A piece of gaming history has been officially recovered as two unreleased 1990s computer ports of Seibu Kaihatsu’s legendary arcade shoot-em-up, Raiden, has been added to digital archives for both the Commodore Amiga and Atari Falcon as a preview download. Originally hitting arcades in 1990, Raiden became an instant phenomenon. The vertical shooter put players inside the Raiden Supersonic Attack Fighter to battle invading aliens with destructive weapon upgrades and fast-paced gameplay. While it was successfully ported to platforms like the SNES, Mega Drive, and Atari Jaguar, the mid-90s ports for the Commodore Amiga and Atari Falcon by developer Imagitec Design were famously shelved due to a shifting gaming market.
The Recovery
- Amiga Version: Intended for AGA machines and a budget KIXX label release, this version was fully completed and reviewed in magazines before being cancelled. A one-level demo is now archived. Experts believe the full game still exists on an old developer DAT tape, leaving hope for a future 100% recovery.
- Atari Falcon Version: This version served as the foundation port from which the Amiga and DOS versions were actually built. Development halted after three levels when the programmer was reassigned to the Jaguar. It was eventually put out as shareware. Both surviving builds are now preserved for the community, offering a rare glimpse into a lost chapter of 90s shoot-em-up history.
As noted by Gamesthatweren't who sourced this incredible news "Today we are adding both surviving versions to the archive, though it is hoped that more can be found of at least the Amiga edition and something with more levels. With thanks to H0ffman and Karl Kuras for suggesting that they cover the game (sorry for the delay!) and helping bring these versions to our attention, Rygar and Andrew Seed for further information about the game, Abandonware Magazines France, Ross Sillifant and Archive.org for scans and AtariMania for the Falcon download."
cool :)
ReplyDeletethe Amiga version is not bad at all, too bad the entire game hasn't been found. The Amiga did get Mega Typhoon an amazing Raiden clone that came out late in the 90s but is Amiga OCS compatible and blows the doors off this Raiden with 100's of objects at once on the screen. It's one of the best Shmups for the Amiga and the only real bullet hell level game for that platform at the time. I don't think the reviewers in magazine knew even what they had on their hands with Mega Typhoon, but back to Amiga Raiden what a shame such a well done port was never released.
ReplyDeleteTime to try Mega Typhoon :)
DeleteHere's hoping that full Amiga version appears someday.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust downloaded Falcon version and will try it on my Falcon monster this weekend.
This game is love and hate for me so far. I started playing it couple of weeks ago from GOG (which is arcade port I think) and it pisses me off quite often (if not always) but I come back to it regularly (as an addict) :D
I'm eager to try it on the Falcon!