History VideoGame / RaySeries

* MisbegottenMultiplayerMode: In a 2-player game of ''[=RayForce=]'', the number of lock-ons per player is halved. This is meant to prevent the game from being easier with two players, but it also severely reduces scoring potential, as the bonus for destroying enemies with lock-ons increases geometrically the more lasers you fire at once.

''[=RayForce=]'' is the first game, and is set in a future in which the many nations of Earth assemble a supercomputer called "Con-Human" to govern the Earth's natural resources. As a result of an attempt to fuse Con-Human with the mind of a cloned human, [[AIIsACrapShoot Con-Human goes apeshit]] and starts destroying living organisms all across the Earth and transforming it into what it perceives as a newer, better version of it and its life forms. Humanity attempts to flee to space colonies, only to get hunted down by Con-Human there as well. Naturally, this being a shoot 'em up, [[ItsUpToYou it's up to one or two ships]] to [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroy the Earth]] in order to put an end to Con-Human before it can destroy the rest of the human race.\\

''[=RayStorm=]'' is the second game in the series, and is the first to use three-dimensional graphics. Set in [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 2219 A.D.]] and in a different timeline from ''[=RayForce=]'' and ''[=RayCrisis=]'', Earth establishes a group of space colonies known as the Star Federation. But at some point, the colonies decide to mutiny, form an alliance known as the Secilia Federation, and strike against Earth. The player sets off from Earth in order to defend Earth from the rebellious Secilia Federation.\\

''[=RayCrisis=]'' is the third and final game of the series, and is a prequel to ''[=RayForce=]''. Set just before the events of ''[=RayForce=]'', ''[=RayCrisis=]'' takes the fight away from space and Earth and instead puts you in the role of a hacker striving to shut down the Con-Human by using a computer virus. This being a shoot 'em up, said virus takes the form of a ship that flies through an ExtremeGraphicalRepresentation of Con-Human's systems and attempts to destroy it from within.\\

* NintendoHard: It's an arcade ShootEmUp series, after all. The first game doesn't even grant you a SmartBomb to defend yourself with. In addition, many enemies have quick laser attacks and {{homing laser|s}} attacks that are very difficult to outsmart.