In 1983 the American video game industry was in trouble – an oversaturated market combined with expensive technology meant people began to favour the home computer, leaving video game manufacturers and arcades spiralling towards destruction; within two years, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES for short, Famicom for long, and ファミコン for Japanese) and revitalised the home console market over the span of their 3-year international release, providing an affordable solution and a curated game collection that averted most of the issues surrounding the crash.
Arcades were not as lucky, with only titles such as Dragon’s Lair propping up their popularity until the fighting game revival in the early 90s, which is why it is completely baffling that the first and second R-Type games released in the middle of this crash and became the arcade shooter stalwarts that they are today. In 1987 and 1989, respectively, the first two R-Type titles were a critical success on every front, proving to be some of the most popular arcade table games of their time – their subsequent ports to consoles only served to increase their popularity exponentially, but as arcades dwindled once more through the 90s, developer Irem decided to change tactics.
In 1993 the release of R-Type III: The Third Lightning left the arcade behind, releasing directly to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES, for short; I’ll save you from the Famicom joke again), which had been made available internationally a year prior. Keeping true to its arcade roots, the game maintained its intense difficulty and simple controls – a staple of games designed to swallow up every last penny of your pocket money.
The first two R-Type games have enjoyed a 3D remake and subsequent port to Nintendo Switch already, but the absence of the third title was stark; thankfully, the scales have been redressed with R-Type Dimensions III – a comprehensive remake of the original with quality-of-life changes peppered throughout. In a similar vein to the first two games, the graphics have been overhauled to create entirely 3D environments – foreground, background and enemy elements are all rendered in full with a handy option to switch to the original graphics at the press of a button.
Before I dig deep into the mechanical changes, I need to acknowledge how monumental this graphical shift is – pixel renderings of enemy-shaped creatures have been replaced with smooth (and sometimes eerily slick) ships, debris and creatures. The bosses in particular show off the enormous changes to the H.R. Giger-inspired monstrosities, suddenly feeling more unsettling in a way that only a well-made lighting engine can make slimy, contorted flesh appear. This is all a fairly positive step forward for visuals, but when combined with the frenetic gameplay it can also become a snag.
When switching back to the original graphics, you are presented with a much flatter and more singular image (2D, one might say), which actually improves visual clarity – foreground elements are less invasive, background and stage elements become less muddled, and suddenly it becomes clearer where enemies are in relation to you. Also, the CRT filter makes it look utterly stunning as it should have looked on the original hardware – but that’s beside the point; I just wanted to remind you to turn it on.
Outside of the graphics, the gameplay itself remains largely unchanged with the exception of some accessibility options, which means it is still notoriously difficult; narrow passages are plagued with obstacles, contact hazards and enemies from both directions, requiring the clever use of your “force” device – a form of auxiliary combat device that can be attached to and removed from your ship at will – as well as aggressive use of the rapid-fire and charged beam attacks.
For people lacking arcade shooter experience, this can be incredibly daunting – suddenly placing the player in the midst of swathes of hazards can lead to a swift death without practice, but the game also addresses this with the “Infinite” mode. This optional version of the game changes nothing from the core gameplay but instead gives you an endless collection of new ships that will spawn in when your previous one bursts into flames – you’ll be locked out of achievements and leaderboard scores when utilising this, but it acts as a great tool for people wanting to train their reflexes and learn each stage before jumping into the normal mode.
Unlike my time with Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, I believe the original R-Type III was deserving of attention, but unlike Tomb Raider, this remake doesn’t do the original justice; my most enjoyable times with the game were spent using the original graphics (once again utilising the CRT filter for the best experience – go on, hit the button and turn it on!), where there was no clutter, the enemies were easier to define, and the look was generally cleaner and more consistent. This is no detriment to the 3D visuals which still look incredible, but sadly the change in visual style makes it less suited to the fast-paced gameplay.
What the remake does excel at is in the music – with access to both the classic and “evolved” soundtracks, there has clearly been a lot of love put into recreating the iconic sounds of the original. The muddy synthesised guitar is replaced by a much more natural and realistic medley of rock – the kind of songs you could absolutely sling together in a playlist and enjoy while you work. When I say they have been lovingly recreated, this isn’t hyperbole either – the music team rebuilt the entire score note by note to match the original, then recorded it on the corresponding live instruments to layer up the soundtrack – it’s a fascinating thing to watch!
