That naughty Bydo Empire! You would have thought they would have learnt their lesson last time when a solitary R-9 craft kicked their butt so badly. Alas, they are back and wreaking havoc wherever they go. Time for you to save the universe, again!
Super R-Type was one of the earlier games released on the Super Nintendo. It is actually based on the rather spiffy R-Type 2 arcade game albeit with a few changes here and there. As with the arcade version, the SNES version looks great. The rusted machinery combined with an organic vibe does the job beautifully, though you’ll have to forgive some occasional slowdown and sprite flicker:, as with Gradius III, Super-R-Type’s developers didn’t seem to find the SNES hardware easy to manage when lots of action was being portrayed on screen.
There is a lot of variety throughout the levels; you’ll find yourself blasting through star bases overrun with Bydo, darkest outer space and caves with jets of water. The end of level bosses are satisfying too; gigantic fiends always guard the way to the next level.
To aid you, different power ups can be picked up along the way as can a strange orb called ‘the force’ which can lock to your ship or be detached to cause great damage to your foes. You can hold down the action button and charge up for a powerful blast as with the original R-Type, or hold it down even longer and do a super-blast for even more devastation!
The R-Type series has always been renowned for its punishing difficulty level, and this game is no exception. Unlike R-Type 2 in the arcade, however, this game is made frustrating to the point where you will want to smash your Classic Controller due to a total lack of checkpoints within levels. So, if you die on the boss, you have to restart the WHOLE level again!
Some of the levels are quite long so this really is a game-breaking flaw in an otherwise excellent game, in my opinion. Unlimited continues are available, though, so once you do crack a level at least you can keep pressing on no matter how many times you get wiped out.
So the question remains: is this worth buying on the Virtual Console? Well, yes and no. If you can deal with the crippling difficulty level due to the removal of restart points, you will be pleasantly surprised by a wonderful looking shoot-em-up with some imaginative level design and fiendish bosses.
For most, however, this is one to avoid as the repetition will prove unbearable for those not skilled in the genre. R-Type III on the SNES is already on the VC and will prove to be a better purchase for most.
1. Jonno
12 Mar 2007, 16:06 GMT
This game looks awesome! Hmmm... my dad and sis are die-hard fans of Gradius. Should Super R-Type throw Gradius III 'out of the cockpit' for them?
2. RMA
22 Mar 2007, 18:49 GMT
Yes. Yes it should. although my favourite has always been R-Type 3.
3. Matthew
27 Apr 2007, 08:45 GMT
I liked this game. Of course I played it on the easiest mode possible. Great Music, download it and give it a listen, makes good use of the SNES sound chip.
4. deerslayer
25 May 2007, 04:11 GMT
I used to have this on my trusty snes, but I don't remember it beeing that hard. It's not nearly as hard as Mega Man 1 for instance. Definite download
5. Jegriva
05 Jun 2007, 14:59 GMT
Super R-Type is kinda choppy port, I'll pass.
6. antster1983
25 Jun 2007, 10:18 GMT
Super R-TYPE isn't a port. It's an entirely new R-TYPE game developed for the SNES that happens to borrow elements from previous games in the series. It did suffer badly from slowdown issues though, as did many early scrolling shoot-'em-ups on the SNES, Gradius III being a prime example. But it's not a bad shooter at all
7. raxous
12 Jul 2007, 17:16 GMT
Remember, on the VC the "choppyness" will be gone! The VC has already massively improved Super Mario 64 and the Sonic games, both of which were prone to slowdown. Finally we get to play these games the way they were designed to be played!
8. Robert
11 Aug 2007, 03:11 GMT
Can't wait to use the level-select haha.
9. deerslayer
23 Oct 2007, 20:19 GMT
I used to have this back in the day on my snes, and it was one of my favourite games. The music is really good and the sound effects packs a certain punch. I dont remember the game being that hard though. It sure as hell wasn't easy but i managed to beat it in the end and I dont consider myself some sort of shmup wizard. I will definately get this as soon as it comes out.
10. deggs
07 Feb 2008, 18:55 GMT
i read somewhere that this is a semi-port or r-type 2 but with an added intro level and a missing level or two. in order to increase the already insane difficulty, they got rid of the mid level checkpoints, making this game impossible at times (unless you're the shmup master). there are a lot of reviews floating around the net that are really hard on this game (especially when compared to r-type 3 for snes). it was an early release on the snes and shmups were already starting to loose some popularity at the time. i remember seeing gradius 3 (to me, the greatest of all snes shmups) and thunder force 2 and this game on store shelves for less then $20 canadian only months after being released (which at that time was practically unheard of because all snes games and most genesis games were often between $60 and $70 canadian for the first few years). still, if you liked the other two r-types and you're an r-type pro by now, then by all means... it's prob the last r-type that can be released for vc unless we get some sort of wii ware release (despite r-type final being the last game in the series)
11. ICEknight
13 Feb 2008, 14:22 GMT
"Remember, on the VC the "choppyness" will be gone! The VC has already massively improved Super Mario 64 and the Sonic games, both of which were prone to slowdown. Finally we get to play these games the way they were designed to be played!"
It will have the same slowdown as the original, just like any other VC game.
12. President_Leever
13 Mar 2008, 23:25 GMT
lol @ that start up sequence, who decided a crane would be the best way to exit the base? This game has a lot of slowdown and as the review states the lack of checkpoints makes it really frustrating. I actually like the original better..
13. Shiryu
14 Mar 2008, 20:29 GMT
How peculiar, we get Super R-Type AFTER we got R-Type 3 oh so long ago.
Well, fingers Crossed, If Super Aleste comes out, I will have all my favorite SNES shooters on the VC (Except Axelay, wich is nowhere seen on the horizon for Europe and UN Squadron because Capcom has long lost the rght to Area 88).
14. Shiryu
14 Mar 2008, 20:34 GMT
Lol, the video was looking familiar and now I know why.
15. The_Indigo_Effect
17 Mar 2008, 05:25 GMT
I prefer Gradius III myself.
16. slangman
01 Apr 2008, 17:54 GMT
So going to download this the next time i get my Wii online. I loved the other two r-types that are currently on the VC.
17. GEOFF
14 May 2008, 13:32 GMT
This games music is the best I've ever heard in a game but the slow down is absolutely terrible and ruins the game.
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