Ray'z Arcade Chronology Review (DCRage)
There's good and bad here but the good outweighs the bad, and I am enjoying it so far. If you've never played these, the Ray trilogy here is the arcade versions of RayForce (aka GunLock, and also on Saturn as Layer Section or Galactic Attack-this version is also available on Steam from another developer), RayStorm (later ported to PlayStation) and RayCrisis (same as RayStorm). It's worth noting that the games' release order is not the chronological story order through the trilogy-the story actually begins with RayStorm, then moves on to RayCrisis and wraps up with RayForce. Play through them with the optional sidebar menus/charts turned on and you'll get it. All eventually showed up on iPod/iPhone/iPad too, you can even still play Storm & Crisis today on Apple TV. For Storm & Crisis they also added HD versions. Force is a 2D vertical shooter while Storm & Crisis go somewhere between 2D & 3D.
For the latter 2 games, the differences between the HD versions and regular are noticeable, but don't expect super-sharp Full HD/4K quality graphics even though they are smoother and an improvement over the original (they fall just above PlayStation but below PS2 quality). Also, they are still as difficult as ever, giving bullet hell franchises a run for their money even on the easiest settings. Audio is where the biggest changes were made as all games have both the original and arranged/alternate soundtracks, and because it's all by Zuntata that alone warrants a purchase (and crank up the volume too). The games play the same as in the arcade with a few optional UI tweaks available to make it easier for beginners to understand (in-game saving is also available and there's still local multiplayer for all games) but also add some storyline information.. And make note of that "code" you enter when you first play RayCrisis-it acts like a password to unlock much deeper gameplay that changes every time you start a new game!
I only have 2 real complaints about this: Price (it's way too expensive at $50 although you can get a discount if you have DariusBurst CS and that game's RayForce DLC) and the HD versions aren't any different save for graphics. So while I do recommend this game esp for Taito/Zuntata fans and those who enjoyed the franchise before, wait for a good sale before picking this up and make sure you get the bundle if you already have DariusBurst CS to save even more.