R-Type: Dimensions was developed by Southend Interactive and published by Tozai Games. It retails for 1200 MSP and was released February 4, 2009.

R-Type: Dimensions is an HD remake of R-Type released in 1987 and R-Type 2 released in 1989. They are both horizontal shooters which, along with the Gradius series, defined the genre. For those who don’t know the genre is defined by brutal difficulty, mandatory memorization, tactical gameplay, and blowing up aliens. In R-Type: Dimensions you control one ship against the entire Bydo alien race. The Sci-Fi space theme works well and lends itself to crazy bosses and enemies. R-Type’s historical importance is without question, but it is also one of the few games that old that still holds up to modern gameplay standards.

Here’s what we liked:

HD update true to source material – Not every HD update is done well. In fact, sometimes the source material is best left alone. In this case the developers have done an excellent job. The whole game has been beautifully rendered with 3D models and backgrounds.  The effect is clean and true to the feel of the arcade original. For purists the original graphics have been left in as well; you can switch between the two looks on the fly. This makes for easy comparisons between the update and the source. Playing in one mode or the other doesn’t seem to offer any advantage so use what feels and looks best to you. The HD look also offers two different camera angles. The standard is the same as the original version. The “crazy” camera angle turns the angle of the screen slightly and adds a lot of depth to the screen. It’s a cool effect but it makes the game slightly more difficult to play.

Stat tracking – R-Type: Dimensions tracks your gameplay very closely. Far more than just having a gameplay clock it tracks shots fired, enemies killed, and many other things. It is a simple addition but it adds some interesting information that gets lost in almost all other games.

Gameplay still holds up – R-Type was released in 1987. There aren’t many games from that time still worth playing. R-Type set the standard for horizontal shooters and that template has not changed much over the past 24 years. What you get is a game that plays just as well as the day it was released. This is a game that has much more than historical significance going for it, it still has serious gameplay.

Extreme challenge – The only people who are going to breeze through R-Type: Dimensions are people who took the time to truly master it 20 years ago. The rest of the gaming community, especially those who weren’t even around when this game came out, will have a hard time with it. This game is designed to be hard, but it doesn’t cheat.  What it will do is kill you over and over again without mercy. Thankfully half the fun of the game is overcoming that challenge. It also helps that there are infinite continues so that everyone will be able to see the whole game.

Here’s what we didn’t like:

Price point – 1200 MSP will seem like a steep price for most gamers. Certainly there will be some players who would jump at a chance to play R-Type again. But for the uninitiated, the price is too high. It’s likely that the price point is justified because of the effort put into the HD remake. Nonetheless a reduction to 800 MSP seems more in order.

Slow pace – The game is deliberately slow in its pace. It plays just fine, but by today’s standards it’s bound to feel slow and sluggish. It’s an issue of personal preference, but some players will not like the speed of the game. This is one area where R-Type: Dimensions really does show its age.

Extreme challenge – The challenge is a good thing, but it gets ridiculous at times. The game is meant to be beaten without being destroyed once. That’s great in theory. In practice the average gamer will be obliterated. The main problem is that the game actually gets harder as you die, not easier. When you die you lose all of your power-ups. To make matters worse, while you are off screen for a split second respawning, the enemies are piling up onscreen getting ready to kill you again. This leads to a lot of deaths immediately after spawning which leads to frustration.

R-Type: Dimensions is an excellent remake of two excellent games. Any fan of shooters will be able to enjoy these games. Unfortunately the price point will likely keep many players from taking the plunge. Those who do try it out may find the difficulty overwhelming. But for those who persevere through it all, the reward of a high scoring run will make it all worth it.

Score: Try It