In many ways Taito’s Layer Section II, known in arcades and on other formats as RayStorm, isn’t all that special. We’ve had the concept of “below” in shmups since at least Xevious (1982), and even this sort of tilt-perspective 3D shmup is technically old hat—Jelda did its own wireframe version of the “overhead but also behind” thing all the way back in 1984, predating Game Arts’ Silpheed by several years.
What does set this game apart from the rest is the infectious enthusiasm and sheer joy that permeates these distinctive elements and then melds them together. The game gives the impression it’s excited you’re going to play it, and it’s determined to show you all the cool things it can do at any and every opportunity. The three dimensional space created by Layer Section II’s polygonal environments is so much more than just a modernised way of presenting the genre: it’s an interactive location, somewhere enemy ships can fly under and through scenery at high speed, where moving tanks, made to look tiny by the physical distance between them and you, are placed on top of elevated roads, behind skyscrapers.
The thought and care put into every geographical feature, every raised platform casting a shadow onto the water below, every deep trench to be pushed through, gives the game a sense of scale not often found in the genre. Your flight through Layer Section II constantly shifts and soars, taking the time to make sure large and impressive objects scrape past the camera as you play, the confidence in its own artistry only making these scenes feel even more dramatic. “Hey,” says Layer Section II “Did you see the detail on this thing? Well there’s two of them on the screen now and half a dozen smaller 3D guys just scrolled into view—have fun!”
The game’s epic boss battles follow the same train of thought, with the final one memorably enveloping you in its final phase, towering overhead like some sort of terrifying spider-cage. These oversized opponents also possess one of my favourite shmup features of all time: destructible parts. Every missile, laser, and explosive mine they unleash comes out of a very specific orifice and if you blow that up they can’t use it any more. So if you shoot out a boss’ left side laser array that attack will only be able to come from the functional right side—it sounds so obvious when you say it out loud, but this level of detail’s a rare and precious thing. Not only does it feel fantastic to shut down a powerful attack a split second before it fills the screen with glowy death, it also adds a tactical edge to your shooting too, allowing you to prioritise specific targets rather than blindly blast away until the game says you can move on.
All three ships (the “prototype” and normally semi-secret R-Gray 0 is considered a standard craft in Layer Section II, available everywhere and always) used to pummel these gigantic enemies into submission have significant differences between them, each clearly emphasising a particular style of play long before you’re good enough to actually adjust your shooting to their respective strengths. This clarity is a precious thing: knowing what to do, even when you aren’t actually capable of doing it yourself, gives your experiences some direction, a chance to take a step towards the shmup mastery and high scores patiently waiting in the distance. The inflexibility of the game’s lock-on targeting—the reticle always a set distance ahead—and the plethora of dangerous enemies that never rise up to meet your standard shot line is another quietly educational feature, forcing you to get out of your safe spots and take out these targets before they unleash a barrage of lasers or a clutch of rockets.
Further teaching comes in the form of the game’s strong focus on lock-on and chaining, helping you see the subtle synergy found in every enemy placement: the group that just happen to swoop by another set, the slow enemy ship positioned underneath the flight path of a fast trio, the two groups that sweep in from opposite sides and meet in the middle. Every stage is packed with “teases” like this, a hundred little dares encouraging you to push yourself a little further, to throw away the safety of simple shooting in exchange for the potential to achieve something greater. It’s very easy to see all the places you could improve your Layer Section II game just by flying through the levels and paying attention, and if you ask me that’s always the best sort of way to discover these tricks. This way it feels like a personal discovery and a fresh avenue to explore, rather than a more prescriptive “No, you’re doing this wrong, copy this guide to do it right”.
There are two ways to learn the ropes: Normal Mode and Attack Mode. The former is the standard arcade game… well, arcade-ish. New and exclusive FMV movies neatly bookend the arcade experience, and a few additional cinematic cutscenes preface several stages too—I’m sure you’ll be pleased to learn these are short and fun if you want to see them, and easily dismissed if you don’t. There’s a good variety of brand new loading screen art too, and enough of it to ensure you can’t see all of it in a run or two. Other than that, it’s arcade RayStorm as usual.
The latter is a single stage score attack mode, allowing you to challenge any level you’ve already cleared (bar the final boss) with a fully powered up ship and an infinite supply of lives. A detailed scoreboard records not just the total number of points and the ship you used for your best run but also the percentage of enemies destroyed and the number of those shot down using the lock-on feature, offering multiple ways to try and outdo yourself.
Hopefully you will want to outdo yourself as there are no unlockable extras in here of any kind: no free play credits option, no new modes, no new ships. I feel as though I’m supposed to protest, but to be honest it’s quite nice to have everything there ready to go (outside of Attack Mode’s stages, that is) from the moment you turn the power on, it gives Layer Section II that instant “Yeah, let’s go for it!” arcade buzz you’d hope to find in a game like this.
Layer Section II may not be arcade perfect, as stacked with extras as the better known PlayStation port , or as sharp as the later HD ports to Xbox, iPhone, and everywhere else—and I love it for those differences. I love that unmistakable Saturn look, all crunchy and raw and with mesh-style faked transparencies everywhere, every 3D model looking like they were hewn directly out of polygonal rock. I love that the extras that are in here are unobtrusive enough to be ignored (or skipped) if you’re not in the mood for them, but still significant enough to be enjoyed when you are. I love that Attack Mode is a challenge I can dip into as I please, rather than some arranged mode so different or tough it feels like I have to restructure my entire life around it for the next month just to get anywhere in it.
I love it so much I don’t want to play RayStorm at all—I want another go on Layer Section II.
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Kimimi The Game-Eating She-Monster 