PixlBit

A solid space shooter that appeals to the hardest of the hardcore

Space shooters were extremely popular on the NES. It seems like every developer tried their hand at it because they were simple and everyone seemed to enjoy them. Moving into the 90s, space shooters were still quite popular, so all the systems of that time had them. Some are renowned for their greatness, such as Blazing Lasers and the Gradius series. Others are more obscure. While not obscure, the R-Type series is not quite as famous as the others, but it's still a great shooter series.

Super R-Type is a remake of R-Type II, and is the third game in the series, in a sense. It was developed and published by Irem and was released for the Super NES in 1991. It has everything you would expect in a space shooter: cool level design, flying enemies, power-ups and upgrades which give your ship better fire power. But the question is, what sets Super R-Type apart from other space shooters? What unique features does it have?

The most unique part of SRT is the power-ups. By grabbing the first power-up, a pod will appear onscreen; you can attach this pod to the back of your ship, the front of your ship, or leave it separate from your ship to fire on its own. When it's attached in front of your ship, it acts as a shield, taking enemy fire without being harmed. You can also shoot it out in front of you, and it will destroy any enemies it touches. The pod's fire power can be upgraded by grabbing more power-ups. This is truly a great feature of SRT.

Your ship can also shoot a charged blast. There's a bar at the bottom of the screen. By holding the B button, your shot will begin to charge; the bar will fill once, then begin to fill a second time. When the second bar reaches the end, you've reached the most powerful shot you can fire, and it's devastating. The charged blast is helpful when there's a lot of enemies onscreen and against bosses as well.

SRT is an oldschool game: if you're hit once, you're killed instantly and you have to start over at the beginning of the level, even if you die at the boss. This is my biggest gripe with this game as levels become very hectic starting at level 3. There's too many things to watch out for. At these times, it's best to use your pod in the rear so you can fire at both ends. Enemies will be coming at you from all sides. It's easy to gain an extra life, but lives are meaningless because you have infinite continues and you restart the level every time you die. It would have been much better if you appear right where you died (as in most shooters), making lives precious, but that's not the case with SRT.

Level 3 is where the game bogs down. Tons of moving enemies fill the screen. Creatures at the top of the screen will shoot to the bottom when they're over your ship; creatures from the bottom of the screen will float rapidly to the top; and most enemies also shoot bullets at you! With so much going on, it's easy to be hit by something you're not expecting, and to the beginning of the level you go. It's nearly unbeatable (I tried countless times). The game also lags when too many enemies are onscreen, and that's all the time.

Bosses are giant and creative, but very hard, especially the last few levels of the game. Once again, the game shoots itself in the foot by making you start over at the beginning of the level when you die at the boss. You got to the very end of the level only to find yourself starting over; it's difficult to make progress when this happens.

The game only gets crazier as it progresses: falling enemies, tons of bullets onscreen, tight spaces to manuever through, and tough bosses! SRT is a solid shooter, but one that hardcore gamers will enjoy more than the average gamer. If you enjoy a challenge, this game is for you. Good level design, pretty good music, awesome power-ups, and a stiff challenge all describe this oldschool shooter.

Final Verdict--3 Stars: It's Okay

I was hoping to give this a higher score, but Super R-Type is simply too hard for it's own good. It's the same problem which Shinobi III had; a good game, but the end of the game became ridiculously hard, to the point the game stopped being fun. Super R-Type is a solid shooter, but unless you're a pro gamer when it comes to space shooters, you'll find yourself playing the same level over and over again, and that's no fun.

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