Interesting! Does it work in windowed mode by any chance? Can the window be adjusted or scaled?

It does have a windowed mode, and you can adjust that mode in increments of .5x. So, half size, full size, 1.5x size, double size, etc. In fullscreen mode it's stuck at 640x480, but you have the option of using TATE, which lets you play the game with the monitor on its side. No TATE in windowed mode, no scaling in fullscreen.

Well that is good that the window can be doubled in size. Does it work with an Xbox 360 controller automatically?

Somewhat. I wasn't able to get it to recognize the dpad on mine, but the stick and buttons can be mapped just fine, though you do have to manually map them in the config program before it'll work.

And about 300% visual (over-)stimulation.

Looks like someone set up us the bomb...

Edit: Oh yeah, nice game release! Not really my genre, but I might give it a try as soon as it shows up in some promo.

Raiden is one of the most "reasonable" shmup series ever made in this respect. It ain't exactly Dodonpachi.

Not worth it for owners of the original release.
Moss Co. didn't even implement resolution switching.
Sure the sprites'll look pixelly, but I like that.
At least give the 3D portions a chance to shine through the blur.

Not that coincidental when you consider, even for a niche genre, the utter inaccessibility of many major titles from, oh, 1995-2010:

- Exclusively released in and often locked to the one region (Japan, natch) where they've still had a considerable fanbase -- so if you even knew about a title you'd pay int'l shipping and wait for weeks
- Slow to enter the emerging digital market, so PC titles like this one weren't exempt from the previous point
- Largely exclusive to minority platforms (Saturn, Dreamcast, J-XBox360, and above all else, arcades) because the majority want more complex games to show off their tech -- so either import again or get risky hardware mods
- AAA or higher price points in order to remotely profit from the tiny market made even more tiny by all of the above -- so again: money, honey

The core fanbase has long accepted this of course, because they're fans (also mostly adult men with income), but it's heartwarming that things are changing. Still long way to go (e.g. Raiden 4), so, Day 1 bought.

LOL. WTF did I just watch? And why is the score a 12 digit number? (They must be trying to compete with the numbers coming out of the Bank of Japan.)

Dodonpachi and its ilk are part of a subgenre of shmups known as bullet hell. The whole point is that the sheer number of bullets is completely overwhelming and psyche you out. The reality is that most of the bullets fired are slow, aren't aimed at you and will never hit you, and the ones that ARE aimed at you can frequently be guided and made less of a threat. It's a lot like the crazier Doom levels in that the overwhelming odds are actually quite manageable if you calm down and concentrate, but the game is designed to intimidate you and cause you to make stupid mistakes. Like you said, it's over-stimulation, but that's the entire point. There's actually a good amount of depth to the scoring mechanics in these games once you get them under control, but getting them under control is a major part of the challenge in the first place.

Also, the scores are huge because it makes new players feel like they did well, even if they died halfway through the first stage.

Raiden doesn't work like that. It doesn't have crazy bullet sprays, but damn near every bullet fired is aimed right at you and is fast as hell. Raiden can be far, FAR more difficult with three bullets than Dodonpachi can be with 200 bullets, because it's not trying to be pretty, it's trying to kill you.

Edit: also, to be clear, that video you linked is from the secret final boss on the hardest difficulty in the hardest variation of one of the hardest games in the series. It's not meant for normal players, it's for the crazy-good players who are capable of beating the entire game twice in a row without dying. The rest of the game doesn't even approach that level of difficult. I've beaten the game a few times and I've still never come close to seeing that boss.

Shmup ...Shmup? ... SHMUP?

How can a genre that I suck at that much, be so much fun to play?
I'll buy it as soon as I finish Raiden legacy.

For the black full screen with multiple monitor issue, I got around it by deactivating the second one, it works like a charm after that. Would love to not have to do that for it to run though. :P

Oh and yes, it's freakishly hard (and I play in normal :P).

too many of these in back log that I don't play (not a huge fan of this type game....I'm too slow I guess). No new game this morning (yet).

All we need now is Raiden 2 and 4, wishlisted