Raiden

Raiden is a vertical-scrolling shoot-em-up set in the year 2090. The Earth is under attack by alien forces, and the World Alliance of Nations has developed an experimental supersonic fighter-bomber named Raiden as humanity's last hope. You pilot this craft through eight stages of intense aerial combat, destroying enemy aircraft, tanks, turrets, and ground installations. The game features two main weapon types: the Vulcan cannon (a wide forward shot) and the Plasma laser (a concentrated beam). Power-up icons cycle through different weapon upgrades, bomb stocks, and shield enhancements. Boss encounters end each level. The arcade original was known for its no-nonsense action, requiring sharp reflexes rather than secret moves.

PC Engine

Published by Hudson Soft in Japan on November 22, 1991, and later in North America by NEC Technologies . The HuCard version is a mostly faithful port but lacks two-player co-op and has slightly reduced color and clarity compared to the arcade . Graphics are altered to fit standard 4:3 televisions with some missing parallax scrolling, though enemy sprites remain large and bosses are impressive . The game is notoriously brutal, with relentless enemy fire and checkpoints that reset progress within stages . A Super CD-ROM² version titled "Super Raiden" was later released, featuring remixed CD-quality music and two entirely new stages for a total of ten . Gameplay is slightly rebalanced to be more progressive and less punishing than the HuCard version . Widely considered among the best Raiden conversions, second only to the PlayStation version .