R-Type Final 2

R-Type Final 2 was created as a spiritual successor to R-Type Final from the PlayStation 2, a game that was presented in 2003 as the definitive farewell to the series. Almost twenty years later, the studio Granzella, founded by former members of Irem, returned to it and picked up directly where it left off – the player once again pilots the R-9 fighter and progresses through a series of levels against the biomechanical enemy Bydo, this time in 2.5D graphics combining hand-drawn backgrounds with three-dimensional models of ships and bosses. Development was funded by a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, which sets the game apart from most previous entries released through the traditional publishing model via major Japanese publishers, and allowed the game to be developed gradually, with content added through updates and paid expansions long after release.

The game offers over a hundred playable ships unlockable through progress, the largest selection in the entire series, along with the classic Force pod system serving as both shield and firepower booster, this time with several variants of behavior depending on the pod's type and its upgrades. For newcomers it adds the option to choose a lower difficulty and unlimited continues, while veterans can opt for the traditionally merciless pace with one-hit death that has made the series famous since the first arcade entry in the eighties. Unlike most previous entries, which were released first in arcades and only later on home platforms, Final 2 launched directly on consoles and PC simultaneously, becoming a more accessible entry point into the series for players who never sat at a coin-op cabinet.

Why play it: For R-Type fans who want a modern, more accessible entry with a huge selection of ships and optional difficulty, without having to turn to historical arcade cabinets or their unreliable emulation on older hardware that is now hard to find.