Raiden IV x MIKADO Remix Review

Raiden IV, a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up, initially hit arcades in Japan back in 2007. Raiden IV x MIKADO Remix takes the original arcade title and updates it to include modern-day features to make it better than ever before. The core gameplay is identical to what you have seen in past releases of Raiden IV. Each stage increases in difficulty as you avoid the enemies and the bullets coming at you at an alarming rate and amount. Collect the items dropped by destroyed enemies to get weapon upgrades, medals, bombs, and fairies. Destroy the final boss at the end of the stage to advance to the new level.

Like in the previous Raiden IV games, the planet is under attack from the Crystals, a race of extraterrestrial beings that want to take the world for themselves. There are various enemy types, so you won't always see the same enemy ships. The level bosses are enormous compared to the enemies you fought during the stage. Because of their sheer size, it may be more difficult to avoid getting hit by their attack or the craft itself. Once you defeat the enemy, a summary will show the total score you received during that stage before moving to the next one. 

The gameplay of Raiden IV is identical to the previous games, so this will feel very familiar to some players. Each stage increases in difficulty; players engage with various enemies and avoid (or try to) their attacks. This may sound easy, but Raiden IV sometimes feels like a bullet hell game. Between the rounds, the aliens are shooting at you, and with all the shots you are firing back, the screen will fill with obstacles to try to avoid! If this sounds overwhelming to you, don't worry, Raiden IV x MIKADO has multiple difficulties to select from. Ranging from Very Easy, which allows you to destroy enemy bullets with your shots; Hard, where more enemies appear, to Ultimate for hardcore Raiden players who want a challenge. In the Options area of the main menu, you can also change how many lives you have up to seven and increase the number of bombs your ship can carry.

Raiden IV x MIKADO allows you to recreate the arcade experience from home, keeping its vertical screenplay exactly how it used to be. The area you are playing in takes up about 1/3rd of the screen with bars/wallpaper on either side that you can customise to your liking. You can choose a dark wallpaper, like black with a subtle design, or a graphic that shows some of the ships you can pilot. I found the wallpaper with the large planes more distracting when I was playing, so I went with something more subdued. Once you get into flying the missions, the game looks great, especially the backgrounds for each stage. I especially loved flying over a city when it's getting darker out or over the ocean covered with enemy ships blasting at you. I was a little concerned when the game first started as the intro video looked a bit more dated, but the game is totally different.

The soundtrack for Raiden IV x MIKADO Remix has been remastered and does it ever sound good. Every stage has upbeat music that is guaranteed to get your adrenaline pumping. The various artists at Game Center Mikado have done a great job with the music. If you would rather have the original game soundtrack, there is an option to set it as the default. When you start a new stage, you will see the name of the song and the artist displayed in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. It was great to quickly figure out which artist created your favourite songs without researching. The sound effects that accompany the music are also great. Each weapon you use has a unique sound, so it's not always the generic laser sound or "pew-pew..."

Raiden IV x MIKADO has a variety of different modes that you can play: 

OverKill Mode — a new mode with two new missions and a new scoring system that differs from the past versions of the game. 

Additional Mode — a variation of Arcade Mode but with two new stages included. 

Score Attack Mode — a High Score Mode for all the stages, including those from OverKill Mode. 

Arcade Mode — recreates the original arcade experience with two difficulties: Light and Original. 

World Ranking — a ranking mode that places you among players from all over the world in the game's various modes. 

Each mode will let you select your Play Style, solo or multiplayer. If you want to play with another player, it's not the clearest which option you should choose. Dual is described as P1 and P2 together, and Double is P1 and P2 at the same time. Double lets one player control two ships at once, so you will want to select Dual if you wish to have two people playing. My son and I thought one was alternating that when one player dies, the second one starts, but we found out pretty quickly this wasn't what it meant. If you are playing along with another player, at the end of the stage, you compare scores. The highest is the winner, and lowest is the loser. 

Raiden IV x MIKADO Remix has three different characters/aircraft to select from: the Fighting Thunder ME-02, the Raiden MK-II both being red fighter ships with varying strengths and the third is Fairy. She happens to be naked, but she has super long hair covering anything inappropriate. If you are playing two players, you can both choose to play as the same character, but the colour will be changed so you can each distinguish which you are controlling. Though in multiplayer mode, if each player takes a different red craft, it can get tricky to distinguish them on the screen. Especially with tons of bullets, enemy craft, and weapons flying around. 

Each of these characters has a unique attack they can use when you collect one of the colour-changing orbs. Red lets the ships shoot in multiple directions at once, blue lets you shoot multiple lasers vertically up the screen, and purple unleashes a crazy shot that acts like a homing missile and goes to the enemy. If you are piloting one of the ships, the purple "rope" will encircle the alien and cause it damage. The Fairy is different, though, following in with the kind of cutesy character, she shoots tons of purple bubbles. They look super cool and have a fun sound effects whenever they are used. These big "orb" attacks can be paired with another one of the weapons simultaneously, so you can have bubbles combined with homing missiles. There are a ton of fun combinations that you can make. If you need more firepower, the characters are equipped with bombs that can be detonated to inflict significant damage. If you find the default amount of bombs isn't enough, you can increase this in the options to the max.

Raiden IV x MIKADO Remix is a fun arcade-like experience that you can enjoy from your home with an excellent, high-energy soundtrack. With a bunch of different modes that you can play in multiple ways with one player or a versus mode to play with a friend locally, this game will keep you busy for a long time. No matter how skilled you are at scrolling shooters, Raiden IV can be customised for your skill level to make it more fun for you. The controls are precise and responsive, which is what you want in a game like this, with tons of projectiles coming at you that you need to avoid. If you are a fan of arcade-style shooters, this is a fun title that will keep you busy for a long time with all the different modes to check out!