If you’re a shmup fan, you’ve probably been following the vast numbers of shmups being released for the Switch. It’s a weird phenomenon because the Switch is the weakest of the current platforms, yet it gets a huge number of shmups, more than any other system (though the PS4 is close). Perhaps it’s because of the superior D-Pad that first party Nintendo controllers have (not the Joy-cons though). Or perhaps it’s the Flip-grip compatibility, making the Switch ideal for playing in Tate mode. Whatever the reason, there’s no question that the Switch is the platform of choice for shmup fans and now there’s yet another reason for shmup collectors to have a Switch!
That reason is Ray’z Arcade Chronology the new release from ININ Games! As you might infer from the title, Ray’Z is a compilation of trilogy of rather famous shmups, namely Taito’s Ray trilogy consisting of Rayforce (released as Galactic Attack in the US and Layer Section for the Japanese home release), Raystorm, and Raycrisis. The Ray games are somewhat unique in that you have to focus on two distinct layers of play simultaneously. Enemy ships are on the same layer as you, firing at you and making you dodge their bullets and at the same time, ships are beneath you, slowly flying up to engage you in combat.
All of the games in the series feature a targeting reticule which allows you to lock on to enemy ships on either layer and fire bursts of homing lasers to wipe them out. Effective gameplay requires mastery of a split focus between the ships beneath you and the ships in front of you. You’ll also need to maximize lock-ons because scoring is directly tied to lock on quantity. The more locks you get before you fire, the higher the score multiplier and with a maximum of 8 lock-ons on the main ship and 16 on the secondary one, things can get pretty frantic pretty fast, especially when those ships are attacking while you’re holding your lock and trying to use your main weapon to keep the enemies at bay.
Rayforce, the first game in the series, was originally released in 1994 and it’s the only sprite-based entry in the series. Like its siblings, this is a standard vertical shmup. Unlike other similar games though, there are no fancy weapons to upgrade…the entire focus here is on the layered weapons system. Instead of switching weapons, you power up the ones you have. There are four types of powerups you can gather from ships in Rayforce. It takes 3 red crystals or 1 yellow crystal to power up your weapons by a level. Gather up a green Laser powerup and you’ll add an extra lockon shot to your ship (up to a max of 8 on the main ship). Finally, when you get killed, and you definitely will, a green candy-like powerup appears that has a random crystal in it. Rayforce still holds up pretty well and it’s a fun game but the difficulty will definitely challenge all but expert players so be ready.
There’s not a lot of complexity to the game however. It’s basically survive (you won’t) and chain your attacks. With seven stages, you’ll be at it a while if you’re going for a no miss. On Ray’z Arcade Chronology, there aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on Rayforce either. There’s a replay gallery where you can you can view local or downloaded replays and some menu options, including arcade-style difficulty selection, lives, extends, button mapping, screen styles, TATE mode, and some gadgets (extra data and details on screen on the border that are wildly distracting). What’s noticeably missing here are rewind, fast forward, and any remixes of the game. Only a single version is included and while the menus are slick and easy to use, there’s not much to truly impress (although TATE mode is nice of course).
Moving on to Raystorm, things are a smidge different. Raystorm ditches the sprites of the first game for early generation polygons, making a tough transition and also swaps to a horizontal screen with vertical gameplay. Even though the details seem like they’re somehow lesser than Rayforce, the added depth is a nice touch. What is also new here is the addition of Raystorm Neo-HD, a remastered version of the original game that updates the visuals to HD graphics. You’ve never seen Raystorm this crisp before and honestly, it’s pretty impressive. However, what you’ll quickly come to realize, especially in Neo-HD, is that Raystorm has definitely not aged as well as its brethren. The gameplay feels a bit uninspired and the HD visuals highlight how bad the transitional polygon style is, making it difficult to see small, fast enemy bullets and different layers which blend into each other. The general impression of Raystorm is that it’s neat they went to 3D but the game design just wasn’t ready to back it up yet.
Much like Rayforce, Raystorm has you flying vertically and fighting on two planes. The angle of perspective has shifted, making things look more three-dimensional, but the detail levels have dropped to more basic polygons and it seems like there’s just less life in the game…almost like it’s a bit too empty. The base gameplay hasn’t changed but there’s a fair bit more going on here. In Raystorm, you still build laser levels and strength, but there is an added component, a charge beam that slowly builds during play and allows you to unleash a sort of hyper-homing laser attack that bombards everything on screen. It doesn’t charge very fast though and chances are you’ll only get to use it when you die and the bar refills automatically. Speaking of death, a blue star sometimes appears after a continue, allowing you to instantly max your weapons (if you suck like some of us).
There are two more major changes to Raystorm. First, there’s a new second ship which maxes out at 16 lock-ons but has a weaker main weapon and a homing lightning attack. It’s a neat ship and fun to play, so don’t skip it just because the main laser is weaker! Secondly, there’s the option to choose manual or automatic homing lasers. Auto means that as soon as your reticule goes over the enemy, your ship automatically fires a homing laser, freeing you up to worry about the enemies that are coming on the same layer as you while you lay waste to the lower layer. Unfortunately, that ability comes at a price, namely that you won’t be able to build up much score because you don’t get any multipliers with the auto-layer! Each shot is a 1x multiplier, leaving you high and dry if you’re playing for score.
Finally there’s Raycrisis. The final game in Taito’s trilogy, Raycrisis has all the polish that was lacking in Raystorm. Just like that title, there’s a Neo-HD version of Raycrisis as well and the game has never looked so good! This is a much busier, more frantic game and the crisp visuals really make the entire experience the most engaging of the series. Again, the core gameplay remains the same. No fancy new weapons, no big changes. The horizontal screen and vertical gameplay from Raystorm remains as well, as do the two ships. Missing from this game is the Auto firing option for lock-on. Honestly, that’s probably for the best as the autofire lock felt kind of cheap in Raystorm and Raycrisis seems more refined at every level.
There are some notable differences in Raycrisis however. First and most obvious is that the reticule finally moves vertically! In the previous two games, the reticule was static and stayed at the same distance from your ship. Now you can move it and it makes it noticeably easier to target enemies for lock-ons as you get closer and closer to them. The other major differences are more subtle. That encroachment counter in the corner? If it maxes out, you immediately drop to the end boss and if you beat them, the worst ending of the game. But that’s not all. There are 5 stages to Raycrisis including an intro and a final boss fight. But you aren’t going to be playing the same levels over and over because there are 5 possible stages for each of the three main levels, making 42 different level configuration possibilities. That’s a lot of replay value! Once you’ve beaten a specific configuration, the game offers you the chance to repeat it or move on. The variability and the spectacular visuals in Raycrisis make it the crowning jewel of the Ray’z Arcade Chronology and even if it was just Raycrisis for $50 instead of the entire trilogy, it very well might still be worthwhile.
Regardless of which Ray title you prefer, it’s fantastic to have the entire trilogy available in one game finally! Prices are outrageous for all of the original games and this collection from M2 is the cleanest and best version of the series we’ve seen yet. As usual, M2 is still knocking it out of the park! There’s no question that the Ray’z Arcade Chronology is worth your time (and cash) and that there’s a ton of replay value here. There aren’t that many fancy extras, but you can adjust the difficulty and you might need to. It’s unfortunate that R-Gear didn’t get included on the digital release too (it’s only on the SLG physical), but even so, this is one great series, even if Raystorm is a bit weaker than we all remember. Don’t hesitate to grab the Ray’z Arcade Chronology if you’re a fan of shmups because this is still top tier stuff!
This review is based on a digital copy of Ray’z Arcade Chronology provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch OLED system in both docked and undocked modes and played equally well on both. Ray’z Arcade Chronology is also available for Playstation 4.
Nate Van Lindt has been a gamer since the days of yore (aka Commodore 64), and has played a bit of virtually everything out there. He's also an avid comic book collector, both vintage and current, and reads a fair amount of sci-fi and fantasy. On top of that, he watches a fair number of movies and TV shows as well. Oh, and he has a family, a full-time job, and lives somewhere in the urban wilds of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, foraging for old video cables and forgotten game soundtracks.
