Even though they’re no longer around, game maker Irem made some of the most popular games in the arcades back in the 80s.  Some of these include Moon Patrol and Kung Fu Master, but probably their most famous was the shooter series R-Type.  Consoles back then would often times show off their version of R-Type for its graphical prowess, and it was one of the most challenging shooters back then.  It’s so popular they still make R-Type games today, and I even reviewed one a few years ago (R-Type Final 2).  And here’s another one with R-Type Dimensions III.  I reviewed the first R-Type Dimensions, which was a remake of R-Type 1 and 2. And this one has R-Type 3, which was originally on the SNES and later on the GBA.  It’s available on some current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch 2 here.

In the game you control your ship in all directions, and can fire with a button.  You can choose to hold down the button to fire a charged shot, or a regular rapid fire shot.  Luckily there is a separate button for rapid fire so you can use that instead of hammering down on the other button.  The main gimmick of the R-Type series is the pod that you can nab soon after you start.  This pod can fire separately and independently from you, or you can attach it to your front or back of the ship to act as a shield.  You can also get power-ups that give you new kinds of lasers when your pod is attached.

If your ship gets hit by an enemy or wall, it’ll explode.  This makes the game very hard, but luckily you can also choose Infinite Mode where you get endless lives and start exactly where you left off, so at least you can plow through it.  One cool thing that game has is that like in the last Dimensions game, you can switch between new 3D graphics and the old 2D 16 bit graphics at any time.  It’s kind of fun to do that to compare, although sometimes I did like the 16-bit graphics better than the new ones.  One or two gamers can play at the same time, too.  Aside from the difficulty, my only other problem with the game is that the bosses are damage sponges and take forever to defeat.  Also the game is a bit pricey, both digital and physical, for what you get.  But if you really enjoyed R-Type 3, this is still a neat new way to play it.

Kid Factor:

R-Type Dimensions III is rated E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Fantasy Violence.  You shoot spaceships and alien creatures that explode when defeated.  Reading skill is helpful for the text, but not necessary to play.  Younger gamers may find it too difficult, though.

Tags: Game Reviews