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GAME OF THE MONTH
COLLECTION:
R * TYPE
(IREM, 1987)
Here's one game series that may never die! The Legendary R Type!! Many shooters have vanished over the years like Blazing Lazers, Twin Corba, Axelay and countless others that are stuck in the past, but the R Type series is one of the few that has contiuned on. First released overhere in 1987 by Nintendo in the arcades R Type was a single quarter stand up arcade shooting game in deep space. So what was so special about this game anyways? The near impossible difficulty, the errie space music, the new and revolutionary charge BEAM weapon, and the original and amazing graphics. R Type Rules!
The bosses in R*TYPE are incredible! Here is the defensive boss one.
The story is about the
lone mission of a sole surviving R-9spaceship to destroy the evil Bydo Empire
that threatens the entire galaxy. You have 8stages to learn and master if you
hope to kill the Bydo leader itself and it won't be easy. Unlike other shooters,
R*Type forces you to think and plan how to pass a level, for example; in stage
3 you have to avoid being crushed by a huge battleship by learning the pattern
on how its gonna move and in level 7 many enemies will appear from behind to
attack. "This is one tough game with a lot of traps!" When the game
starts you'll notice your R-9 comes equiped with a special weapon not found
in the usual shooter. If you hold down the fire button your Beam guage will
fill up below and now you can fire a powerful blue plasma shot......... great
for killing some of the bosses and bigger enemies.
Stage 3 is a giant battleship that fills the screen. Good luck!
Thankfully your R-9 can
get some awesome weaponary to help you on your difficult mission. First there
is the Force Pod, this wicked device not only guards your ship from most attacks
by attaching itself to the back and front of you ship, but it can also fire
three different weapons. Each of the three multi-coloured weapons works differently;
blue is the reflect laser and is great for taking out a large group of enemies
and may be the smartest gun to use in the game but it also the weakest weapon,
yellow fires snake-like lasers upward and downward to the ground and ceiling
and is good for defensive reasons but it's useless in some level (like level
5), and finally the red weapon is a powerful circular laser that has half the
power of a fully charged Beam shot and is a great weapon for the R Type pro's
out there.
No other game look like this!
"I love the graphics in this game" The strange gates on the level (pictured above), the absolutely huge bosses you have to wear down, the funky techno look of stage 6, and lots more just add a unique look that gives R Type so much personality. The sound also works well for the game and the music in stage7 (the ruined city) is hard to get out of my head and fits perfectly for that errie level. The realistic sound effects are also effective. I think R Type would make a great looking Sci-fi movie
R Type is easily one of the most original games of the late 1980's and it's well worth playing it to just to see all the exciting levels this game has to offer. One minute your fighting other spaceships in a cell invested space and then the next level your blowing up alien snakes in a organic tunnel. It can be annoying when only one hit can kill you and you have to start again with nothing but if you have the guts to play it you'll find R Type to be very rewarding.
R * TYPE
overall rating 80/100
graphics: 8
sound: 8
gameplay: 9
Here's a list of list of R Type's throughout time, buy them all:
R*TYPE (Nintendo/Irem, 1987, Arcade)
R*TYPE (Sega, 1988,
Sega Master System)
Includes a hidden alien level not in the arcade game.
R*TYPE (NEC/Irem,
1989, TurboGrafx-16)
Now you have to fight a new boss on level 6.
R*TYPE II (Irem, 1989, Arcade)
Even more difficult then the first.
R*TYPE (Irem, 1990,
Gameboy)
Levels 4 and 5 are gone here.
Super R*Type (Irem,
1991, Super Nintendo)
A R Type II remix.
R*TYPE LEO (Irem,
1992, Arcade)
A rare two player game of R*Type.
My R*TYPE III Artwork!
R*TYPE III (Jaleco/Irem, 1994, Super Nintendo)
Select from three unique Force pods in this 6level game.
R*TYPES (Ascii/Irem, March 2000, Sony Playstation)
R Type and R Type II
R*TYPE DX (Nintendo/Irem, April 2000, Gameboy Color)
R Type and R Type II slightly downgraded.
R*Type Delta (Agetec/Irem,
September 2000, Sony Playstation)
The newest version of R Type pushes some 3Dgraphics.
OTHER
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