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Raiden Project brings its Japanese version to PS5 and Switch 2

A white PlayStation 5 standing vertically beside a connected DualSense controller.

Photo: Osh33m / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original photograph, unchanged. Hardware photo, not a Raiden Project screenshot.

Console Archives Raiden Project arrives on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 22 for US$11.99, but it contains only the Japanese version, with Japanese in-game text. That's the qualification to check before buying, especially if you're hoping to revisit an English edition.

Hamster's official release page states the restriction explicitly. An English-language product announcement isn't a promise that the underlying game has been translated. For a returning player, the familiar title alone isn't enough to establish that this is the edition you remember.

Check the compilation, then the conveniences

The package contains Raiden and Raiden II, the vertically scrolling shooters originally released in 1990 and 1993. Raiden Project followed in 1995 from Seibu Kaihatsu. As Gematsu's report of Hamster's announcement explains, this is an existing home-console compilation returning through Console Archives, rather than a new sequel.

That distinction gives you a useful way to assess the purchase. If your aim is specifically to revisit Raiden Project, start with its version and language notice. If you simply want to play either shooter, don't assume that every product carrying the Raiden name is interchangeable. Compare the exact release you're considering before deciding what belongs in your library.

The listed Console Archives conveniences include customizable controls, rapid-fire settings and multiple save points. Screen-layout adjustments and CRT-style filters are also described. These options offer ways to tailor the controls and presentation; they don't remove the Japanese-version qualification.

One feature worth leaving off your assumptions list is rewind. The series description reproduced by Gematsu says some titles have it, but Hamster's Raiden Project page does not confirm it for this release. That isn't evidence that rewind is absent. It means there's no title-specific confirmation here to base a purchase on.

Before checkout, decide which detail is essential to you. If it's an English version of the game, this announcement doesn't offer one. If it's a particular convenience feature, look for confirmation on the exact product rather than borrowing promises from another Console Archives release.

Check the product name, your console's listing and the language notice when the release arrives. Buy it for the compilation and version actually offered, rather than the one you hoped the name might imply.