NebulasRay

1994 arcade game

NebulasRay (ネビュラスレイ, NebyurasuRei) is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game developed and released by Namco in 1994. Players take control of a starship named the Fighting Ray through a series of levels in its mission to eradicate the universe of an intergalactic organization named the Master Force. It is noteworthy for its usage of pre rendering, where 3D models are converted into 2D sprites, creating the illusion of a 3D world. NebulasRay was developed by the same team of Namco employees that created the vertical shooter Fighter & Attacker (1992). They chose to create another shooter because of their dissatisfaction with the quality of shooters at the time. The game was well received, particularly for its graphical style. Reviewers also praised its gameplay, array of weapons, and soundtrack. Some felt it was hindered by its high difficulty level and similarity to other games.

NebulasRay is a vertical scrolling shooter. The story revolves around an ongoing war between humans and an intergalactic organization named the Master Force. The player controls the Fighting Ray through six scrolling stages that increase in difficulty. Several of these weapons only last for a certain amount of time. They chose to create another shooter because of their dissatisfaction with the quality of the genre at the time and wanting to improve on faults present in their previous game. The development of NebulasRay began in 1993 and lasted for 8 months. As a workaround, the team used pre rendering to convert 3D models into 2D sprites, thus creating the illusion of a 3D game. The idea was suggested by a staff member that thought it would make the game more realistic than what sprite based games could accomplish. The soundtrack was composed by Masahiro Fukuzawa and Takayuki Ishikawa, who wanted its music to feel empowering and thrilling for players. In advertising material, Namco highlighted its pre rendered graphics and two player simultaneous play. It was released midway in the year in North America and was later demonstrated at the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) tradeshow in Illinois. Victor Entertainment released its soundtrack in July as the thirteenth volume in its Namco Game Sound Express series.

Critics applauded NebulasRay for its unique visual style. A reviewer for Electronic Gaming Monthly commended the quality of its sprite layering techniques and for having some of the best graphics in a scrolling shooter yet: "If you have been waiting for a really great shooter, your collective prayers have been answered in spades!" One found it to be as impressive as those in Ridge Racer (1993), while another said it made other shooters look dated in comparison.