Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
RayStorm is an arcade shoot 'em up from Taito, originally released in 1996. This is the second game in the "Ray" series, being the sequel to RayForce (aka Layer Section), and being followed by RayCrisis - which I believe is Taito's final shooting game. So in 2023, Taito has released complete remasters of the entire series for the PS4 and Switch. The development was handled by M2, who are the absolute best in the business at this stuff, so you know they did it justice.
It can be a little confusing figuring out which games to buy though. I'm playing the RayStorm x RayCrisis HD Collection, which is available for $39.99. But there's also the Ray'z Arcade Chronology, which includes RayForce in addition to these two games. That one is available for $49.99. I'd recommend getting the Chronology over this collection, because you're just paying $10 more for a super high quality port of RayForce, which is arguably the best game in the series. And as far as I know, there's nothing in this RayStorm x RayCrisis collection that lets you purchase RayForce as DLC afterward, so it's a hard sell in comparison to the Chronology. But they're all great games anyway, so the only wrong choice is to not buy either of them!
I've been playing this a lot over the last week or two. ININ has just released the game in North America and Europe, so they're running a contest/raffle for content creators. Of course I love shmups, so I had to jump on that. To quickly summarize it for those who aren't aware, the contest is raffle where the further you get in RayStorm and RayCrisis, the more chances you have to win. Score doesn't matter, but since scoring is the most fun thing about shmups to me, I still tried to get as much as I could anyway. I missed a good chunk of points in this run, but overall I think it went pretty well.
This game is long and difficult. I actually didn't like it at first, but as you learn the level layouts and start putting together strategies, and learn how to deal with each boss, it gets more and more fun. Normally I'd keep playing for a while longer, so I can clean up my strategies and improve my score, but I gotta start playing RayCrisis. This is a fun game if you stick with it though! It's just going to take some effort.
PS. I'm playing the Neo HD mode here, which increases the game's internal resolution, and I maximized the game window, so the scaling isn't perfect. I figured it would just look better on YouTube this way. Personally I might prefer playing with the low-res PS1 era graphics (which is an option in this port), but I'm probably in the minority there.
Huge thanks to ININ Games for providing me with a key!
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:54 Stage 1
3:10 Stage 2
6:27 Stage 3
9:52 Stage 4
14:04 Stage 5
18:32 Stage 6
21:41 Stage 7
26:16 Stage 8
29:50 Ending & Credits
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Beat 'em Ups (e.g. Final Fight): youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvMhpG1GR9sk8OYiWQMZZTgl
2D Action (e.g. Metal Slug): youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvNFjpnJ59Th6N0IU1PSpD3d
STG/Shmups (e.g. Dodonpachi): youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFE6B3779BE759F71
RayStorm is an arcade shoot 'em up from Taito, originally released in 1996. This is the second game in the "Ray" series, being the sequel to RayForce (aka Layer Section), and being followed by RayCrisis - which I believe is Taito's final shooting game. So in 2023, Taito has released complete remasters of the entire series for the PS4 and Switch. The development was handled by M2, who are the absolute best in the business at this stuff, so you know they did it justice.
It can be a little confusing figuring out which games to buy though. I'm playing the RayStorm x RayCrisis HD Collection, which is available for $39.99. But there's also the Ray'z Arcade Chronology, which includes RayForce in addition to these two games. That one is available for $49.99. I'd recommend getting the Chronology over this collection, because you're just paying $10 more for a super high quality port of RayForce, which is arguably the best game in the series. And as far as I know, there's nothing in this RayStorm x RayCrisis collection that lets you purchase RayForce as DLC afterward, so it's a hard sell in comparison to the Chronology. But they're all great games anyway, so the only wrong choice is to not buy either of them!
I've been playing this a lot over the last week or two. ININ has just released the game in North America and Europe, so they're running a contest/raffle for content creators. Of course I love shmups, so I had to jump on that. To quickly summarize it for those who aren't aware, the contest is raffle where the further you get in RayStorm and RayCrisis, the more chances you have to win. Score doesn't matter, but since scoring is the most fun thing about shmups to me, I still tried to get as much as I could anyway. I missed a good chunk of points in this run, but overall I think it went pretty well.
This game is long and difficult. I actually didn't like it at first, but as you learn the level layouts and start putting together strategies, and learn how to deal with each boss, it gets more and more fun. Normally I'd keep playing for a while longer, so I can clean up my strategies and improve my score, but I gotta start playing RayCrisis. This is a fun game if you stick with it though! It's just going to take some effort.
PS. I'm playing the Neo HD mode here, which increases the game's internal resolution, and I maximized the game window, so the scaling isn't perfect. I figured it would just look better on YouTube this way. Personally I might prefer playing with the low-res PS1 era graphics (which is an option in this port), but I'm probably in the minority there.
Huge thanks to ININ Games for providing me with a key!
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:54 Stage 1
3:10 Stage 2
6:27 Stage 3
9:52 Stage 4
14:04 Stage 5
18:32 Stage 6
21:41 Stage 7
26:16 Stage 8
29:50 Ending & Credits
-----
Beat 'em Ups (e.g. Final Fight): youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvMhpG1GR9sk8OYiWQMZZTgl
2D Action (e.g. Metal Slug): youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvNFjpnJ59Th6N0IU1PSpD3d
STG/Shmups (e.g. Dodonpachi): youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFE6B3779BE759F71
![[SNES] Batman Returns - No Death Clear (Mania Difficulty)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tUfAvh_HVWE/mqdefault.jpg "[SNES] Batman Returns - No Death Clear (Mania Difficulty)
Batman Returns is a beat em up that Konami developed for the SNES back in 1992. It follows the events of the movie, although they take some creative liberties with the characters and progression in order to make a fun game out of it. And they did an excellent job! This is one of the best games on the SNES, one of the best console beat em ups, and probably the best Batman game ever made (I need to play the NES ones again). Theres really not much to criticize about it - they did a great job in every single area, from gameplay, to graphics, music, enemy design, pacing, difficulty - you name it. Im not really sure if this game is widely seen as a classic, but I feel like its underrated by every possible audience for it. Its absolutely great.
This is a no death clear on the highest difficulty, Mania. In this mode, Konami does the typical console game thing of giving you tons of lives, and leaving very few healing items throughout the stages (there are more on lower difficulties). I really dislike this design because it makes just clearing the game easy and unsatisfying, so you have to go all in and go for a deathless run in order to get a fun challenge out of it. And at least in Mania mode, most of the enemies do a lot of damage if they land a hit on you. Some bosses can even do 50-75% of your HP in one shot. So you really need to put in some work and memorize the hard parts, figure out good strategies for the bosses (the first Catwoman, and especially the Penguin fight is very tricky on Mania difficulty), and play carefully when you need to. Its fun, but Id have liked it balanced a little differently. But regardless, its a great game that every fan of beat em ups, or Batman in general should try out.
0:00 Intro
4:35 Scene 1 — Ambush in Gotham Plaza
9:40 Scene 2 — Battle in the Streets of Gotham City
17:07 Scene 3 — On the Prowl
21:20 Scene 4 — The Penguins Trap
26:03 Scene 5 — To the Batmobile!
29:37 Scene 6 — Circus Train
34:34 Scene 7 — The Penguins Lair
41:35 Ending & Credits
I played this on the BSNES emulator, but watching the replay back, it looks a little choppy at points. Maybe this emulator doesnt play nice with OBS? Im kinda annoyed about that to be honest. I own the game on the SNES, but playing on my PC is a lot more convenient for a bunch of reasons... Maybe Ill try a different emulator next time. Oh well.
Beat em Ups (e.g. Final Fight): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvMhpG1GR9sk8OYiWQMZZTgl
2D Action (e.g. Metal Slug): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvNFjpnJ59Th6N0IU1PSpD3d
STG/Shmups (e.g. Dodonpachi): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFE6B3779BE759F71")
![[4K60] Cyber Shadow - 100% Completion / All Story Scenes](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vl969ieEwT0/mqdefault.jpg "[4K60] Cyber Shadow - 100% Completion / All Story Scenes
0:00 Intro
2:45 Chapter 1
11:35 Chapter 2 - Disposal Facility
24:17 Chapter 3 - Mekacity Ruins
40:28 Chapter 4 - Reactor
59:05 Chapter 5 - Research Lab
1:15:48 Chapter 6 - Robot Factory
1:20:59 Chapter 7 - Outskirts
1:32:49 Chapter 8 - Return to Mekacity
1:53:12 Chapter 9 - Mekacity Docks
1:59:23 Chapter 10 - Meka Island Spaceport
2:06:31 Chapter 1 Revisited
2:08:44 Chapter 2 Revisited
2:10:39 Chapter 3 Revisited
2:12:36 Chapter 5? Revisited
2:12:58 Final Stage
2:14:13 Last Boss
2:18:25 Ending/Credits
Cyber Shadow is a new 2D ninja action game from Finnish developer Mechanical Head Studios, and published by Yacht Club Games. Its blatantly inspired by a number of retro action games (and even some modern ones), with Ninja Gaiden being the clearest example. It differs from the NES classics in a few ways, though. It has a bunch of health and magic upgrades to find, some permanent progression, and its relatively long in comparison. But I really enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to any action game fan. Its on Game Pass, so you have a very cheap option to try it out if youre interested.
Reusing the description I wrote for my boss video, Ill change it and fill in more detailed time stamps later today.
Beat em Ups (e.g. Final Fight): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvMhpG1GR9sk8OYiWQMZZTgl
2D Action (e.g. Metal Slug): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvNFjpnJ59Th6N0IU1PSpD3d
STG/Shmups (e.g. Dodonpachi): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFE6B3779BE759F71")
