Raiden NOVA (雷電NOVA) is a twin-stick shooter developed by MOSS, released in October 2024 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

Overview

Raiden NOVA departs from the traditional vertical-scrolling gameplay of previous Raiden titles, adopting a twin-stick shooter format. Players control their ship with 360° movement and rotation, facing waves of enemies and bosses in levels focused on continuous combat. Ships can level up by defeating enemies and collecting items, earning points that players use to upgrade their ships.

Game Modes

• Arcade Mode: An arcade-style mode where players progress through six stages, aiming to defeat each stage's boss.
• Unlimited Mode: A survival mode where players select stages to test their endurance and see how long they can survive.

System

• Level Up: When the player gains a certain amount of experience points by destroying enemy ships and the like, the ship can level up and enhance its skills. Skill enhancements appear at random from three to four options in the “Main Weapon,” “Options,” and “Power-Ups” categories, and one enhancement can be chosen.
• Main Weapons: There are three main weapons: “Vulcan (Wide Vulcan),” “Laser (Lightning Laser),” and “Plasma (Bend Plasma).” Power and attack range change depending on power-ups, and the ultimate evolution can be achieved by meeting the right conditions.
• Option #1: These follow the player’s ship and attack automatically at fixed intervals. Up to six can be equipped.
• Option #2: In addition to the Vulcan, Laser, and Plasma options, there is a “Unique” option, and each has multiple armaments.
• Power-Ups: Power-ups can enhance the ship’s attack power and durability, as well as its speed, luck, and more.
• Items: Items with various effects can also be used.
• Missions: Rewards may be given by meeting certain conditions during a stage. By clearing a rare bonus mission, there is a high chance you may enter a rush state where bonus missions may occur.

New Fighters

• Crimson Fury (Russia) - The first fighter from Raiden NOVA, its passive skill is enhanced Vulcan cannon damage, based roughly on the SA-77 from "Silpheed"
• Eagle Warrior (Germany) - A Fast fighter based loosely on the F-22B Strike Raptor; it is capable of having excellent speed and maneuverability. Passive skill has Enhanced Plasma lasers.
• Red Star Blade (China) - A fighter that is based on the SR-72 Darkstar, its weapon by default is the Lightning laser. Has enhanced Lightning Laser as its passive skill.

Returning Fighters

Several classic fighters from the Raiden series return in Raiden NOVA:

• Raiden: The original Fighting Thunder from Raiden, equipped with the Wide Vulcan, Lightning Laser, Homing Missiles, and Nuclear Missiles.
• Raiden Mk-II: First appearing in Raiden II, then reappearing in Raiden IV under this name, this fighter has improved speed and features the Plasma Laser along with classic missiles, also seen in Raiden IV.
• Fighting Thunder ME-02: A third generation Fighting Thunder appearing in Raiden III, enhanced with improved Wide Vulcan and Lightning Lasers, the Proton Laser, and a Radar Missile.
• Fighting Thunder ME-02改: Successor to the ME-02, featuring upgrades from the previous model and reintroducing the Plasma Laser from the Raiden Mk-II legacy.
• Azuma (Japan): A balanced fighter returning from Raiden V.
• Spirit of Dragon (United States): A fighter with reinforced armor from Raiden V, trading maneuverability for durability.
• Moulin Rouge (France): A fast, maneuverable fighter from Raiden V, with limited armor.

Trivia

• The three new fighters in Raiden NOVA (Crimson Fury, Eagle Warrior, and Red Star Blade) were originally in Raiden V when the game had six Fighting Thunders during development before being cut from the final version. This is referenced in Raiden V's Stage 8-A, 8-B, and 8-C dialogue referencing Fighting Thunder pilots with the callsigns Krot, Zerstorung, and Gai Furen. These callsigns are, respectively, Russian (Krot/Крот is Russian for "mole", with Crimson Fury coming from Russia), German (Zerstörung is German for "destruction", with Eagle Krieger/Eagle Warrior coming from Germany), and Chinese (Gài Fūrén/蓋夫人 is Chinese for "Lady Gai", with Red Star Blade/赤星剑/Chì Xīng Jiàn coming from China).
• Early gameplay screenshots suggest similarities to Touhou and Geometry Wars, particularly Geometry Wars 3, due to the presence of large boss fights.
• The game’s HP system allows players to survive multiple hits, similar to the health mechanics in Vampire Survivors and Holocure, diverging from the traditional one-hit-kill system typical of Raiden games. This approach is similar to Raiden V.
• Raiden NOVA incorporates bullet-hell elements, drawing inspiration from the Touhou series and Geometry Wars.

Gallery

Videos

External Links

• Official site (JP)
• Official site (US)
• Steam

Raiden video games
Raiden series	Raiden ● Raiden II (DX) ● Raiden III ● Raiden IV (Overkill) ● Raiden V (Story)
Raiden Fighters series	Raiden Fighters ● Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive ● Raiden Fighters Jet (text transcript)
Compilations	The Raiden Project ● Raiden Fighters Aces ● Raiden Legacy
Other Seibu Kaihatsu/MOSS shmups	Stinger ● Scion ● Air Raid ● Viper Phase 1 ● Caladrius (Blaze) ● Raiden NOVA