R-Type

n/a

PC-88 VA TurboGrafx-16
R-Type
System(s): PC-88 VA, TurboGrafx-16, Virtual Console (Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U)
Publisher: NEC Home Electronics NEC Home Electronics (USA) Irem Konami
Developer: Irem
Genre: Shoot-'em-Up
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1988 US 1989-11 TGX040011 US ▼ 2006-12-25 600pts600 EU ▼ 2006-12-29 600pts600 AU ▼ 2007-07-06 600pts600 JP ▼ 2014-02-26 ¥588 (617)617i JP ▼ 2014-04-30 ¥600600 US ▼ 2016-07-14 $7.997.99 EU ▼ 2016-07-28 €7.997.99 DE ▼ 2016-07-28 €7.997.99 UK ▼ 2016-07-28 £7.197.19
Non-NEC versions Arcade Amiga Amstrad CPC Atari ST Commodore 64 Game Boy Master System MSX X68000 ZX Spectrum

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R-Type (アール・タイプ) is a highly influential arcade shoot-'em-up by Irem in 1987. The game saw numerous ports to home computers and consoles, including a PC-88 VA version by NEC Home Electronics in 1988.

The TurboGrafx-16 version, released in North America in 1989, is a combined version of R-Type I and R-Type II, which were previously released in Japan for the PC Engine.

Story

The Bydo Empire, aliens from another dimensional plane, are preparing to invade Earth. The Earth Defense League has deployed the R-9, a top secret spacecraft, to counter-ambush the enemy in their own dimensional plane.

Gameplay

TurboGrafx-16 version

The game is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up composed of several stages, with a boss enemy at the end of each. The player controls a small spacecraft called the R-9 and must navigate terrain and fight enemies using the various ship weapons. The R-9 moves in any direction with the D-Pad. The playfield is slightly taller than the viewable area, so the screen pans when the ship is near the top or bottom. It is equipped with a main gun, fired with Ⅱ. A more powerful gun called the Wave Cannon can be charged by holding Ⅱ. The Wave Cannon destroys larger enemies in fewer hits and can penetrate through multiple targets.

During the game, the player can obtain an auxiliary device called a Force (also called the "Power Pod" in the manual), which resembles a glowing orange ball. The Force appears after collecting a weapon upgrade and can be attached to the front or back of the R-9. It can be detached with Ⅰ to fly freely. Likewise, it can be called back to the R-9 with Ⅰ. The Force initially fires a pulse beam away from the ship when attached, but it can be upgraded by collecting another weapon upgrade to provide one of three different powerful weapons. It can be upgraded another time by collecting another weapon upgrade, which further empowers its weapon. When detached, the Force instead fires a secondary set of guns concurrently with the R-9's main gun, even if the Force is at a distance from the spacecraft. These guns fire directly up and down and at 45-degree angles up and down in front of it. Additionally, the Force is completely indestructible and therefore acts as a shield, neutralizing enemy fire from the back or the front of the R-9 (depending on where it is mounted) and destroying enemies that it contacts.

The R-9 is destroyed after taking a hit from an enemy or by colliding with terrain. The player starts over from a predetermined checkpoint without any power-ups after losing a life. If the player runs out of extra lives, the game ends, but it can be continued as long as the player has credits remaining. The player is awarded extra lives at 50,000, 200,000, 350,000, 500,000, and 700,000 points. The player's score and extra lives are only shown after completing a stage. After finishing the game once, it loops again at a higher difficulty.

Items

	POW Armor
	A battlefield delivery vessel that drops an item when it is destroyed.
	Laser Reflecting Unit
	Shoots three laser beams ahead of the Force, one straight ahead and two at 45-degree angles, which ricochet off surfaces that they hit.
	Ring Laser Unit
	Shoots tall, ring-like energy waves from the Force.
	Ground Laser Unit
	Shoots fireballs directly above and below the Force, which roll along terrain that they hit.
	Speed Unit
	Increases the movement speed of the R-9.
	Twin Missile Unit
	Arms the R-9's weapons with twin homing missiles. Missiles continue to fire while the R-9 is channeling its Wave Cannon.
	Option
	Supplements the R-9 with a protective power sphere, up to two. The first Option collected hovers above the ship, while the second Option hovers below. Options are invulnerable and can destroy enemies by touching them. They also fire pulse beams if the Ring Laser is equipped.
	Force
	Augments the R-9 with a Force, which provides support fire and can be attached to the front or rear of the spacecraft or fly freely alongside it. The Force flies in from the left side of the screen after collecting a weapon item. It can be leveled up twice by collecting further weapon items.

Stages

	Stage 1
	Boss: Double Keradops
	Stage 2
	Boss: Gomander
	Stage 3
	Boss: Giant Battleship Cruiser
	Stage 4
	Boss: Convira
	Stage 5
	Boss: Helmate
	Stage 6
	Boss: Yashoo
	Stage 7
	Boss: Blank
	Stage 8
	Boss: Bydo

Versions

Compared to the arcade version, the TurboGrafx-16 version scrolls vertically slightly because of the reduced screen size. It adds a boss for the sixth stage that is not present in any other version of the game.

History

Legacy

The TurboGrafx-16 version of R-Type was brought to the Wii's Virtual Console service in 2006 for North America and Europe, and 2007 for Australia, wheras Japan instead received R-Type I and II. The game was temporarily delisted from the Virtual Console during the 2010s, presumably because Irem had been losing a lot of money at the time. Konami would later handle further rereleases of the TurboGrafx-16 version for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Virtual Consoles and all regional variants of the PC Engine mini, even opting to release the TurboGrafx-16 version in Japan instead of re-releasing R-Type I and II.

Digital manuals

• 

  PC Engine mini US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: R-Type/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

PC-88 VA version

PC-88 VA, JP

TurboGrafx-16 version

NEC Retro Average
Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games 90 №151, p110-111

	90
Based on 1 review

TurboGrafx-16, US
File:RType TG16 US Manual.pdf Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 91ce5156 MD5 0e0040142b5227f2b85be27364d5ea01 SHA-1 7e3d4dc9e8d880ac8d813fa69af0c6804b75cd9a	512kB		Card (US)

External links

• R-Type on Nintendo eShop (Nintendo 3DS): JP
• R-Type on Nintendo eShop (Wii U): JP, US, UK

References

Sega Retro has more information related to R-Type