#Demonstar 1996 series#

Seibu Kaihatsu changed its name to Raiden Fighters due to market tests of the game performing better in the public with the Raiden name. The first Raiden Fighters game was originally a completely unrelated game with the name Gun Dogs during development. The Raiden Fighters games became associated with the Raiden series. An updated version of Viper Phase 1, released on August 1995, modified the weapons system to be similar to the Raiden games. Viper Phase 1, released on May 1995, has an exhaustible secondary weapon system (indicated by a bar meter).

#Demonstar 1996 series#

After more than a decade, the original series was revived and licensed by MOSS and published by Taito. The first three Raiden games were published by Seibu Kaihatsu and distributed by Fabtek (US), The Metrotainment Network (Asia), and Tuning Electronic (Germany). A slightly different version of this scoring mechanic was introduced in the Raiden Fighters spinoff. Starting in Raiden III, the 'flash shot' scoring mechanic allows players to get high scores by quickly destroying enemies as they appear. Later games introduced new features, such as the ability for one player to control both player ships at the same time. Raiden V introduces branching stage paths that depend on player performance. Raiden III consists of seven stages while Raiden IV has five. The first two Raiden installments had eight stages. In most of the Raiden games, the Crystals are represented by a large red crystal that forms the core of the games' bosses and is the final boss. In the wake of the Crystal proliferation, the world joined together to form the VCD, which must launch a counter-attack with their powerful weapon based on Crystal technology, the Fighting Thunder attack craft, for the future of humanity. In each installment, there is a threat to humanity posed by the invasion of Earth by an alien lifeform known as the Crystals.