Games

R-Type Delta is a horizontally scrolling shooter video game. Released only on the PlayStation, this is the fourth game in the R-Type series (hence Delta, the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet), and also the first game offering different fighters, with different Force and Wave Cannon combinations for the player to choose from. Set in 2164, Delta is also the first game in the R-Type series rendered in full 3D graphics.

The World Government needs your help. A deep-space probe has uncovered the Bydo Empire's secret plans to mount an attack on Earth. A full-scale assault force would be detected by the Empire's long-range scanners, and any hope of surprise would be lost. Our only chance is for a single pilot in a lone R-Type fighter to penetrate the Bydo defense system and destroy the evil Empire before it can launch its attack. Tear through Bydo defenses as you blast enemies with your Fire Chain, Super Laser and Bubble Beam. Take the fight to a fevered pitch with two pulse-pounding rapid-fire modes on your Game Boy Color system.

In R-Type Final, your enemy is the Bydo, an evil (and living) weapon capable of reproducing itself. Humanity has fought the Bydo four times so far, and each time was victorious. However, each time the Bydo appears it is stronger than before, and now it's back and you need to destroy it again! Like other games in the R-Type Series, the game is a scrolling shooter where you need to guide a spaceship through various stages and destroy the many enemies (including very large end of level bosses). The game features a large variety of spaceships (over 100!) to choose from, each with varying capabilities. Regardless of which ship you choose, you begin the game with limited firepower; you can fire a basic weapon, or hold down a button to charge up and fire a more powerful burst. Occasionally power ups will appear on the screen; collect these to equip your ship with additional weapons, including a variety of lasers, missiles, and other useful items. In addition to the normal game, an AI VS mode is also included. In this mode, you can set up one of your available fighters to be controlled by the computer and then fight it to see who wins in various battles.

R-Type III was originally released only on the Super NES, but later ported to the Game Boy Advance. The SNES version has been recently released for download at Virtual Console. It 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 the Standard Force in R-Type Delta), 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. It also refined the weapons and charging system. It reverted to the original Red-Blue-Yellow weapon system, and the Diffusion Wave Cannon from R-Type II was replaced with a more standard wave cannon. Charging this cannon to full beam strength results in a massive, powerful beam that passes through all enemies and obstacles. A new weapon called the Hyper Wave Cannon was also added to the ship, which the player could use instead of the normal wave cannon if who desired. By switching to Hyper mode and supercharging the wave cannon, the ship temporarily gains the ability to use the Hyper Wave Cannon, which is unique among wave cannons in having a rapid fire capability. The shots fired create damaging explosions, and if the player has collected one or two Bits, they spin around the ship burning with energy. However, this Hyper mode causes the ship to overheat after a short while, and it must subsequently spend seconds cooling down, during which time the wave cannon is inoperative. The fighter in R-Type III is identified in R-Type Final as the R-9Ø Ragnarök; it was originally referred to as 'R-90'. In fact, the original R-90 has been split into three in Final: the R-9S Strike Bomber has the R-90's basic Standard force unit and first wave cannon, identified as Mega Wave Cannon. Final's version of the R-90 has the Shadow Force and Hyper Wave Cannon, but is unable to choose its Force or switch between Wave Cannons. Finally, the R-9Ø2 Ragnarok II has the R-90's final Force, the Cyclone Force, and the Giga Wave Cannon, which can be charged through 7 loops. It can be assumed that this is because the original R-90 would simply be too powerful for the game to be any kind of challenge.

R-Types is a compilation of R-Type and R-Type II ported pixel-for-pixel from the coin-op to the PlayStation. A couple of handy features have been added to lower the original difficulty level. First, your progress through the game is saved at the start of each level, so you don't have to start from scratch every time. Second, you now have unlimited continues. R-Types also contains a small library section which describes some of the story behind the R-Type universe, and lets you browse some of the in-game graphics. Other bonuses include an FMV intro movie and ending movies.