Layer Section - JP Sega Saturn

Layer Section for the Sega Saturn is the home port of Taito's celebrated 1994 arcade vertical shooter RayForce — renamed for the Japanese Saturn release due to trademark issues, and one of the finest shmups available on the platform. Set in a distant future where humanity's own supercomputer Con-Human has turned against its creators and begun exterminating all organic life, players pilot the lone starfighter RVA-818 X-LAY across seven stages of desperate combat — from planetary atmospheres and mountain ranges to the outer reaches of space — on a suicide mission to destroy the machine at its core.

The game's defining innovation is its dual-layer attack system — widely cited as the first game to implement it. The main forward shot handles enemies in the foreground on the same plane as the player, while a targeting reticle constantly sweeps ahead of the ship and locks on to enemies in the background layer below. Locking onto up to eight targets at once and releasing a cascade of homing laser fire is the game's signature mechanic, adding a strategic depth — and a hypnotic visual spectacle — that set it apart from its contemporaries. Both weapons have six power levels, upgraded by collecting items from downed enemies.

Released in Japan in 1995 and released in North America and Europe as Galactic Attack by Acclaim, Layer Section is the only standalone physical release of the game on any home console in Japan. The complete Ray series — RayForce, RayStorm, and RayCrisis — was collected in the Ray'z Arcade Chronology for Nintendo Switch and PS4 in March 2023, but the original Saturn disc remains the most prized physical version among import collectors. This is a Japan-import disc. The Sega Saturn is region-locked and will only play on a Japanese Sega Saturn or a region-free modded unit.

Full Title: レイヤーセクション (Layer Section / RayForce)
Language: Japanese — no reading ability required to play
Rating: N/A (Japan release)
Platform: Sega Saturn
Genre: Vertical Shoot-'em-Up
Players: 1 player
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Release Year: 1995 (Japan release: 1995)

Important: The Sega Saturn is region-locked. This Japanese import disc will only play on a Japanese Sega Saturn or a region-free modded unit.

** Screenshots are from the arcade version