After reaching the heady heights – in numerous landscapes – then proclaiming yourself The Sentinel, our calling in the Your Sinclair Top 100 now sees us return to the inky black. Number Six from Electric Dreams Software sees us going nose-to-nose against Bydo, as we take control of R-Type.
R-Type began its life in the arcade halls across the globe back in 1987 from Irem, then 1989 it found its way on the ZX Spectrum programmed by Software Studios, who in this case where Bob Pape, Mark A. Jones, Robert L. Hylands. Our Solar System has been invaded by the most evil power ever witnessed, the Bydo Empire. Its forces are fused biological and technological abominations and they will stop at nothing to complete their mission, to take control of Planet Earth. However, mankind is fighting back by sending you in with the most technologically advanced space fighter ever created, the R9 . Can you stop Bydo before Earth becomes another part of its empire?
If you’ve played a game of R-Type on the ZX Spectrum you’d quite possibly believe that you’re being tricked! You’d wonder how a game with such colours, speed, minor subtle details, no slow down, pixel perfect collision detection, hulking great big end of level enemies and bucket loads of gameplay, can actually exist on the humble 48K and 128K ZX Spectrum. Even more bizarre is that Bob Pape is more known for designing Children’s Education Software on the ZX Spectrum and not breath-taking, space-fighting wonders. Let’s just say that R-Type does exist and we should just accept it without question. R-Type was a truly brilliant game in 1989 and here in 2016 it is still utterly fantastic on the ZX Spectrum!
R-Type is one of my all-time favourite games and it recently appeared in the Ten Games ZX Spectrum Games You Have To Play, for it really is that good. If you get a day’s peace and quiet can I also recommend that you read, “It’s Behind You: the making of a computer game, by Bob Pape”, the story on how R-Type came to be on the ZX Spectrum.
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Originally published August 22, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
