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アールタイプ I
©1988 Hudson Soft
Licensed From Irem Corp.
vol.7
Release : 1988-03-25 (¥4900)
HuCard (2 Mbits) HC63007
Shooter / Horizontal
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Released in America as
R-TYPE
( TGX040011 )
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R-Type I (aka R-Type Part 1) is a side scrolling shooter and is the conversion of Irem's
arcade game originally released in 1987. The Bydo Empire, a mysterious alien
civilization, is about to take over the Earth and the solar system. The
R-9, powerful star-fighter built on alien technology, is humanity's last stand and
is sent to stop the massive threat. The fighter can use an arsenal of weapons
including a standard Vulcan gun or long-range ballistic missiles. But the real super-weapon
in the game is The Force - the glowing orb is indestructible and its basic
function is to float near the R-9 and to protect it. It can however be upgraded
throughout the game or charged up to fire powerful blasts of energy. Another important
feature of the Force is how it can be thrown at the enemy and inflict devastative
damage - this manoeuvre is often necessary in order to take down the large bosses or
simply wreak havoc to the Bydo Empire.
R-Type I only features the first four stages from the arcade game and is
single player only (see the info section below for more information about the two separate
releases of the game in Japan).
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R-Type was first released in the arcades in 1987 (picture on the right) and it quickly became
a phenomenon. The game is considered as a seminal work in the shoot'em up genre, and rightfully so.
The PC Engine HuCard port was apparently the first home system version
ever released in 1988, but numerous home console and computer releases followed -
Sega Master System (1988),
MSX (1988), Atari ST (1988), Commodore 64 (1988),
PC-88 (1988), ZX Spectrum (1988), Sharp X68000 (1989),
Commodore Amiga (1989),
Amstrad CPC (1989) and Game Boy (1991) to only name a few.
Several compilations are also worth mentioning. The first one is
R-Types released in 1998 for the Playstation
(includes arcade ports of R-Type and R-Type II).
Another one is R-Type DX which was released for the Game Boy Color
in 1989 (includes colored versions of R-Type and R-Type II
originally released separately for the Game Boy).
Interestingly, Tozai Game released in 2009 a compilation
called R-Type Dimensions for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 -
the port features full 3D polygonal graphics with an optional
fully arranged soundtrack as well as art/graphics. R-Type Dimensions EX later followed and
was released for the Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4.
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In 1988, the standard HuCard capacity was only 2 megabits and
Hudson Soft, obviously, couldn't make R-Type fit in such a
small amount of space. Either for technical or marketing reasons,
Hudson Soft decided to release R-Type as two separate
HuCards in Japan, just a few months apart (picture on the left).
The first one, called R-Type I (version tested here) was released
in March 1988 and only featured the first four stages from
the arcade game (The Encounter, Life Forms in a Cave, Giant Warship
and A Base on the War Front). The second HuCard, called R-Type II,
was released in June 1988 and included the last four stages (The Den,
Transport System, A City in Decay and A Star Occupied by the Bydo Empire).
A secret password is given to the player at the end of R-Type I in order to
start R-Type II with all the weapons and
power-ups slowly accumulated in the first episode.
A second password, given at the end of the second game, can be entered in
R-Type I to access the second loop (The password menu can be accessed by pressing
Select and Run on the title screen).
Don't forget that the PC Engine system was released in Japan on October 1987, and
although some of the launch titles (such as The Kung Fu) showed what the
PC Engine hardware could actually do, R-Type was probably the first game that really
demonstrated the console's true powers. It makes sense
that Hudson Soft didn't want to compromise - The PC Engine port
of R-Type had to be perfect! I personally still believe, to this day,
that R-Type is the game that put the PC-Engine on the map in
Japan and showed the little console's true potential.
Interestingly, the American version of the game was released in 1989
on a 4 megabits Hucard (which were more common and cheaper to produce at the time)
and included all eight levels from the arcade.
In Japan, the full game was only released much
later, in 1991, as a Super CDRom² version called
R-Type Complete CD, which also
featured a redbook soundtrack and exclusive introduction and end animation sequences.
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Teaser text copied from the American version:
Bydo is a maniac determined to destroy and rule the entire star world. Who can stop
him? Blocking his armies of bizarre mutants is you, Commander of the Nectarian Battle
Cruiser. The letter R on the side of your cruiser designates the deadliest type of battle
gear: a repeating laser cannon with variable energy control. Good Luck. You're the last
hope of civilized universe.
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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R-Type features a second loop! At the
title screen, press Select and Run to start the
password menu. Then enter the following code :
DLG-2600-DN
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LK
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cosmos99
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P
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The PC Engine port of R-Type is magnificent. Thanks to the
PC Engine's high resolution, the wide-screen display from
the original game is beautifully rendered here and is really impressive.
Back in 1988, this game showed what the tinny PC Engine could do, and what a blast that game is!
So why only four stars? Well, the game's difficulty is down right brutal and pulls
no punches (which was also the case with the original game).
Additionally, this port only features the first four
stages from the original arcade game and, back in 1988, it would
have actually cost you over ¥9800 ($90+) in order to own the full game!
But I face a crazy dilemma here - a Super CDRom² version was later
released but I personally don't like the redbook soundtrack, it just
doesn't fit the game in my opinion. The American port does include the full game, but
the box art is atrocious. So here you have it, although
this conversion does suffer from distracting sprite flickering
in places, it is still excellent and brilliant. But you ultimately only
get half of a game...
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This gorgeous conversion fully exploits the PC Engine system
and it sorts of make sense as it was one of the console's praised launch
title. Difficulty is well balanced (sometimes a bit hard though) and this first
part can be finished without problems. It is a shame that the second part,
despite being as beautiful, is insanely difficult and prevented me from enjoying it...
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