English language eroge localization company JAST USA‘s partner brand G-Collections yesterday announced the gold status of Lightning Warrior Raidy, originally published by Japanese maker ZyX as 雷の戦士ライディ ～破邪の雷光～ (Ikazuchi no Senshi Raidi ~Haja no Raikou~) in 2005. Itself a remake of the original Ikazuchi no Senshi Raidi released for MS-DOS in 1994 as ZyX’s flagship title, the game broke ground in its day and is an enduring classic remembered fondly by an early generation of Japan’s erogamers. The ’05 reissue has received criticism for being a literal reinterpretation of the original that didn’t stand the test of time too well, but with new artistic conception from Kazuma Muramasa and a novel concept not yet seen in English I think it’s a game that will appeal to a pretty broad Western audience. It’s expected to retail in early April at $24.95 USD (package version), with download purchase available two weeks later.
In related news, G-Collections announced the acquisition and development of the Raidy sequel, Lightning Warrior Raidy II: ~Temple of Desire~. The sequel brings Raidy’s adventures to a new level with several enhancements to the game system, a much bigger game world and dozens of new NPCs, and is currently in development with release projected for late 2008 or early ’09. If you’ve been waiting for something other than the typical “choose your own adventure”-style visual novel, I’d recommend the Raidy games as a nice change of pace – they won’t dazzle you with outstanding gameplay or graphical splendor, but they’re a fun way to pass the time that combines dungeon crawling and nekkid monster girls, a combination that is surely one of great (if not greatest) victory.
Yep, this is what I do for a living. (no more)
Ah, Lightning Warrior Raidy. I’d heard a lot about the game, but I’ve never really seen it. I’m not legally allowed to though.
Something like a yuri-centric Dragon Knight clone, then ? A ordered a copy ^^
Definitely getting a copy. Hope to order 4 or more titles so as to get a discount though. 8)
Yeah, it’s been a long time since I played a erocentric RPG game as my written Japanese is poor. (Last one being Dragon Knight 4 – Mandarin version)
Cheers.
BTW, I just checked out Muramasa’s site, and he can definitely draw a cool looking Yoko (of gurren lagann) 8)
Awesome… Thank you so much for the information, Shingo! I played a demo of the first game a long time ago and absolutely loved it for its similarity to the old PC Eye of the Beholder series (although it does not have as much depth). As you point out, however, there is a certain joy in combating female monsters in RPG settings. [Comes immediately to mind: Final Fantasy 4's Barbariccia, liliths, medusas, draculadies, and soldieresses... Diablo's and WoW's succubi.] I bet this game would appeal to most first-generation video gamers like me who still associate “RPG games” with the classic turn-based Dragon Warriors and Final Fantasies of old that kept things simple: HPs, MPs, a world/dungeon to explore, gold/treasure to gather, and simple combat options like Fight, Magic, Item, and Run. I was overjoyed to read that a sequel is also in development and wasted no time in pre-ordering copies of both.