R-Type Final 2
Developer Granzella Inc. Publisher NIS America Format PC, PS4 (tested), Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series Release Out now
PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series
R-Type Final 2 has only one substantial new offering over its PS2 predecessor, and that is a sense of joy. Where the previous game opened with an excerpt from a ship’s log as your spacecraft entered a quiet, sombre ruin, the sequel opens with the anticipation of your launch into battle and some distinctly upbeat music. The reveal of Dobkeratops at the end of the first stage will undoubtedly bring a smile to the faces of old timers, and the way you blast through ice to unearth the boss is a less-than-subtle visual metaphor – just like the fearsome foe turned familiar friend, the R-Type series is finally back in action, having been in cryostasis for the best part of two decades.
It’s especially apt because in game design terms, R-Type Final 2 feels like it has been frozen in time. If you’re a veteran of previous wars against the Bydo, the biological horrors and massive mechanical foes here will hold few surprises, but the stages themselves are as exciting as anything else the series has offered. In particular, one of the game’s final stages is an absolutely spectacular depiction of a vast war fleet. It sometimes feels as if the game’s graphics have also been carried directly across from a bygone era. For every boss area lovingly decorated with the wreckage of defeated
R-Type craft, there are areas where sparse background detail or noticeably low resolution textures are very easy to spot, while slowdown blights the aforementioned armada sequence.
As is traditional for the R-Type series, precision and memorisation will take you much farther than reflexes alone. You need to know the best position for both your ship and its Force drone at all times, especially when attacks begin to come in from the rear. It can be hard to progress from checkpoints after losing all of your power-ups, and though the game is generous with providing additional credits after your first few plays, you will frequently see the Game Over screen. Lower difficulty levels offer some respite, starting you off with the Force and removing certain enemies, but this is nonetheless probably a game best avoided if you don’t feel like failing your way to victory.
While R-Type Final 2 doesn’t offer much in the way of new ideas, if something better had come along since 2003 we wouldn’t have wanted R-Type to return in the first place. Who needs new ideas when no power-up in the genre has ever surpassed the Force? Why omit the enormous battleship when dismantling it piece by piece is always so satisfying? There’s always a place for classic concepts executed well, and despite being somewhat rough around the edges, that’s precisely what
R-Type Final 2 delivers.