R-Type
アール・タイプ1988R-Type
アール・タイプA horizontal shooter built around a detachable orb called the Force.
R-Type is a horizontal shooter that Hudson Soft ported from Irem's 1987 arcade game. The PC Engine version came out in Japan on two game cards. It remains one of the best-known shooters in the console's library.
| RELEASED IN JAPAN | 25 March 1988, as R-TYPE I |
|---|---|
| JAPANESE CARDS | Two HuCards, R-TYPE I and R-TYPE II |
| ARCADE ORIGINAL | Irem, 1987 |
| PC ENGINE PORT | Hudson Soft |
| PUBLISHED IN NORTH AMERICA BY | NEC Home Electronics |
You pilot the R-9 Arrowhead through eight levels, each ending in a boss. Your ship has a rapid-firing main gun and a charged Wave Cannon. The most important item is the Force, an orb that sits in front of or behind the ship.
The Force works as a shield and a weapon. You can also detach it to fly on its own. The game is slower than many shooters of its time, and it rewards players who learn the enemy patterns.
The PC Engine port keeps the original layout but lowers the resolution and colour count. It has some sprite flicker and slowdown. Its stage six ends with a boss instead of the long enemy wave found in the other versions.
The Bydo, a powerful alien race, plan to wipe out humanity. An R-9 pilot must stop them. The R in the title stands for ray, a nod to the rayed weapons of the series.
Irem built the arcade game as its first title on the 16-bit M72 board. Its designers drew on Gradius and on the art of H.R. Giger.
Hudson's port is often described as fairly accurate, despite the lower resolution and fewer colours.
Japan received the game on two cards. R-TYPE I holds the first four levels, and R-TYPE II holds the last four. North America put the whole game on one card, released through NEC.
In Japan, the arcade cabinet topped the July 1987 chart. It became the highest-grossing table arcade game of 1987.
The PC Engine version was one of the first titles confirmed for Nintendo's Wii Virtual Console. Later versions include R-Type Dimensions, which has appeared on several platforms since 2009.
In 1995, Next Generation magazine still named the PC Engine conversion the console's defining shoot 'em up.
Hudson's own Software Bible calls R-Type one of the games that really sold the console to people. It was one of the console's early hits.
- Designer Abiko cited dung beetles as an inspiration for the Force.
- Nintendo distributed the arcade original in North America.
- Allgame called the PC Engine version the most accurate home conversion of the arcade game.
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