R-TYPE is a classic, side-scrolling arcade shoot-'em-up that was developed by Irem in 1987.

It's the 22nd century, and you are humanity's last hope against the evil Bydo Empire. Your ship is called the R-9a "Arrowhead" and comes with a standard gun, but power-ups and upgrades are available in each mission. Navigate through eight challenging levels that will test even the best gamer's reflexes. The SEGA Master System version features an exclusive secret level not found in any other release.

Review

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 by Darren Calvert

Blast off and attack the evil Bydo Empire once again in 8-bit!

While we applaud Sega for bringing some of its most fondly remembered Master System games to the Virtual Console, we can’t help feeling that on this occasion it is a little bit pointless. After all, we’ve had a near arcade perfect port of R-Type on..

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User Comments

1. KeeperBvK 28 Aug 2009, 21:38 BST

Isn't this pretty much the same as the already available PCE-version?

2. Aenaida 29 Aug 2009, 00:27 BST

I think so too. If you look at this screen from the TG-16 version:

Untitled

This boss is exactly the same as the one at the end of the video.

3. brooks83 29 Aug 2009, 10:11 BST

If this game is only 500 points, it will be my 2nd Master System purchase Glad I held off on the TG16 version

4. Chungii V 30 Aug 2009, 00:22 BST

Yeah same, I used to own the sms version but TG16 was first out on the VC and that's the one I'll keep. (maybe a little less flicker in the TG16 version)

5. Omega 30 Aug 2009, 10:49 BST

The PC-Engine (TG16) version is a nearly "pixel perfect" arcade conversion while the SMS version has of course significantly dumbed down graphics and serious sprite-flickering (like NES games). Both versions are identical when it comes to level-design and bosses but if you want a technical superior, almost perfect Arcade port then go for the PC-Engine version.

Though, at heart, I like the SMS version a little bit more because it seems easier to me. And I don't like how the screen scrolls up and down on the PC-Engine. This makes the levels sometimes confusing.

6. Turbo Genesis 64 31 Aug 2009, 01:05 BST

The SMS's R-Type is a magnificent 8-Bit achievement!

7. Chungii V 31 Aug 2009, 04:24 BST

The money I spent on this machine in town and @ 20c a go too.
Then when it came out on the SMS it was a must have.

8. Adamant 31 Aug 2009, 13:44 BST

While this is, essentially, the same game already available on the service, this version has it's own definite charm to it, and is still absolutely worth looking into.

Plus hey, it's 500 points versus the Turbografx game's 800.

9. vio 03 Sep 2009, 21:53 BST

I just fail to see the point of this. Sure, it's impressive for an 8-bit SMS title, but it's clearly inferior to the TurboGrafx version that we've already had for a long time now. Unless you still haven't bought the TurboGrafx one and you're desperate to save 3 bucks, I don't see any reason to download this. This is one game they can keep in Japan.