Raiden 3

tsukaesugi

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Today I stumbled on the Raiden 3 loketest at the Club Sega in Akiba.

I plunked down some coins and had a go at it for ten minutes or so. It was pretty fun- I enjoyed playing it (as opposed to Trizeal, which just bored me when I played it at its loketest). After two tries I was able to make it to the second boss on one credit.

I'm probably the wrong guy to be giving you a loketest report because a) I'm pretty bad at gameplay, and b) I've *cough cough* never played any of the Raiden games so far *cough cough*

That being said, here's what I thought / remembered:

-BG's and Sprites were all 3D. They were much more detailed than a game like Trizeal though, they were more like Zero Gunner or Shikigami 2. I liked them- I thought they looked great

-pretty old school system- only two buttons- shoot and bomb (although the cab I was playing on had a third button wired for full-auto). You move at the same speed whether you hold down on the auto or not

-three types of power-ups: red (vulcan); blue (laser); and green (proton beam). I'm guessing that these are standard for the Raiden series. Classic power-up system- the power-ups change colour, grabbing the power-up that matches your weapon powers you up a level, grabbing a different colour switches your weapon without leveling you up. Personally, I found the green proton beam really hard to use

-it seems that you get more points for destroying enemies quickly- if you zap something just as it comes down from the top of the screen you get a modifier

More info on the game here:

http://www.mossjp.co.jp/raiden/raiden.htm
 

abasuto

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Looks pretty damn good. I've always been a huge fan of Raiden 2. Hopefully it'll make it's way to atleast 1 home console.
 

Takumaji

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wh00t! Thanks for the info, tsuka. I'm really looking forward to this game.

It's 100% old-style Raiden with new graphics from what I've heard so far and that's great.... when I first saw some screens posted in the shmups thread, I thought Seibu gave in to the manic shmups Cave hype, but obviously that's not the case.

About the graphics, I prefer 2D sprites over 3D polygon objects but modern hardware lets them look way less blocky and weird than before, so I guess if a shmup still has 2D gameplay, I'm cool with polygons 'n stuff.
 

barf

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Abasuto said:
Looks pretty damn good. I've always been a huge fan of Raiden 2. Hopefully it'll make it's way to atleast 1 home console.

It should make it to PC and maybe XBox since it s a PC game running on DirectX under WindowsXP afaik :)
 

ord1000

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I played Raiden III when it was on test at HEY! arcade (Akhibarra) in January and it still feels like the classic Raiden. I thought the graphics were quite good and the gameplay was tight. Very impressive.
I thought i read somewhere that Raiden III was pretty much definatly getting released on the PS2. If that's the case then i'll be keeping my eyes on the Gigawing Generations game that comes out on the 24th March, just to see how the PS2 can handle Taito Type X conversions.
If it's a good conversion then i imagine that Raiden III will be pretty much assured to be heading to PS2 land.
 

tsukaesugi

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Takumaji said:
About the graphics, I prefer 2D sprites over 3D polygon objects but modern hardware lets them look way less blocky and weird than before, so I guess if a shmup still has 2D gameplay, I'm cool with polygons 'n stuff.

You know, I'm probably commiting heresy by saying this, but I'd have to say that the new style of 3D Polygons almost makes it easier to see what's going on.

*runs away before he gets lynched*
 

galfordo

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Glad to hear that my favorite shooter series EVAR is finally making it to number 3 - it's been almost street fighteresque in its reluctance to do so.

Anyway, I'm with Takumaji on the whole 2D vs. 3D thing - the 2D backgrounds just seem so much more alive IMO. 3D bg's seem synthetic.

I pray this games sees a US release.
 

Takumaji

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tsukaesugi said:
You know, I'm probably commiting heresy by saying this, but I'd have to say that the new style of 3D Polygons almost makes it easier to see what's going on.

*runs away before he gets lynched*

Higher res = more detailed objects, and of course dev'ers have learned a thing or two about 3D graphics by now, if only they'd manage to blow a bit more soul into them. I mean, stuff like Psikyo's Zero Gunner 2 looks quite polished and all, but it feels kinda lifeless and sterile.

Carved wood vs. polished steel (sort of).
 

tsukaesugi

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Takumaji said:
Higher res = more detailed objects, and of course dev'ers have learned a thing or two about 3D graphics by now, if only they'd manage to blow a bit more soul into them. I mean, stuff like Psikyo's Zero Gunner 2 looks quite polished and all, but it feels kinda lifeless and sterile.

Carved wood vs. polished steel (sort of).

Again, I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but I'd like to argue that Zero Gunner 2 has a hell of a lot of soul. Notwithstanding the fact that it's got that neat swivel feature (which in my limited experience is pretty revolutionary for a shooter) but the hi-res 3D graphics really go a long way towards creating a complete hi-res techno-mecha world. I don't find it sterile at all- much like Nintendo's F-Zero, I find it the living, breathing embodiment of science fiction.

I think the 3D look not only makes it easier to play, but it also really matches the theme of shooters, and I hope to see more of them.

3D shooters with soul? Now we're talking CARVED STEEL!

*hides behind proton shields waiting for incoming flames*
 

Takumaji

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tsukaesugi said:
Again, I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but I'd like to argue that Zero Gunner 2 has a hell of a lot of soul. Notwithstanding the fact that it's got that neat swivel feature (which in my limited experience is pretty revolutionary for a shooter) but the hi-res 3D graphics really go a long way towards creating a complete hi-res techno-mecha world. I don't find it sterile at all- much like Nintendo's F-Zero, I find it the living, breathing embodiment of science fiction.

I think the 3D look not only makes it easier to play, but it also really matches the theme of shooters, and I hope to see more of them.

3D shooters with soul? Now we're talking CARVED STEEL!

*hides behind proton shields waiting for incoming flames*

*pierces proton shield with an atomic pointed dog head bite shagga-shagga

When I say I find ZG2's backs and objects a bit sterile, I'm talking about feelings and impressions rather than objective quality. I mean, Border Down is entirely made of polygons, but I feel at home in it, even tho many ppl rate it as bland and uninspired in the graphics department, but something in ZG2 ticks the wrong way for me... can't put my finger on it, must be the general change in style.

My gripes with the visuals aside, I really like the game, the manual rotating and the energy/powerup chrystals are a nice addition IMO. One day I will be able to 1cc the 1st loop, but as with most Psikyo games, the 2nd loop is made for the true shmup maniacs so I prolly won't bother.

Speaking about 2nd loops, Sengoku Blade 2nd loop is crazy, and I mean totally stick-bitin' bullet-swarming crazy. In terms of added difficulty, ZG2's 2nd loop is pants compared to SB.
 
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