R-Type Final

"A disappointing end to a great series"

I saw R-Type Final used in a game shop a couple weeks after it came out and snatched it up thinking "Wow, what a steal! What moron would sell this game, it's a classic!" Now I know all too well.

Let me start with the good parts. The most attractive thing about R-Type Final is that there are 100 ships to unlock. 100! The best aspect of this game is unlocking the new ships and waiting to see which new designs await you, some of which are really fantastic. The sound and music isn't bad (when it's not slowing to an insufferable near-halt--but more on that later) and the effects used to render some of the beams and forces are impressive. There's also stuff to unlock like a photo gallery and a sort of bad-guy encyclopedia.

The single most frustrating thing about R-Type Final has to be the TREMENDOUS, prolonged and unecessary slowdown! There are moments when, even on the highest difficulty, your ship is the only thing on the screen and you're just waiting for something to pop up. Heaven forbid you have one of the more powerful ships and you kill a group of bad guys or a mini boss too quickly because you will be waiting for more action for a minute or so. By the 3rd or 4th time through, I was so frustrated I'd turn to other channels. Unfortunately the only incentive to keep playing is to unlock the ships. The game becomes so predictable that after clearing the game once or twice, the only times I died was when I crashed into part of the poorly-designed 3D background.

Speaking of which, the backgrounds, enemies and most bosses are pretty uninspired. I'd have gladly swapped the 3D-rendered entities for far more impressive 2D designs. One boss is frustratingly difficult only because it's difficult to tell where to shoot him and which parts of him can or can't destroy you. Once you figure out how to defeat him, he (it?), like the rest of the game becomes disappointingly easy.

The fact is, the only reason I didn't sell this game back immediately is to unlock all 100 ships, but even this has its downsides. Some ships are so well-equipped, they make the already-easy game even easier while some seem so poorly-designed they're hardly practical. I thought I'd have fun clearing the game with each ship, but there were 6 or 7 I used regularly and never bothered touching the others when I didn't have to. Once I'd gotten all the planes, I realized I never wanted to play this game again and promptly sold it.

I came to GameFAQs to see if there could possibly be anything more to this game and, yes, there are hidden levels and nifty secrets hidden throughout, but still not much to boost Final's replay value. Sad, considering this is the last one. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have Gradius IV, which I pop in all the time for a few minutes of challenging play and you have R-Type Final, which makes you want to pop in Gradius IV while you're waiting for the slowdown to stop or more enemies to appear. For hardcore fans who want to see how the series concludes, just rent this game (Blockbuster will give you 5 days--ample time to get all the ships, most likely) and save your money. I wouldn't even recommend it to anyone else.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 07/09/04