Ludography
76/100
Players18 ratings

Where to get it

R-Type 2 cover

1989 · Irem · Arcade · Science

R-Type 2

The game is the sequel to R-Type, which was first released as an arcade game in 1987 and profoundly influenced later shooting games with its charge shots, unique weaponry, and grotesque enemies. Hudson Soft ported the later 4 levels of the original R-Type to the PC Engine with the title R-Type II, but the Hudson release is unrelated to the game described in this article.

Released
31 December 1989
Platforms
AmigaAndroidArcadeAtari STAtari ST/STE
Genres
ArcadeScienceShoot 'em upShooter
Developers
Irem
Publishers
Irem
Series
R-Type
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
ActionScience fiction
Country
Japan
Age ratings
ESRB E
Entry
#2 in R-Type

About

R-Type II is a 1989 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Irem for arcades. It is the sequel to 1987's R-Type, and the second game in the R-Type series.

Keywords

  • shoot 'em up
  • side-scrolling
  • virtual console
  • upgradeable vehicles

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player controls a ship called the R-9C, which is an improved version of its predecessor game's ship, the R-9. The ship's design was changed slightly, and the Wave Cannon is given a new charge level. Two new types of weapons (the Search Laser and Shotgun Laser) were added, bringing the total number of weapon types up to five. A new anti-ground unit bomb was added to the missile inventory.

Though the number of levels was decreased from the previous game, the number of enemies, their durability, and the number of bullets they shoot were greatly increased. Enemy movements and terrain were also made trickier, bringing the game's difficulty up considerably. The same revival system is used as in R-Type, where the player is brought back to a checkpoint whenever their ship is destroyed.

Reception

The arcade game was successful in Japan, where Game Machine listed it as the second most successful table arcade game of December 1989.

The arcade game was critically acclaimed. Commodore User reviewed the arcade game, giving it an 86% score.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Arcade31 December 1989Worldwide
Atari ST/STE31 December 1991Worldwide
Amiga31 December 1991Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Included in
4 in 1: Irem
Ported as
R-Type II
Remade as
R-Type II
Built on it
R-Type IIR-Type DX

In the same series

Games like this

Collections1 collection

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.