R-TYPE Category: Arcade
Copyright: Irem
Prod. Year: 1987
Programming: Unknown
Graphics: Unknown
Sound: Unknown
Review:R-Type is one of my all time favorite video games, probably up in my top 5. The laundromat near me has had the machine set up there for about 10 years now, and everytime I'm there, which is rather frequently, I try and play it through to the end. I've probably spent enough on that machine to buy 10 copies of the PSX R-Types collection (which I do own, btw), considering it was reasonably priced. It's that good. Well, enough with my life story, let's get down to the review.
Graphics and SoundOver 10 years old and they still amaze me. They're very colorful and detailed, especially for when it was released (1987, if I recall correctly). I love the design of the boss monsters and the R-Type ship, and some of the stages are absolutley breathtaking. The overall graphic design of the game kind of reminds me of the art of H.R Giger, so fans of his might appreciate this game just for that. This is a beautiful looking game.
The sound has your standard shoother blasts and explosions, and I'll admit that the soundtrack isn't exactly ground breaking, but it's really not that bad in the whole scheme of things. I really like the music in the first stage though, but that's really the only piece of music I really enjoied, but it doesn't matter. In shooters like this, the sound category is what I pay the least attention to, so it's alright with me.
ControlNice, tight and responsive. This game would be a disaster without good control, IMHO, but luckily this is a category where it really shines. There are some stages where if the controls were too loose, it would mean death, so I'm glad Irem took care to make sure they didn't do a subpar job on the controls.
Gameplay and ReplayabilityChallenge and memorization are the name of the game here. If you think you can just get by on your reflexes, think again. It all starts off easily enough, and you should probably get through the first few stages without many problems. But once you get into the later stages, it's not gonna be a walk in the park. Once you get into the later stages, you'll have to memorize the patterns of enemy attacks and find out where to go to avoid them in certain parts of the stage. Even then, it's still not impossible to mess up. Heck, I think it took me a whole year before I finally beat the last stage at the laundromat, not counting how long it took me to get there. And I still can't get through the game on less than 4 quarters. This might not sound to appealing to the casual player, but to an R-Type fan like me, it's heaven. This is easily one of the most challenging games I have ever played, and if you can appreciate that, then you'll probably have the time of your life with this game.
(I'm sure we all have seen this screen many times)
Final ThoughtsIn closing, if you like insanely difficult shooters that would probably drive the average game player bonkers, find a copy of R-Type (Note: Stay away from the Game Boy ones if possible, though), and cherish it forever. Although, this game certainly isn't for everyone, so if you don't think you can handle a little, erm, make that a lot of frustration, you might want to rent this sucker first.
(A not so common screen)