Raiden V: Director's Cut

Raiden V doesn’t feature any crazy features or design choices that turn the shoot ’em up genre on its head, but it doesn’t need to. Instead, it offers up an extremely polished shooter that sticks to the basics, while also having plenty of customizability due to a robust weapon system. There’s enough missions and story branches to keep players busy for quite some time, and it’s a great addition to any SHMUP fan’s library.

Solid oldschool arcade action proving that shoot em up doesn’t always have to equal bullet hell. And with the director’s cut you not only get new levels but a decent, albeit hectical co-op mode as well.

Raiden V: Director's Cut is a fine shooter. While it introduces some things to keep rookies engaged, it also has enough to keep veterans playing thanks to multiple routes and plane configurations. There's a limited selection of shooters for the bullet hell crowd to enjoy, and despite its issues with bullet visibility, Raiden V deserves a place in that library.

Whether you are a serious fan of bullet hell games or new to the genre, Raiden V: Director’s Cut is a great place to start. It offers easy to play, but hard to master gameplay and some great moments throughout and lives up to the series name!

Raiden V: Director’s Cut offers a wide variety of weapons and difficulties that are sure to keep players busy for some time.

In the end, Raiden V felt like a game that ticks all the right boxes for a Solid Shoot’em Up. It is not trying to be the most innovative game of the genre. It is only there to give you a solid gaming experience that you expect from a vertical scrolling, retro-flavored, bullet-hell game. Everything Raiden V has to offer is something you have already seen elsewhere, with some minor changes here and there. Overall, Raiden V is just another game in the long evolutionary process of Shoot’em Ups. If you’re looking for a casual and good vertical shooter to spend your time with, Raiden V is a good choice.

Naturally a niche game. No effort has been made by the development team to broaden the user base.

Whether you’re looking for a casual, classically inspired fix of arcade action, or a hardcore, brutal scrolling shooter you’ll find the possibility of both with Raiden V: Director’s Cut. It’s a shame that lack of innovation and some strange design choices hinder it. However, it still remains an enjoyable experience for long-term fans of this almost three decade old franchise, or newcomers alike.

Raiden V tries to add something new the shoot ’em up genre which is admirable, but unfortunately most of the ideas don’t live up to expectations. The Cheer system may have worked better if you could let spectators view your game, and the running commentary is like trying to listen to couple arguing at back of a bus when you’re at the front and have someone playing loud techno music on their phone right next to you. For a shoot ’em up there is a lot of content and the main mechanics have clearly been honed to perfection over the last twenty five years, making this a good, solid entry to the series.

A director’s cut that for once makes a significant difference, with new levels and the return of co-op – although the underlying game is still slightly flawed.

Raiden V: Director's Cut is a solid, retro-flavored shooter that does a lot right but doesn't innovate or advance the genre forward in any way.

Raiden V is a very accomplished shoot 'em up that offers a suitable challenge to players of different skill levels but the visuals can obscure the action and death can come very cheaply.