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| R-Type
|
|
| Developer:
| Irem
|
| Publisher:
| Nintendo
|
| Release date:
| 1987
|
| Genre:
| Shoot 'em up
|
| Game modes:
| Up to 2 players, alternating turns
|
| Cabinet:
| Standard
|
| Controls:
| Joystick; 2 buttons
|
| Monitor
|
| Orientation:
| Horizontal
|
| Type:
| Raster, standard resolution (Used: 384 x 256)
|
| Notes
|
| Very influential for the genre; Invented the Force/Satellite
|
R-Type is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987.
Description
R-Type is one of the most famous of all scrolling shooters. Its impressive graphics, detailed animation, inventive features and simple yet surprisingly involved gameplay made it a huge success for Irem.
The player flies a futuristic fighter craft called the R9, which is supposedly called because it is, at the time, the ninth model in the 'R' series of fighter craft. The player's mission is to 'blast off and strike the evil Bydo Empire'.
The gameplay of R-Type is noticeably distinct among shoot 'em ups. Invariably the player will lose not because of an inequality in firepower, but because of the design of the levels themselves. There is usually a 'correct' way to get through a level, but players must learn these by experience - ie. by losing and restarting from earlier in the level.
Features
The Force
The Force is R-Type 's most famous and unique innovation. Described as "an indestructible living weapon", it is a glowing, spherical pod that can be attached to the player's ship. Players of R-Type also variously refer to this device as a Force Pod, Force Unit, or Force Satellite.
To obtain the Force, the player must collect a weapon power-up. When this is done, the Force arrives onscreen from behind. To attach the Force to the ship, the player simply flies into it. It can be attached either to the front or back, and will fire in whatever direction it is facing.
When the Force is attached, it acts as a weapons system for the player. The weapon it uses depends on what power-up the player has collected. There are three different weapon power-ups:
- Red - direct, powerful gun
- Blue - triple spread rebound laser
- Yellow - vertical gun
The Force also, importantly, acts as a shield. It is indestructible and can block normal enemy weapons. It can also damage or destroy enemies by collision.
The player has a single button with which to control the Force. By pressing the button when the Force is attached to the ship, it is rocket-ejected away in whatever direction it is facing.
When detached, the Force can be made to fire, but it uses an array of simple blasters rather than the weapons it supplies to the ship.
By pressing the button again, the Force can be called back to the ship. Because it homes in on the player's ship, the player can control it in a limited manner by moving the ship as it is returning.
Wave Cannon
The Wave Cannon, also known as the Beam, is a special weapon integrated into the R9 craft. By simply holding the fire button down, the player can build up energy in their ship, drawing in tiny, glowing particles through the ship's nose. A 'BEAM' bar at the bottom of the screen indicates how much energy the ship is charged with. Releasing the fire button then discharges this energy as a destructive beam, which at full power can tear through waves of enemies. This is very reminiscent of anime-style energy attacks, and resembles the Kamehameha Wave attack from the Dragon Ball Z anime.
The Wave Cannon is a powerful attack, but has the disadvantage that the player cannot fire whilst charging the cannon. In addition, it can only fire forwards.
Legacy
R-Type was followed by a huge series of sequels and spin-offs. Please notice that the sequence of story is not same as the release sequence of game. Following are the timeline:
- R-Type / R-Type Leo
- R-Type Delta / Gallop
- R-Type II
- R-Type III
- R-Type Final
(Image Fight is somehow related to R-Type series, but no article indicate how they are related(except the fighter in Image Fight also appear in R-Type Final))
R-Type II
The sequel R-Type II was released in 1989. It expanded upon the original game by introducing some more weapons, and also developed the Wave Cannon further by giving it an extra level of power. If the player continued to charge beyond full beam strength, eventually the ship would become supercharged and capable of releasing a massive storm of energy waves, capable of wiping out every enemy on the screen.
R-Type III
Released only on the SNES but later ported to the Gameboy Advance, R-Type III was the first game in the series to introduce new Forces. As well as the original Force (which was now named the Round Force, later named as Standard Force in R-Type Final), the player could choose from two other Forces: the Shadow Force and the Cyclone Force. These both had new, different weapon sets and special enhancements.
R-Type III also refined the weapons and charging system somewhat. It reverted to the original Red-Blue-Yellow weapon system, and gave the player two buttons for firing: one for rapid-fire, and the other for single-shot with Wave Cannon charge.
Shadow Force Weaponry:
Red - Reverse Laser - a shot that fires both forwards and backwards.
Blue -
It also added a new mode called 'Hyper' to the ship, which the player could use instead of the Wave Cannon if they desired. By supercharging in Hyper mode, the ship could temporarily become super-powerful, capable of using the rapid-fire Hyper Wave Cannon. However, once the power is depleted, the ship must spend several seconds recharging, during which time weapon power is reduced.
R-Type Leo
Released only in Japanese arcades, R-Type Leo deviates from the normal R-Type style by removing the use of both the Force and the Wave Cannon. The new weapons are Force Bits (later identified in R-Type Final as "Psy Bits") which carry the same firepower as your main ship. The Force weapons are:
- Red - Claw Laser - Horizontal, counter-air laser.
- Blue - Mirror Laser - Fires multiple, ricocheting lasers.
- Green - Search Laser LRG - fires semi-homing lasers that move at 90° angles.
Unlike previous Bit Devices, the Psy Bits are capable of firing forward or backwards (direction is controlled by movement of the ship itself). Finally, the Wave Cannon is replaced by a "Bit Shot", where the Psy Bits detach from the ship and collide with the nearest enemy at high velocity. The bits can only do this for so long, before returning to the ship.
R-Type Delta
Released only on the Playstation, this is the first R-Type series game offering different machines, with different force and wave cannon combinations for the player to choose from. This title is also the first game in R-Type series that using 3D to draw everything.
'Dose System' is introduced in this game. Every force have a 'Doseage' meter, which will increase if the force hit anything that can be destroyed(bullet or enemy); when the Doseage become 100%, the power of force will increase and user can trigger a 'Dose attack', clearing all bullet on screen and damaging all enemy.
R-Type Final
R-Type Final is, according to Irem, the last R-Type game that they will make, thus retiring the R-Type franchise (at least according to Irem's standards). It was released on the Playstation 2, and expands massively on the earlier games by offering 101 different ships, including every single ship appearing in the previous R-Type games, together with many original ones. This forms a complete roadmap, which can be unlocked through the course of the game. Every ship has a different combination of forces, wave cannons, and other features.
R-Type games
Miscellaneous
On the Usenet newsgroup alt.games.mame, there is a running gag involving R-Type. Whenever someone asks for help identifying a game, and provides an inadequate description, one of the answers is always "R-Type".
External links
ja:R-TYPEfr:R-Type
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