R-Type II
Encyclopedia
R-Type II is a horizontal scrolling shooter arcade game
developed and published by Irem
in 1989
. It is the second game in the R-Type series.
, which was first released as an arcade game in 1987
and profoundly influenced later shooting games with its charge shots, unique weaponry, and grotesque enemies. Hudson Soft
ported the later 4 levels of the original R-Type to the TurboGrafx-16
with the title R-Type II, but the Hudson release is unrelated to the game described in this article.
The player controls a ship called the R-9C (or R-9 Custom), which is an improved version of its predecessor game's ship; the R-9. The ship's design was changed slightly, and the wave cannon was given homing capabilities. Two new types of weapons (the Search Laser and Shotgun Laser) were added, bringing the total number of weapon types up to five. A new anti-ground unit bomb was also added to the missile inventory.
Though the number of levels was decreased from the prequel, the number of enemies, their durability, and the number of bullets they shoot were greatly increased. Enemy movements and terrain were also made trickier, bringing the game's difficulty up considerably. The same revival system is used as in the prequel, where the player is brought back to a checkpoint whenever their ship is destroyed.
Unlike the normal beam that only travels in a straight line, the newly-added Shotgun Laser beam explodes in multiple directions after traveling a short distance. This shot causes heavy damage if the player can target a single enemy with it. However, holding the button down after the gauge is flashing causes the beam to return to the normal transverse beam (the gauge alternates between flashing and returning to the normal state while the button is held down), so the player must release the button at the right timing in order to successfully target enemies. The other newly-added beam, the Search Laser, is semi-homing, and can bend at angles up to 45°.
Laser crystals
Missiles
Bits
Speed
, released in 1991
for the Super Famicom
, is a semi-port of R-Type II. The game was released for the Wii Virtual Console
on January 29, 2008 for 800 Wii Points
. About half of the levels in Super R-Type were newly created, but some are arranged versions of the levels in R-Type II.
R-Type II, For the Amiga, is a downgraded though faithful conversion of the original arcade game. It was positively received by magazine critics of the time garnering praise for its accuracy.
The game was also ported to the Game Boy
, but the limitations of the hardware caused the content to be changed around considerably. The Game Boy version contains only 5 levels, and some of the boss names were changed around as well.
The game is also coupled with its prequel in R-TYPES, which was released for the PlayStation
in 1998. This was followed by downloadable releases for the PlayStation Portable
and PlayStation 3
over the PlayStation Network. R-TYPES also includes a new opening and ending movie animation, along with R's Library, which documents some of the game's design settings. A promotional movie of R-Type Delta
was also included in this release.
Along with the original R-Type, the game was ported to the Xbox 360's downloadable service Xbox Live Arcade as "R-Type Dimensions".
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
developed and published by Irem
Irem (company)
is a Japanese video game console developer and publisher, and formerly a developer and manufacturer of arcade games as well. The company has its headquarters in Hakusan, Ishikawa Prefecture....
in 1989
1989 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* October 3, Brøderbund releases the Prince of Persia game, the first in a series of games, noted for its advancements in animation....
. It is the second game in the R-Type series.
History
The game is the sequel to R-TypeR-Type
is a side scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. The player controls a space fighter named R-9a "Arrowhead" to defend humanity against a mysterious but powerful alien life-form known as "Bydo", which was later discovered to be not entirely alien in origin...
, which was first released as an arcade game in 1987
1987 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* January 14, Nintendo releases Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in January for the Famicom Disk System in Japan only. The game would go unreleased in America for nearly two years afterwards.* February 20, Konami releases Contra...
and profoundly influenced later shooting games with its charge shots, unique weaponry, and grotesque enemies. Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
ported the later 4 levels of the original R-Type to the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
with the title R-Type II, but the Hudson release is unrelated to the game described in this article.
The player controls a ship called the R-9C (or R-9 Custom), which is an improved version of its predecessor game's ship; the R-9. The ship's design was changed slightly, and the wave cannon was given homing capabilities. Two new types of weapons (the Search Laser and Shotgun Laser) were added, bringing the total number of weapon types up to five. A new anti-ground unit bomb was also added to the missile inventory.
Though the number of levels was decreased from the prequel, the number of enemies, their durability, and the number of bullets they shoot were greatly increased. Enemy movements and terrain were also made trickier, bringing the game's difficulty up considerably. The same revival system is used as in the prequel, where the player is brought back to a checkpoint whenever their ship is destroyed.
Controls
The controls are mostly unchanged from R-Type, where the 8-way joystick controls the ship's movement, and the shot button fires the ship's main beam. The other button is used to equip or unequip Force; the series' most unusual innovation. Pressing down the shot button causes the blue beam gauge to fill up, and releasing the button causes a wave beam to travel a certain distance depending on the length of time the button was pressed down. If the button is pressed down until the blue gauge is fully charged, a red gauge appears and fills up quickly. Filling up the red gauge causes it to flash blue and red, releasing the shot button at this point shoots an even more powerful beam.Unlike the normal beam that only travels in a straight line, the newly-added Shotgun Laser beam explodes in multiple directions after traveling a short distance. This shot causes heavy damage if the player can target a single enemy with it. However, holding the button down after the gauge is flashing causes the beam to return to the normal transverse beam (the gauge alternates between flashing and returning to the normal state while the button is held down), so the player must release the button at the right timing in order to successfully target enemies. The other newly-added beam, the Search Laser, is semi-homing, and can bend at angles up to 45°.
Items
Items appear when the player destroys white circular objects called POW Armor, and collecting the items that appear causes the ship to become more powerful. The bluish-white POW Armors leave behind laser crystals, and the reddish-white ones leave behind various one of the three other types of power-up items. The POW Armors only appear in set locations on each level.Laser crystals
- Collecting one crystal equips one Force armor onto the ship, and the Force becomes more powerful with new special weaponry after the second crystal is collected, and even stronger with a third crystal. Only one type of crystal can be equipped at a time. Red crystals equip spiraling beams in the forward direction that penetrate through groups of enemies. Yellow crystals equip anti-ground unit beams that spread along the floor and ceiling areas. Blue crystals equip reflecting beams that are fired in 3 directions and reflect off of terrain. Green crystals equip the new Search Laser beam, which fire two beams which bend at angles up to 45° to follow moving enemies. However, the beam has low power and is slow to reload. Gray crystals equip the Shotgun Laser, which fires a circular capsule in the forward direction which explodes in multiple directions after traveling a certain distance. Though the weapon causes high amounts of damage, its range is limited in comparison to other weapons.
Missiles
- The missile item is indicated with a large "M." Homing missiles are fired two at a time in the forward direction, and will change course to pursue enemies. The newly-added anti-ground missile (Scatter Bomb missile) is fired downwards, and explodes upon contact with the ground. Only one type of missile can be equipped at one time.
Bits
- These indestructible helper-ships are equipped on the top or bottom of the player's ship, and attack by firing the basic level laser beam. Up to two bits can be equipped at one time.
Speed
- This item is indicated with a large "S," and increase the ship's speed up to 4 times when collected.
New weapons in R-Type II
- Green - Search Laser - fires semi-homing lasers that can bend at 45° angles.
- Grey - Shotgun Laser - fires large shells that explode powerfully after a short distance.
- Scatter bomb - drops bombs to the ground; when these explode, the explosion scatters forward along the ground for a short distance. This is a supporting weapon that can be equipped instead of missiles.
Levels
The game consists of six levels. Though an ending screen is displayed after the player finishes all of the levels once through, the game's true ending is only displayed after the player completes the levels a second time through under increased difficulty. The game starts off in a ruined Bydo base, and continues through a giant cave where waterfalls can prevent the ship from progressing. The player battles several huge battleships in the third level, and the terrain constantly shifts around during the fourth and fifth levels. The final level takes place on the Bydo home planet, where the alien organisms are cloned and mass-produced.Ports
Super R-TypeSuper R-Type
Super R-Type is a shooter game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System , developed and published by Irem in 1991. It is an original game based on elements from both R-Type and R-Type II...
, released in 1991
1991 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Microprose creates Civilization, Sid Meier's most successful game .*Electronic Arts releases James Pond 2 and Road Rash for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, starting a series of games that were popular in the 1990s....
for the Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, is a semi-port of R-Type II. The game was released for the Wii Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
on January 29, 2008 for 800 Wii Points
Wii Points
Nintendo Points are a currency that Nintendo uses for its Wii and Nintendo DSi systems through the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop respectively...
. About half of the levels in Super R-Type were newly created, but some are arranged versions of the levels in R-Type II.
R-Type II, For the Amiga, is a downgraded though faithful conversion of the original arcade game. It was positively received by magazine critics of the time garnering praise for its accuracy.
The game was also ported to the Game Boy
Game Boy line
The line is a line of battery-powered handheld game console sold by Nintendo. It is one of the world's best-selling game system lines with a combined 200+ million units sold worldwide....
, but the limitations of the hardware caused the content to be changed around considerably. The Game Boy version contains only 5 levels, and some of the boss names were changed around as well.
The game is also coupled with its prequel in R-TYPES, which was released for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
in 1998. This was followed by downloadable releases for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
over the PlayStation Network. R-TYPES also includes a new opening and ending movie animation, along with R's Library, which documents some of the game's design settings. A promotional movie of R-Type Delta
R-Type Delta
R-Type Delta is a horizontally scrolling shooter video game.Released only on the PlayStation, this is the fourth game in the R-Type series , and also the first game offering different fighters, with different Force and Wave Cannon combinations for the player to choose from...
was also included in this release.
Along with the original R-Type, the game was ported to the Xbox 360's downloadable service Xbox Live Arcade as "R-Type Dimensions".