Raiden III (PS2) and silliness

[Gabriel]

So, yesterday I got Raiden III, and had a bit of an issue with it.

 

I popped it into my PS3, loaded it up, and then got the familiar PS2 message of "no game save, blah, blah, do you want to create one? Yes/No." Everyone should know the drill. So, I clicked "Yes" and the game kept on cycling me through the same two screens. After several tries, and not seeing why it wouldn't create a game save file, I thought that maybe the game didn't like the PS3's virtual memory cards. So, I took the game into the other room to try it on the PS2. I loaded up the game and had the same results at the memory card startup screen.

 

At this point, I'm thinking "WTF dude?" I was wondering if the game was bugged and literally just wouldn't start. I took it back in the other room and put it back in the PS3.

 

Now, maybe I was just oblivious. Perhaps it was right there on screen and I missed it (I don't think a message of what button to use was there). After going through those same 2 screens and not getting the game to start, an idea finally dawned in my head. "What if I try a button other than the X button?" So, I tried using circle to select the answer, and 'lo and behold, the game finally started.

 

I think nearly every other game I have uses X for confirmation and circle for back. For whatever reason, these guys reversed that. WTF? It's not a big deal, but it certainly did muck me up.

 

Anyway, I got to play my game and all was right with the world. I'm a bit disappointed in the game. It was a $30 shooter and doesn't look very good (it looks almost like a PS1 shooter, the PS2 is not being pushed in the tinest bit). I was expecting a bit more due to the price and the legendary status of the name. Oh well, if anyone cares I'll actually try to form some more detailed thoughts about it and type more. Until then, it looks like the Hero/Villain pack for X360 Marvel Ultimate Alliance will be available tonight, so I'll be busy with that.

[Tempest]

I think nearly every other game I have uses X for confirmation and circle for back. For whatever reason, these guys reversed that. WTF? It's not a big deal, but it certainly did muck me up.

 

I believe this is the standard in Japan (it makes sense if you think about it, X for cancel/back, O for confirm). Sounds like they just forgot to change it when they ported it.

 

Tempest

[+FujiSkunk]

Outrun 2006 gets funky with the buttons, too. It's something like, if there are more races to go in the set you're in, X takes you to the next race and O lets you repeat the current race. But if you're on the last race, X lets you repeat the current race. So you have to be careful and read everything before blindly punching buttons.

 

Yes, it's annoying.

[xenomorpher]

This is how the Metal Gear games react. I'm used to the X button as the "main" button. By the way, how is Raiden III?

[EricDeLee]

That's what I was going to say... the Metal Gear games use the circle button for confirmation rather than the X button

[keilbaca]

LOL Gabriel. Couple things.

 

1. That's standard in Japan.

 

2. Yes it has legendary status, and of course it won't push the ps2 to its limits. Its a classic 2d shmup. What did you expect, blistering 3d graphics and a 3d fighting game?

[+Mockduck]

That's too bad that you didn't like the game much. I've been thinking about getting it myself since Raidan (the first one) is one of my favorite shooters, but the $30 price tag has me kinda unsure. I'd be a lot happier if it was $15-20. Yeah, I know it's new, but still, the price seems a bit high.

 

I thought the graphics were supposed to be basically the same as the 2005 arcade release (which I've never seen or played). Any idea if this is the case?

 

Anyway, I'll probably wait on this game til I find it either used or the price drops.

[Gabriel]

2. Yes it has legendary status, and of course it won't push the ps2 to its limits. Its a classic 2d shmup. What did you expect, blistering 3d graphics and a 3d fighting game?

 

I expected something more along the lines the look of R-Type Final or even the redos of Gradius III/IV (which aren't exactly new games). Instead, it looks more like Raystorm. It's not really bad, but it is something of a let-down. The SFX (explosions and stuff) look better than the actual game. It actually looks a bit disjointed.

[Gabriel]

but the $30 price tag has me kinda unsure. I'd be a lot happier if it was $15-20. Yeah, I know it's new, but still, the price seems a bit high.

 

It's not that I didn't like the game. I haven't played it enough to know. The graphics just disappointed me was all.

 

I agree with you on the price. I probably wouldn't have even had any issue with the graphics had it been $20. I mean, $30 is a budget title, but it's a high end budget title.

Edited April 26, 2007 by Gabriel

[Jess Ragan]

Heh, screw that. The Red Star's going to be my next purchase... I've been waiting a long time for that game and it's getting some surprisingly good reviews despite the fact that it's been delayed for years.

 

JR

[ubersaurus]

I rather like Raiden 3 myself. My only real compaint is how incredibly slow your ship moves, but beyond that it's good for some mindless fun. Not so much if you're looking for a lot of strategy and depth, though

 

And yeah, it has the same visuals are the arcade version.

Edited April 27, 2007 by ubersaurus

[shadow460]

So what's it look like compared to the Raiden Fighters? I thought that game was pretty awesome for 2D. Better than DX was, and DX was pretty good in itself.

[Gabriel]

I played it some more this past weekend.

 

The bad is that you only get 3 credits. So, you start, maybe your friend starts, and then one of you gets one continue and the game is over. Since this is a quarter muncher, death is easy and arbitrary.

 

We only blasted our way to level 3, so we suck ass. The levels up to that point were pretty bland. The graphics were just a single notch above Raystorm (PS1), but much less inspired in terms of scrolling environments. The music was cool though.

 

It's a passable shooter. But I expected a bit more due to the series's reputation. Maybe it picks up later, but it will take me a bit of practice to get there. But, to tell the truth, I could get what I consider a superior exeperience from putting the Gekioh: Shooting King or Strikers 1945 discs into my PS3 and playing them instead.

[Atariboy]

Once you do beat it once on any difficulty, a free play mode unlocks so it will be better suited for playing with a friend then.

[chrisbid]

the newer shooters with 3D backgrounds have an odd feeling to me. there is a disconnect between the background and your ship and the enemies that doesnt exist on a more traditional 2D shoot em up

 

i still enjoy them though

[Malc74]

The bad is that you only get 3 credits. So, you start, maybe your friend starts, and then one of you gets one continue and the game is over. Since this is a quarter muncher, death is easy and arbitrary.

It does give you more credits the more you play. Once you beat it you unlock freeplay and the Boss Rush mode. I just knocked the difficulty down to easy and managed to beat it on the 6 credits I had earned.

 

I'm having a lot of fun with it. In the main game mode I just managed to get to Level 4 on 1 credit on arcade difficulty last night, but it gets crazy difficult (for me anyway) after that. If you're a high score freak like I am it gives you loads of challenges - I particularly like the dual play mode where you control both ships yourself, one with each analogue stick.

[Gabriel]

I was in the mood for some shooter fun, and decided to boot this one up again. Before doing so, I had been playing around with my PS3's display settings and had determined I preferred 720p to 1080i. Anyway, I started Raiden III up and it almost looked like a different game.

 

Maybe the upscaling update had something to do with it. The visuals were much improved. It had an extremely pixelly look before, but when I played last night it was much smoother and the pixel shimmer was noticably reduced.

 

I just wanted to add that update because of how I had commented on the graphics before.

[Gabriel]

And now another update.

 

This game has really grown on me. I'm starting to categorize it among some of my best shooter purchases. No, it's not as good as Raystorm, but it ranks up there nicely with other titles I enjoy like Strikers 1945.

 

And despite two people in this thread telling me I could beat the game on "any difficulty" to unlock free play, it just never dawned on me. I got too used to games where you have to play at a specific difficulty level to get anything accomplished. But then I realized I could just set the game on Training, play for a while, and then have infinite continues to make the game more fun.

 

Very few things in gaming are as big of a bummer as having fun with a shooter, losing your last man, and then realizing you have no continues.

 

I still think the levels are more than a bit bland. The last level is basically just rows upon rows upon rows of gun emplacements. But a couple of levels were kind of neat. The ocean/docks bit in the 3rd level was probably the best.

 

But whatever happened to awesome levels like Silpheed had?

 

I definitely would have liked one other weapon option. The green and blue plasma firehoses are just too similar.

[shadow460]

At least Moss got rid of that useless purple toothpaste gun. It was kinda neat, but the red and blue weapons both pack so much more punch that it's unbelievable. IMO, green plasma has to go from Raiden. It locks your ship into a certain position on the screen, which can spell death. MAybe they could have added a weapon that fired horizontally or something.

 

What size screen are you playing on? I played it on a 13 inch screen, and everything was sharp.

[+FujiSkunk]

At least Moss got rid of that useless purple toothpaste gun. It was kinda neat, but the red and blue weapons both pack so much more punch that it's unbelievable.

 

The secret of the purple weapon was knowing when not to let it congeal and lock on. As straight lasers it packed a much bigger wallop. If I remember correctly, it even had heavier impact than the blue lasers, but of course you couldn't just hold the button down like you could with the blue.

[Gabriel]

What size screen are you playing on? I played it on a 13 inch screen, and everything was sharp.

 

I play my current and recent-gen games on a 37" widescreen TV at 720p. In this case, Raiden III is being played on a PS3 and is being upscaled.

 

Of course, I'm not playing 'tate mode. I think I'm using the second option for displaying the screen without rotating the monitor. So, the actual display area is much smaller, and probably not much bigger than what you'd get from an old standard 27" TV.

 

I remember this game looked atrocious when I first tried it. It was more pixely than a SNK fighter. At that time I had been playing around with some settings and using my PS3 at 1080i. I decided to knock it down to 720p and I never regretted it. This game really benefitted from that little change. It got significantly crisper, more detailed, and the pixel shimmer almost entirely went away. It doesn't look as good as R-Type Final, Gradius V, or even Silpheed: The Lost Planet, but it isn't a disappointment anymore.

 

I guess the PS3 upscaler just really doesn't like 1080i.

[Shannon]

Hmm I'll have to keep that in mind. Shadow of the colossus doesn't look that great upscaled to 1080i either. So I'll have to go in and try changing my settings to 720p.