the biggest shock about raiden 5 i found going in was just how in depth it's story mode was, usually a shmup has a little bit of story, some brief dialogue between routes, a little environmental storytelling and some cutscenes at the start and end, and while raiden 5 doesn't have many cutscenes it has a ton of dialogue, dialogue popping up during chapters between the coffee loving commander, the operator that just wants a vacation and some other characters like an ocean loving pirate and a shady weapons manufacturer, it's all very MGS codec or deadly premonition car ride, silly and fun and it gives the game a very light hearted fun tone and give you a real reason to care when the game hypes up and i even got a little emotional when the music swelled and the characters egged on the MC to finish things off, you even have dialogue variations and multiplle endings! it's very in depth and honestly worth playing the game for alone! the music that accompanies that story is also fantastic, shmups are known for amazing music but even for the genre this is great, catchy and memorable, some metal, some electronic piano, some with vocals even and it gives the game a really hype atmosphere really selling just how intense the gameplay is and giving the game a really upbeat feel, like a shounen space anime the game has a childlike joy to it and it's a great atmosphere. the main standout for me was the chapter 6 theme "fortress of philosophy" which has a vocal section that hits so hard halfway through, i felt like crying during that segment, it's good at making you emotional like that.

the gameplay is much more on the bullet hell end of things, hundreds of bullets, bombs and multiple weapon types are your main mechanic, but the game does also have an extra support mechanic where other players will cheer you on and give you an extra bonus attack that can clear screens and burn boss HP in seconds, it's all very accessable and it makes the game a lot more managble, despite the difficulty i found myself using a lot less continues than i ususally would in a game like this, usually only one per chapter and i find that it made it a lot more fun overall. the level up systems are also very fun with a fairy based XP system where you can collect them by flying over them or by stopping shooting and letting them all magnetise to you, your 3 weapons level up independantly and if you can get all 3 to the max you even unlock a special boss so it's incentivised well, you even keep the levels and the weapons inbetween lives which is a nice feature, you can also live through a good 4 or 5 hits on normal which makes it a lot more forving too, overall it's one of the more accessable shmups ive played especially with the easier difficulties, you can even turn off the bullets altogether in a practise mode!

it looks super cool too! the environments are super varied, from waterfalls, grasslands, crystal caves. space, deserts and cityscapes all rendered in very early ps3 style 3D, it's charming as hell although the speed and colour scheme can make it a little hard to see bullets in a few of the town levels, but the game looks so good that it's hard to really complain, it's a nice style and it suits the game super well, even the UI is super cool with options for tips, score and a little profie with stats all colour coded and switchable on the fly! the game just looks cool and it even sounds cool in ways other than music. the games VA work doesn't just remind me of DP with it's dialogue. it's also very ps2 era in its quality, it's cheesy and silly with performers just having fun with the roles and i think it gives it a very fun B quality in the same way a deadly prem or EDF game would. it also has a lot of content in it, unlockable missions, 4 variations on many of the levels, a boss mode and the directors cut version ads even more of these giving the game a ton of replayability, especially with the 6 endings and multiple final bosses to fight.

the game is the most recent raiden game at the time of writing, with it's switch release being two years ago although there was a duel version released with 4 and 5 on one cart last year which is absolutely the way to go for anyone buying this, although there is also a perfectly fine version released in pal regions on ps4 if that's more your console of choice, there were also current gen versions of 3 and 4 after 5's release that did add new music and stuff but those, while i own them, i have not played but i intend to fix that asap as this has quickly became one of my favourite shmups! the game is developed by MOSS who first started out by working on the orignal raiden 3 for the arcade and PS2,but they have also worked on some SNK shmups like KOF skyforce, the caladrius series and a ds port of EXIT for taito. it was directed by jin hoshino, who also directed both caladrius as well as raiden 3 and 4 and the game was composed mainly by Yoshimi Kudo who has done a ton of work, from elden ring to deathsmiles to 13 sentinels and devils third, a fantastic composer. overall i 100% reccomend raiden 5 to anyone, from novices wanting an accessible game, people who just want fun music and cheesy dialogue and even hardcore veterens that want a game with a ton of content and options, i imagine anyone would be happy with this game.