Raiden II

Raiden II is the sequel that gave the series its most famous weapon. Seibu's 1993 follow-up adds the purple laser - a narrow, concentrated beam that melts single targets - alongside the original's Vulcan and blue laser.

The three-weapon system is the real change. The Vulcan spreads and covers width, the blue laser pierces in a straight line, and the new purple laser is narrower but does far more concentrated damage, which means boss fights become a question of which weapon you committed to. There is also a new secondary: nuclear missiles, dropped as a pickup, which hit harder than the standard ones. The bullet density is higher than the first game and the stage design leans into it, with mid-bosses that sweep the screen and formations built to force you into a corner. Two-player simultaneous play returns, and the campaign follows the same alien-invasion premise over more stages. It is the entry most series fans consider the peak of the arcade line.

• ▸Three weapons - Vulcan, blue Laser and the new purple laser
• ▸Nuclear missiles as a new secondary weapon pickup
• ▸Higher bullet density with screen-sweeping mid-bosses
• ▸Two-player simultaneous play