Review: Arcade Archives NebulasRay (Switch) -Cut After Decades Of Waiting

Namco’s 1994 shoot ’em up NebulasRay emerges as a unique entry in the timeline of arcade gaming. Released several months before Rare amazed audiences with the CGI graphics of Donkey Kong Country, it stands out as one of the early instances of a 2D video game utilizing pre-rendered imagery, giving an illusion of 3D depth. Unavailable on any home consoles until now, it finally sees a release through Hamster’s Arcade Archives collection—a wish we expressed back in 2017 during our assessment of the Namco Museum lineup on the Switch’s launch.

At first glance, NebulasRay appears as a standard futuristic vertical shooter. You pilot the ‘Fighting Ray’ spacecraft to battle the nefarious Master Force organization. Your ship can equip two primary weapons—a wide ‘W’ shot and a ‘G’ laser that fires straight ahead—collecting more icons to enhance your chosen weapon. You can also increase your ship’s speed by seizing ‘S’ icons.

Secondary weapons add an intriguing layer to the game. ‘F’ delivers a robust four-wide shot, whereas ‘H’ is a homing laser. ‘L’ unleashes a lightning attack, while ‘D’ grants a shield for defense against enemy fire.

The twist with these secondary arms is their temporary availability; they only last for a brief period, and an annoying alarm sounds when they are about to expire. This creates a unique rhythm to NebulasRay, as you may find your secondary weapon running out just when you need it most, heightening the suspense.

Your ship is equipped with a screen-clearing bomb attack, which is distinctive for its delayed effect. This delay means you might still get hit by enemy fire just before the bomb activates—so don’t count on it to save you in tough situations. Fortunately, dying in NebulasRay doesn’t shove you back to a checkpoint; you respawn instantly and can collect a ‘Full’ icon to immediately enhance your firepower, easing your journey just a bit.

This is beneficial, as NebulasRay presents a formidable challenge, even though it’s not strictly part of the ‘bullet hell’ category. The difficulty is mostly fair, but some enemy assaults (particularly from bosses) demand nearly superhuman reflexes to evade, making repetition and memorization crucial.

From a visual standpoint, NebulasRay’s CGI graphics—one of its main attractions at its 1994 launch—serve as both an advantage and a hindrance. Consequently, level design is rather predictable, showcasing the standard array of asteroid fields, space stations, and Earth-like terrains. It’s fair to say many pre-rendered 2D games from this era have aged poorly, and while Namco’s shooter isn’t ugly, there are instances where it struggles in comparison to Taito’s RayForce / Layer Section, released the same year.

Nonetheless, despite its rough CGI textures, there are moments where NebulasRay dazzles visually; in the outer space sections, shifting your craft from left to right causes the star field in the background to tilt, suggesting 3D motion. On a later stage, set in a Death Star-like trench, the depth perception is impressively convincing as the canyon sides shift perspective. Furthermore, some colossal bosses exhibit smooth animations, making them quite a sight to behold.

The music, crafted by Masahiro Fukuzawa and Takayuki Ishikawa, offers a typical mid-’90s blend of electro-pop and atmospheric sounds, serving as a pleasant (if not particularly unforgettable) backdrop for the gameplay. Nevertheless, the repetitive voice samples are of low quality and can be somewhat irritating, especially the high-pitched female voice.

Conclusion

In the end, NebulasRay appears to have achieved cult classic status mainly because so few individuals have had the chance to experience it. It’s an enjoyable romp that’s even more fun with a friend, and with some restrictions on continues, it provides a robust challenge for shmup enthusiasts. However, the CGI graphics do date the title, and the weapon mechanics arguably lack the creativity seen in contemporaneous games, such as RayForce’s lock-on laser feature.

It’s important to mention that NebulasRay comes with a premium price within the Arcade Archives lineup, costing (as of now) $14.99 / £13.49, while the standard price is $7.99 / £6.29. Still, if you’re keen on possessing a slice of gaming history and have a soft spot for the genre, this title is definitely worth a try.