Raiden Project hits Switch 2 and PS5 on October 22

Seibu Kaihatsu's 1995 PlayStation compilation Raiden Project launches on October 22, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 as part of HAMSTER Corporation's Console Archives series. Priced at $11.99 (1,200 yen), the release comes alongside a gameplay preview showing off Stage 1 action and the opening boss fights from both included vertical shooters.

Originally released in Japan in January 1995 before serving as a North American PlayStation launch title that September, Raiden Project bundles the 1990 arcade hit Raiden with its 1993 sequel, Raiden II. The original 32-bit disc was handled internally at Seibu Kaihatsu by a small team that included programmer Richard Honeywood, and it gave players the option to switch between the arcade soundtracks and newly arranged music.

Why Raiden II is the real draw here

The first Raiden isn't hard to find. It was ported to everything from the PC Engine and Super Nintendo to the Atari Jaguar in the 1990s, and HAMSTER already released the standalone arcade version under its Arcade Archives label back in July 2021. Raiden II is a different story.

Outside of a mid-90s Windows port and the Raiden Project disc itself, the 1993 sequel has been absent from home hardware for three decades. It never received a standalone Arcade Archives release, leaving that bendy purple toothpaste laser trapped on aging 32-bit plastic and arcade PCBs.

Choosing the PlayStation compilation instead of emulating the raw arcade board is a curious route to take, though the 1995 port was built directly from the arcade originals and includes a horizontal tate mode for playing in the proper vertical aspect ratio. You still get that purple plasma beam locking onto a giant four-legged ground walker in Stage 1 while shrapnel fills the screen. That's the main thing.

Japanese ROM only, plus the usual modern toggles

HAMSTER's release only includes the Japanese version of the 1995 PlayStation disc, leaving the localized English build behind. Since the plot of a Raiden game begins and ends with aliens invading Earth in 2090 and your red fighter-bomber shooting them until they explode, the language barrier shouldn't get in the way unless you're deeply invested in reading the options menu without trial and error.

The Console Archives wrapper adds the standard modern toolkit: save states, customizable button layouts, rapid-fire toggles, CRT display filters, and a rewind function. Having a rewind button in a Seibu Kaihatsu shooter feels slightly like cheating, right up until a stray yellow popcorn bullet clips your wing on Stage 4 and sends your weapons back to microscopic pea-shooters.