AN INC-RAY-DIBLE COLLECTION
Time to revisit the Ray series in a compilation that brings all three games in one shot, along with an unearthed game from the sands of time.
I'm talking Ray'z Arcade Chronology.
FOR IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF EACH GAME, CLICK ON THE GAME TITLES.
The game that gives "Journey to the Center of the Earth" a new twist.
RAYFORCE: We've recently met RayForce in our consoles as Layer Section & Galactic Attack S-Tribute, which was a home port of the Saturn releases by Taito and Acclaim (uncredited). Taito and M2 decided to gave us the arcade release of the game giving us the real deal, no "Consumer Mode" screen adjustments or dumb "alternate names" due to legal reasons. RayForce is here, it's back and with all the multi-layered laser lock on action we're familiarized with.
From fast flights above rivers to intense space battles.
RayStorm has it all!
RAYSTORM: RayStorm makes a sensational return to the PS4 and this is definitely a great way to revisit this classic of multi-perspective shooting. The best part of this console port of the game was how arcade perfect it is, starting off with something that will definitely make us forget the horrible port from Taito Legends 2: The genuine arcade game, no loadings required. Like their port of G-Darius, the game was actually the PlayStation port stripped off of its console exclusive features and removing the limited continues to restore the arcade accurate coin function, but retaining the loading times of the PS1 release resulting in a bizarre Arcade-Console port hybrid. The Arcade Chronology version omits all that making the game fast and more playable as the transitions between levels are basically instantaneous. Being based on the arcade release, it ditches the MediaQuest and Working Designs/SPAZ console port exclusive contents such as the annoying "Heehee-Hahahaha-heeheehee! SPAZ!" startup logo, Working Designs annoying "difficulty control" that ended the game if it was below the default levels, the Saturn exclusive intro movie and cutscenes of Layer Section II and the PS1/PS3 RayStorm HD exclusive features like the 13 Ship and Extra modes, but at least it retains a key feature of Extra Mode in a Ray'z Arcade Chronology feature which I'll mention later.
Ray Combat 3: Taitosphere
RAYCRISIS: ¿Are you fast enough to stop Dis-Human to fully control the network or you'll be shut down? The cyberspace-themed lock-on shmup where the objective switches from the usual survive waves of enemies to "Keep the game from reaching full encroachment" also gets ported in this compilation. Like RayStorm, it is based on the arcade ROM, ditching all the cool features from the PlayStation port like the Special Mode, the unlockable R-Grays, the selectable alternate colors, and the more open stage selection, but in return there's no "CONNECT" or "ALERT" loading screens between levels and boss battles, and like in RayStorm, that annoying SPAZ logo screen is gone.
Today in "Tales of the Lost": The Tale of R-Gear.
R-GEAR: The long-lost cancelled sequel of RayForce gets an exclusive release for those who've preordered the physical copy of Ray'z Arcade Chronology. As far as I can see is that the gameplay is pretty much the same as RayForce with a different ship and a laser lock-on system which can be described as the predecessor of RayStorm's R-Gray 02. Another major difference is the player's Lock-On weaponry. While Player 1 has a 16 Buster Laser lock, Player 2 has the traditional 8 Laser lock from RayForce. Aside from that, the game's mechanics such as the basic fire, power ups and multiplier-based multi-lock bonus were pretty much the same as RayForce, but much more focused on Laser Lock-On more than shooting. The game is very short since it is a 1 stage demo with a mid-boss fight and the obligatory boss battle. Graphically it was way more advanced than RayForce as it used multi-part sprites for large enemies and the 3D-ish perspectives in the style of Gekirindan and Gridseeker: Project Storm Hammer. The sprite animations are definitely a rival of Namco's System 2 hardware if we compare R-Gear with Assault, Ordyne or even Phelios. I swear if the game was completed and released on the arcades it would give Namco shmup's a run for their money.
One of the things that I've noticed were the additional challenges. While in RayStorm and RayCrisis are the usual score-based conditions like getting a considerable high combo score with the SP Attack/Round Divider, in RayForce, it requires a fully powered ship and fast skills like destroying 6 battleships in the background of Stage 2 before fighting the boss and taking down all of Giga's parts (Damage wing sections 1 & 2, destroy both Turrets with Lock-On Lasers, and damage the wing sections again, then destroy the boss). One ironical challange was the "Smashed up with the Glass" trophy that requires you to die while tapping the SP Attack, the "Greedo Shot First" of arcade shmups when you die and press the bomb button simultaneously, but for the game your move didn't count.
Do you want to play the PS1-like or Semi-HD.
While RayForce remains the same arcade ROM, RayStorm and RayCrisis got an "HD" treatment, or "Neo-HD" in RayStorm's case where the graphics were improved to look more crisp and detailed. While is not as massive as RayStorm HD did on the XBOX 360 and PS3, is definitely a nice improvement for two vintage shooters. Speaking of RayStorm HD, it was a shame the compilation didn't included it. For its 49.99 price, it'd be more than reasonable to include it, along with R-Gear rather than make it a preorder exclusive. Hate when that shit happens.
Interfaces and Features to enhance your classic arcade experience.
Like both versions of Darius Cozmic Collection, all three games feature gadgets that show us the ins-and-outs of the game such as how long we can "hold" a locked-on target, the game rank showing the progression on the difficulty and a small briefing on the level we're playing. However, the game lacks of one thing and is the Boss Analyzer. In Darius Cozmic Collection, you had this interface displaying how much HP the boss and its parts had giving you an idea of how close to victory you were, while Ray'z leaves you with the question of how many hits the boss has to take before it dies.
You're listening "Ray'z Finest" on Radio-Taito.
Another feature borrowed from Darius Cozmic Collection, especially from the Arcade compilation was the inclusion of the song played in the game. Ray'z Arcade Chronology includes it, but unlike the Darius compilation where it made a brief appearance and disappeared until the next theme played, it stays on the bottom right side of the screen to fill the right side along with Player 2's interface.
Original soundtrack or Layer Section?
One of the best features that Ray'z Arcade Chronology included in the game was the soundtrack option. ¿Remember what I said about RayStorm and the lack of the Extra Mode? The game grants us the option of hearing the PS exclusive Extra Mode "Neu Tanz Mix" soundtrack for the arcade and Neo-HD versions, It won't bring the alternate colored game, but the true heart of that mode was actually the alternate soundtrack and both M2 and Taito scored a hit on that decision. RayForce allows us to switch between the original arcade or the Saturn arranged Layer Section soundtrack and RayCrisis also had its own soundtrack settings. In an unique decision, Taito added "Background Noise" in order to recreate the sounds of nearby cabinets for a more "immersive" experience. As for RayCrisis, the soundtrack is a mixture of things. According to our friend EmperorIng, the soundtrack is a combination between the Rayons de L'Air and the PS1 Arranged soundtrack, the cause of this might be the lack of synch with the in-game action the "Rayons" tracks are, making this decision a strange and constrasting combination compared with the other two games.
RAY'Z ARCADE CURIOSITIES
WOW! They'll never let us show that again! Not in a million years!
- First arcade perfect, arcade-direct port of RayForce on consoles.
- It is also the first arcade-direct port of RayForce before Hamster's Arcade Archives.
- Fourth console port of RayStorm.
- Along with RayStorm X RayCrisis HD Collection, this release is the first home port of RayCrisis.
- R-Gear's theme "Nomads from the ether world" implies that the game takes place on a space colony since Con-Human expelled humanity from Earth.
- A redesigned R-Gear ship appeared on RayStorm HD.
Just taking the Earth-Secilia tour once again.
Taito and M2 made a spectacular job porting the Ray series at home and adding exciting new features to improve their replay value, but best of all, they're all based on their arcade versions.
I'm sure we will be seeing the Ray series again as part of Arcade Archives just like Darius is doing, so don't be surprised if Hamster all of a sudden announces each Ray game individually sometime in the future.
Eda knew this was gonna be a great compilation.