R-Type Final 2 Review
Release date: April 30th, 2021
Developer: NIS America
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), Steam, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
Price: $39.99
R-Type has made its way onto the Switch. Games have been waiting a long time for a new game since it's been at least 20 years since a game in the series has come out. While it's good to have it on Switch, there seems to be a few things missing from the final product.
R Type is all about small spaces with lots of bullets coming players’ way. I always thought of it as a strategic based shooter due to the tightness of the environments and how little room the ship has. The last time I played an R-Type game was either the SNES or the Gameboy Color. Final 2 has all the fun power ups, missiles, lighting, giant lasers, all the good stuff that R-Type games usually have.
There are lots of ship options and a lot of them feel the same. But R type is about precision and learning what the enemy is going to do. Players will have to master the levels and those tight spaces. There is a nice robust checkpoint system thank goodness. But if players die, a re-spawn means all those powerups the ship had are gone. But even on normal the game gets hard fast, I had to scale it back to easy to see if I could progress from level to level, and I still had issues.
Some of the boss fights are very intense, I had to really think about what was up and what was down as well as keep an eye on what kind of firepower was coming toward me. I do have to say the controls are nice and tight and the game plays well on handheld and on the tv. The game plays best with a pro controller and a larger screen. The music is catchy and fits right into what I remember. The graphics are great, ships, bosses and the backgrounds are very detailed.
If you are one of those long time R-Type fans then this is a game for you. If you are a new fan or want to check the game out, it might be worth waiting for a sale or at least trying the demo. At $40 the game is a little spendy for people who may not be familiar with what the game has to offer
If players can stick with the game and master it, they will be able to progress and unlock some fun things. Some of this includes different ships, there are 50 plus to unlock and the game has some replicability.
Big thanks to NIS the review code
Final Score:
Pros:
Rtype fans should be happy
Generous Checkpoint system
Cons:
Hard
Spendy at $40