September 1, 1991 — Super R-Type

Not quite Gradius III — but the most palatable title of the second week releases.

The second side-scrolling shooter for the SNES, Super R-Type is the only title this week, aside from Drakkhen, to have some sort of a storyline introduction to the game.

The hero is in some sort of space base and is launched into space to shoot stuff. Not the most complex storyline for a game, but at least it’s not just appearing in the universe and immediately blasting.

We can assume the hero is humanoid and pilots the space craft. The enemies or obstacles are either aliens or a people with a more sinister design aesthetic for their spacecrafts.

Another game with not much complexity, you just blast and move right. Occasionally there are bosses, and occasionally power ups.

The one major flaw in this game: if you die you go right back to the beginning of the level. So it’s more about choreography than it is about maneuvering.

Another flaw, the game slows down significantly when there’s a lot of stuff on the screen. Which can be a blessing if you’re looking to navigate the mess.

This game’s graphics were called “magnificent,” but they are fine at best.

Time Played: One hour.