The Raiden series is one fo the longest shoot-’em-up series running. Shoot-’em Ups or SHUMUPS normally refer to games that have a single space ship/plane fighting off impossible odds against waves and waves of enemies and often a large boss at the end of each level. With these games, which got their start at the dawn of video games on consoles like the Atari 2600, are traditionally 2D with either a top down view or a side view of the action. The screen will normally continuously scroll based on the direction you are flying. Another key factor in most SHUMUPS is crazy weapon upgrades, often filling the entire screen with lasers and missiles and destruction. When 3D games became the norm this genre faded some. But when a new SHUMUP arrives these days they are often 2.5D or created with 3D polygons, but staying on a 2D battle field. Regardless of how they look or when they were made, the action is always non-stop.

And that brings us back to RAIDEN! Raiden has been around since 1990! It is an amazing and classic series the got its start in the arcades and then made its way to the 16-bit consoles. Let’s take a look at all fo the games from the Raiden series.

Raiden Games

Raiden (1990-2021)

Platform: Arcade, (Raiden Trad) Mega Drive/Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Super NES, Jaguar, MS-DOS, PS1, Lynx, Mobile, PC
Release Date: April 1990 (Arcade), September 1991 (Mega Drive/Genesis), 1991 (TurboGrafx-16), April 1992 (Super NES), December 1993 (Jaguar), 1994 (MS-DOS), September 9, 1995 (PS1), 1997 (Lynx), December 2012 (Mobile), May 16, 2013 (PC) June 30, 2021 (PS4) (Also Playable on PS5) and July 1, 2021 (Switch)
Genre: Vertical Scrolling Shooter Game

Raiden II (1993-1997)

Platform: Arcade, PS1, and PC
Release Date: October 1993 (Arcade), DX Version July 1994 (Arcade) , September 9, 1995 (PS1), and 1997 (PC)
Genre: Vertical Scrolling Shooter Game

Raiden III (2005-2023)

Platform: Arcade, PS2, PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and Switch
Release Date: March 31, 2005 (Arcade), April 17, 2007 (PS2), November 1, 2011 (PS3),
x MIKADO MANIAX Version June 6, 2023 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Switch, and PC)
Genre: Vertical Scrolling Shooter Game

Raiden IV (2009-2023)

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X
Release Date: September 9, 2009 (Xbox 360), OverKill Version April 2, 2014 (PS3), 2015 (PC on Steam), 2016 (PC on GOG) (Overkill Version not on PC anymore) September 3, 2015 (PC), x MIKADO Remix Version May 6, 2021 (Switch), and January 31, 2023 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and PC)
Genre: Vertical Scrolling Shooter Game

Raiden V (2016-2019)

Platform: Xbox One (Also Playable on Xbox Series S/X), PS4 (Also Playable on PS5), PC, And Switch
Release Date: May 11, 2016 (Xbox One) (Also Playable on Xbox Series S/X) Directors Cut Version October 5, 2017 (PS4) (Also Playable on PS5), (PC), and July 25, 2019 (Switch)
Genre: Vertical Scrolling Shooter Game

Raiden Games Compilation

The Raiden Project (1995)

Platform: PS1
Rease Date: September 9, 1995
Genre: Vertical Scrolling Shooter Game and Compilation
Games Included: Raiden and Raiden II

Raiden Fighters Aces (2009)

Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: May 7, 2009
Genre: Vertical Scrolling Shooter Game and Compilation
Games Included: Raiden Fighters, Raiden Fighters 2 Operation Hell Dive, and Raiden Fighters Jet

Raiden Legacy (2015)

Platform: iOS, Android, Ouya, and PC
Release Date: December 3, 2012 (iOS and Android), August 4, 2013 (Ouya), May 16, 2013 (GOG on PC), and December 10, 2015 (Steam on PC)
Genre: Vertical Scrolling Shooter Game and Compilation
Games Included: Raiden, Raiden Fighters, Raiden Fighters 2 Operation Hell Dive, and Raiden Fighters Jet