Namco’s 1994 shmup NebulasRay is a type of video games which arrived at an odd level within the historical past of arcade gaming. Launching many months earlier than Uncommon surprised the world with the CGI sprites of Donkey Kong Nation, it was one of many earliest examples of a 2D online game constructed round pre-rendered visuals, creating the impression of 3D depth. It was by no means ported to any residence console, and that has solely lastly modified because of its inclusion in Hamster’s Arcade Archives vary—one thing we would beforehand hoped for out loud again in 2017 once we reviewed the Namco Museum assortment in Change’s debut yr.
On the floor, NebulasRay is your typical futuristic vertically-scrolling shooter. You’re taking management of the ‘Preventing Ray’ spaceship and face off towards the sinister Grasp Power organisation. Your craft can equip two major weapons—a large ‘W’ shot and ‘G’ a laser which fires ahead—and selecting up extra of those icons powers up your chosen weapon. You can even increase your craft’s velocity by grabbing the ‘S’ icons.
Secondary weapons are the place the sport will get just a little extra fascinating. ‘F’ is a strong four-wide shot, whereas ‘H’ is a homing laser. ‘L’ unleashes a lightning-style assault, whereas ‘D’ provides you a defend to guard towards enemy assaults.
The catch with these secondary gadgets is that they are time-limited; you solely have them for a couple of seconds, and a relatively irritating klaxon sounds to point after they’re about to expire. This lends NebulasRay a singular cadence, as you may usually discover that your secondary armament runs out simply on the level you want it, which retains the strain excessive.
Your ship additionally has a screen-clearing bomb assault, which is uncommon in that it takes a brief second to create an influence. This implies you possibly can generally succumb to an enemy projectile or collision regardless—so do not depend on it to avoid wasting your bacon in an intense firefight. On the plus facet, demise in NebulasRay doesn’t suggest you get pushed again to a checkpoint; you respawn immediately and have the prospect to select up a ‘Full’ icon to spice up your firepower instantly, making issues ever-so-slightly simpler.
That is a superb factor, too, as NebulasRay is a difficult sport, even for a title that is not technically within the ‘bullet hell’ sub-genre. Whereas the problem is never on the unfair facet, there are specific enemy assaults (often executed by bosses) which require near-superhuman reflexes to keep away from, so repeat play and memorisation are vital.
Visually, NebulasRay’s CGI graphics—certainly one of its key promoting factors at launch in 1994—are each a blessing and a curse. In consequence, stage design is pretty unsurprising; you have obtained the standard mixture of asteroid belts, house stations and Earth-like worlds. It is truthful to say that many pre-rendered 2D video games from this era have aged very badly certainly, and whereas Namco’s shmup can hardly be described as ugly, there are moments when it compares relatively unfavourably to the likes of Taito’s RayForce / Layer Part, which launched in the identical yr.
Nevertheless, for all of its tough CGI edges, there are occasions when NebulasRay is visually gorgeous; within the outer house ranges, transferring your ship from left to proper really causes the star subject within the background to tilt, giving the impression of 3D motion. On a later degree, set in a Demise Star-style trench, the sense of depth is definitely fairly putting as the perimeters of the canyon shift perspective convincingly. Likewise, a few of the screen-filling bosses are animated very easily, making them spectacular to behold.
The soundtrack, composed by Masahiro Fukuzawa and Takayuki Ishikawa, is a typical mid-’90s fusion of electro-pop and atmosphere that serves as a superb (if not significantly memorable) backdrop to the on-screen motion. Nevertheless, the repetitive voice samples are low-quality and considerably annoying, particularly the squeaky feminine voice.
Conclusion
Finally, NebulasRay appears like a title that has gained cult traditional standing just because so few folks have really had the chance to play it. It is a respectable blast that is jolly good enjoyable with an extra participant, and should you restrict your self on the subject of continues, it provides a stern take a look at for shmup followers. Nevertheless, the CGI visuals date the sport, and the weapon system arguably lacks the inventiveness of different titles from the identical time interval, akin to RayForce’s lock-on laser mechanic.
It is also price noting that NebulasRay carries a premium price ticket throughout the Arcade Archives vary, retailing for (on the time of writing) $14.99 / £13.49, whereas the normal worth is $7.99 / £6.29. Nonetheless, should you’re fascinated about proudly owning a bit of coin-op historical past and have a smooth spot for the style, then it’s best to positively examine this one out.
