RayForce

RayForce is a 1993 vertical shoot'em up from the legendary arcade company Taito. It ranks among the most respected shooters of its era and is still cited as one of the high points of the genre's arcade years in the early 1990s.

The key is a targeting system built on two planes of altitude. Your ship flies in the upper layer, destroying enemies at its own height with regular fire, while a lock-on sight marks targets far below and wipes them out with guided laser strikes. This gave the game a third dimension, a tactical layer and a crushing combo mechanic — the more targets locked at once, the higher the score. An electronic soundtrack with a cult following of its own drives it all forward.

1993 was the peak of the arcade shooter era and the competition was merciless; RayForce held its ground through technical spectacle and meticulous design in which every section has its own choreography. One or two players can take it on.

For today's player it is the perfect introduction to why Japanese arcade shooters are spoken of as craftsmanship: nothing here is accidental, from enemy placement to the difficulty curve.

Taito followed it with further titles in the Ray line, yet many fans still hold the original as the series' peak. Fair warning: this is a merciless game — arcades lived on coins and the difficulty reflects it, so treat your first runs as tuition.

Best of all, OldGame.cz runs RayForce directly in your browser — the two-layer targeting is one click away, no emulator setup required.