The three main shmups in Taito's 'Ray' series will be flying onto Switch as a part of a special digital collection titled Ray'z Arcade Chronology from 30th June.

Not to be confused with the RayStorm X RayCrisis HD Collection that was revealed back in April, this collection consists of the two HD games and the original trilogy of RayForce, RayStorm and RayCrisis for those who want to see where it all started for the classic shmup series.

Published by ININ Games, the Ray'Z Arcade Chronology was initially put up for a physical release via Strictly Limited Games with a playable stage from the series' unreleased successor to RayForce, R-Gear, also included. However, with all pre-orders for this physical release now sold out, it looks like the digital version will be the only way to experience the trilogy, notably coming without the previously-included R-Gear bonus.

Here are some more details on the titles that are included in the collection from ININ Games:

Released in 1996 and ported to several consoles, including the SEGA Saturn, PlayStation and XBOX 360, RayStorm takes place in a parallel universe to RayForce and RayCrisis, where humanity has expanded its space colonies all the way to Orion’s Belt. Unfortunately, the rebellious colony of Secilia overthrows the government and plans to obliterate the earth and all the people on it. To counter it, Earth sends out a covertly-developed fighter codenamed the R-Gray (that’s you, buddy) in hopes of penetrating the Secilian atmosphere and obliterating Secilia’s base of operations.

Set in a cyberspace environment, RayCrisis was originally released in 1998 for TAITO G-NET arcade hardware, and marked a stylistic departure from the rest of the series, featuring for the first time 3D graphics. A prequel to RayForce, it details the events during the time in which the supercomputer called Con-Human gained sentience and rebelled against its human creators. While the Earth is being demolished, a cyberspace hacker launches a desperate assault to jack into the supercomputer’s virtual core and cease its insanity. It is up to you and the Waveriders to keep the malicious AI from causing any more chaos – even if it could be too late, the least you can do is ensure that no more lives are lost in the real world by ending it in the digital realm.

TAITO’s original Ray’Z Arcade Chronology will also come to the West with five versions of three titles. Together with RayForce, RayCrisis and their HD remasters, you get the opportunity to play the original Arcade version of RayForce, released in 1994 and responsible for revolutionizing the “two attack layer system”, undoubtedly changing the face of shoot ’em ups.

The Ray'Z Arcade Chronology collection will be available to download from the Switch eShop on 30th June for £43.99 / €49.99.

Will you be shooting through the trilogy later this month? Let us know in the comments.