is a

horizontally scrolling shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character mo ...

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

developed and released by

Irem is a Japanese video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher and manufacturer of pachinkos. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Software Enginee ...

in 1987 and the first game in the ''R-Type'' series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful alien race bent on wiping out all of mankind. The R-9 can acquire a glowing orbicular device called a "Force", protecting it from enemy fire and providing additional firepower. The arcade version was distributed by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

in North America; it is the last arcade title Nintendo distributed. ''R-Type'' was the first game to run on Irem's 16-bit M72 arcade system. The development team drew inspiration from ''

Gradius is a series of shooter ( shoot'em up) video games, introduced in 1985, developed and published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper. ...

'', ''

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, a lifeform with ext ...

'' and works by

H.R. Giger Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss people, Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as "biomechanical art, biomechanical". He was part of th ...

. The music was composed by Masato Ishizaki, while character designs were by Akio Oyabu.
Translation
by Shmuplations. ). The game's title stems from the word "ray", as in a ray of light, in reference to the player's raylike weapons used throughout the game. ''R-Type'' was commercially successful and celebrated by critics for its graphics and addictive gameplay, but was criticized for its difficulty. It is commonly cited as one of the best shoot 'em up video games, and one of the greatest video games of all time. Its success inspired several sequel and spinoff games, and home ports and releases for digital distribution services. A remake of the game was released as ''R-Type DX'' for the Game Boy Color in 2000. A 3D remake, '' R-Type Dimensions'', was released for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

in 2009; for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

in 2014; for the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

, and

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

in 2018; and for

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

in 2019.

Gameplay

The game has a generally slower pace than similar shooting games of the time and emphasizes enemy pattern memorization as much as player speed. It is composed of eight levels, with a boss enemy at the end of each. The player controls a small spacecraft and must navigate terrain and fight enemies using the various ship weapons. The player's spacecraft has, by default, a weak but rapid-firing main gun; and a more powerful gun called the Wave Cannon, which requires the player to hold their fire to build up power for the cannon. During the game, the player can obtain an auxiliary device called a Force. This resembles a glowing orange ball. The Force can be attached to the front or back of the player's spacecraft, or detached to fly freely. When attached, the Force provides one of three different powerful weapons, in addition to the main gun and the Wave Cannon. When detached, these weapons cannot be used, but the Force will instead resort to a secondary set of guns, which can be fired by the player even if the Force is at a distance from the spacecraft. The Force has a secondary use as a shield; it is completely indestructible and can block most things fired at it, as well as damage or destroy enemies on contact. Game designer AKIBO mentioned the behavior of

dung beetles Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. All species of dung beetle belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea, most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). As most species of Scara ...

as an inspiration for the Force.
Translation
by Shmuplations. ).
Translation
by Shmuplations. ). The R- in the series title stands for "ray", as in a ray of light, in reference to the many different types of rayed weapons that players use in the series.

Development

Development on the Commodore 64 version began when

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

's Electric Dreams Software subsidiary obtained the rights. David Jolliff was planning on to program the game with James Smart assisting in program help. The original version was shelved, and as a result of the settlement between the creators of '' Katakis'' and Activision, Manfred Trenz of Rainbow Arts had the right to do a port, which was made in six weeks.

Release

Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company known for releasing numerous titles across video game consoles, home computers, and mobile phones. Headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo, it also maintained an office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. F ...

developed a fairly accurate port of R-Type that was released for the

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation of video game con ...

(a.k.a. PC Engine) console, although it suffered from a slightly lower resolution, reduced colour palette, sprite flickering and slowdown. Due to the slightly reduced resolution, the playfield also scrolls slightly in the vertical axis whenever the player's ship approaches the top or bottom of the screen. The Japanese release was split across two game cards (HuCards) titled and and the later North American release contained the entire game on a single card. The TurboGrafx-16 version of ''R-Type'' has a boss at the end of Stage 6, rather than a prolonged wave of enemies as in all other versions. The

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (or XBLA) was a video game Digital distribution in video games, digital distribution service that was available for the Xbox (console), Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. It focused on smaller downloadable games from both major publisher ...

game ''R-Type Dimensions'' was released on February 4, 2009, by Tozai Games. It is a port of the original ''R-Type'' and the sequel ''R-Type II''. It can be played either with the original

2D graphics 2D computer graphics is the computer-generated imagery, computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models (such as 2D geometric models, text, and digital images) and by techniques specific to them. It may refer t ...

or with new

3D graphics 3D computer graphics, sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics, are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of perfor ...

, and has added co-op gameplay functionality. An analogous version for PS3 has been released in May, 2014. The TurboGrafx-16 version of ''R-Type'' was one of the first games confirmed for

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

. The Japanese release for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

is split between two downloads, mirroring the original format of the game. The Japanese releases for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

and

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

use the North American version instead of the Japanese one, presenting the game as a single download; however, the game was removed from the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U stores on July 30, 2020. The

Master System The is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series ...

version became available as well on the Virtual Console for Japan on May 19, 2009, for North America on November 2, 2009, and for Europe on September 25, 2009; however, due to licensing issues, this version was delisted on September 30, 2011, in North America and Europe and October 18, 2011, in Japan. In 2010,

DotEmu Dotemu SAS (originally DotEmu SAS) is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris, founded in 2007 by Xavier Liard and Romain Tisserand. It is best known for its remasters and remakes. History Dotemu was founded by Xavier Liar ...

developed an

port of ''R-Type'', published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

, released also for

Android Android most commonly refers to: *Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google * Android TV, a operating system developed ...

in September 2011. Tozai Games returned in 2018 and re-issued an updated digital-only release of "R-Type Dimensions", now carrying the title "R-Type Dimensions EX", now landing on

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

and

. Strictly Limited Games released physical copies of the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions in February 2019. These were limited to 2,000 and 3,000 copies respectively. Collector's Edition variants were also issued which contained a hardcover artbook, dog tags, stickers and cards, once again limited to 1,000 on the PlayStation 4 and 2,000 on the Nintendo Switch.

Reception

Arcade

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''R-Type'' on their August 1, 1987 issue as being the most-successful

table arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...

of the month. It went on to be Japan's highest-grossing table arcade game of 1987. Later in 1988, it was the year's third highest-grossing arcade conversion kit and sixth highest overall arcade game. The original ''R-Type'' was well received by most gaming critics. However, it was also infamous for its relentless difficulty. Clare Edgeley of ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...

'' selected ''R-Type'' as the "game of the month" in July 1987. The following month, ''

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', (also referred to as ''CU'') later renamed to ''CU Amiga'', is a British magazine initially published by Paradox Group before being acquired by EMAP. Timeline ''Commodore User'' was launched in October 1983 with an initial pr ...

'' magazine gave it a highly positive review and noted that it drew large crowds queuing up at arcades.

Consoles

According to ''Mega Guide'' in 1992, ''R-Type'' had sold "

squillions Indefinite and fictitious numbers are words, phrases and quantities used to describe an indefinite size, used for comic effect, for exaggeration, as placeholder names, or when precision is unnecessary or undesirable. Other descriptions of this con ...

on hand-held". A successful 1988 port to the

was immediately recognized as one of the best games available in the

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

library. A ''

Mean Machines ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game journalism, video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. History In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generatio ...

'' magazine review praised in particular the graphics and the high quality of the challenge offered by the game, awarding it an overall rating of 92%.Mean Machines, R-Type Review, Issue 7, April 1991, pp.88-90 In 1989, ''

ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

'' listed it as one of the top five best games available for both the PC Engine and Master System. A 1995 article in ''

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' stated that the "PC Engine urboGrafx-16conversion of Irem's arcade smash ''R-Type'' is still regarded as the system's definitive contribution to the shoot 'em up genre." The following year they listed both it and the arcade original (but not any other ports of the game) at number 98 in their "Top 100 Games of All Time", praising its art direction, graphics, design innovations, and huge bosses. In a retrospective review,

Allgame RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...

editor Shawn Sackenheim described the TurboGrafx-16 version of R-Type as "(the) most accurate home conversion (of the arcade version) of the game", furthermore stating that "it's the shooter that started it all and it's still a thrill ride from beginning to end".

Computers

The

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

version of ''R-Type'' was awarded 9/10 in the January 1989 issue of ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was la ...

'' and was placed at number 6 in their official top 100. ''The Games Machine'' praised the "incredible use of colour" and that it "blows away almost every other shoot'em up on the Spectrum". ''Crash'' congratulated Electric Dreams for "retaining the frenetic arcade feel and producing such a brilliant game". ''Sinclair User'' praised the weapons system and difficulty curve. ''

C+VG C, or c, is the third letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C ...

'' concluded their review by saying "an excellent shoot'em up that's both challenging and addictive. An absolute must for Spectrum blasting fanatics". The game was runner-up in the category of Best 8-Bit Coin-Op Conversion of the Year at the

Golden Joystick Awards The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...

, behind ''

Operation Wolf is a light gun shooter arcade game developed by Taito and released in 1987. It was ported to many home systems. The game was critically and commercially successful, becoming one of the highest-grossing arcade games of 1988 and winning the Gold ...

''. The implementation of the music in the C64 version was well received, however this port got average reviews due to performance issues and glitches.

Legacy

Irem has developed a number of

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

s and related games, including ''

R-Type II is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed and published by Irem. It was released in arcades in 1989. It is the sequel to ''R-Type'', and the second game in the ''R-Type'' series. Gameplay The player controls a ship called the R-9C, whic ...

'' and ''

Armed Police Unit Gallop ''Cosmic Cop'' is a Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters, side-scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game produced by Irem in 1991. It is part of the popular ''R-Type'' video game series. Story Taking place concurrently with ''R-Type Delta'', ''Cosmic Cop'' s ...

''. Their '' XMultiply'', although not part of the series, has similar themes and gameplay, and was released around the same time as ''R-Type II''. However, before any of these games was '' Katakis'', a 1987 clone produced by

Factor 5 Factor 5 GmbH was a German-American Independent business, independent software and video game developer. The company was co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts employees in 1987 in Cologne, Germany, which served as the inspiration behind the st ...

for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

and the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

. In 1991,

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

released '' Xexex'', a game heavily influenced by ''R-Type'' and ''XMultiply''. The game used similar weapons and concepts, such as the "Flint" being a combination of ''R-Type'' Force and ''X Multiply'' tentacle equipment. Other games similar to ''R-Type'' are ''Rezon'', released by Allumer in 1991,

Aicom Aicom was a Japanese video game developer, founded in 1988. The Sammy Corporation website gives 1990 as its first year and says it was a subsidiary of Jaleco. Sammy bought it in 1992. Its games include ''The Mafat Conspiracy'', ''Totally Rad'' a ...

's '' Pulstar'' and '' Blazing Star'' (the latter published under

Yumekobo Aicom was a Japanese video game developer, founded in 1988. The Sammy Corporation website gives 1990 as its first year and says it was a subsidiary of Jaleco. Sammy bought it in 1992. Its games include ''The Mafat Conspiracy'', ''Totally Rad'' a ...

) for the

Neo Geo The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...

, and Technosoft's 1992 title ''

Thunder Force IV known in North America as ''Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar'', is a shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Technosoft for the Sega Genesis, Mega Drive in 1992. It is the fourth installment in Technosoft's ''Thunder Force'' ...

'' for the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

. On April 1, 2019,

Granzella Granzella Inc. is a Japanese video game developer based in Ishikawa Prefecture, Ishikawa, Japan. The company is formed from former Irem staff and engaged in planning, production and sales of console games. The company is known for developing the ...

announced the development of

R-Type Final 2 is a Shoot 'em up#Types, horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Granzella. Part of Irem's long-running ''List of R-Type video games, R-Type'' series, it is a sequel to ''R-Type Final'' released in 2004, and the first '' ...

, a sequel to

R-Type Final is a horizontal shooter video game by Irem for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was planned to be the last mainline game in the ''R-Type'' series. However, ''R-Type Tactics'' was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2007, and the di ...

Chris Huelsbeck Christopher Hülsbeck (born 2 March 1968), known internationally as Chris Huelsbeck, is a German video game music composer. He gained popularity for his work on game soundtracks for '' The Great Giana Sisters'' and the ''Turrican'' series. Caree ...

composed new title songs for Amiga and Commodore 64 versions which have remained as popular targets for game music remixers. Anthem-like Amiga theme is composed by Huelsbeck alone while C64's faster theme is composed by Huelsbeck with Ramiro Vaca.

Adaptations

* R-9A Arrowhead, Scant, and Dobkeratops appears in the Chapter 30 on the manga ''Warera Hobby's Famicom Seminar''. * R-9A Arrowhead, Scant, Dobkeratops, Wick, Gouger, Gomander and Warship appears in the Chapter 17 on the manga ''Rock 'n Game Boy''.

Notes

References

External links

''R-Type''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''R-Type''
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...

''R-Type''
at

Killer List of Videogames Museum of the Game, which includes the Killer List of Videogames (KLOV), is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and h ...

''R-Type''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:R-Type 1987 video games Arcade video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Android (operating system) games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Compile (company) games Game Boy games Game Boy Color games Horizontally scrolling shooters IOS games Irem games Java platform games Master System games MSX2 games NEC PC-8801 games Nintendo arcade games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Portable games Science fiction video games X68000 games TurboGrafx-16 games TurboGrafx-CD games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Chris Huelsbeck Video games scored by David Whittaker Video games scored by Takushi Hiyamuta Video games set in the 22nd century Virtual Console games Virtual Console games for Wii U Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Crash Smash! award winners ZX Spectrum games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo games Dotemu games