Ray’z Arcade Chronology review

A Ray of Hope Courtesy of Retro Aces M2

Every STG fan should be familiar with the three Rs: Raiden, R-Type, and Taito’s Ray series. Each franchise takes a distinct approach to the genre. Raiden’s vertically-scrolling stages fling highspeed projectiles but provide players with a trio of powerful weapons. R-Type’s horizontal stages scroll slowly and task you with mastering the abilities of the ‘Force’ drone that flies alongside the R-9 Arrowhead.

Then, there’s RayForce, RayStorm, and RayCrisis, where players simultaneously used forward-firing shots and well as lock-on lasers. While each series pitted a handful of your ships against stages filled with enemy armadas, that’s largely the sole similarity among these seminal shooters.

A Much-Deserved Ray’z

Sadly, these franchises haven’t been honored equivalently. Raiden III and IV recently received enhanced iterations, with a remixed soundtrack performed by Game Center Mikado personnel. Publisher NIS America was also behind the 2021 release of R-Type Final 2, while 2018’s R-Type Dimensions EX offered a revival of the original two coin-op titles.

Meanwhile, the Ray series has been more difficult to enjoy on modern hardware. RayStorm never made the backward compatibility lineup for the Xbox One or PlayStation 4/5. And the Saturn port of Layered Section/Galactic Attack (aka RayForce) suffered from a bit of input lag. With coding courtesy of dedicated retro revivalists M2, the Switch and PlayStation 4 release skillfully rectifies this oversight. As a pleasing bonus, players get both the original as well as HD upgrades of RayStorm and its prequel, RayCrisis. Let’s take a closer look at the individual titles in the anthology:

RayForce

In the early 90s, Taito split up its development workforce into three different groups. Director Tatsuo Nakamura’s (Darius II, Operation Thunderbolt) team was told to not make a shooter. But Nakamura persisted and the result was 1994’s RayForce, a vertically scrolling shoot ‘em up built for Taito’s F3 System hardware. Unlike the subsequent titles in Ray series, RayForce was built with sprite-based visuals, rather than polygonal technology. As such, it offers a crisp fidelity that is remarkably eye-pleasing.

Revisiting RayForce nearly thirty years on reveals an ingenious play mechanic that still captivates. While your RVA-818 X-LAY ship outputs a steady torrent of forward-firing shots, these armaments aren’t particularly powerful, even when powered up. Additionally, your main weapon won’t reach any low-flying targets. Instead, it’s your second weapon that is the real workhorse, locking onto up to foes at a time and releasing a sweeping laser that can destroy subordinates with a single hit.

But your reticle is positioned not far from the front of your ship, which can make obtaining lock-ons a bit risky. This is especially true when fighting the game’s mid- and end-of-stage bosses, who fire large numbers of projectiles, lasers, and other homing attacks. Unsurprisingly, simultaneously operating both weapon systems can be a bit difficult at first. But once you grasp RayForce’s multitasking (or downloading and watching replays from STG gurus) you’ll become a self-assured death-dealer across the game’s succession of seven stages. While RayForce doesn’t get the HD makeover that RayStorm and RayCrisis received, it fills its sidebars with optional ‘gadgets’ that visualize elements like scoring info, laser locks, power-up levels, and music info. I don’t know who can track this surplus of data while dodging bullets, but it’s far more interesting than wallpaper.

RayStorm

Each of the seven stages and concluding boss fight in RayStorm is introduced by a subdued declaration stating the time and location of each battle. But those announcements are one of the title’s few tranquil moments. At first, you’ll select from three different fighters: R-Gray 1 and 2, with a third craft unlocked upon completion of the campaign. While piloting either default ship, you’ll be able to select from manual and auto laser lock-ons, with the second option removing the obligation of launching a laser assault.

Initially, this seems like it might seem to undermine RayForce’s signature simultaneous targeting mechanic. But a constant barrage of antagonists, bullets, and intense boss battles ensure there’s still an abundant amount of challenge. And once you’ve mastered the campaign with auto lock-ons, switching to manual should notably increase your scores.

A shift from sprite-based to polygonal visuals means that RayStorm’s environments and enemies aren’t as detailed. But the change comes with a noteworthy addition. Here, you truly feel like you are flying over cities and toward a colonial force that mutinied Earth. Across your journey, your elevation will rise and fall, you’ll descend over a waterfall, and soar over busy cityscapes. Likewise, bosses spin around to target you while parts of each mecha-style opponent open and launch a volley of missiles. While these kinds of rotations and animations are commonplace today, RayStorm felt like being immersed in a sci-fi anime when it arrived in arcades in 1996 and on the original PlayStation a year later.

Pleasingly, RayStorm includes the original arcade title as well as the HD iteration. Originally released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, this version provides enhanced resolution with more detailed texturing as well as a 16:9 aspect ratio. Like RayForce, the Ray’z Arcade Chronology allows players to set separate difficulty settings for each stage. Working Design’s PlayStation-based localization only allowed players to tackle the first four stages when playing on the easiest difficulty. That’s been revised, allowing STG apprentices to experience the full game.

RayCrisis

Functionally, RayCrisis’ WR-01R and WR-02R fighter ships are similar to RayStorm’s Grey 1 and 2. While there’s no selection for the automatic discharge of your laser, both ships provide the franchise’s dual-weapon play. This time out, when your main cannon fire strikes a target, the resulting explosion produces a bit of blast damage which can destroy smaller opponents. Like RayStorm, you have a Special Attack/Round Divider which functions as a bomb, eliminating much of the precarious on-screen clutter.

Released two years after RayStorm, RayCrisis offers improved aesthetics, with the included HD version offering a more detailed trek across deserts, metropolises, and through a fleet of giant starships. But know that RayCrisis extended a decidedly shorter jaunt than predecessors. Three randomized stages are bookended by a short preview level and a showdown with the game’s tough boss. Behind the scenes, there’s some interesting difficulty scaling, ensuring that each subsequent stage is tougher than the last.

Beyond a soundtrack that flirts with ambient sounds, RayCrisis has another notable feature: its Encroachment gauge. This system might be one of the game’s most contentious traits, forcing players to actively deplete a steadily rising meter by continually blasting opponents. Obtaining the game’s best ending entails keeping the gauge below 20%, which is a feat that could humble seasoned STG addicts.

Examining the Chronology

The five titles that make up Ray’z Arcade Chronology are impeccably emulated by M2. Every game provides fluid 60fps play without a hint of slowdown. Beyond the previously mentioned difficulty settings are customizable controls (mapping the laser to the right bumper might make things easier), you can select aspect ratios that offer integer scaling, maximize screen space, or fill your Switch’s screen. If you don’t want to look at the data provided by each game’s gadgets, you can fill the borders with different wallpaper, while optional filters provide scanlines to recreate the look of playing on a CRT. If you’re a physical collector, Strictly Limited Games’ cartridge provides a copy of R-Gear. But it’s a single-stage prototype, so its omission from the digital edition isn’t a dealbreaker.

Each entry in the anthology provides a driving soundtrack that’s just as timeless as the action. Although many claim that Zuntata’s pinnacle might be found in the Darius series, the Ray games give some serious competition. Inspirational tracks like RayForce’s “Penetration” or “Vision” channel the quirky synth-pop of Yellow Magic Orchestra and deserve a listen when you’re not distracted by dozens of flying objects.

Ray’z Arcade Chronology was played on Switch
with review code provided by the publisher.