R-type

Developer: Sega
Publisher:  Sega

I've always been a fan of Irem's R-type series, here you'll be flying a lone spaceship against hordes of enemies,  ranging from ships and robots to huge bio-monsters, the game features plenty of power ups like the ricocheting blue beam, the straightforward but power red laser and the fire attack, which shoots straight up and down (didn't really care for that last one) but everyone's favourite is without a doubt the shining orb, it can be used as a shield, thrown against enemies and it even fires its own weapons which is especially useful against bosses, speaking of them, the bosses are awesome, the first one looks like a super sized version of Ridley Scott's "Alien" and the third level is basically just one big boss fight, making it my favourite level in the game.

Unfortunately the Master System can just barely handle the game, you'll come across a fair amount of slowdown, but the real offenders here are the flickering graphics and the gutted soundtrack.

Trivia: Did you know the Master System version of R-type has a secret level? You access it on the fourth level, by ramming against a specific pillar, oddly enough this level has the best song in the game.

Pros:
- The orb power-up gives makes the game stand out from anything else in the genre
- The bosses are fun and original (and Level 3 is basically one big boss fight)
- One of the best SHMUPS on the master system

Cons:
- Between flickering graphics and relatively poor music the Master System can just barely run the game

Final Grade: B

The packaging for this game is above average for the time and definitely leaps and bounds ahead of most Master System games, I love that 80's sci-fi artwork and amazingly, the grid background doesn't really clash with it.

The Manual doesn't really say much though, it gives you two short paragraphs for backstory, one explaining who your enemies are and the other giving you details about your ship, the rest is just item descriptions, points you get for each kill and a small detail of what each level layout is.

My version also came with a Master System Catalog, and it's without a doubt the most interesting part of the packaging, I just love reading about all of the games that I own and still hope to own.

Packaging Grade: B