Raiden NOVA is the new entry in the shoot'em up series Raiden.
This is a spin-off with a brand new gameplay: from the classical vertical shoot'em up to a twin stick shooter, but heavily influenced by Vampire Survivors.
The player starts with Azuma, the spaceship from Raiden V and while playing various skills can be not only unlocked but also powered up during the stages.
Coins can be picked up in certain situations and then used in the Shop to upgrade the spaceship or unlock new ones, each one with its own skills (as showed at the end of the video).
Fans of the series probably will be disappointed for the different gameplay, but in the end the game is not bad: graphically is not a hit with bad textures for the background but they can be less noticed in portable mode.
Stages are longer compared to classic shoot'em ups but there are many chances to upgrade the spaceships and this feature is where the game hits: the player can decide what to upgrade, attack or defense, which kind of shooting type use, what the pod will shoot and so on.
There are two different modes: Arcade Mode includes 6 different stages with a boss fight at the end of each one, in the classic style of shoot'em up game, while Unlimited Mode, as the name suggests, it's a survival mode where the players keep playing in the same stage (and stages 2-6 must be unlocked in Arcade Mode to be playable here) over and over again until the spaceship is destroyed.
There is just one problem: Raiden NOVA has a gameplay that mixes the original Raiden series, a shoot'em up, with Vampire Survivors, a twin stick shooter with roguelike elements.
Nothing bad with this, at least a Japanese company tries to do something a little different, but while Vampire Survivors is sold at around 7 euros/dollars, Raiden NOVA is a full price game.
Offiical site: raiden.mossjp.co.jp/raiden_nova/
You can buy Raiden NOVA package version, a Japan exclusive, here:
Switch regular: japanvideogames.store/product/swi-raiden-nova/
Switch limited: japanvideogames.store/product/swi-raiden-nova-limited/
PS5 regular: japanvideogames.store/product/ps5-raiden-nova/
PS5 limited: japanvideogames.store/product/ps5-raiden-nova-limited/?v=24d22e03afb2