The framerate on Windows 10 hovers between 53-59fps (averaging 56), resulting in constant stutter during gameplay. Issue occurs on an EVGA Nvidia GeForce RTX 1060 6GB, a Gigabyte AMD Radeon RX 5700XT 8GB, and a MSI Nvidia GeForce 4070 12GB with the latest GPU drivers, CPU chipset updates, Win10 updates and MOBO drivers. (EDIT: Proton on Linux renders the same issue, regardless of version.) This is simply a borked port; other users here are reporting the same problem.

Until NIS America adresses this issue and fixes it, I cannot recommend this edition, no matter how much I enjoy the game. (The PS4 version retains this same stuttering problem but, surprisingly, the PS5 version is a perfectly smooth 60fps! So, why not here? Ridiculous!)

As for this Mikado Remix re-release? Ehh... it could've been better.

There's still no save/load states. 4K resolution options are just upscales. Still no way to control your replays in detail, either, such as rewinding a section you needed to see again. You can't even customize your OST stage-by-stage, like you can in Raiden III x Mikado Maniax. And regardless of which soundtrack you choose from the options, the original "Shoot Like Lightning" mix that plays over the intro movie has been dumped from this edition in favour of Fantom Iris' remix.

And the PRICE! Bloody hell, doubling up on the retail cost of Overkill just to add some rockin' covers of the original songs is a hard ask. You'd have to be a hardcore fan to pony up for this one, shmups being a niche enough genre as it is nowadays.

But having said all that, Raiden IV has *always* been able to make hardcore fans. It's easily right up there with the best of the series, especially when you compare it to its predecessor--in particular, the level design, the return of the proper Plasma gun, the wealth of additional modes and the soundtrack were big upgrades from Raiden III, which felt more like a shy toe-dip than a plunge back into Seibu Kaihatsu awesomeness. Raiden IV takes said plunge with aplomb, and it's an absolute joy to play.

And to be fair, props must be given to the guys responsible for the new arrangements here. Although the Mikado music is the only real upgrade from Overkill, they're great additions nonetheless. What's even better is that they've recreated tracks for both Arcade and Overkill modes, so even if you can't mix'n'match your favs between stages, there's still four full soundtracks worth of variety to satisfy any shmupper. And, unlike Raiden III's pathetic Mikado OST DLC, the one for IV actually includes the Mikado remixes, which makes it an enticing purchase for fans!

Finally, special mention must be made to COSIO of Rolling Gunner fame. His eurobeatish remix of "Tragedy Flame" is so frickin' good, you'll wish he remixed the whole bloody soundtrack himself! Highly recommend you check it out on YT!

For PC, this is the definitive version of Raiden IV as Overkill was a kind of hit and miss port with some glaring bugs. This is definitely the version to go for if you want to play one of (if not) the best Raiden games in the modern era, and it comes with some newly remixed music too!

To me, this game is a joy that will last for hours. I started to enjoy Overkill Mode because it made me think. Arcade Mode is an alternative mode of the game. It is faster paced, but there are only a few achievements you can obtain from it.

As the saying goes, you can't hit what you can't see. Shoot'em up games may look easy at the first glance, but their players still need to be heads up while forming their strategies.

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"Raiden IV x MIKADO remix" is a shoot'em up game by NIS America / MOSS.
This is a mainly music-refined version of Raiden IV: OverKill.
Newly-equipped arrange soundtracks are tremendously stunning, also you can choose the original ones.
Why don't you play significant shooter with awesome music?
Fullscreen stands borderless window this time.

『雷電Ⅳ×MIKADO remix』音楽メインにリマスターした雷電4。設定画面が気になる人は、動画2:25～あたりを参照ください。フルスクリーンはボーダーレス。

Video >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD2wSLjLn6s

Video review: https://youtu.be/T0EUOCWbRZw
Written review below!

It was over five years ago that I first reviewed Raiden V for this channel and now here I am going in reverse and taking a look at Raiden IV.

Note: Trimmed to fit Steam, check video for full version!

Raiden is a vertical scrolling shoot ‘em up full of the genre staples like bullets flying everywhere, flashy attacks going off, and some absolutely stellar music. This release in particular does really well on the music front. The whole “MIKADO Remix” part of the title comes from the fact that the entire soundtrack has been newly remixed by Mikado Game Center and they did a great job there. The base soundtrack is already some good stuff - and you’re still able to swap between the two music styles - but the new music is some really energizing stuff.

As for other new additions, there’s now online leaderboards, but that’s pretty much it. This is practically an identical release to the previous version Raiden IV: OverKill. The difference now being the branding and the addition of the new music, so if you already own that version, you’re probably better off just not bothering with this one, but if you’re a first time player like myself, then maybe give it a look.

For being as short as it is (arcade mode takes roughly an hour to clear), the enemy variety is solid and offers up a ton of different bullet patterns to learn. The bosses exemplify this and come with all the usual multiple stages and absolutely ridiculous ship designs. The graphics in general really brought me back to the arcade era, earlier than even when the first version of this game released back in 2007. They kinda nailed that aesthetic and also did a good job making the bullets visible from the background.

The level variety is pretty good, the movement and shooting is snappy and responsive, and really, it’s just a polished shoot ‘em up all around. The mechanics mesh well with each other and it didn’t feel overly slow or repetitive like a lot of others in this genre end up being. The series has been around since 1990, so you could say that it has had some time to develop all of this and Raiden IV is an excellent example of that progression.

There are a bunch of difficulty options to choose from and you can even tackle the different modes with a second player or even control that second ship yourself simultaneously with the first if you want to go at it solo but still have the advantage of two ships. There are three ships to choose from, including the fairy which was previously only available via DLC (this game packages all of the DLC together into one).

You can even swap the screen to vertical and play that way. It took a bit of tinkering, but I managed to do so on my vertical monitor and had a lot of fun playing through it that way remotely with another player over Parsec. Otherwise, the game runs just as well horizontally and it actually works just fine at 4k. Granted, the assets are obviously not up to that scale, but at least it wasn't painfully stretched to accommodate.

Content-wise, there are a bunch of modes to choose from outside of just the usual OverKill mode. You can also take on Additional Mode, Score Attack, Arcade, and even save replays and other data from each of these for future viewing. They’re all the same gameplay-wise, but each offers up a new slight twist to the formula to make the game more appealing for repeat players.

I would say that Raiden IV x MIKADO Remix is worth the recommendation. The gameplay is fast and fun, the graphics and music are a good combo, and all the game modes and bonus features are nice to have as well. The only caveat here being that it is quite literally the same game as the previous OverKill version, so if you already own that, there’s really not much reason to get this one other than the new music and leaderboards. Otherwise, a pretty solid pickup for shoot ‘em up fans.

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Good ol raiden

I love Raiden

Could not play 2 players

I kinda grew up with Raiden series, and Raiden IV is probably my favorite entry. Everything about the base game is fine by me, the pace, the graphics, etc. I have mixed feelings about the new remix tracks, and I certainly prefer the original ones, though since they're included too, I'm cool. I've heard from other console players that the PC port is not as good as other ports, but I'm okay with this as it is. I don't own any consoles, so before the PC ports I've only managed to play the game once or twice when I went by some random arcade house, so the simple fact that I can play it at home is all it needs to justify me buying it. Besides, this PC port has essentially zero input lag, and has perfect keyboard support, there's literally nothing else I can hope for.

That being said,

Until MOSS fixes the Raiden V instant crash issue and let me actually play the game which I bought with money, I'm gonna leave a negative review under any Raiden steam release after Raiden V. It's not unfair in anyway, because I'm simply warning all of you who bought their games that, even in the case that the game stopped working for you anymore, you will NOT receive any kind of support from them. This is a risk that you'll have to take.

(About the Raiden V crash, by hearing from others who had the same problem, what I think happened is that the crash only happens if you use a dual graphics processor laptop with an Nvidia card as your independent. Also, after a lot of examination, I can be certain that the game crashes when it tries to play any of the three mp4 movies in the game files, which are the logo, intro and staff roll...But hey, what should I know? MOSS didn't pay me to dubug their game for them)