R-Type II

The game is the sequel to R-Type, which was first released as an arcade game in 1987 and had a lasting influence on later shooter games with its loadouts, unique weapons and grotesque enemies. Hudson Soft ported the later 4 levels of the original R-Type to the PC engine under the title R-Type II, but the Hudson release has nothing to do with 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 the ship from the previous game: the R-9. The design of the ship has been slightly changed and the wave cannon has been equipped with a homing function. Two new weapon types (the search laser and the shotgun laser) have been added, bringing the total number of weapon types to five. Also, a new bomb against ground units has been added to the missile inventory. Although the number of levels has been reduced compared to the predecessor, the number of enemies, their resistance and the number of bullets they shoot have been significantly increased. The enemies' movements and the terrain have also been made more difficult, which has significantly increased the game's difficulty. The revival system is the same as in the predecessor, where the player is brought back to a checkpoint when his ship is destroyed. The controls are mostly identical to those of R-Type: the 8-way joystick controls the ship's movements, and the shoot button fires the ship's main beam. The other button is used to arm or disarm the force - the most unusual innovation in the series. When you press the shoot button, the blue bar indicator fills up, and when you release the button, a wave beam is fired over a certain distance, depending on how long you hold the button down. When the button is pressed until the blue indicator is fully charged, a red indicator appears and fills up quickly. When the red indicator is full, it will flash blue and red, and when you release the fire button, an even stronger beam will be fired. Unlike the normal beam, which only travels in a straight line, the newly added shotgun laser beam explodes in multiple directions after traveling a short distance. This shot does a lot of damage if the player can hit a single enemy with it. However, if you hold down the button while the indicator is flashing, the beam reverts to the normal cross beam (the indicator alternately flashes and reverts to normal while you hold down the button), so the player must release the button at the right time to successfully hit enemies. The other newly added beam, the search laser, is semi-directional and can bend at an angle of up to 45°.