Raiden DX is the enriched version of the vertical arcade shmup Raiden II. Classic demanding vertical shooting gameplay with additional level variants. A niche title for fans of Japanese vertical shmup on PS1, faithful to the original arcade experience.
Your verdict
Category
Shooter2 players7+
Co-op
Description
Japanese adaptation of Seibu Kaihatsu's arcade shoot them up, extended DX version of Raiden II with new content. Created by Seibu Kaihatsu, released in 1996 in Japan with Major Wave edition under the Raiden DX title. Over seven vertical stages with Beginner, Training and Advanced levels, ship armed with vulcan cannon and missiles, two-player cooperative mode and chiptune soundtrack. Japanese edition with Major Wave under the Raiden DX title.
Raiden DX review
3/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Polished"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Engaging"
Difficulty
"Punishing"
A reference of old-school vertical shooting from Seibu Kaihatsu, it offers courses of varied but always unforgiving difficulty, where reading missile trajectories is paramount. Dodging precisely and chasing the score demand reflexes and consistency. Pure, dense and cut for purists, it keeps a classic aura among fans of demanding arcade shmups.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
A vertical shoot 'em up by Seibu Kaihatsu, an extension of the famous Raiden with tiered difficulty modes built for scoring. Its original version stays sought by fans of old-school brisk shooting, more than the budget reissue. Its interest lies in this arcade lineage and the practice of scoring rather than a great scarcity of the title itself.
Better with friends
An intense vertical shooter best savored two-player simultaneously, where you jointly cover the screen under a swarm of projectiles and enemy fire. Teamwork creates a unique joy: splitting the targets and combining firepower turns survival into a shared effort. Demanding and snappy, it rewards coordination with epic runs and calls for retries to beat your shared record.
Is Raiden DX still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 1997 on PS1 in Japan, Seibu Kaihatsu's port carries Raiden DX over with three campaigns built for beginners, intermediates and veterans. The classical vertical shooting, readable and demanding, keeps a very distinct old school flavour. Enemy patterns require learning and replay value rides on detailed scoring. A few visual elements show age and the presentation feels dry. Recommended today for fans of classical vertical shoot 'em ups, for Seibu Kaihatsu devotees and for PS1 collectors hunting a faithful arcade conversion on Sony's first home console hardware.
