R-Type III: Legendary Lightning Strikes

A vortex of dark matter swirls fast as its secret curtain is forced to part. Inside it, a graceful dark-blue pulse of the Ion Hub appears. The throbbing energy source blows out plasma in an organismic explosion of hidden cosmic synergy.  

Stars begin to fade as each piece of the Anti-BYDO Dimension Drive assembles, piece by piece, onto the core of the Ion Hub. In mere seconds an entire frame appears. Metal twists and bends, encasing the vital BydoChip components: cockpit, wings, and thrusters glow, signaling a release of stored energy.

With a swift thrust of its anti-matter engine the R-90 soars to skirmish once more.

gamespot.com

R-Type III: The Third Lightning was released in 1993. This SNES exclusive is rightly considered to be the greatest of the R-Type series. Nineties shooters were a staple of the 16-bit era, some were good, some not so much, others quite unique. This game belongs to the fourth kind: absolutely brilliant. 

To stop the BYDO Empire invasion you take control of Earth's deadliest vessel: R-90 Ragnarok. Just like in every R-Type game before it, the R-90 is armed with an indestructible spherical attachment called the Force: a living weapon that can operate independently from the main ship.

Having a free-floating module injects strategy into the regular shoot-'em-up formula. By positioning the Force behind or in front of the ship, players can take out enemies by trapping them in a cross-fire. If the screen fills with too many projectiles the Force can be attached onto the rear or front of the ship, and act as an impenetrable shield. You can select three different Force modules, with each one having different weapon power-ups and effects when detached.

Blue Pow

The game has six challenging stages which crank the difficulty the farther you progress. Each stage has memorable and unique mechanics that hinder your flight: moving corridors, acidic droplets that eat away parts of the level, giant furnaces spewing fire, plots of enemies, and direction-reversing shifts in specific spaces. The foes come relentlessly, and often fill the screen leaving a speck of space for movement. Speed-ups are scarce. Meaning, it's sometimes prudent to start the game from the beginning hoping your nerves hold up.

Each level has a distinctive ecology, mirrored in its enemy design. The vivid backgrounds have an amazing degree of depth, clarity, and detail -- quite uncommon for 16-bit shooters. This is the only shooter I know that scrolls, forwards, backwards, up and down. In the third stage, you fly downwards a mechanical tunnel, then move forwards and up. The level ends with a spider-like boss that can freely ascend and descend the tunnel's walls. Madness!

Alien(s) R-Type Style

The end level guardians are all hideously monstrous abominations spawned from the seed of man-made BYDO organic weapons. These rampant and vicious foes were initially made to propel man's universal dominion over the universe, but now stand in your way ready to devour. The BYDO bosses are unmistakable. There's, H.R. Giger's Alien-influenced, Dobkeratops; something somewhat reminiscent of reproductive organs called Gomander, the elusive Mother Bydo, and many more. (See R-Type Wiki.)

And there's the music... Incredible. Clearly arranged by an imaginatively deranged musical mind. My best description would be: catchy progressively rocking tunes, filled with Jazzy elements  that flow through percussive bass grooves. Inspired by techno, industrial, rock and Eastern influences. It's something totally unique, and at times, very energetic--especially the boss music. The cartridge is filled with must-hear arrangements that will imprint its sonic forces on your ears long after you get blown to bits by this classic's difficult onslaught.  

The game is hard. Really hard. I'm not sure if I'm a patient person by nature, or if this game made me very... meticulous. Either way, you can spend many hours playing this game, and that does not even mean you'll get to the end of the Advanced Mission scenario. R-Type is a long running series with its own extensive lore, and Third Lightning is one of the best in that gorging embryo of wickedness. A must play for any fan of side-scrolling shooters.

Developer: Irem

Publisher: Irem

Platform: SNES, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console

Genre: Shooter

Released: 1993

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