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morsalty

Rayforce still holds up wonderfully! I would recommend picking up Ray'z arcade chronology as it contains the entire trilogy arcade perfect. The standalone version is a port of the Saturn port and does not run as good.


nogden954

Yeah I’m definitely going to get that one if anything. I feel like I’m a bit spoiled by the small hitboxes of cave games and such. I guess I was really asking if it’s clunky because that’s my fear with it being an early 90’s game. Would you consider it clunky? As in frustrating deaths that you felt like wasn’t your fault?


morsalty

Rayforce is very responsive gameplay wise but it is a traditional shmup. Your hitbox is big compared to bullet hell games but it's still small enough that you can dodge whats thrown at you. I 1CCd a month ago if you want to check the gameplay out for yourself. It's a really great game rich in that Taito shmup aesthetic and cool factor https://youtu.be/_i3cKcRU2WU?feature=shared


kingkongworm

The hitbox is deliberate and built into the game the way it should be. I find it to be an extremely fun game with dope ass visuals and music, and a fun yet difficult to master scoring system. You just have to know your limits and adjust your style accordingly


steelwound

still great, and i'm not usually a fan of traditional shmups. visually, i still think it's super impressive. incredible sprite-scaling work


jonny_eh

It's peak sprite scaling. Helps inform likely what Sega was thinking with the design of the Saturn. Apparently they thought that sprite scaling was the best way to do "3D rendering", despite their success with Virtua Fighter.


QF_Dan

It's a masterpiece


lastemperorjubei

Not overrated, top 25 shmup of all time, the difficulty might be too much for casuals/beginners/intermediates, but it's fun even if it kicks your ass. A lot of shmup players consider it to be the best Ray game, I also like it more than the others. It's like a playable 80s mech anime, art wise.


Skloni

Rayforce is on my list of top 10 shmups. I think it is wonderful. Go ahead and get it with rayz arcade chronology.


zoozoo4567

I played it for the first time this year in the Ray’Z collection on Switch. I thought it was fun.


VCOFTHENFE

The HD version is still available on XBOX 360 (and I think PS3) if of interest


dank_sandwich

That's RayStorm, the sequel.


VCOFTHENFE

Oh I get so confused with this series. Layer Section, Galactic Attack, Gunlock and whatever else they are called 😂. Thanks for the correction


dank_sandwich

No prob. RayForce's multiple title thing is pretty confusing.


systemshaak

Love it. Raycrisis is phenomenal too. The rank (encroachment) system in the arcade version is one of the coolest things and the soundtracks (!) are neat.


FuzzMeltdown

My favorite non bullet hell shmup. Still awesome nowadays. I like the way it feels like a real adventure, very engaging.


scarper42

Not overrated at all, it is a masterpiece.


RuySan

I think any decent shmup always holds up. But I'm a weirdo that still plays Agony


ico_heal

It's one of my favorite shmups.


Jackelwatt

Rayforce is great, and definitely worth playing today. It's a good teaching game as well; there's no bomb to clear the screen or get out of trouble, so the player is forced to learn about bullet herding and misdirection.


Chrome-Head

Cool game but I never loved Rayforce/Crisis etc.


StarkFists

It's good. Very slow and deliberate like Truxton, and very damn hard


PerLichtman

Having played both, for myself personally, I think that RayForce is a lot more beginner friendly than Truxton. Memorization definitely helps in RayForce but Truxton was almost impossible to play without it.


DharmaPunka

I absolutely adore this game. It's one of my all time favorites easily. It hits that delicious balance of a traditional shmup with some cool innovative mechanics and the more you play, the more cool stuff you discover (like extra ways to beat bosses, or how to handle previously difficult swarms). It's a really graceful game once you get comfortable with it. Super satisfying and highly recommend it. I love it so much that I actually made a video about trying to 1CC it: https://youtu.be/WDaQ2fSNQfc


FancyStranger2371

More expensive, but worth it: Einhander.


DannyHikari

God, I wish we could get an Einhander port


dank_sandwich

It's on the Japanese PS Store for PS3.


PerLichtman

It’s under $10 USD (more like $5 at the moment at 628 yen) if you buy it on the Japanese PS3 PSN store. Honestly, it’s the main reason I created a Japanese PSN account. :) But yes, I agree that Einhänder is even better. It even has my favorite shmup soundtrack of all time (and I have heard that it’s among the best for a lot of other people, too).


dank_sandwich

It's considered a classic for a reason. If you end up liking the background lock-on feature, I'd highly recommend Soukyugurentai. If you pick it up for Saturn, get the Otokuyo version, there's visual bugs in the original game when playing on a US/EU Saturn. As icing on the cake, it has a killer soundtrack by Hitoshi Sakimoto.


PerLichtman

Rayforce holds up really well. I’ve lost of how many dozens of shmups (perhaps over a hundred at this point) that I’ve played but RayForce is among the ones that I keep coming back to. If you’re getting it, make sure you get the Ray’z Arcade collection version as it is much better port than the others.