Raiden Fighters (AKA: Gun Dogs) is a 1996 scrolling shooter arcade game by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is followed by the sequel, Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive. It introduced unique gameplay elements that are a departure from the original Raiden series.
Plot
The synopsis begins with confessions from a Cranassian prisoner after events of Raiden II ended in Earth's victory. Due to actions by World Alliance Military's pair of Raiden Supersonic Starfighters Cranassians' plot to colonize Earth has twice thwarted. Inevitably prisoners are taken. According to the prisoner's confession there had been 5 Great Wars (equivalent to Earth's World Wars) during the 19th century period that doomed their planet. Having destroyed their own homeworld, the surviving Cranassians were forced to set aside their enmities and went on a long journey through space and time in order to find a new 'lush green planet' they can call their home.
Centuries have passed, and Cranassians reached Solar System. They ultimately found one planet 'lush with green': namely Earth. Exhausted after centuries of space journey Cranassians chose Earth as their new home. Unfortunately they did not take people of Earth into account. And the result was the Earth-Cranassian Wars (aka Crystal Wars). Prisoners further confesses and revealed a startling information:
During their 5 global wars the rebels employed a squadron of extremely advanced and sophisticated fighter planes to gain advantage against military forces of Cranassian regime ruled by a dictator. (indicating that planet Cranass is a unitary world governed by one militarist and dictatorial regime) the rebels' fighters advanced technologies were to become basis for modern Cranassian starfighters, which subsequently became basis for Raiden Supersonic Starfighters are based on.
These rebel squadron fighters are code named Raiden Fighters.
The event of RF1 describes first of the Five Great Cranassian Wars that ultimately doomed the planet.
Stages
The game's seven levels are divided into three distinct Missions. The first two of these Missions has three levels. The final Mission is a lengthy fight through the enemy's fortress. By default, the stage order is chosen at random. Players can force a specific stage order by holding the joystick in one of the four principal directions before pressing the Start button after inserting a coin.
| Stage | Name | Boss | BGM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | Forest | Wild Weasel | Forest Stage |
| 1B | Airfield | Jasper Virtuos | Arachi Stage |
| 1C | Ocean | Ocean Stage | |
| 2A | Snow Field | Snow Field Stage | |
| 2B | Train Yard | Randall Gigas | Train Stage |
| 2C | Sky | Vahrstor | High Altitude Stage |
| 3 | Enemy Fortress | Wild Weasel II Rafflesia |
Fort Stage |
Fighters
Gun Dogs flyer
In Raiden Fighters (Gun Dogs), there are five standard fighter craft from which to select, each with a Laser and a Missile weapon. Each standard fighter craft has different strengths and weaknesses. Depending on a particular machine's settings, the cameo ships Raiden mk-II and the Judge Spear can be directly chosen, or selected by performing a specific joystick sequence. The Raiden and Judge Spear differ from the standard planes in two respects. First, each uses their signature bomb rather than the Firestar bomb and begins each life with three of them. Second, instead of employing charged shots, the cameo planes can shoot both lasers and missiles simultaneously. The Slave plane is playable, inheriting the bomb and movement speed of the fighter craft they normally accompany.
External Links
- Info on Raiden Fighters at TRFE.com
- Download Raiden Fighters on MAME Arcade Game Emulator MAMEUIFX32 0.126a Old Version Here at Mediafire
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| 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) | |