There is on the Internet, a sort of cult, and while the Freemasons apparently make Steve Guttenburg a star, this gaming-cult makes mediocre games stars. Endless retro-gaming lunatics banging on about good-honest-no-frills game play, when clearly they haven't played the game in 10 years. Because if they had, they would notice very few games can hold their own today, least of all these so called cult classics.
I'm not a member of this cult, obviously, I run a 3DO Blog and to make matters worse, a Playstation Blog, so I'm a pariah. But there is a cult, I promise you. Now, the power this cult has is astounding. It's members, which I reckon rank in the tens of thousands, actually think that Halo was some sort of seminal game, they believe that Zelda was more than just some hippy rubbish, and that Nights into Dreams was the exact opposite of confusing-tedium.
Madness, yes I know.
And woe-betide the fool that crosses them. I can cross them, obviously, they'll come on to my blog spew their bile and I'll just delete them, but you go onto a public forum and say them things. It's scary.
Well, another game that gets more than it's fair share of disproportionate love is R-Type.
Now R-Type was okay. I shoved a few ten-pence pieces into myself, but then I shoved ten-pence's into a lot of things. Pitfighter, I thought that that, at the time, was okay. Ironman Stewarts Super Off Road Racing was pretty good too I felt, and I bunged more money than was sensible into Namco's Winning Lap, which I was positively addicted too. Would I fight you to the death if you disagreed with me? Possibly, but for the sake of argument let's pretend I'm reasonable, so no. No I wouldn't.
Today's game poses a heart-yanking conundrum for the cult. You see, it's an updated version of R-Type. So according to the cult it's a sublime messenger of most excellent beauty gaming, but it's also a Playstation exclusive too, which means by the cults own belief system it's also Satan's rectal deposits on toast. It's like a Christian being informed that Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene were the same person. On one side over-love for R-Type and on the other deep irrational hatred of Playstation.
So then, R-Type Delta.
Hmmm.
Where to begin eh?
Difficult to know where to start really.
How about:
It's not as good as Einhander.
There I've said it, and I can't take it back. It's the truth.
Let me qualify that. The graphics are good in R-Type Delta, but not as good as Einhanders. Einhander has a lot more clarity. The organic-mecha feel of R-Type's environments are translated well to 3D, but lack the style of Einhander. Einhanders graphics are more refined, more engaging. They're just better.
R-Types sound track is also good, but lacks the punch of Einhanders. Einhanders tunes are edgy and have more personality than R-types. R-Types are good, better than Raystorms, but not as good Einhanders.
Graphics and sounds then. So?
Well, it is however how the game plays, that makes Einhander the better game. If you're going to put one game into one camp, and the other in another, then Einhander is challenging, R-Type Delta is frustrating. Very frequently while playing I got very angry with R-Types game designers. I have to push the craft against the wall, against the ceiling, it was the only way to survive, where is the skill in that? It feels ugly. By all means make a puzzle, make me think about where I positioning the craft, but don't make it feel claustrophobic. Certain situations you feel let-off rather than beating the challenge. The game carelessly kills you. In some ways, you feel you are fighting the level designer, rather than the game. R-Type delta feels like it's trying to prove a point to SHMUP fans, of which in Japan there are many, rather than make a great game.
That said, R-Type Delta is a great game. It is bloody good, please, don't get me wrong but it's not as good as Einhander.
There is sequence right at the start of the game where you feel like punching the air. This-is-great. You're flying along, figuring out how all the weapons look like their 2D counter parts in the original R-Types, only they are all in exciting 3D, and they look better and brighter, and suddenly a big green robot comes from no where. So you twat him with super-mega-laser blast and it immediately explodes. On the reward-o-player-o-meter this ranks pretty high. It feels better than great. Tint little space ship, great big laser, completely mushed big stompy robot.The next couple of bosses and levels are really rewarding too but then it starts to descend into picky and slightly irritating.
The ship, and I don't want to hark on about it, isn't as direct Einhanders. The weapons are R-type, but less rewarding than Einhanders, the bosses are R-Type but less inventive than Einhanders, the 3D, which is merely there for show-boating, is better in Einhander.
It's a close second, but very much second.
Still, I prefer I Raystorm personally, but there you go. Einhander was built by a crack team of assembled experts. R-Type Delta was built by hardened long serving professionals but Raystorm was built with heart and captures a feel for the time and era better than the others. Raystorm is1990s Japanese SHMUP, Einhander and R-Type Delta are extremely good SHMUPS. See?
If you own a Playstation, a 1, a 2 or a 3, or indeed a PSP, you owe to yourself to track down a copy of R-Type Delta, just make sure you get a copy of Einhander at the same time.
3DOKid.
