Author Topic: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type  (Read 1276 times)

SamIAm

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(9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« on: September 25, 2015, 11:24:57 PM »
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September 26 - October 2: R-Type
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(chosen by crazydean)

R-Type, made in 1987 for the arcade, was one of many shooters to come out of the mid 80's. Setting the bar high for all shooters that came after it, this game is a must-play for all.

After the arcade, R-Type was ported to almost every console and computer of the era, including the PC Engine. First being released in Japan on two separate HuCards because there is so much action, it can't be contained in a single card! Part I and Part II comprise the first four and last four levels, respectively, of the game. Interestingly, since they are so short, a boss was added onto stage 6 (previously, there was no boss on this stage).  In the U.S., they somehow managed to fit the entire game on one Turbo Chip with no noticeable change to the nearly perfect arcade port. Later, Japan saw a release on CD called R-Type Complete which comprises of all eight levels with modified music and several cut-scenes.

As a new player to R-Type (and as someone who sucks at shooters), I prefer the CD version because you can choose the difficulty in the start menu by pressing select. “Easy” sure doesn't feel like it, but there does seem to be fewer projectiles and the bosses are easier. Also, the CD version has unlimited continues as opposed to just two on the HuCard version.

Which version you choose to play is up to you, but keep in mind, this is a game known for its difficulty. It's frustrating until you learn the pattern and rewarding when you finally beat that next level. I doubt I will beat this game anytime soon, certainly not within a week, but it's a lot of fun and a must-play on the PC Engine.

(Great blurb, crazydean!)
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GOTW Schedule:
1. 8/22/2015 - 8/28/2015: Override (lukester)
2. 8/29/2015 - 9/4/2015: Rondo of Blood (o.pwuaioc)
3. 9/5/2015 - 9/11/2015: Street Fighter 2 (Nec.Game.head)
4. 9/12/2015 - 9/18/2015: Bloody Wolf (Gentlegamer)
5. 9/19/2015 - 9/25/2015: Kabuki Itoryodan (Sadler)
6. 9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015: R-Type (crazydean)
7. 10/3/2015 - 10/9/2015: Fray CD: Xak Gaiden (nullity)
8. 10/10/2015 - 10/16/2015: Wizardry 3&4 (BigusSchmuck)
9. 10/17/2015 - 10/23/2015: Lords of Thunder (SamIAm)
10. 10/24/2015 - 10/30/2015: TV Sports Hockey (gredler)
11. 10/31/2015 - 11/6/2015: Blazing Lazers (escarioth)
12. 11/7/2015 - 11/13/2015: Genpei Toumaden (VenomMacbeth)
13. 11/14/2015 - 11/20/2015: Hyper Wars (_joshuaTurbo)
14. 11/21/2015 - 11/27/2015: Drop Off (turboswimbz)
15. 11/28/2015 - 12/4/2015: World Court Tennis (grolt)
16. 12/5/2015 - 12/11/2015: Atlantean (jtucci331)
17. OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS!

Rules:
-All members are allowed one submission. When there are no further submissions, we will have a reset and everyone will be able to submit another game.
-Each game may only be submitted once.
-If you wish to retract your submission, please do so at least two weeks before your game is due. Your next submission will go to the back of the cue.
-Please don't submit games that have a high language barrier or will take too long to complete (particularly RPGs).

ccovell

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2015, 01:54:21 AM »
After the arcade, R-Type was ported to almost every console...

Hmm... I can count the TG/PC-Engine and Sega Mark III/SMS.  Were there others?

lukester

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2015, 02:19:34 AM »
After the arcade, R-Type was ported to almost every console...

Hmm... I can count the TG/PC-Engine and Sega Mark III/SMS.  Were there others?

MSX? That was considered a console in some countries.

Still surprising there wasn't an NES port. Nintendo published the Arcade version in the USA.

o.pwuaioc

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2015, 02:49:22 AM »
After the arcade, R-Type was ported to almost every console...

Hmm... I can count the TG/PC-Engine and Sega Mark III/SMS.  Were there others?
Game Boy and, according to Wikipedia, C64, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Famicom (pirate, I think), PC-88, Spectrum, and X68000, too.

esteban

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2015, 02:53:22 AM »
RANDOM THOUGHTS:

This was one of the reasons why I wanted TG-16 back in the day, since I loved R-Type in the arcade.

However, Toys-R-Us always had this game priced obscenely high (I am pretty sure it was $59.99 or $69.99).  This was XMAS 1989.

So, I actually didn't get this game for a long time, because the price did not drop for awhile.

I have speculated that NEC, initially, may have used a system of pricing tiers based on the Mb of a HuCARD.

In 1989, R-Type was first 4Mb HuCARD in NA. I guess the initial production costs were higher.

At this time, we usually think of NA getting hardware/software long after it has been available in Japan, but here is one example of NA getting the "innovative" 4Mb HuCARD right away.

I can never remember the details, but there ACTUALLY ARE differences between the JP HuCARD vs. NA HuCARD vs. CD-ROM concerning flicker (and resolution)? I'll let someone else explain. I was surprised because I played all versions and I didn't really notice any differences (technical gurus gots knowledges).

:)
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Black Tiger

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2015, 03:56:21 AM »
They narrowwd the resolution and throretically, it should reduce some flicker. I've never seen an actual flicker comparison though.

What's more interesting to me and I don't think that I ever got a straight answer for... can the PC Engine basically run at any horizontal resolution? Is it anything between its minimum and maximum?

So many ports of games which originally ran at 320 pixels wide were done at what some emulators spit out at 336 pixels wide on PCE, but then just gave a black boarder or something else on the edges. If you can not only program a game at a custom resolution, but can just go in to a completed game and change the resolution, why didn't we get PCE games at all kinds of different resolutions?
http://www.superpcenginegrafx.net/forum

Active and drama free PC Engine forum

WoodyXP

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2015, 04:27:10 AM »
This was one of the reasons why I wanted TG-16 back in the day, since I loved R-Type in the arcade.

Yeah R-Type put TG-16 on the map for me.  Unfortunately I never got the game or the system.  Ended up getting R-Type for C64, which turned out pretty good, IMO.

These days I prefer Complete for the PCE.  Love the red book audio and cheesy cut-scenes.

ccovell

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2015, 12:49:08 PM »
Game Boy and, according to Wikipedia, C64, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Famicom (pirate, I think), PC-88, Spectrum, and X68000, too.

Some of us don't know the meaning of console: a "cabinet (as for a radio or television set) designed to rest directly on the floor" which eventually was specialized to mean a home gaming system", quite distinct from handhelds and home computers.

Sure, R-Type got official ports on handhelds such as the GB and GBC, and home computers: MSX, Atari ST, X68000, etc...

The Famicom game you mentioned was a pirate clone named "Magic Dragon": 

If you're going to include clones like these then, oh boy, open the floodgates to a thousand of them on home computers!

Anyway, yes, the PCE can have a screen width of anything from 8 pixels wide to around 565 pixels (limited by screen display), in increments of 8 pixels.

crazydean

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2015, 01:47:26 PM »
My bad, guys. I didn't mean to confuse anyone with the "consoles" thing. It's my first time writing something about a game. I guess I need to more accurately use proper video game jargon  :?
Arkhan: Im not butthurt by your enjoyment.  Im buttglad.

ccovell

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2015, 02:06:16 PM »
Not a problem; I just needed to nit-pick.  I guess it's a pet peeve of mine when people say stuff like "The GBA was a great console..." and I'm thinking "It's not even big enough to qualify as a 'console', let alone a console."  ;-)

fsa

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #10 on: September 28, 2015, 04:44:42 AM »
This is one of my favorite game of all time, I have gotten the different version for different retro systems, Turbo of course, SMS - R-Type, SNES - Super R-Type, PS1 - R-Type Delta (Can't seem to find R-Types for a good deal) and PS2 - R-Type final. The one I keep going back to is the TG-16 port.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2015, 04:48:36 AM by fsa »
Looking for TG16 games I don't have already.

geise

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #11 on: September 28, 2015, 05:17:58 AM »
The Atari ST R-Type was pretty rad.  Not as good as the pc-e port but a good release.

jtucci31

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2015, 04:53:33 PM »
R-Type is one of those games that I really enjoy everything about. The music, gameplay, look of it, everything. However I still cannot get past the 3rd stage. I'll be using this week to put in some practice. Gotta love irem.

Damon Plus

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #13 on: September 29, 2015, 01:18:57 PM »
Not one of my favorites, but I can understand its greatness. Also, a perfect pack-in for the turbo, IMO.

SamIAm

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Re: (9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015) Game of the Week: R-Type
« Reply #14 on: September 29, 2015, 02:35:07 PM »
Played R-Type for the first time in years the other day. Got killed in all kinds of embarrassing places.

Also accidentally reset the game once when I was only intending to pause it.

Still, this is an incredibly solid shooter. Duh, right? I mention it only because of how immediately apparent it was. It would have been something else to play this when it came out back in Japan back in March 1988, that's for sure.