RayStorm

RayStorm

Title screen

Developer:	Taito
Producer:	Yukio Abe
Music:	Tamayo Kawamoto (Zuntata)
Release date:	August 1996 (JP)
Previous game:	RayForce
Next game:	RayCrisis

RayStorm is a vertically scrolling shooting game developed by Taito for the Taito FX-1B arcade hardware and released in Japanese arcades in August 1996. Following on from RayForce, RayStorm marks the series' first entry into 3D.

For replay videos, visit the Video Index.

Gameplay Overview

RayStorm is a 2 button game with 8-way movement. The player controls a Star Federation fighter as it defends earth against the rebellious colony of Secilia.

Controls

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• A Button: Fire main shot. Hold for autofire.
• B Button: Fire laser
• A+B Button: Fire Special Attack

Weapons

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Main Shot

A rapid shot that fires directly forward, and only hits enemies in the foreground layer. The weapon can be powered up by collecting red items during stages. Upon death, the power level of the main shot decreases by 1.

Lock-on Laser

The Lock-on Laser is the central mechanic of the Ray series. By making use of the targeting reticle located directly in front of the player craft, it is possible to lock-on to multiple enemies. Pressing the B button then shoots homing lasers at each of the acquired targets. Unike RayForce, the laser can be used to lock-on to targets in both the foreground and background layers. The number of lasers can be increased by collecting the appropriate powerups, and decreases by 1 when the player dies.

When locking on to multiple enemies, an escalating score multiplier is applied to each enemy within the lock on, meaning that this mechanic is crucial to both scoring and survival.

SP Attack

A screen-clearing bomb that is fired by pressing A+B simultaneously when the SP Gauge is full.

Ships

There are two playable ships in Raystorm, each with unique mechanics for the Lock-on Laser.

R-Gray 1

R-Gray 1
• Shot Type: Wide A spread shot that covers a narrow conical area in front of the ship. Moderate damage at close range. • Laser Type: Lock-on Laser Fires homing lasers at all acquired targets. • Max Lock-ons: 8

R-Gray 2

R-Gray 2
• Shot Type: Laser Two laser beams that fire directly forward. Low Damage. • Laser Type: Thunder Laser Fires a single bolt of lightning that snakes between each locked target in sequence. New lock-ons can still be acquired while the laser is out, and the laser will continue to jump to them (while still incrementing the multiplier as it goes). • Max Lock-ons: 16

Scoring

Laser Multiplier

When the player locks on to multiple targets, a score multiplier is applied to each enemy. The multipliers for the player ships are:

R-Gray 1

Laser	Multiplier
1st	x1
2nd	x2
3rd	x4
4th	x8
5th	x16
6th	x32
7th	x64
8th	x128

R-Gray 2

Laser	Multiplier
1st	x1
2nd	x2
3rd	x4
4th	x8
5th	x12
6th	x16
7th	x24
8th	x32
9th	x48
10th	x64
11th	x80
12th	x96
13th	x128
14th	x160
15th	x192
16th	x256

Therefore, the player should aim to always lock onto as many enemies at a time as possible, and the locks should be constructed such that the most valuable enemies (ie. highest base value) are the final targets to be acquired. The maximum score awarded for a single enemy is capped at 999,900.