is a horizontal shooter

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

Irem is a Japanese video game console developer and publisher, and formerly a developer and manufacturer of arcade games as well. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Softwar ...

for the

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video game console. It was planned to be the last mainline game in the ''

R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the ''R-Type'' series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful a ...

'' series. However, ''

R-Type Tactics , known in North America as ''R-Type Command'', is a turn-based strategy/tactical role-playing game released in 2007 in Japan, and 2008 in North America and Europe for PlayStation Portable. The main part of the game consists of two consecutive cam ...

'' was released for the

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in 2007, and the direct sequel ''

R-Type Final 2 is a Shoot 'em up#Types, horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Granzella. Part of Irem's long-running ''List of R-Type video games, R-Type'' series, it is a sequel to ''R-Type Final'' released in 2004, and the first '' ...

'' was announced on March 30, 2019, and was released on April 29, 2021.

Story

''Final'' takes place after several long wars against the Bydo, the main antagonist in the ''R-Type'' series. The player's first mission is to investigate a mysterious enemy inside a crashed space colony, the remnants of a large battle codenamed Operation Last Dance, a previous attempt to wipe out the Bydo once and for all. This investigative theme is incorporated throughout the game as each level is considered 'research' on the Bydo and unlocks a gallery of in-universe artwork and additional playable ships. Levels are prefaced with hints of the R-Type universe in the form of poetry. Eventually the player is tasked with finishing where Operation Last Dance left off, and their success with their task is determined by which route the player takes. The primary route sees the player confront the heart of the Bydo, sacrificing themselves and their ship to destroy it in a last stand. One of the alternate routes turns the player ship into a Bydo, and pits the player against their former allies. The final alternate route sees the player taken to the future to fight against an unrelenting wave of Bydo forces with no way to continue once they die.

Gameplay

''Final'' provides 101 playable ships, including altered versions of ships appearing in previous ''R-Type'' games, together with many original ones. They are unlocked through a branching system accessed via the R Museum, which was originally featured in ''R-Types''. The PlayStation 2's internal clock is incorporated into each ship's development history (shown through a

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

) when certain in-game tasks are completed. For example, ships unlocked in 2008 will be seen in the game as having been rolled out in 2168. The level physicality and enemies change size and character depending on the difficulty setting chosen by the player, providing different flight paths and playing experience for each level.

Reception

''R-Type Final'' received "generally favorable" reviews, according to a review aggregator website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. In a special edition of

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, listing their 100 top videogames of all-time, ''R-Type Final'' was the only horizontal shooter on the list.The 100 Greatest video games, Edge special edition,

Future Publishing Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

, page 32

References

External links

*
''R Type Final'' screenshots and reviews
{{Authority control 2003 video games Eidos Interactive games Horror video games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games R-Type Video game sequels Video games set in the 22nd century Video games developed in Japan Horizontally scrolling shooters Science fiction video games Single-player video games Irem games Metro3D games