Raiden Fighters 2 appear in this game (the exceptions are the Aegis II-c and the Dark Sword) . The Gun Dogs fighters have an alternate color palette that can be selected by pressing either the Shoot or Bomb button to select the fighter.
The Seibu guest fighters from Raiden II and Viper Phase 1 return, along with the Miclus and the Fairy. These guest fighters do not have any presence in the game's story, as when a player plays as one of them, including the Slave, the story cinematic from Simulation Level 45 to Real Battle Phase 1 does not play.
Changes to the fighter craft from the earlier games in their appearance here include the Miclus/Fairy's flamethrower bomb attack. The duration of the attack and invincibility were reduced.
The Ixion[]
The new fighter craft introduced in Raiden Fighters Jet is the Ixion. It can participate in the Hybrid Attack with the Gun Dogs fighters, and it uses the regular Gun Dogs bombs.
Role in the story[]
The Ixion is an experimental fighter that forms the core of the XTF-1 project in the game's story. The XTF-1 project trains pilots using a simulator and qualifies high scorers to pilot the Ixion. After the pilot completes Simulation Level 40 or 45 with high marks, they are ordered to pilot the Ixion for real in two difficult missions to stop a nuclear terrorist attack.
Loadout[]
When playing as the Gun Dogs fighters in the Simulation Levels, the player will pilot the Ixion after completing Simulation Level 40 or 45 with high marks. In this case, the Ixion inherits the weapons of the Gun Dogs craft the player used in the Simulation Levels. The Ixion has its own main gun, which is a rapid-firing small spread shot.
When selecting the Ixion itself at the start of the game, the Ixion has a fast movement speed and two unique subweapons. The charge time for both subweapons is quick, allowing players to use the Ixion's full potential often. The Ixion's subweapons are:
- Search Missile: This subweapon is similar to the Dark Sword's missile weapon. Its charged ability releases a large number of these missiles.
- Gravity Laser: The Ixion generates energy spheres that hover in front of it, each shooting a long-lasting continuous laser beam forward. Its charged ability generates four large energy spheres that start spread out wide and slowly converge towards the Ixion's horizontal position, each continuously firing a laser beam until the spheres disappear.
Relations to the previous Raiden Fighters games and fan theories[]
As part of the game's plot, most of the game takes place in a simulator. In the some of the simulation levels, the stage settings and bosses come from the previous games. Though not explicitly stated in the game, it can be assumed that the simulator is training pilots using mission settings and encounters with bosses from the previous two games.
- Simulation Level 10's boss is the flying boat Randall Gigas from the Train Yard stage in the original Raiden Fighters.
- Simulation Level 35's midboss is Hummingbird, the boss of the High Altitude stage in Raiden Fighters 2. Hummingbird's appearance here gives it a deep red color and no "XB-3" designation that the original version had. This suggests that the Dictator cancelled the XB-3 experimental bomber project after its failure against Operation Hell Dive.
- Simulation Level 35's end boss is the giant flying boat Vahrstor from the High Altitude stage in the original Raiden Fighters.
- Simulation Level 50's first midboss is the giant hovercraft Seed Skater from the Swamp stage in Raiden Fighters 2.
- Simulation Level 50's second midboss is the giant tank Wild Weasel from the Forest stage in the first Raiden Fighters.
- Simulation Level 50's end boss is Red Eye, the true final boss from Raiden Fighters 2. In Raiden Fighters Jet, the designation displayed on the craft reads "B-7" instead of "XB-7", suggesting that the Red Eye had undergone production since the end of Raiden Fighters 2.
- Real Battle Phase 1's boss is a rebuilt version of Jasper Virtuos, the boss of the Airfield stage from the first Raiden Fighters. In Raiden Fighters Jet, Jasper Virtuos has a more difficult attack pattern.
NOTE: Passages in this section that are underlined are fan theories, and must not be taken as official from the game.
Music[]
The music of Raiden Fighters Jet was composed by Yasuhiro Hashimoto. While it is in a techno style like the first two games' soundtracks by Gou Satou, Hashimoto's style is noticeably different.
Other versions[]
- The clone Raiden Fighters Jet 2000 was released for the Chinese market. It runs on cheaper hardware, featuring lower quality sound compared to the original.
- A newer single-board version was released for the US market. This version makes all fighters available for selection by default.
Trivia[]
- In Greek mythology, Ixion was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly, and a son of Ares or Antion or the notorious evildoer Phlegyas. The physical appearance of the Ixion is that of an aircraft with a forward-swept wing configuration. This design is similar to the Grumman X-29 and the Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut.
- The boss of Simulation Level 01 is a machine that resembles one of the Walker bosses from the first stage of Raiden II. The Level 01 boss has four legs, each with tank treads on the "foot" of each leg. The legs do not articulate like the Raiden II boss' legs do.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Raiden Fighters Jet info on The Raiden Fighters Emporium
| Raiden video games | ||
| Raiden series | Raiden ● Raiden II (DX) ● Raiden III ● Raiden IV (Overkill) ● Raiden V (Story) | |
| Raiden Fighters series | Raiden Fighters ● Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive ● Raiden Fighters Jet (text transcript) | |
| Compilations | The Raiden Project ● Raiden Fighters Aces ● Raiden Legacy | |
| Other Seibu Kaihatsu/MOSS shmups | Stinger ● Scion ● Air Raid ● Viper Phase 1 ● Caladrius (Blaze) | |