THE HISTORY OF RAI DEN

THE RAIDEN GAMES HAVE LEFT A PROFOUND LEGACY IN THE SHOOTING GAME GENRE SINCE THE VERY FIRST DEBUTED IN 1990. IT’S A SERIES THAT HAS NEVER BEEN AFRAID TO CARVE ITS OWN PATH. AND IT ISN’T YET DONE

- WILL FREEMAN

When the first Raiden game arrived in Japan’s game centers in 1990, it wasn’t an immediate hit. And yet it was the beginning of a series that would leave a remarkable legacy in the 2D shooter genre, and beyond.

Make no mistake, the first Raiden went on to be a grand success. But on release, developer Seibu Kaihatsu was still making a name for itself. In fact, the team had begun their life making shmups, with 1983’s Stinger and the following year’s Scion. They’d explored the form yet again with 1987’s Air Raid. But the team had found more success elsewhere, with the likes of gallery shooters such as Empire City 1931 and its spiritual successor of sorts, Dynamite Duke. The latter was far from a flop, but so significant was its development cost, with Seibu creating its own arcade hardware system for the game, it struggled to deliver healthy returns.

The Seibu team longed for more success. And they couldn’t help but notice that 2D shooters – commonly STGs (Shooting Games) in Japanese arcade parlance – were enjoying snowballing popularity at the time, as well as being relatively inexpensive to produce. As such, the team chose to focus on developing a new shooter. As noted in the materials that came with the 2006 superplay DVD The Aces High Raiden, Raiden’s inception was ultimately a financial decision; a deviation from the original plan. And yet it became an icon.