Raiden IV Type X Kit

Preorders are welcome for the fourth Raiden game which ships this summer. The operator kit consists of a hard drive containing the Raiden IV program code and a USB protection dongle. Both items are to be plugged into a Taito Type X hardware + cab. Next, throw up the snazzy header marquee and slap the side panel decals and you're ready to rock. Raiden IV's location test in Japan was nearly half a year ago but we're guessing fans of the series will nevertheless flock to the game. NCS will probably skip this one for our private collection - we can wait for the inevitable PS2/PS3 port. Preorders are welcome by email request to ship in mid June.

The Flash Desire Raiden III

The thunder and fury of Raiden III is revisited in the Insanity DVD capture of the game. Three items are included in the DVD pack as follows:

» Gameplay Capture DVD - Watch a master player dominate the entire game from start to finish without losing a single life. Once that's over, watch two masters play the game with godlike skill. The third major chapter in the DVD features game footage coupled with developer commentary. The DVD runs for approximately 120 minutes.

» Raiden III Perfect Sound Track - Go Sato composed 34 tracks for Raiden III and all of them are spooled onto an official CD which also include tracks from the PS2 version of the game. Yuji Takemitsu does the arrangements. The full track listing may be viewed here. The CD spans approximately 60 melodious minutes.

» Raiden III Official Data Collection - Flip through the 50+ pages of the B6-size Raiden booklet which includes illustrations, game system info, assorted data, and developer commentary.