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Taito shoots RayStorm HD at North America May 5
Shooter fans in the mood for something with a bit more of a classical sensibility than the insane "bullet hell" shmups being made these days should look forward to May 5. Square Enix just announced the North American release date for the XBLA RayStorm HD, the updated remake of a classic Taito vertical shooter (but not the one with the robot fish), and it's the same May 5 date at which Japanese Xbox owners (both of them) and PlayStation 3 owners will be able to get the game. Sadly, no PSN release date was included in the announcement -- something about which we're checking with the publisher.
Raystorm HD storming Japanese XBLA and PSN May 5
Though "mum" is still the word on the stateside release plans of Taito's renovated shoot-em-up Raystorm HD, Japanese scrolling aerial warfare enthusiasts will be pleased to know the game's recently announced, completely imminent release date. According to Japanese gaming news site Game Watch, Taito has confirmed the game will arrive in Japan on XBLA May 5 for 1,200 and PSN May 6 for 1,500 yen. Just like every other time we've written about Raystorm HD, we'll contact Taito to see if we can find out anything about the game's North American release. Should we hear anything back, we'll travel directly to Vegas, because we've obviously been stricken with an impossible amount of good fortune.
Raystorm HD footage blasts onto the scene
Although we're still confused about Raystorm HD's Stateside shmupping plans, it hasn't stopped the Japanese from getting a new teaser video of the shooter onto Famitsu. The update isn't a full-blown graphics overhaul like other HD-ifications we've seen, but the game does get a pretty new dress to wear to the futuristic barn dance ... that's full of explosions, we guess. A non-HD video of the original Raystorm can be found after the break. The new game will allegedly come with worldwide online rankings and, according to Siliconera, "an area for players to post replay data." We're still trying to confirm if the game is coming this fall to XBLA and PSN in North America. [Via Siliconera]
Rumor: Raystorm remake and Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure coming to XBLA
Taito's had a glut of classic-title remakes hit current-gen consoles as of late -- and if a recent rumor proves to be true, its streak shows no signs of stopping. NeoGAF user Shard recently posted some supposedly leaked images from the developer's next project -- an Xbox Live Arcade version of PS1 top-down shoot-em-up Raystorm (aptly titled Raystorm HD).Mr. Shard also supposedly dug up images of an XBLA version of Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure, a recent WiiWare release. That's great and all, but we're far more intrigued by the possibility of a renovated version of Taito's classic shooter, which features weaponized lightning. We've contacted Taito to see if they'll comment on the rumored screens. Stay tuned![Via GamerBytes]
Space Invaders Get Even cheaper, more nostalgic
We thought we had already hit optimum levels of yaaaayness over Space Invaders Get Even with the announcement that the game would be heading to WiiWare, but it just gets better. Fresh scans from the innards of Famitsu have revealed that the title will be as cheap as a WiiWare game can possibly be: a measly 500 Wii Points. To put that in perspective, that's the same as half of Cruis'n USA or SPOGS Racing.That cost could escalate slightly, for Famitsu confirms that there will be downloadable stages (Square Enix is no stranger to DLC on WiiWare), but 500 Wii Points for the barebones package is still outstanding value. Oh, and there's even the odd Taito tribute thrown in for good measure, such as the ability to play as ships from company classics Darius and RayStorm. Want, want, want.%Gallery-25384%
Square Enix to release PS1 classics, begins with Xenogears
According to a NeoGAF posting, this month's Dengeki PlayStation reveals the very first PS1 games Square Enix will revive on the Japanese PSN. The titles will be available for 600 yen each, and will begin releasing in Japan today. There are twelve titles planned, starting with Xenogears. However, there are a number of other titles to be released today, such as Einhander, Astronoka, Rakugaki Showtime, Raystorm and Fighters Impact. While none of these titles feature the words "Final" or "Fantasy" in them, many are considered classics of the PS1 era. Titles like Xenogears can be pretty rare, so these re-releases are of great convenience to those that missed them at first. At only 600 yen each, this is an incredible bargain, especially when one considers the ability to play these downloadables on both the PS3 and on the go with the PSP.Unfortunately, SCEA and Square Enix USA haven't announced any similar plans to release English language versions of these classics. We hope that they follow suit soon.[Thanks, Noshino!]
