R-Type Delta

"The best shooter of all time."

Okay, so that synopsis was a little hyperbolic. I'll say instead that this is the best shooter I have ever played (my experience is basically every shooter I could get my hands on for NES, SNES, and PSX, but no imports). If I had to just have one side-scrolling shooter, this would be it. It's an ass-kicking powerhouse of a game on almost every level.

Video: 20/20

This game is among the most gorgeous ever created for PSX. Environments and enemies are amazingly detailed, and there are tons of little touches that just make the game a joy to watch. Polygon breakup and texture warping are nowhere to be found, and there isn't even any visible dithering when using a high-quality output. Every weapon has some sort of visual gimmick when fired, whether it be your ship venting excess energy when charging up the wave cannon, or the multicolored trails created by the R13's laser weapons. I never thought the PSX's rendering power capable of describing a curved, organic surface, but sure enough, later sections of the game have you fighting enemies that actually look alive. And the bosses... well, that would be telling. Your mileage may vary, but if I had to pick a ''best-looking game on PSX'', this would be it.

Audio: 18/20

The more traditional music in R-Type Delta is a bit of a departure from the usual far-out fusion-jazz tunes of the earlier games, but it's fantastic in its own right. Every track fits its stage perfectly, and isn't just one repeating 2-minute loop. The music is actually synched up with various events in the level and develops, rising in tempo and intensity when the initial small waves of enemies give way to the full onslaught, then scaling back to an ominous drone as you come closer to the boss. While Einhander had event-synched changes in the music, R-Type Delta takes the idea to a whole new level in terms of accentuating the pacing of the stages.

Sound effects are good, but not on the same level as the music. I would have liked some more ''punchy'' sounds; as it is the sounds of the events on screen seem somewhat subdued.

Control: 12/20

After Thunder Force V's brilliantly-executed analog control, going back to digital was a bit of a bummer. But, rejoice! The exceedingly lame ''speed power-ups'' of the past games are gone--you can adjust your ship's speed at any time with the shoulder buttons. This even becomes a gameplay benefit--no more cheap deaths right after regenerating just because there aren't any speed power-ups available. This is an improvement the series desperately needed.

Gameplay: 36/40

As good as the presentation is, it's in the playing that the game truly shines. Previous R-Type games had only one ship, and R-Type III introduced a selectable Force device, but R-Type Delta expands this to three entirely different ships, with a fourth ship to be unlocked. The ships are so unique in function as to require drastically different strategies to succeed, increasing the play value of the game immensely. Whenever you feel like you're just going through the motions, a switch to a ship you haven't used for a while will make you reinvent your approach, keeping the game from ever getting old.

Just for a quick run-down, there are seven fairly long stages, each with the obligatory boss. Your ship, for those unfamiliar with series conventions, can obtain what's called a ''Force Device'', an invincible, controllable satellite that can either detach and help you deliver firepower to those parts of the screen you can't easily get to, or attach to your ship to protect it from enemy fire and enhance its weapons. The dynamics of your ship and its Force form a level of gameplay above and beyond that of most shooters, and R-Type Delta's tightly-designed stages make creative use of the Force a necessity.

One thing I've always been unhappy with in the R-Type games is their difficulty. Some folks relish in the insane toughness of the games, but I've always been of the opinion that the challenge came not from design, but simple cheapness. The deck is stacked entirely against you--you die in one hit, regenerate with no weapons or speed increases, and regenerate from checkpoints, requiring you to tackle the same segment of a level ad nauseam. These elements remain in this game, but the much-despised (by myself) speed power-up is gone, and challenge now comes from creative design. The game gives you more tools (power-ups and firepower advantages) than in the past, and while it makes you squirm through tight spots and figure out the best way to clear a group of enemies, the situations are more varied and balanced, and the firepower of the new ships is enough to make you feel like you have some authority over the events onscreen. I find this a very positive change.

Replay value of the game is fairly good; a hidden ship is unlocked if certain conditions are met, and there's the obligatory ''art gallery'' which seems to be a mainstay of 32-bit shooters' bonus items. The pictures are unlocked through a long-running journal of your accomplishments, such as total number of points earned across all games. ''Easy'' difficulty is just that, after you've played the game for a while, and ''Normal'' provides a challenge (I would consider myself a halfway decent shooter player). ''Hard'' is more like ''Impossible'' in my book, but it's there if you ever want that old-school R-Type feeling of powerlessness. :)

Overall: 86/100

Past R-Type games have found it difficult to tickle my fancy, for the reasons I've outlined above. But with R-Type Delta, it seems as if IREM knew exactly what to keep and what to change to turn the formula into a truly legendary shooter and showcase of PSX technology. I highly recommend R-Type Delta to any die-hard shooter fan, and also to anyone who plays shooters only occasionally and wants to see where the genre stands today.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/19/00, Updated 04/25/01