Ray'z Arcade Chronology

Ray’z Arcade Chronology is really good. It’s a great collection of great ports of great games. That’s it. No notes (aside from the ones already provided). If you haven’t played any of these games, you definitely owe it to yourself to check out the collection. If you have played them, this is just a great way to get all the titles together with some bells and whistles. I could scarcely ask for more.

If you ever wondered what made the Ray series of shmups so special, then this collection should hopefully help you with that, along with an abundance of homing lasers.

As I said, each game included here is a lot of fun in its own right—if you just want to jam some good, classic shmups, or maybe revisit an old arcade favourite, you’re in good hands here. But as is often the case with a collection like this, the story that unfolds when you have a whole series presented side-by-side in one package can be a fascinating one. With Ray’z Arcade Chronology, that story is the way Taito took a nifty concept—RayForce’s two-layer combat—and turned it into a particularly creative, experimental approach to the shift to 3D graphics.

Ray’z Arcade Chronology is a fantastic collection of a slightly mixed trilogy of shooters. If you’re a fan of the Ray games, then buy this with full confidence. M2 has done a terrific job as usual. Shooter fans will also likely get their thrills thanks to the online leaderboards and achievements. If you’re totally new to Ray and are only a modest fan of the genre, I’d give this a slightly softer recommendation, but I still believe you’ll find something to like here.

Alongside Raiden, and R-Type, Taito’s Ray games rank among the best STG franchises of the twentieth century. As such, Ray’z Arcade Chronology is essential for fans of the genre, compiling a trio of time-tested shooters.

This is the best of it in regards to home ports of the Ray series, spit-polished by M2’s dedicated commitment to quality. It offers very accurate arcade ports of three superb, nuanced shoot 'em ups, famous for their fantastic soundtracks, engrossing gameplay mechanics, and visual showboating. Lag is minimal enough to have no impact, and the HD upscaling is wonderful. With no training modes, historical bonuses or rearrangements, however, it falls shy of being the ultimate package. But only just.