Ray'z Arcade Chronology [Taito x M2] - PS4/Switch [2023]

[EmperorIng]

I don't care about the reviews (for shmups they're meaningless), I just better be seein' some familiar names on the online boards at scores higher than a million.

[heli]

LOL open world mentality.

[Tarma]

Great news, but where's the info that says M2 are behind this? I don't see them mentioned on the website, and there's no Shottriggers branding - as surely this would still fall under the Shottriggers label?

[Rastan78]

Given the amount of 1cc's in raystorm in the west is probably only in the dozens (if THAT!), it does seem like it takes an inhuman amount of skill to pull off a 1cc. It might be one of the hardest shmups out there... in this scrub's opinion.

Please, japon, I need to copy your routes...

Man it is rough. And you have to adjust to bullet visibility/approaching at a different angle. I've read a few things that make me think Taito liked to balance games around the idea that players would die or continue to lower rank by later stages, making a no miss clear extremely difficult in some games. Darius Gaiden even has 100% undodgeable last boss attacks at max rank.

The OST though. Every bit as good as the one in Ray Force and kinda overlooked IMO.

Yeah, that era of mid to late 2000s were a rough time for arcade style gaming. The plus side was you could pick up PCBs for nothing. Blazing Star MVS cart for 30 bucks? Don't mind if I do. NOS Japanese arcade monitor CRT never even unboxed for 150? Why the heck not?

BTW @wiki corroborateds the story of the devs being forced to make Raystorm HD 16:9 against their wishes.

- As mentioned above, the 4: 3 screen is stretched, so the aspect ratio feels strange. If there is a monitor that can display forced 4: 3, it can be handled, but it is still a pity that it can not be adjusted to 4: 3 as an option.

- The reason for this is that there was a rule that it was prohibited to create games at 4: 3 on both XBOX360 and PS3 at that time .

- There was also a plan to expand only the background for 16: 9, but if you do that, the expression that the enemies that appear from outside the left and right screens suddenly boil on the screen in the original version will be expressed.

- This time, the correction was against using the original source as much as possible inside the company , so it was postponed to 16: 9 crying.

My soul cannot tolerate any hate towards Raiden Fighters series. Forgive them, they were blinded by too much Mountain Dew and late nights playing CoD: WaW. RF series is pretty near the pinnacle of the genre IMO. Yet it never quite gets the acclaim of a DDP or Garegga. I think it's partly bc they remained unported and unemulated for so many years. Garegga's reputation in the west was already being solidified when you still could only play RF on PCB. In technical terms Seibu just encrypted the fuck out of those boards. Maybe if there had been good Saturn ports that would've clinched it? By the time Aces came out shmup players on 360 were knee deep in a Cave circle jerk.

Great news, but where's the info that says M2 are behind this? I don't see them mentioned on the website, and there's no Shottriggers branding - as surely this would still fall under the Shottriggers label?

The Darius games also don't have Shotriggers branding. These are more of a Taito production with M2 working as developer kinda like Sega Ages. Shottriggers seems to be M2's own brand where they get the license and take on the cost of development themselves?

[Steven]

The reviews don't really matter that much anyway because the majority of the people who are going to be interested in buying this, especially if it never gets released outside of Japan, know exactly what they're getting, especially with M2 doing the emulation or whatever. I'm sure Skykid will probably end up reviewing it for Nintendo Life (and probably giving it a great review since it's 3 awesome games + M2), and if it's Japan-only that's probably about all the English-language exposure it's going to get outside of the STG circles. Taito's been okay about releasing their STGs outside of Japan recently, even if it takes them like 5 years or whatever, but we'll see.

[Steven]

Great news, but where's the info that says M2 are behind this? I don't see them mentioned on the website, and there's no Shottriggers branding - as surely this would still fall under the Shottriggers label?

From the Taito website:

全タイトルとも、移植は有限会社エムツーが担当しており、ゲーム攻略に役立つ各種「ガジェット」表示の他、ゲーム中のセーブ／ロード機能などが追加される。

No ShotTriggers branding for whatever reason, just like Darius. Maybe it will get that "Powered by M2 ShotTriggers" thing that I remember seeing somewhere in relation to Cozmic Collection.

[Tarma]

Great news, but where's the info that says M2 are behind this? I don't see them mentioned on the website, and there's no Shottriggers branding - as surely this would still fall under the Shottriggers label?

From the Taito website:

全タイトルとも、移植は有限会社エムツーが担当しており、ゲーム攻略に役立つ各種「ガジェット」表示の他、ゲーム中のセーブ／ロード機能などが追加される。

No ShotTriggers branding for whatever reason, just like Darius. Maybe it will get that "Powered by M2 ShotTriggers" thing that I remember seeing somewhere in relation to Cozmic Collection.

Ah, ok, that clears that up then! Thanks, I'd forgotten that M2 did the Darius collection for Taito, that wasn't a release I'd followed with much interest tbh.

[Rastan78]

The reviews don't really matter that much anyway because the majority of the people who are going to be interested in buying this, especially if it never gets released outside of Japan, know exactly what they're getting, especially with M2 doing the emulation or whatever.

Yeah I agree with that. Most of the audience for this stuff already knows what they're getting into. I don't care about reviews personally. It's just an interesting barometer of how the larger gaming world sees the genre.

I think the climate for these kind of releases has improved immeasurably from 10 or 15 years ago. Even if Ray'z is a niche product it won't be treated with open hostility by the gaming press like Raystorm HD was.

[Jonpachi]

So I got a little antsy, bought the Layer Section/Galactic Attack collection on Switch, and... it does seems fine. Maybe it's that Layer Section has always felt a bit laggy to me. There's that unique "gravity" mechanic that seemingly wants to pull your ship slightly back to center that covers up the input lag, but I didn't get that ice skating feeling that Guardian Force gave me in the first collection. I'm not amazing at this game, so as I dig deeper I may hit a wall, but it seems *gulp* pretty playable.

[sunnshiner]

XB360 Raystorm HD runs well in Xenia for those interested.

[heli]

I made a 9CC on RayStorm.
The PS2 version in the taito collection is not playable, i dont understand who made that port.

[hamfighterx]

Not technologically, of course. But on the one hand they don't have anything to build a pack with other than, well, the first EA. And on the other, this EAR cult is a far west thing. In Japan it's a well respected game but that's it. Nothing like a well-known STG. And finally, Saturn EAR was essentially a 1:1 port, unlike Rayforce.

There’s also the PS3 (PSN exclusive) Elevator Action Deluxe revamp, post Square Enix acquiring Taito. And the GB port. And the super rare GBA Elevator Action Old & New. I could see SE/Taito farming out a compilation for the history of the series. They’ve been mining their catalog with Darius, Bubble Bobble, Space Invaders, and now Ray - so Elevator Action wouldn’t be the biggest shocker.

BTW, I have a boxed legit copy of the GBA game that I should probably just sell due to the stupid value. But because it’s so hard to find I don’t even really know what to try to get for it. Anyone have any ideas?

By the time Aces came out shmup players on 360 were knee deep in a Cave circle jerk.

To be fair, at the time RFA released in Japan, Cave had only released one title on 360 (Deathsmiles). It was a little later that Cave 360 mania took over. I remember this well since I bought a J-360 precisely for those two games. I guess if you’re talking specifically about NA players who didn’t play region locked JPN titles, then yeah by the time RFA got a western localization… OK, maybe so.

I was wondering if the RayStorm "Neo HD" version is a rerelease of the PSN/XBLA game but a quick DeepL translation says it's not. Ah well, this is a good collection regardless.

Chris Moyse over at Destructoid, who covers their STG/fighting/retro beat, is usually pretty good and reported that it’s “a revamped version of 2013 remaster RayStorm HD, complete with brand new features.” Perhaps that is inaccurate, but seems reasonable enough and would make a lot of sense given things like the aspect ratio discussed here.

[Rastan78]

To be fair, at the time RFA released in Japan, Cave had only released one title on 360 (Deathsmiles). It was a little later that Cave 360 mania took over. I remember this well since I bought a J-360 precisely for those two games. I guess if you’re talking specifically about NA players who didn’t play region locked JPN titles, then yeah by the time RFA got a western localization… OK, maybe so.

That's a good point. I think people were just more interested in Cave stuff around that time when everyone was playing shmups on 360. RF really needed ports back in the day to Saturn/PSX.

It was like that even before that era. I brought a RF2 PCB to a shmup meet a long time ago. Sitting next to the Cave shmups and Garegga cab I barely saw anybody try it out. A few were openly like wow this game looks bad. When I explained the game was really fun to play for score the response was Psshh, I can see playing a game like this for survival, but score?

Probably it was a combination of the games somewhat vanilla visuals (although they're beautiful IMO) and the lack of decent emulation at the time. You could get to grips with as yet unported games like Dragon Blaze, Batrider, Gawange etc via emulation. Sorry, back on topic.

Chris Moyse over at Destructoid, who covers their STG/fighting/retro beat, is usually pretty good and reported that it’s “a revamped version of 2013 remaster RayStorm HD, complete with brand new features.” Perhaps that is inaccurate, but seems reasonable enough and would make a lot of sense given things like the aspect ratio discussed here.

Taito's site is saying it will be the same as the arcade version, which would be in line with all of the other M2 ports so far. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Maybe some of the graphical updates from HD will make it in?

High resolution version of the arcade version "Raystorm". "RayStorm HD" released in 2010 had an additional element, and the screen ratio was 16: 9, but this work has the same content as the arcade version and the screen ratio remains 4: 3. ing. Therefore, the title is also "~ NEO-HD".

[Bassa-Bassa]

Not technologically, of course. But on the one hand they don't have anything to build a pack with other than, well, the first EA. And on the other, this EAR cult is a far west thing. In Japan it's a well respected game but that's it. Nothing like a well-known STG. And finally, Saturn EAR was essentially a 1:1 port, unlike Rayforce.

There’s also the PS3 (PSN exclusive) Elevator Action Deluxe revamp, post Square Enix acquiring Taito. And the GB port. And the super rare GBA Elevator Action Old & New. I could see SE/Taito farming out a compilation for the history of the series. They’ve been mining their catalog with Darius, Bubble Bobble, Space Invaders, and now Ray - so Elevator Action wouldn’t be the biggest shocker.

Old & New is a Media Kite game, so Taito nowadays isn't even acknowledging its existence. The PS3 game, I totally forgot (for the better...).

Still, with CC's EAR S-Tribute - which also includes EA - sadly coming soon, I think another EA compilation would be totally overkill. Fortunately there're many other one-shots from the company which could make for an excellent 'themeless' arcade classics collection together with EAR, though the problem here is that the Egret mini is still being produced... One has to wonder if this selling well is a bad thing for getting better versions of the games in the future or much the contrary, indeed.

[Atariboy]

I remember years ago an IGN review criticizing a Midway collection on the Nintendo 64 because of slowdown. Yet the offending game, Root Beer Tapper, was slowing down where it would on real hardware. It was simply the developer having coded an accurate emulator. Yet the review held it against the collection.

Pretty much if it's classic content and not from an outlet that you already might respect like Digital Foundry Retro, mainstream reviews like those old RayStorm HD reviews are worthless other than for their entertainment value from the ridiculous statements contained within.

[Sumez]

Tbf, replicating slowdown will always be a case-to-case basis, and somewhat subjective. I'm pretty sure most people are happy that (most) ports of Metal Slug 2 and Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts don't attempt to replicate the slowdown.

[BIL]

RE: arcade games and those modeled on them, I've long considered the telltale bitchings of the mainstream (Sky Boy is One Of Us™ ;3) reliable indicators of quality. Individually, the "Too short!" (read: lean and mean) and "Too hard!" (read: L2P) are proven accolades. Which you'll read typically depends on whether the game allows Free Play. When you hear both at the same time? That's the sound of a precision-forged arcade gauntlet forming up like Voltron and putting lion shoe to scrub ass.

Look at the standard-bearer for modern mainstream hardcore, FromSoft's Souls et al. I love 'em! Embarrassing hours in several, many more to come! But they're nothing more than oldschool ARPGs ala Battle of Olympus or Faxanadu. As with their 80s/90s predecessors: simpler games than their committedly balls-out action contemporaries, swaddled in layers of cozy, comfy, homey distraction. Pare 'em down to ~40min single-credit clears, and they'd see belittlements identical to anything else designed for a cab. Simple! Yet technical! And above all... WAAA! IMPOSSIBRU!

Look at how a swathe of From's latter-day fanbase (and most definitely the media) appears to actively despise them as-is, for having the temerity to "kill them."

(a journo discovers a clue "You are the experience points," indeed. The development of the player, not merely his avatar; that's the cornerstone of any competitive hobby.

Although he can't quite escape this howler:

Rondo of Blood is so thick with commitment actions that it literally places a warm-up on turning around! Think about that: it takes almost a full second to turn around in Rondo of Blood. This is a side-scrolling platform action game from 1993, and its designers were thinking that hard about risk-reward.

PULL OVER SHITHEAD, THIS IS THE COPS (■｀w´■)

Spoiler

My mans got so excited with that POPPIN FRESH OLEH-OLEH-OLD SKOOOL namedrop, he confused nigh-bulletproof Rondo with busted-ass Alisia Dragoon and Raf World! )

TLDR: The needs, wants, and very perceptions of casuals are typically diametric to those of enthusiasts. Where LION sees an almighty rod for the rampage, brains and bone-shards falling like confetti on a slaughter for the ages, LAMB will only quaver before a pull-start dildo of eye-watering horsepower, his battered little boipucci sure to glow red-hot like F1 calipers under a pistoning punitive pounding.

Don't hate; recalibrate. Know which you are, and parse reviews accordingly.

[heli]

I havent deciphered one of BILs posts yet.
i keep learning more english words for sure.

[BIL]

You are most definitely a SHUMPS LION heli-kun, ever since you saw sense and purchased SHOTTRIGGERS ESPRADE on my august advisement!

WIENERS BTFO (■｀w´■)

Spoiler

[heli]

I checked it out on my raspi and find it not worth the money ( 80 euro )

[BIL]

Oh well 3; It's the thought that counts!

[Sumez]

WIENERS BTFO (■｀w´■)

Spoiler

[BIL]

[Steven]

Shit, I need to go get ShotTriggers ESP Ra.De. myself. It's pretty cheap on Amazon right now, but I just bought HellSinker, Blue Revolver, and Raiden IV (a personal recommendation from Sato-san after I told him that the only Raiden I'd ever played was DX for like 3 minutes lol), so I've got plenty of new shit to play.

[BIL]

This has definitely been one of those Too Many Damn Games eras, and most unexpectedly at that. But then even a small stack of quality arcade-calibre titles will keep you going for years. Planning on doing much Grandpa Shumping if I can survive that long.

[Steven]

Yeah, Hamster's over here putting out all sorts of shit that I want to play every few weeks, those Toaplan collections call to me on a daily basis (I wore my Same! Same! Same! shirt to work again today and the girls in the office laughed at me again lol. Super excited for the eventual Slap Fight, V-V, Tatsujin Ou, and Out Zone releases!), Steam has a ton of awesome things ranging from M2 Darius to Eschatos and CAVE and Blue Revolver and all sorts of shit nobody's probably even heard of, there's some upcoming new shooter on the fucking Vectrex that looks super cool that I'm insta-buying once it's available (need to fix my Vectrex, though...), now we have M2 getting the entire Ray series out... yeah, there's so much shit going on now. I love this STG renaissance that we are experiencing right now.

[Creamy Goodness]

Shit, I need to go get ShotTriggers ESP Ra.De. myself. It's pretty cheap on Amazon right now, but I just bought HellSinker, Blue Revolver, and Raiden IV (a personal recommendation from Sato-san after I told him that the only Raiden I'd ever played was DX for like 3 minutes lol), so I've got plenty of new shit to play.

Do you know how much is shipping from Amazon JP to the US? They have the Switch version at a great price, but not sure if that would be negated by shipping.

[Chacranajxy]

RE: arcade games and those modeled on them, I've long considered the telltale bitchings of the mainstream (Sky Boy is One Of Us™ ;3) reliable indicators of quality. Individually, the "Too short!" (read: lean and mean) and "Too hard!" (read: L2P) are proven accolades. Which you'll read typically depends on whether the game allows Free Play. When you hear both at the same time? That's the sound of a precision-forged arcade gauntlet forming up like Voltron and putting lion shoe to scrub ass.

Look at the standard-bearer for modern mainstream hardcore, FromSoft's Souls et al. I love 'em! Embarrassing hours in several, many more to come! But they're nothing more than oldschool ARPGs ala Battle of Olympus or Faxanadu. As with their 80s/90s predecessors: simpler games than their committedly balls-out action contemporaries, swaddled in layers of cozy, comfy, homey distraction. Pare 'em down to ~40min single-credit clears, and they'd see belittlements identical to anything else designed for a cab. Simple! Yet technical! And above all... WAAA! IMPOSSIBRU!

Look at how a swathe of From's latter-day fanbase (and most definitely the media) appears to actively despise them as-is, for having the temerity to "kill them."

(a journo discovers a clue "You are the experience points," indeed. The development of the player, not merely his avatar; that's the cornerstone of any competitive hobby.

Although he can't quite escape this howler:

Rondo of Blood is so thick with commitment actions that it literally places a warm-up on turning around! Think about that: it takes almost a full second to turn around in Rondo of Blood. This is a side-scrolling platform action game from 1993, and its designers were thinking that hard about risk-reward.

PULL OVER SHITHEAD, THIS IS THE COPS (■｀w´■)

Spoiler

My mans got so excited with that POPPIN FRESH OLEH-OLEH-OLD SKOOOL namedrop, he confused nigh-bulletproof Rondo with busted-ass Alisia Dragoon and Raf World! )

TLDR: The needs, wants, and very perceptions of casuals are typically diametric to those of enthusiasts. Where LION sees an almighty rod for the rampage, brains and bone-shards falling like confetti on a slaughter for the ages, LAMB will only quaver before a pull-start dildo of eye-watering horsepower, his battered little boipucci sure to glow red-hot like F1 calipers under a pistoning punitive pounding.

Don't hate; recalibrate. Know which you are, and parse reviews accordingly.

I am at once invigorated and utterly mystified, but I'm pretty sure I agree.

[Despatche]

So is Taito saying that this series is collectively known as "Ray'z"? I could never figure this out, Taito called both of the big series soundtracks that too.

[BIL]

Given how marvelously eclectic Taito/Zuntata could be with extra-Japanese sources, I almost wonder if it's a wordplay on the Spanish "Reyes." ("kings, royalty")

Partially my fondness for Q.E.P.D. and the French Ceramic Heart ~ Vocal Ver ~ talking, there.