Who exactly is Ray?
While the shooter genre continues to have a resurgence through both new games and remasters/remakes, one series that has always remained sort of in the background are the series of Ray games. Taito’s reverent series of shooters saw sparse releases and never really gained that notoriety of titles such as Darius or Gradius. I have fond memories mostly from the original PlayStation where I spent countless hours playing RayStorm alongside other classics such as Einhander. The game had a neon glow with intense game play and sort of did its own thing when so many other games were chasing the dragon. Now we get to revisit the entire collection thanks to the resurgence of games from the past being made available on modern platforms.
So, what is included here? We get two of Taito’s classic shooters RayCrisis and RayStorm in both their arcade counterparts as well as the HD remasters of both games. This collection also includes the original arcade version of RayForce. Sadly, the digital version is missing a title that was available in the Strictly Limited physical edition of the game, which is just ridiculous. Chopping up what is available based on how someone purchases a game will never be a good practice.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: Switch (reviewed), PlayStation
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
It is worth noting that this collection is built by M2 which means we get some outstanding presentation. The menus are very slick and easy to navigate. Each game is presented well, and it is simple to get in and out of each title at will. The HD versions of the games are gorgeous. The neon lights and futuristic buildings look fantastic, especially on Switch’s OLED screen. If you are a purist the arcade versions of RayStorm and RayCrisis are also available, complete with arcade rules.
RayForce was the first game and was released in 1994. This is the game that shows its age the most, due to only the arcade version being included. That doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to be had though. This is a pixel-based design with epic stages that still look great even today. You can see the infancy of the series here with a focus on chains and combos and some truly spectacular explosions onscreen. M2 did add side screens with plenty of information, but this is the most basic of the package.
RayStorm is the next game in the series and was released in 1996 in arcade. This entry continues the use of pixels but also introduces 3D polygons for the backgrounds. The presentation in this game is more skewed and takes a minute to adjust, but as soon as I did, I was chaining combos with little effort. There are two ships to choose between with a selection of weapons. This game truly showcases the evolution of the series before hitting the most recent entry.
RayCrisis is the final game in the collection and easily the most impressive. This one has updated visuals and weapon options but remains mostly the same theme wise. There is a lot more depth in the way the stages are handled though with a randomization at the outset with the ability to revisit them in an order of your choosing. This game boasts the most replayability by far and is the one I have the most nostalgia for. I played a ton of this game back in the day and remains the standard for my reminiscence of the series.
This collection is more than worth the time even if the digital version feels incomplete. It was great revisiting these classic shooters all in one place. They are not as in-depth as other shooters, but are still a ton of fun. Definitely worth checking out for anyone that still clings to that classic genre.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
