R-Type preparing to defend the iPhone from the Bydo Empire
Classic Irem shoot-'em-up development coming soon
Retro games are spilling out onto the iPhone like a plague of bizarre, bio-mechanical invaders lately; much like the Bydo Empire you went up against in Irem's seminal 1987 shoot-'em-up R-Type, which is rather fitting as it's just been announced for an iPhone adaptation.
Considered one of the most influential, and toughest, shmups of all time, R-Type introduced the notion of the indestructible 'force' satellite weapon as it threw the small, but immensely powerful R9 fighter into the heart of the invading Bydo Empire.
"We are very pleased to work on R-Type and to start our collaboration with Irem Software Engineering Inc," DotEmu CEO Xavier Liard tells TouchArcade. "Our main goal is to make the best touch version possible of this great game to seduce both fans and new players. This is really a great game and we are eager to release it."
With its array of stunning enemies, including the famous Dobkeratops from the end of the first level, to the level-wide behemoth spaceship in the third mission, R-Type redefined the side-scrolling shooter.
Even when it was first released, the slower pace of R-Type surprised gamers, though the action was still as hot and addictive as any of its closest competition. This more sedate pace could help with the conversion to iPhone, and the usual obstacle of converting a joystick and buttons to a touchscreen and accelerometer. We shall see.
Either way this is massively exciting news for arcade, retro and shooter fans everywhere, so stay tuned for more iPhone R-Type news as it comes in.
Just FYI, the name R-Type is actually derived from the huge number of insectoid enemies featured in the game. An R-type lifeform is one that produces a large number of offspring in a hostile environment where survival rate is likely to be low (such as ants), whereas humans fall under the K-type category, where fewer offspring are produced with a far greater capacity for survival.
I just thought this was interesting, as R-type life sounds a lot like the iPhone and App Store, don't you think?
It's also a classification of asteroid, but that's not quite as relevant. Sorry for rambling – I'm just excited about R-Type on iPhone, baby!
