Raydowns are tank-like vehicles used by the GEATHJERK Federation Supreme Armada. An enhanced model of Hoedown armed with precision lasers, Raydowns are capable of blasting through defenses like Unite Guts, meaning they require new defensive tactics to fight effectively.
First encountered in Operation 001-B, Raydowns introduce the concept of using Unite Sword to reflect laser attacks.
Raydowns are related to several other tank-like enemies:
Hoedown: the base model only capable of standard cannonball shots.
Gehdown: a model armored with spikes and capable of indirect fire.
Dough-Kun: a hovering model that sacrifices armor for mobility.
GEATHJERK File[]
An enhanced version of the Hoedown whose turrets have been replaced with small-caliber Jerk Blasters.
It excels at pinpoint artillery operations and is thus often employed in high-precision strategies, such as attacking important enemy bases or military figures.
Their blasters' range is comparable to those of low-flying airships, making them a great choice for keeping squad mates covered during ground battles.
Description[]
Raydowns are blue, tank-like vehicles consisting of a large rotating cannon mounted on top of a four-wheeled car, with a heavy shield in front of their cannon that can split in half to make room for it to fire oversized projectiles. Aside from their color, Raydowns are almost identical to Hoedowns in appearance, the only differences being the fin-like extensions at the top of their cannon and on both sides of the back of their car section.

Shield Damage States
Raydowns have multiple health indicators in their design, the most obvious being the state of their shield, which shows visible damage at around half health and disappears entirely once destroyed. Separate to the shield's health, the color of the details on a Raydown indicate its actual health: changing from blue, to green, to orange, and finally to red as it's damaged until it's destroyed.
A Raydown's actual health is indicated by a health gauge on-screen whenever it's damaged.
Though not obvious at a glance, the Raydown's car section has a distinct front and back, which can be easily told apart by the fins at their back. This is important to note, because the direction the car is facing in is always the direction a Raydown moves toward when using its Dash Attack, rather than the direction the cannon is aiming in.
Gameplay[]
For convenience, this section uses some images of Hoedowns instead of Raydowns as their overall appearance and animations are identical.
Overview[]
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Climb Attacks to Stun | 6 Members |
Attack Size to Launch | Any |
Wonder-Liner Throw | 8 Members |
Unite Whip Size to Grab | Size 20 |
Item Catcher Drop | Wonderful Battery (5) |
Raydowns are fundamentally identical to Hoedowns in terms of behavior and defenses. If you aren't already familiar with fighting them, refer to the Hoedown page's gameplay section for an overview that also applies to Raydowns.
The only difference when fighting Raydowns is their Laser Beam attack, which can be reflected back using Unite Sword to deal damage to them. Doing this is the easiest way to destroy their shields, however unlike the Cannonball Shot attack, reflecting a Raydown's Laser does not stun it after it loses its shield.
Variations[]
There are two versions of Raydowns with different behavior: "mobile Raydowns" and "stationary Raydowns."
(Unless specified as stationary, any Raydown mentioned on this wiki refers to the mobile variation.)
Mobile Raydowns move from their spawning positions and wander around slowly between attacks, and they never use the Cannonball Shot attack. Mobile Raydowns may stop momentarily before deciding to attack, and they may stop if you run around them repeatedly at close range. Mobile Raydowns also don't move for a few moments after recovering from a stun, during which they may attack.
Mobile Raydowns are capable of the Jump Attack and Dash Attacks, and whether or not one is moving (or trying to move) when it attacks is important, as this determines which version of the Dash Attack it can use.
On the contrary, stationary Raydowns never move from their spawning position on their own, and they're able to use both the Cannonball Shot and Laser Beam attacks. Stationary Raydowns never use the Jump Attack or Dash Attacks, however, they can use a unique Stomp Attack when approached.
The only time a stationary Raydown will ever move on its own is if it's moved far enough away from its spawning position, in which case it also stops attacking completely until it returns to its original location. However, most missions areas are not large enough for this to be possible.
Attacks[]
Laser Beam | ||
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A Raydown's cannon starts glowing blue while producing a high pitched charging sound, after which the Raydown focuses a blue laser beam at its target. This attack is easily identified by the high pitched charging sound, which can be heard even from far off-screen. | ||
Properties: Unblockable Reflectable Laser (Unite Sword) | ||
Dash Attack/Fast Dash Attack | ||
An attack Raydowns use if they're not moving. If a Raydown still has its shield, it first revs its engine and rears up on its back wheels. After which, or if it has no shield, the Raydown tilts downward and dashes forward with a loud rev and a blue glow. If a Raydown still has its shield this attack is easily identified by rev sound and rearing animation, but after losing their shield they use this attack with very little warning. Note that Raydowns dash in the direction their car section is facing in, not where their cannon is aiming. | ||
Properties: Flattens Blockable | ||
Hop and Dash | ||
An attack Raydowns use if they're moving or trying to move. A Raydown hops up and turns to aim itself toward its target in midair. Upon landing it uses the Dash Attack (landing on the ground does not deal damage). This version of the Dash Attack can easily by identified by the hop. | ||
Properties: Flattens Blockable | ||
Jump Attack | ||
A Raydown stretches upward with a creaking sound and then launches itself into the air toward its target with a bounce sound, dealing damage on contact until it lands. This attack is easily identified by its sound effects, and Raydowns fly through the air slowly, making this attack easy to react to. There is no limit on how far a Raydown can jump to reach its target. | ||
Properties: Flattens Blockable Overhead Attack (Hammer/Naginata) | ||
Shake Off | ||
A Raydown loudly skids its tires and then quickly hops up and down, dealing damage in a tiny radius when it lands. Raydowns only use this attack to remove Climb Attacking team members. | ||
Properties: Flattens Blockable, No Stun | ||
Cannonball Shot | ||
An attack used only by stationary Raydowns. A Raydown opens its shield (if it has one) and orange rings appear in front of its cannon as it expands with a stretching sound. Once the rings close and the sound effect finishes, the Raydown fires a cannonball that explodes on impact. This attack is easily identified by the distinct stretching sound, which can be heard even from far offscreen. | ||
Properties: Blockable Breakable Projectile Reflected shots only stun Raydowns after their shield is gone. | ||
Stomp | ||
An attack used only by stationary Raydowns. The Raydown hops up and down while turning to aim itself toward the team leader in midair, dealing damage in a tiny radius when it lands. Stationary Raydowns only use this attack if the team leader is directly next to it. | ||
Properties: Flattens Blockable, No Stun |
Strategy[]
Because they share their attacks and behavior, Raydowns can be fought in exactly the same way as Hoedowns, with the only difference being their Laser Beam attack. For this reason, this strategy will focus only on strategies that are unique to Raydowns: if you aren't already familiar with fighting them, refer to the Hoedown page's gameplay section for strategies that also apply to Raydowns.

This about sums it up.
Before a Raydown can be freely attacked its shield must first be destroyed, which is most easily done by waiting for the Raydown to use its Laser Beam attack and reflecting it back using Unite Sword, which will eventually destroy its shield. Because Unite Sword is required to reflect their Laser Beam, it's a good idea to stick to using Unite Sword against Raydowns rather than using other Unite Morphs, that way you'll always be prepared to defend against the attack.
After a Raydown's shield is destroyed, reflecting their Laser Beam becomes less essential: unlike using Unite Guts to reflect a Cannonball Shot, reflecting a Laser Beam doesn't stun an unshielded Raydown, it just deals damage with no other effect.
In fact, reflecting a Raydown's Laser Beam actually earns very little Combo points relative to massive damage it deals. This is good if you just need to kill a Raydown quickly, but if you need to earn a large amount of Combo points against a Raydown, you'll earn more overall if you dodge the Laser Beam using Unite Spring and attack it normally, especially if you manage to stun it using Team Attacks or by using Unite Guts to block one of its melee attacks, allowing you to earn + 100PTS. bonuses.

Because of the unique method of reflecting a Raydown's Laser Beam, a trap you can easily fall into while fighting a group of enemies is using Unite Sword to reflect a Raydown's laser while another enemy is attacking, or using Unite Guts to block an attack while a Raydown is firing its laser. This is especially common when fighting stationary Raydowns, since they retain the ability to fire cannonballs and can mix you up by alternating between their Laser Beam and Cannonball Shot attacks throughout the fight.
When fighting multiple enemies like this, try to avoid getting tunnel vision on a single attack or enemy, and remember all your defensive options: when multiple enemies are attacking you at the same time with different attacks, dodge them using Unite Spring instead of trying to block/reflect any of them, and wait until only one enemy is attacking at a time before trying again.
Difficulty changes[]
On Hard and 101% Hard, the time required for a Raydown to "build speed" before its Dash Attack is significantly reduced, to the point that it can appear as if Raydowns use the attack without any warning at all after losing their shield. On these Difficulty levels, the most reliable defense against the no armor Dash attack is positioning: try to stay behind the Raydown to make this attack miss, and don't risk trying to bait out the attack to block it using Unite Guts.
In Remastered Version of the game, Unite Morphs do not break on contact with armor on Easy and Very Easy, meaning their shields can be destroyed using any weapon.
Collectibles[]
GEATHJERK File No.008[]

- Location: Operation 002-B
The Raydown GEATHJERK File can be found by inserting the Wonder-Liner into the opening at the top of the water slide at the start of the level. Note that the Wonder-Liner can only be inserted into this hole before the water slide is activated.
Enemy Weapon[]
When killed using the correct Unite Morph, a Raydown will drop its Enemy Weapon: The Raydown Cannon.
Raydown Cannons are 3 charge Enemy Weapons that fire a laser beam, similar to Unite Goggles. The laser has a practically unlimited range, penetrates enemies, and can be rotated 360° while firing, but cannot be aimed up or down. Raydown Cannons deal high damage and earn a large amounts of Combo points, however because the laser beam deals its damage over time and aiming the cannon is slow, they're ineffective against fast/dodging enemies that are too difficult to follow with the laser for the attack's entire duration.
Notably, Raydown Cannons are capable of being used for Bomb-Liner style damage exploits.
Gallery[]
- Renders
- Gameplay and Cutscenes
- Enemy File
- Art Gallery
- Other Images
Trivia[]
- The name Raydown is derived from the words "ray" (as in a ray gun) and "弾 (dan)", the Japanese word for bullet or projectile. [1]
References[]
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Enemies | |||||||||
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GEATHJERK | |||||||||
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Gameplay | |||||||||
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Operations | Prologue • 001-A/001-B/001-C • 002-A/002-B/002-C • 003-A/003-B/003-C 004-A/004-B/004-C • 005-A/005-B/005-C • 006-A/006-B/006-C 007-A/007-B • 008-A/008-B/008-C • 009-A/009-B/009-C • Epilogue Operation 101 | ||||||||
Mechanics | Unite Morphs • Wonder-Liner • Skills • Team Attacks • Unite Gauge Difficulty • Temporary Members • Total Rank • Items • Combo • Awards Wonderful Mart • Mixer • Solo Mode • Subscreen • Taunt • Body Type | ||||||||
Collectibles | Bottle-Cap Collection (Achievements) Minor Wonderful Ones • Wonderful Files • GEATHJERK Files • Wonderful Figures Hero Heart Fragments • Wonderful Toilets • Underground Items Enemy Weapons • Secret Missions • Kahkoo-regah • Platinum Coins | ||||||||
Game Modes and DLC | The Wonderful One: After School Hero Time Attack • The Prince Vorkken (DLC) • Multiplayer Missions Wonder-Size Cadet Demo • Demo: Boot Camp |
Extras | |||||||||
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Gallery • Wonderful Codes • Platinum Codes • Glitches • Unused Content |