R-Type DX

"A great remake of a great space shooter series."

Keeping in line with Nintendo's trend of remaking some classic titles, Nintendo re-released some of the older Nintendo R-Type games on Game Boy Color. There are five games available for play on this game pak, and they are R-Type I (black and white), R-Type I (color enhanced), R-Type II (black and white), R-Type II (color enhanced), and R-Type DX (of course, color enhanced, this is basically just R-Type I and II mushed together). The basic story is that you have been sent out on a mission to save the planet from an impending alien invasion. That's about it, nothing too deep.

The gameplay here is excellent. R-Type is just such a fun, classic game, and for me, space shooters just never get old. There are a ton of enemies to defeat with various powerups to collect to help you on your mission. However, the game does suffer from two major flaws, which are basically the reason that this game received a two point deduction: difficulty and length. This game is short, and it's pretty easy, only taking about two hours or so to play through completely, if that long. I know it's a classic title, but since it's a remake it would not have hurt to add a few more difficult levels to increase replayability. Still, the game is a lot of fun and will keep you entertained, as you will end up going back to play it every now and again.

The graphics are top-notch for a Game Boy title. The backgrounds are well-colored and blend in well for a spacial environment. Enemy ships and robots are detailed. Some of your weapon powerups look awesome. The bosses are big and bad. And that one level where you basically blow up a ship... it's great. Explosions look wonderful for a Game Boy game.

The sound is decent. Sound on Game Boy games has never been all that thrilling, and there really is no exception here. The background music is just okay, nothing really catchy, but it does fit the theme of a space shooter at least. The sound effects are nice, from the sound of your ship receiving a powerup to the sound of a huge boss exploding, it's well-done.

Control is simple. You have a gun that you can shoot (obviously) or charge, plus you can move up, down, left, or right on the vertical field moving right. Nothing to it really. There's a front-end shield power-up that you can manipulate to send out in front of you with some slightly advanced controls.

Overall: 8/10
An 8 is a good score, a good score for a good game. If you're a fan of space shooters, go pick this up. It should only be at most $20 or so now, so it won't set you back too badly.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/03/02, Updated 10/03/02