A great end to a great series.
User Rating: 8.6 | R-Type Final PS2
The R-Type series has been around for quite a number of years now, and sadly, it's coming to an end. Irem have released what will be the last ever R-Type game, aptly titled R-Type Final. So does it let the series go out with a bang? You bet it does. In case you haven't played any of the previous R-Type games before, you can get used to the concept of the game through a series of videos, which, admittedly, can become quite tedious, but is essential to understand what to do. Once you have the training out of the way, you can jump straight into the main game and choose between three different ships, which doesn't seem like a lot, but if you enter the hangar in the menu, you will see that it is rather large to store just three ships, and for good reason. R-Type Final has to have the largest selection of ships ever, with over 100 to unlock during play, and each one will be different from each other in some way. Some ships may be unlocked through playing as a certain ship for a certain time, others need a unique code, which can be found by searching the internet. At first, the ships start out very basic and bland, but as you progress, they start to become more outlandish and fun to use, so it is worthwhile playing to the end. The game allows you to play one of five difficulty settings, but I would suggest sticking with the easiest setting until you know the levels very well, as this games difficulty level is exceptionally high. All it takes is one hit from an enemy to destroy your ship, costing you a life, and maybe parts of your hair. As time passes you will be given more continues to use and after a certain amount of time has passed, you will have an unlimited number of them. However, this is where the game's main gripe is. If you decide not to continue and you have progressed quite far, you have to start the game from the very first level again each time. This becomes very annoying, especially when you are trying to get to the final stage and you are stuck on an excrutiatingly hard part of the game (of which there are quite a few of,) in which the only choice is to quit to choose a different ship, as the one you were using isn't up to the job. But this is also where the games diversity lies. Because there are so many ships to choose from, it means there is a lot of experimenting that can be done. Which ship works best for which level? Which weapon is the most effective? Some ships even allow you to access secret levels, which is another great thing about the game. Instead of a linear set of levels, the game branches out, so there are multiple ways of finishing certain areas. For example, one levels boss has a blue and red rod sticking out of it, if you shoot either one of them, the levels settings will change the next time you play it, making for a totally different experience. Irem have also decided to include an A.I Battle mode, which at first sounds like a great idea, though when you actually play it, you begin to wonder just why they included it. Instead of you actually battling against other ships, you just watch the computer fight the battles for you, and all you do is give commands to the ship before the battle. This will become boring very quickly, and seems rather pointless to say the least. Now the gameplay may be great, but if the graphics are poor, it will make the overall experience less enjoyable. Fortunately this is not the case here. The weapon effects are almost majestically beautiful, and the details on the ships, enemies and backdrops alike are very impressive. The music tends to be deep and moody, which actually works out rather well, though hearing the same continuous loop of music can become a nuisance, and the constant sound of weapons firing will make you want to turn the volume down sometimes. Despite R-Type Final's steep difficulty level and certain annoyances, the game is an enjoyable experience, and will take up quite a lot of your time, especially if you want to unlock ALL of those ships. Irem, you have done the R-Type series proud.
