She’s Not My R-Type
In the world of side scrolling shooters, there has been a series that has existed for a very long time. That series is the R-Type games that have been surfacing in and out of gaming since 1987. And R-Type Dimensions III is the latest in this storied series. Those that have played these games before will be very familiar with the play style and gameplay of this game. If you have never played an R-Type game before, it is a fast-paced side scrolling shooter plain and simple. There isn’t much else that can be said about these types of games. You pilot a ship moving left to right dodging and shooting anything that moves and some things that don’t move as well. You can collect power-ups along the way to give you different weapons or abilities, with the goal to beat some alien race. Sounds simple, right?
When I was asked to review R-Type Dimensions III from ININ Games, I was excited to see where these games had gotten to and how have they changed. After all, as someone who grew up in the 80’s around arcades and playing these types of games was something that I can relate to. It has just been a long time. “Welcome back old friend!” From the title screen I am instantly reminded of playing these games as a kid, with a bit of modern flair. And the music sounds just like I remember. And I started to think, “this is going to be fun!”
MSRP: $34.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $15.00
It was at this point that I pressed start and my “old friend”, punched me right in the face and said, “This is NOT the game from your childhood,” in a voice that sounded much like Dave Chappelle. But then again, the voices in my head might differ from yours. When I say the game is fast-paced, I mean really fast. Things are flying at you at what seems like to fast for anybody to react. And then, my game was over after I lost three lives in a matter of moments. I sat there staring at the screen and thought, “What Happened?” I used to play these games. Surely, I haven’t lost my touch with them this quickly. So, I tried again. And again, my game was over in about 3 minutes. Longer than before, but still not even to the first boss. When did these games become so difficult? My brain starts to panic because how in the world am I supposed to review a game that I can only get through the first few minutes? I don’t consider myself a great gamer, but I do feel like I am better than this. And then I see it…The infinite option.
The ability to have infinite lives. YAY! I start out in this mode, and I find that I am no better than before, but I am able, due to unlimited lives, progress through the game. I am also able to mess with the various options, like 3D mode which kind of turns the screen a little so it gives you a 3D like experience. While visually it is interesting, it doesn’t add a whole lot to the gameplay and ultimately, I ended turning it off. There is also a button you can press to add a CRT filter to the game to make it look like an old school arcade game or a retro console game. This too was a short-lived option. Graphically, the game looks very good. There is a lot of polish on the game overall.
Mechanically the game plays well. The ship moves fluid and is easy to control. My biggest complaint is that you are either moving too slowly to keep up with the action. Or the action is moving too fast for the ship controls. Either way it ends badly over and over. Shooting is pretty much on par. The guns shoot fast enough to keep up with whatever they throw at you. There are a good variety of weapon mods that you can randomly collect throughout the stages, and the bosses are different enough from stage to stage. So, what would keep me coming back to a game like this? Sadly, nothing. As I shook the hand of my “old friend” and bid him farewell, I couldn’t help but think that somehow my childhood memories were a lot more fun than this.
While R-Type Dimensions III keeps going back to the same formula it has always done for decades and adding small tweaks here and there, I can’t help thinking that they were trying to become the souls’ game of side scrolling shooters. With punishingly hard combat due to the pace, I can’t see how anyone could last more than a few minutes let alone play through the whole game in only three lives. And even with the infinite mode, I felt like the game couldn’t keep my interest for very long. And as much as I wanted to like this game for my own nostalgic purposes, I cannot recommend this game unless you are someone who likes being punched in the face by their dear old friend. The addition of the 3D, and the CRT filter is a cool gimmick, but not very useful. I just don’t find the game as a whole enjoyable.
Other than the aforementioned issues that I have talked about, I did come across a game breaking bug that I hope the developer can sort out. If you decide to end an infinite run, the game brings up a leaderboard that has no names listed and you can’t sort by friends or anything. The game does however freeze at this time and won’t do anything until you quit the game and re-start it. And then there is the price… $34.99. While it is on the budget side of most games, I think that the entry point fir this is too steep and if you still want to play this, I would recommend waiting for a sale.
As much as I wanted to like going back to relive some of my childhood memories, this game just doesn’t quite hit the mark. And it made me question when did these types of games become so hard? With its hard levels and limited gameplay modes, I don’t think this is for me. And even if you are a super fan of the series, I would wait to play this till they work out a couple bugs and the game comes down in price.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.