R-Type I
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
While shoot 'em ups reached new heights during the 16-bit
era, it was early 8-bit titles like Gradius and R-Type that
kickstarted the genre and really got it on its feet. R-Type
had originally appeared for a home console on the Sega
Master System, before NEC redid the game for the TG-16.
Released just as the Turbo was making its debut, R-Type was
the cream of the crop when it came to shooting titles: very
few shooters at that time could hold a candle to this game's
stunning visuals and non-stop action. It wasn't long,
however, before R-Type was surpassed by flashier titles like
Gate of Thunder, Gaiares and Axelay, and the game play in
this title will seem very outdated to most players today.
Your mission in R-Type is to maneuver your spectacular
battle cruiser (which is known as 'R9') through an
onslaught of enemy attackers and destroy the villainous BYDO
empire. This game is your typical, side-scrolling, space
shoot 'em up. At eight stages, R-Type is a relatively
lengthy game, but while some segments can be quite
challenging, most experienced gamers will be able to make it
through the entire adventure in a short amount of time.
You'll have three lives and three continues at your
disposal, but it will only take one hit to wipe out your
ship. It's important to remain on your toes and not get
careless in R-Type, as making even the slightest bit of
contact with inanimate walls and objects will be enough to
cost you a life.
As you might expect, there are various power-up icons that
you can pick up as you mow down the enemy forces. There are
three different types of lasers that you can make use of
besides your main beam; the type of laser that you acquire
is dependent upon the color of the icon that you pick up.
Obtaining a blue icon will give you a reflecting laser that
shoots in a diagonal direction and bounces off of walls as
it tears through enemy attackers. Grabbing a red icon will
enable you to use a ring laser that shoots out in circles
and plows through enemies that are attacking you head-on.
Yellow icons grant you the power to use a ground laser that
will spread out and demolish the members of BYDO's forces
that reside on the ground or ceiling.
One of the very few intriguing aspects of the game is the
pod that appears each time you acquire a special laser
weapon. The pod will fly on its own when it first appears,
firing beams at the same time that you do. You can choose to
bring the pod in closer to your ship and connect the two
entities if you so wish to. Not only will this attachment
add strength to your attacks, but the pod will also serve as
a defense mechanism, as it prevents many types of enemy
shots from reaching your ship. Each consecutive time that
you pick up an icon denoting the type of laser you are
using, the pod will get bigger (there are three different
sizes in all that the pod can assume). You can attach the
pod to either the front or the rear of R9, and you can also
detach it whenever you want to. Detaching it will cause the
pod to quickly shoot out in a straight line, injuring any
enemies that it comes in contact with. Learning how to
effectively use the pod in this manner will essentially add
an extra, powerful weapon to your arsenal.
There are a few other icons that will strengthen your ship
should you grab them. Snatching up the appropriate icons
will allow the R9 to shoot missiles as well as gain an
option to fly along its side. There are also speed boosters,
which are actually invaluable in this game. Most outer-space
shooting games choose to ignore the fact that they're
actually requiring you to control a big, heavy, mechanical
lug of a ship, but not R-Type. The R9 is very slow and
sluggish, and can be awfully frustrating to control in spots
where it's necessary to quickly cover the entire screen from
top to bottom. Of course, the humongous enemies you face can
move as quickly as they want to. Until you pick up a speed
booster, the R9 will basically be a sitting duck.
As you might expect in a game that was designed well over a
decade ago, the controls in R-Type are simplistic and should
be easy to master. The control pad is used to fly the R9,
while Button I is used to attach and shoot off your pod and
Button II acts as the trigger for your lasers. Holding down
Button II will charge up your beam and allow you to fire a
powerful shot that can rip through multiple enemies and
cause massive damage. You'll be virtually defenseless,
however, while your cannon is charging up. I prefer to fly
through most sections of the game with the turbo switch for
Button II cranked all the way up; although this will prevent
you from charging up your beam, it will allow you to fire
off numerous shots at once and you'll annihilate most
creatures just as easily as if you had chosen to use the
super shot.
As basic as it is, there are a few interesting twists that
R-Type throws at you throughout its eight stages. For
example, Stage Three consists of a single enormous
battleship that you must circle around and completely
demolish. This level requires crafty use of the pod, not
only as an offensive aid, but also as a method of defending
your ship when you can't quite hit some of the cannons that
will be firing at you. Also, most of the bosses will demand
that you discover their weak point before you can hurt them,
and making these discoveries can be somewhat difficult at times.
The sound in R-Type is certainly serviceable, but it really
doesn't heighten the experience at all. If anything, the
constant sound of your lasers firing away isn't all that
rough on the ears, which is basically all you could ask for
at the time that R-Type was released. The music, while
upbeat at times, generally sounds slow and daunting. It fits
the action well, but it's nothing that you'd want to crank
through your stereo system.
The most impressive aspect of R-Type, particularly when it
was first released, is its visual appeal. The R9 is
well-drawn and extremely detailed, especially in contrast to
the ships that were featured in most other early shooters.
You'll come across plenty of gigantic, fearsome enemies,
some of which will take up your entire screen (the
battleship in Stage Three is so big that only segments of it
can be viewed at any one time). While the backgrounds are
somewhat flat, they are still very colorful and attractive.
For their time, the graphics in R-Type were astounding and
revolutionary.
Unfortunately, as the years go by, the things that used to
blow us away eventually degenerate into nostalgic
remembrances that pale in comparison with the trends of the
present day. R-Type is still a solid shooting game with
attractive visuals - but don't expect anything special from
it anymore.
Overall: 7 out of 10
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