Raiden Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Raiden III is a vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up released in 2005 by MOSS, breaking a franchise hiatus of over 11 years following the release of Raiden DX, set in a different universe from all previous games and updated with a new look and feel. Raiden III is the first to use the Taito Type X arcade system developed by Taito instead of conventional arcade systems from the previous installments.

New concepts are introduced, which includes a "new 3D scrolling system" that involves the camera pointing down normal to the player while the scenery moves in three dimensions: climbing, descending, and sometimes moving vertically. The blue Ion Laser concept is more like a continuous beam sword, instead of the one laser line seen in prior installments.

An special edition of the game, entitled Raiden III x Mikado Maniax was released for all major platforms in February 2023. This version includes all content from the original game, as well as a brand new arranged soundtrack composed by the Mikado Game Center and online leaderboards.

Gameplay[]

Players take control of the new Fighting Thunder ME-02, which plays much like previous ships in the series. Two-player mode is enhanced by an exclusive new attack: a powerful starburst that is usable whenever one player lines up in front of the other. In Double play mode, both players share the live and bomb stocks, and the disabled continue. In the PlayStation 2 port, both players can be played from the same controller.

Weapons[]

The ship fires simultaneously with two weapons: the main weapon and the sub-weapon. All weapons have a power level, which increases by collecting different individual powerups. In addition, there are bombs that fill more or less the whole screen, harming enemies and dissolving all enemy shots. At the beginning of the game or after death, the default weapon is Vulcan Cannon (see below), a marked increase of firepower over the one-way Vulcan of the previous Raiden games, no secondary weapon (but you can collect secondary weapon at the rest of playthrough) and default three bombs (the number of bombs can be altered as a game option).

Main shots[]

  • Vulcan Cannon - A traditional spread weapon that shoots streams of 2, 3, or 4 small yellow bullets in 3, 5, or 7 directions (including straight ahead). Upgrades Vulcan Cannon will increase the spread of the number of bullets. Corresponds to the red crystal and takes 5 pickups to fully upgraded.
  • Ion Laser - A traditional narrow weapon, appearing as a single continuous forward-facing blue laser; lateral ship movement makes it swerve very slightly. Upgrades Ion Laser will increase the width of the beam and presumably the damage rate. Corresponds to the blue crystal and takes 5 pickups to fully upgraded.
  • Proton Laser - A replacement for the characteristic "toothpaste" plasma laser featured in the Raiden series, appearing as a very narrow green beam that swings markedly (moving at an angle of about 45 degrees) with lateral ship movement. Upgrades Proton Laser will increase the width and brightness of the beam and presumably the damage rate. Corresponds to the green crystal and takes 5 pickups to fully upgraded.

Sub shots[]

For all three variants, powerups simply increase the number of shots and inflicted damage given.

  • Nuclear Missile - Shoots dumb-fire missiles that spread out laterally then accelerate forward pattern. In addition to direct hits, the nuclear missile's explosion causes strong damage given. Corresponds to the yellow "M" square and takes 3 pickups to fully upgraded.
  • Homing Missile - Shoots homing missiles that turn freely and seek the closest enemy around the player. The damage given is weak, but it is very ideal for seeking and attacking enemies around the player. Corresponds to the green "H" square and takes 3 pickups to fully upgraded.
  • Radar Missile - A partially guided variant of the nuclear missile in which the missiles drift laterally until they align against enemies and charge forward. Just like the nuclear missiles, the radar missile's explosion causes strong damage given. Corresponds to the purple "R" crystal and takes 3 pickups to fully upgraded.
  • Bomb - Unlike previous Raiden games, the final bomb's action in Raiden III is immediate: a ball of flame spreads out rapidly from the position of the player. The bomb stock can be increased with bomb powerups, appearing as a spinning "B" triangle. The craft can carry up to 7 bombs; if another bomb powerup is collected, 5,000 bonus points are accumulated. Any bombs left over at the end of a stage are worth 5,000 bonus points each.

Miscellaneous pickup items[]

In addition to the main weapon, secondary weapon, and bomb powerups, there are miscellaneous pickup items.

  • Extra Life (1UP) - When picked up, the player receives one extra life. Appears near the end of Stage 3 and 6 only. Any lives left over at the end of a stage are worth 10,000 bonus points each.
  • Full Power-Up - This appears under certain conditions such as the player dying many times or use continues; collect Full Power-Up will permanently upgrade the primary and secondary weapons to the maximum level. Worth 10,000 bonus points if collected when the player already has maximum power. It is similar to secondary weapon powerups with a cyan "P" square.
  • Fairy - A fairy appears after shooting certain objects. Appears in Stage 1 and 4 only. When the fairy is collected, it helps the player if the craft is destroyed, giving some powerup. Unlike in previous games where the player could be penalized for shooting it, this fairy cannot be hit by the player's shots.
  • Point Item - Worth 500 points when collected and 10,000 bonus points at the end of a level. For the purpose of end of level bonuses, medals will reset to 0 when a player loses a life. So the player have to stay alive for a very long time until the end of the stage to accumulated Point Item bonuses.

Stages[]

There are in total 7 stages, the first three-set on Earth and the last three in space. Stage design is related to prior Raiden games: the first three stages are particularly close to previous games, with the first based on Raiden; the bosses are similar to those in the corresponding levels of Raiden II and Raiden DX. While Raiden, Raiden II, and Raiden DX give a 1,000,000 points mission clear bonus and loop back to the first stage, Raiden III ends with animation without looping.

Stage Name Boss BGM
1 City BS-01 Lightning Strikes
2 Countryside BS-02 Electric Resistance
3 Ocean BS-03 Dawn of Sorrow
4 Space Station BS-04 A Labyrinth of Steel
5 Huge Enemy Battleship BS-05 Intruder
6 Floating Continent BS-06 Invisible Menace
7 Enemy Final Base BS-07 Last Fear

Scoring[]

Scoring is straightforward with inconsequential special bonuses: a multiplier up to ×2.0 (displayed on the screen) to the normal value of enemies if they are destroyed quickly after they appear, collecting medals and fairies (see below), destroying "secret" targets, collecting excess powerups. The flash-shot multiplier bonus is obtained by quickly destroying an enemy that appears on screen (up to ×2.0). The speed of multiplier decreasing depends on enemy type. In Dual play mode, a win bonus score is added to the player with the most kills at the end of the stage.

The Flash Desire Raiden III Game Capture DVD[]

  • The game capture DVD of Raiden II I was released on November 2, 2006. It costs about 6,090 yen each and has approximately running time of 120 minutes for a DVD and approximately 70 minutes for a CD. Its features include:
  • Contents 01 - Raiden III Normal Mode Capture Image (Kinomoto will not be in charge of playing; it plays back one-coin capture images of the same work from start to the ending.)
  • Contents 02 - Raiden III Double Play Mode Capture Image (Hattori will be in charge of playing; it plays back 1 coin capture images of the same work from start to the ending.)
  • Contents 03 - OUT TAKE (Other than the score image which is higher than the normal mode main part, wonderful phenomenon and income technique, you record the opening movie.)
  • Soundtrack CD

Gallery[]

External Links[]

Raiden video games
Raiden series RaidenRaiden II (DX) ● Raiden IIIRaiden IV (Overkill) ● Raiden V (Story)
Raiden Fighters series Raiden FightersRaiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell DiveRaiden Fighters Jet (text transcript)
Compilations The Raiden ProjectRaiden Fighters AcesRaiden Legacy
Other Seibu Kaihatsu/MOSS shmups StingerScionAir RaidViper Phase 1Caladrius (Blaze)
Advertisement