[スーパー アールタイプ/Super R-Type] JP Normal 1-ALL (Stage 2-2) [CC Commentary] (Score: 545,800)

This is my first R-Type game 1cc! I didn't hear much of this game's legends, save for the fact that it's a remix of R-Type II, and the very infamous lack of mid-level checkpoints! Yeah, as a casual observer that is super, duper suck! But if you're a shmup addict like me and understand a good amount of reasonings behind many design decisions shmups have taken, IMO it's at worst a lazy solution to make things in grand scheme of things, more bearable. Was Gradius Syndrome an absolute mandate at the time, so bad that they can't just place power ups on recovery points before the bosses? In exchange of the infamy, the Gradius Syndrome dampened out at least on Normal. I'm not joking!
Yeah, I love this game! And kinda hate it.
I heard Super R-Type is one of the most difficult games within SNES' library. If that standard is based on the rather ridiculous Hard 2-ALL clear including the HP boost on enemies that prevents fun quick kills, I agree! The Normal is I think just as hard as Zero Wing's MD port on Normal. While Zero Wing's checkpoints are pretty abundant, the recovery process can be cruel. Super R-Type only has 6 recovery spots to remember. Nice, huh? That was semi-sarcastic. Also Super R-Type has dizzying amount of movesets that you can do. Option throws, back or front option attachments, option kissing, charge shot, full charge shot, or half-charge shots, many, many more. Boy! That being said, I believe the Mega Drive has more meaner shmups, though those can be for no good reason like the jacked up bullet speed Twin Cobra MD had. I guess Super R-Type's infamy and actual difficulty illustrates more about how lenient SNES shmups are, or how cleaner the roster quality is...
Anyway, controls! This game is pretty forward thinking for its time! You can shoot, 2 separate buttons for rapid fire, so no worries for carpal tunnel! Then the option control button. A separate rapid fire button! I've never heard of that before for a game this old! Usually SNES titles don't bother to do that! Or the rapid fire is already he default shot type. You can charge up to a single charge, then the much more unwieldy but OP spread charge! Not sure if this is trolling or conscious design decision, but if you don't let go of the spread charge when it's full, the charge will revert back to the single charge. This skips the starting charge, and at times the spread charge is the inferior attack to do so it's kinda understandable, but it's still annoying!
Super R-Type's language is pretty alien. Switching between rapids or charge, which side to keep the option, or should you throw the option or not? Which to kiss? The things you can do must be done with full dedication and the game's right answers are few! But this dance of methodical precision is so addicting and rewarding! It's even more so when you get to feel how OP-feeling your attacks can deal! This option juggling is what makes R-Type, R-Type! But this game is memo-heavy and the process to find the right tactic can be pretty obtuse too. I don't find the game's memo that tight. It would help if some memo paths have good telegraphing, though! Especially Stage 7!
The ridiculous thing that is also worth noting is how surprisingly fast some bosses can be killed with precise moment of when you hold the charge! The bosses has no i-frames at all despite they like to hide behind barriers, so with the rather low HP, a well positioned spread charge will kill them quickly! Fighting them normally is super annoying anyway especially the Stage 3, so I'll take it! Normally this can be considered bad game design, but it was what it was. I learned how to do it consistently. Let me take glee on it.
The thing I'd say is the worst about this game is its performance and how much the game relies on it! Early SNES shmups were also notorious for their slowdowns, but here is the thing. Were the slowdowns due to technical inexperience? Or did they embrace it exactly because they wanted it to be like that? The lag is due to CPU processing. SNES was notorious for having weak CPU for its console generation. This game has no bullet limit at all, a rarity for its time. The lag is very notable on boss fights, but what happens when you start charging and your normal bullets are gone? THE GAME SPEEDS BACK UP! This is especially dangerous at some sections! Plus, the slowdown moments are inconsistent and object-amount dependent! Very horrible! When surviving, please take this in mind!
It's a shame that the game is more well known for its lack of checkpoints. This is a pretty sane game with satisfyingly R-Type-tight stage design. It's short, but very packed and chaotic! Please check out Super R-Type!
This is the NSO version. Aside of US version's change of Kids mode name to Novice mode, I don't know if there are any other notable changes. Oh, for practicing convenience, there is a cheat for stage select! The game demands precision, so use the stage select to practice when needed!
#stg #shmup #nintendoswitch

[@julianseph842gamez5]

Basically, Super R-Type is a remake of R-Type II for the SFC, while it adds a new exclusive starting stage.