Classic of the Month - R-Type Leo

Developer:	Eizo
Manufacturer:	Irem
Genre:	Shoot 'em up
Board:	M-92
Year:	1992

After Gradius, the R-Type games are probably the most famous, popular and revered side-scrolling shmups of all time,  but unlike Gradius, there were relatively few arcade sequels.  After the 1987 original there was R-Type II in 1989, a spin off called Armed Police Unit Gallop in 1991, then this installment in 1992 and that's it.  All the other sequels were for home consoles and computers, but that's hardly surprising; R-Type was converted to almost every home platform going, from the ZX Spectrum and original GameBoy to the Xbox 360 and even smart phones - a good 12 years after the original arcade release.

Set before the events of the original game, R-Type Leo tells the story of mankind's exploration of the galaxy and the construction of an artificial world called Eden.  However, Major, the super computer designed to operate Eden, goes haywire and starts to attack the human inhabitants using the planets defence system.  And so a newly developed star fighter, the R9 Leo, is called into action to take out the maniacal AI.

The Leo differs from other R-Type fighters by having neither a Wave Cannon (the main gun that can be charged to release high-power blasts) nor a Force (the satellite that multiplies and increases the fire power of the R9).  Instead when the Leo is powered-up it gets two small pods, later given the name Psy Bits. These Psy Bits stay in formation with the Leo, but can be aimed forwards or backwards by moving left and right.  They can also be charged and released to deliver a one-off high-power attack, similar to a charged Wave Cannon, however you charge them by not using them, meaning you can keep firing your regular weapon until it reaches full power. However, when they launch the Leo is temporarily defenceless, so there is a real risk/reward to using them.

Like other R-Type games, the power-ups in Leo come in three forms:

• Red lasers, which fire powerful horizonal beams
• Blue lasers, which bounce off the scenary and enemies
• Green laser, which are semi-homing lasers, capable of bending at 90°, much like a Tron light cycle's jet stream.

Officially the game was only released in Japan, however the odd unit made it over here, including the one I used to play in Great Yarmouth (yes, that place again).  So why have I made such a little known game a Classic of the Month?  Well, it might be little known and it might not have been developed by Irem, but it's still a great shmup and its influence was felt all the way up to the 2005 PlayStation 2 sequel, R-Type Final.

MTW