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Summary

Rayxanber III is a fast‑paced horizontal scrolling shooter for the PC Engine Super CD‑ROM² that feels like a love letter to R‑Type. You pilot a sleek ship through six ever‑scrolling stages, each packed with alien formations and looming bosses that only stop the scroll when they appear. The visual style leans heavily into sci‑fi, with vibrant sprites that pop against constantly moving backdrops.
The game’s weapon system revolves around three colored units you collect from downed carriers; each unit grants a pair of rotating satellite options and can be powered up to its limit. A dash maneuver lets you zip past dense fire, while a secondary charge attack launches two missiles, and a quick double‑tap turns the shot into homing missiles for extra crowd control.
Progress is saved at checkpoints, so a death drops you back to the last marker but you keep unlimited continues. Losing a life strips you of your current weapon and reduces firepower, adding a strategic penalty to each hit.
Rayxanber III was crafted by Team 50, Data West’s internal crew that also handled the earlier entries. Designer Kazuhide Nakamura returned, Naokazu Akita produced, and artists like Takeharu Igarashi supplied the pixel art while Yasuhito Saito composed a synth‑heavy soundtrack that echoes the series’ previous scores.
At launch critics praised the graphics, sound and overall fun, yet they slammed the framerate, collision detection and steep difficulty, calling it less innovative than contemporaries such as Gate of Thunder. Retrospectives have been kinder, often listing it among the PC Engine’s top shooters for its balanced design and striking visuals. An English version was teased for a December 1992 release and shown at CES, but it never materialized, and the publisher has said a digital re‑release would only happen if enough demand appears.

Storyline

Rayxanber III puts you in the seat of a fighter pilot piloting the ES3 Donner Kyle spacecraft. Your mission is to strike the Zoul Empire’s homeworld after they annihilated an Earth mother‑ship. The game’s narrative frames the assault as retaliation, driving the player through hostile alien environments as they seek revenge for the destroyed vessel.

Edited by Maya Carter