In Space, No One Can Hear You Flicker
A Review of R-Type on The Master System
Genre: Shoot-em-up
Number of Players: 1
Developer: Irem
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: October 1, 1988 (JP), December 1988 (US), 1987 (EU)
Platform: Sega Master System
Also Available On: Arcade, TurboGrafx-16, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Master System, PC-88, MSX2, X68000, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Game Boy, Super CD-ROM², Game Boy Color, iOS, Android
When R-Type showed up in arcades, it was a force to be reckoned with. With its distinct visual presentation, helped along by the H.G. Giger-inspired enemy designs, the game quickly became considered to be one of the best shoot ‘em ups of its time, rivaling the popularity of the Gradius series. With the success of this arcade gem, it was only logical that it should be ported to every major home console imaginable…right? In theory, yes.
But in reality, R-Type was released on only a few video game systems, in contrast to being ported to a wider variety of personal computer systems during its initial run. Of the few home console releases, the Sega Master System saw its own port in 1988. Although faithful to the arcade version in terms of content, it came at a high cost.
You pilot the R-9 Arrowhead on a mission to save humanity from the evil grip of the Bydo Empire—an entity that began as a biological weapon created by humans to help them dominate other civilizations. In an ironic twist of fate, said weapons instead decided to attack humanity. That’s pretty much the story in a nutshell, but a game like this doesn’t require a long one anyway.
Your weaponry comes in several fun flavors. Your ship is standard-equipped with a Wave Cannon. Holding down the fire button charges the cannon, which can be used to blast through a swath of enemies. You also obtain a Force unit—an energy pod that attaches to the front or back of your ship. When detached, it will fire the same standard bullets as your ship, but can also fire at additional angles as you collect more power-ups.
You can also use the Force drone as a battering ram against weaker ships or fling it at the weak points of boss enemies. It’s an ingenious way to improve the odds of success without making the game too easy. When attached to the R-9, the Force unit can also be armed with a variety of lasers upon collecting their corresponding gem—the Reflecting Laser (blue gem), Anti-Air Laser (red gem), and the Anti-Land laser (yellow gem).
The Anti-Air Laser shoots circular beams that make short work of most enemies and is the most powerful of the laser weapons. The Anti-Land laser shoots flames that travel along surfaces on the top and bottom of the screen. My personal favorite is the Reflecting Laser—a three-way beam that ricochets off walls and other objects. I found that it gave me the most flexibility to fend off enemies from all sides.
As is the case with most shooters, each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses, but all of them can be quite helpful depending on where you are in the game. There’s really no throwaway weapon in the bunch. Rounding out your arsenal, you can obtain homing missiles and two small satellites called “bits”, which give you added physical protection and can fire additional shots when used in conjunction with the Anti-Air Laser. If all of this sounds like overkill, it isn’t. You’ll need all the firepower you can muster for the challenges ahead.
R-Type was known for its punishing difficulty in the arcade, and the same is true on the Master System—but for all the wrong reasons. More dangerous than the swarm of enemy bullets and gigantic bosses is the heavy flickering that plagues each stage. With the number of objects constantly filling the screen, the game has difficulty keeping up with it all.
When the action starts flickering, it becomes far too easy to get clipped by an unseen bullet. This happened to me time and again, especially on the fifth stage where the bullets nearly blend in with the background. To be fair, none of this renders the game unplayable, but it does get in the way of an otherwise good-looking game.
It’s a shame because, when it isn’t being bogged down with flicker galore, the game’s visual quality is nothing short of gorgeous—as evidenced in the first stage. The background nicely fades from the infinite star field into the alien base, complete with blinking lights and rotating sentries encircling your ship. Without question, a nice effort was made to mimic its arcade equivalent; it’s just hard to appreciate the further you advance in the game because of the flickering.
If you enjoyed the musical score in the arcades, you will be happy to know that it remains intact as best as possible on the Master System. Obviously, it wasn’t going to be a 1:1 conversion in terms of sound quality. But it remained true to the arcade version, as much as could be expected from an 8-bit console.
Overall, R-Type is a serviceable port on the Master System. The unique weapons, colossal alien bosses, and Force sidekick are what made the R-Type series a true classic that fans love to revisit. However, the frequently flickering graphics make the game a hard sell to anyone unwilling to put up with it, even for fans of the series.
Considering that it’s much easier to get an arcade-perfect port of this game via R-Type Dimensions on most modern platforms (as of this writing), it makes hunting down a copy of the Master System version even less worthwhile. Unless you’re the hardest of hardcore R-Type fan or an avid collector of Master System games, there just isn’t much to like with this one. Your money will be better spent elsewhere.