Note here, despite what's said in the video, this isn't the case where the franchise was handed off to some uninvolved team. Irem's game development was essentially shut down after they had to cancel Disaster Report 4 following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster of 2011 - making a disaster survival adventure game following the incident would have looked kind of bad. The company continued making pachinko and slot machines, but following that budget disaster, stopped making video games. Granzella, the people who made R-Type Final 2 is made of people who used to work for the Irem game development division. The studio director, Kazuma Kujo, is the same person who was in charge of directing the complete Disaster Report series for Irem. This is the reason the first "big" Granzella game was to actually finish the 4th game - even if it was about 7 years late. Besides Kujo, a cursory look at the end titles of RTF2 would suggest at least two programmers (out of 9) also worked on R-Type Final almost 18 years ago. Yuki Iwai, who did the music also composed for the original Final and both R-Type Command games. Even the name "Granzella" comes from a faction name from R-Type Command 2. Will watch the review later, since I just had to come to point this out. I have kind of mixed feelings about the game myself - even if I'm definitely enjoying it, criticism is also very justified.
I knew I should have addressed this a bit more in the vid ha, but I was aware of the director's connection to irem. However, I think one thing we need to be careful of is this sort of notion that the director is the key to a quality game. I think the dymanics of the dev staff and studio is also incredibly important and there are actually a number of projects that were sold on their director involvement, but did not deliver in the end. Games like Mighty number 9, devil's 3rd, deathstranding, and shenmue 3. So I still stand by my criticism that the studio had not created a shmup before R Type Final 2 and I do think the lack of experience and polish shows in the product.
@@TheElectricUnderground Based on an interview with Kazuma Kujo from Granzella, several other former Irem staff members that worked R-Type Final 2 also worked on Final , Delta, and Command, including the original Irem programmer, the artist, and the music composer. The senior members of the former R-Type developers from Irem who worked on RTF2 were Mr. Ifugi, Maru, Hatake, and Hiroaki, who also worked on R-Type Final, Delta, and Command 1 & 2. www.polygon.com/interviews/2019/6/25/18645066/r-type-final-2-kazuma-kujo-interview
It was inevitable and I admit I had reservations after the initial footage and demo too. I've heard mixed reports by some who have been enjoying it and others not at all. So far your points are mostly things that concerned me from just the demo and footage. In an odd sadistic way it makes me want to play it even more to see what I think of it given that you pretty much hated near every aspect of it. I'm not a fan of slow, deliberate paced shmups and still like the early R-Type series despite that preference, simply because most of the early games had such engaging stage design and puzzles it made it fun to play and figure out. Like you said playing for survival was fun. And if you look at the original games, they are not "slow". Your ship is fast, sometimes too fast, and there is plenty of skill based dodging in addition to memorization. It's really the pace of the scrolling and larger enemies that is slow. Take away engaging level design and you're left with just a slow game. I'm in the category that didn't like Final too much and thought Delta was far far better, so given Final 2 seems very similar, I may feel the same way. But I'm going to give it the ol' college try, on my Switch version no less hahaha, and see what I think. Really appreciate the thorough review as I do value your take on the games. I watched a couple other early youtube reviews and it felt like a waste of time, they didn't actually say or evaluate much.
Yes I think the chips were pretty much stacked against this game from the start, I really hope my review helps convey all the aspects of the genre that are important to pay attention to. This whole notion that any old studio can whip up a good shmup needs to be debunked ha
@@TheElectricUnderground I’m not sure who all the actual programmers were, but the designer on this game was Kazuma Kujo who also did Final and was involved in Delta which is a very well made game. And he founded Granzella. So part of the excitement was this game was being handled by someone familiar with the series and it wasn’t a random studio. And yet... well I promise to give it a fair shake when I play.
@@ShmupJunkie I did see this in my research too! So I need to make a seperate vid on this topic but I think as gamers we need to be very skeptical about the actual key value game directors can have. Yes the role is important, but I think having a strong dev staff is also very important and we 've seen many examples of this misconception play out. Like mighty number 9, devil s third, death stranding, Shenmue 3, etc.
Fun fact: R-type Leo was Irem attempting to make a new franchise and then realizing they'd be throwing money away if they didn't call it R-type. That's why you don't get the shield and you aren't fighting the Bydo. I think it feels more like Irem trying to do a Thunder Force game but there is still some R-type flavor with some of the stage design. I think R-type is one of the hardest shmups to replicate because its so weird. You made a comment about fighting the bosses backwards and that tells me they were at least somewhat on the right track and just missed on the execution. A huge part of R-type is memorizing the enemy waves and boss patterns and planning ahead for whether you want the shield behind you, in front of you or out in front. It takes a significant amount of time to move the shield from front to back and at times the level design will actually work against you if you're trying to swap shield positioning. I would guess that the people that love R-type really love this aspect of it.
I'm an R-Type fan and personally I've been enjoying it. If it's guilty of anything it is that it is too much like R-Type.. which is what I wanted (but not what many modern shmuppers want). Personally I didn't have slowdown issues on switch but its a shame you did. The Euroshmup comparison is fair, but that's also a classic R-Type design choice.
The only reason I played this game as much as I did was to customize my ships... AND THAT'S IT. I learned all the patterns and exploits incidentally while farming for money/resources, NOT because the game was any fun. Your review, as difficult as it was, is SPOT ON! Thank you for your work. 😄
A lot of people disliked R-Type Final but I thought it was creepy and atmospheric and even those slow gaps in the action were used to set up the environment. The bosses were weird and creative with actual interaction (like the way the Dobkeratops's head would fall off and you had to dodge it before the second phase starts). I got obsessed with that game and was blown away to learn that it wasn't exactly well regarded. I was SO hyped for this one but that demo turned me right off.
I appreciate your honest reviews. If I want a review for a shmup I’m potentially interested in playing, your channel is always the first place I check.
I think the funny part of this review is that some of the gameplay criticisms as I was hearing you speak are ones I've had of classic shmups in general when trying to get into the genre. the Wonky scrolling in Trouble Shooter / Battle Mania, The sniper tanks in Raiden Fighters, stuff you'd just never see coming the first time around and once you figure it out, it's not as bad, but it's meant to "GET YA". I think Shmup Instinct is a really weird thing. Your laser example - now reviewing the footage - that big pink glow COULD indicate a giant pink laser? but I would have missed it for sure... This part of shmups deserves its own analysis. to be clear, im super not defending this game, I actually personally don't like that kind of gameplay design at all - but I feel like you kind of HAVE to deal with it if you want to explore a lot of the classic shmup library. Doesn't mean it has to show up in more recent efforts though...
I appreciate this review but definitely disagree with it overall. As someone older who's been a superfan of this franchise for decades and remembers playing the first R Type in an arcade, I'm so psyched they made a new R Type game and I'm having a blast playing through it, so much so that I didn't hesitate to purchase all available DLC content. I think Granzella got a lot more right than wrong, and I'm loving playing an R Type game with such awesome graphics and smooth control. And personally I like the momentary lulls in the action in R Type games. They give you a moment to think as well as providing a perfect place to pause the game. I'm running RTF2 on a PS4 Pro and a 65" Samsung QN90A tv and it's pure shooter heaven.
“the first incentive is you need to survive, then you need to score” is some actual life philosophy to take beyond arcade games. i’ll remember those words lol
One thing I loved so much with the original Final was the amazing atmosphere and the way it's storytelling was presented. It's so sad that Final 2 didn't continue that trend. It was just so different from other Shmups. And man, stage F-B was probably one of my favorite stages of all time in that game.
Agreed. My favorite stages were 3.5 (the swamp where you fight the R-13A Cerberus), 6.1 (the "hamster wheel" where you fight the giant slug), F-A (the surreal "sludge world"), F-B (where you return to stage 1.0 as an enemy) and F-C (the gauntlet level where you travel back in time). Man, R-Type Final had some great stages. (And some very bad ones too. lol)
To be clear, Kujo was not a director of any other r-type game other then R-type Final 1, which itself has mixed reception among players. R-type Delta and the older R-type games are directed Hiroya Kita. Also, Just to clarify another point about the dev history and how I said the studio didn't have any significant shmup releases, I was and am aware of the connection of ex - irem staff on the development team. However, my point was that it takes more then just an experienced director to produce a quality game (if you even want to count Kujo as experienced), he also needs a strong development staff to do the actual hands-on game creation and this new studio is a completely separate beast from irem despite staff connections. Honestly, I don't think it's right to equate the legendary studio Irem to this Granzella studio just because the director of Granzella, Kujo, worked on what can be considered the weakest entry into the R-Type series. In my eyes, the dip in quality In this game's case can't just be excused because it is branded as an R-Type game. Final 2 didn't have the polish and attention to detail that it needed. Also, even if you want to give Kujo the benefit of the doubt, we've seen similar examples from other games that have notable directors that fell short like Mighty number 9, devil s 3rd, Shenmue 3, and death stranding. Also I made a follow up video: th-cam.com/video/9zG5JPVx9OM/w-d-xo.html
I enjoyed R-Type Final 2 for what it was, but it shares too many issues that I had with Final 1 where the stages are boring and empty so they feel "slow". Past R-Types are still slow but they're very engaging with more enemies & obstacles. The lack of engaging stages just prevented me from wanting to touch the game again. The only thing bringing me back is unlocking ships... but I already unlocked the Leo ship (best ship IMO) so I'm happy and done lol. Poetic ending review was amazing!
I'm a fan of horizontal shmups and a big fan of R Type. The problem for your criticism is that you are comparing the game to modern shmups, especially bullet hell. If you compare it to other R Type games, then I think it is a pretty good game. I would say it's the forth best game in the series, tied with Leo if you consider that an R Type game. My top three are R Type Delta, R Type, and R Type III. All these games have the same problems you have with this game, minus the bland level design and enemies. If you have ever played R Type Final on PS2, then you will see that this is a far superior game than that one. Of course with Final and with this game, the star of the show is the 100+ ships for you to unlock and play around in these stages. They could have been more innovative and take it in a new direction, implementing new ideas for the modern players. However, shmups is pretty niche and they need to see how successful this game becomes before they take bigger risks. I think they are playing on nostalgia while testing the water. If this game does well, then I think you can see another R Type game that hopefully will be better. For me, I'm just glad we have some shmups to play that is not trash. To me, this is an 7.5/10. I agree with your criticism of having better cohesiveness in the levels but R Type games have never had a central theme. I also agree with you that the graphic is a little bland and blocky. You have to understand the budget they had. I think they did an admirable job on their first attempt. I'm willing to support them so that they can make more and hopefully better shmups in the future. I enjoy the game but that maybe because I'm like horizontal traditional shmups more than vertical and bullet hell. Is it perfect, hell no. Do I enjoy the game, yes. For me, that is all that matters. I do play Ketsui and DDP and other cave games. They are pretty good but I'm just not good at dodging bullet. Also, I don't know if the footage you have shown in your video is yours or not, but if you play in on R Typer difficulty, it's a very different game. There are more enemies, bullet patterns and boss variations are different etc. Also, there are 11 stages in total. They are also remaking some old levels from previous games like R Type Delta, R Type, R Type Leo, etc as paid DLC. Give that a try and see if those games are the same as you've remembered. You have to right to your own opinion and I respect that. Maybe it's just not your cup of tea. I'm not trying to change your mind or persuading people to like the game. People who like the game know who they are and I'm certainly one of them.
I was comparing to the r type franchise primarily. I think it really falls short to the other games in the series that I have played. But I don t think it s pure garbage or anything. Just not up to a standard that I feel comfortable recommending
@@TheElectricUnderground I can understand that. Maybe I'm just so glad to have another R Type game to play that I have lowered my standard a little. At full price, it's hard to recommend to casual player. Hopefully when it gets discounted, then people will get to play it. I honestly really enjoy the game. I just didn't like that only half of the ships are done and the other half are still in development, and I don't even know if they will charge for those. Second, I was hoping the 3 DLC would be included since I'm paying full price. Instead, I have to buy them separately or with a season pass for all three, which sucks because they are trying to milk people for more money. Yes, I know they didn't have a lot of money to start with and it costs money to make games, but still felt a bit deceived and disappointed. If they make another one that is even better, then all is forgiven. JAJAJA
This should be pinned, imho. Cause i see most of commenters blindly follow Mark's (quality and detailed, yes) review, forgetting that it's one of possible viewpoints.
Granzella IS the spiritual successor/resurrection of IREM. Huge oversight there in the review....... I know some original R-Type devs are involved, though I don't know how many.
I was aware but the studio had not produced a shmup before this one. I understand that the director may have had some experience, but that does not equal a polished team. Look at mighty number 9, devil s 3rd, Shenmue 3, death stranding, all these games have a famous director but really lack the quality studio polish
@@TheElectricUnderground but also people reactions were more harsh than deserved, for example with Devil's Third - it had great and fun multiplayer, and campaign was not bad if you play more risky instead of cosplaying cover shooter. See iconoclast575 's mission score attack videos.
Thanks a lot for the critique ! Just discovered your channel very recently as I've decided to invest myself a bit more into shmups. Very comprehensive one and I dig the sometimes harsh but fair points you're doing: this is exactly what I'm looking for and I appreciate it a lot. Hope to see more from you. Also I believe Granzella has a few Irem veterans (appart from Kazume Kojo) so I'm not exactly sure if your agument about this game being done by people with no shmup experience is entirely true !?! Another point I want to make is I'm disturbed by the visual (technical) disparity between stages: like that 3rd level or again the water one which seem to be clearly unfinished or should I say with a degree of "finition" not on par with some other levels.
So I really wish I would have explained my point more in the review, but I was aware of the irem connection for the studio. However, it is my view that even having some veteren staff for a studio doesn t necessarily mean we are going to get a polished full quality product. For example games like Mighty number 9, devil s 3rd, Shenmue 3, and death stranding
This is a good game, just the hitboxes are a pain. Even playing on the easiest difficulty, is a pain. I'm watching videos of players doing a good job, but for me just getting frustrated getting my ship blown up during boss battles. I say the best way to make sure this game to have a good replay value is a DLC to at least unlock all ships and just throwing this out there, invincibility. It might deactivate getting trophies but for me I want to play it more.
Kujo mentioned in the interview that the new devs had never played or worked on a shmup game beforehand. Things didn't start to come together until development was wrapping up.
This video was presented to you by Nike! But seriously, this is what I thought when seeing footage of the first R-TYPE Final way back in PS2 days... didn't regret skipping that one, either. Delta has an AMAZING soundtrack BTW.
It's always interesting to go back and watch reviews of games I've played. As an aspiring developer, it's something I like to do as I find it genuinely entertaining and I figure it probably deepens my understanding of what works and what doesn't in game design. Anyway, I actually just completed my first playthrough of this game on Switch and actually rather enjoyed it despite some uh... Rough edges. I actually don't really recall any performance issues, though there was a rather chunky update I downloaded before playing that probably factored into that. Personally, I'm hoping they'll get a chance to really clean up all those blemishes in a sequel. I guess I just want to say... Anyone who's on the fence and is here before they buy, maybe still give it a chance. There certainly are very valid criticisms (especially the bosses being kinda meh) but I think there's still plenty to enjoy as well and, frankly, this is one of those games I'm just glad exists. If you like what you see in the demo, I think you'll find plenty to enjoy as well. And if you don't? Well, that's what demos are for.
What's wierd is that a lot of the performance issues were heavy in stage 1, and then somewhat smoothed out in the later stages, though that could have been just the lack of background assets in them ha.
Cool game but it definately lacks in alot of areas compared to other installments. A few issues I had : Game feels a little too zoomed in. Its like they wanted to show ship and enemy detail at the cost of some gameplay accuracy. It makes manuevering harder than it should be at times. The bullets are quite large. Also the design of the bullets. I find its very easy to get hit by random enemies or projectiles without knowing what hit me. Too much blending with the explosions and shit. Nothing that I can really track well in my peripheral vision when focusing on other parts of the screen. Music is servicable but much weaker than other games in the series. Nothing memorable. Most bosses feel a little too simple and generic. Inability to make a temporary save so you can resume when you turn the game back on, or switch to another game. This would be useful for a run of the hardest mode, where you might spend a few hours trying to get through the game. Another big reason that this should be in the game is that I had the fucking game crash TWICE on the final stage on normal. This wasted maybe 4 hours of my time. It took a while to get to the final stage both times and it happened on two different final stage routes. Back to back in the same day. This was on Series X and made me not want to work on the hardest mode anytime soon. Im still hesitant to try again on normal but will soon. I agree though. It really isnt up to the gameplay, visual and music level of the older games. Even other 3D R-Types like Delta were much better. I remember the first Final being better too. The second boss feels like such a waste of time, as you said. Often I get to the end of the fight only to run into a plant or some shit. Its easy but tedious. The third boss is more simple patterns. The water boss was the only one that was a little more creative. This is definately one I will post a review on when I am able to actually complete the fucking game without it crashing. I may wait until I complete the hardest mode, but if it keeps crashing I will just review it after completing normal. Its always cool to see other perspectives. Agree that these "pro" reviews are way too political, vague and generalised. Barely any gameplay details in reviews these days. I didnt even see any mainstream reviews on this game yet, but havent dug any deeper than gamefaqs. Personally I wont review any game I havent completed and have alot to say about. There is alot of games I blazed through without appreciating them because I was going for the straight kill. I wouldnt try to create a narrative around that shit and pretend like Im familiar with the game, maybe throw in my complete life story and complain about the current president. Wouldnt be surprised if some of these reviews complained about the ship not being gendered.
Oh don t get me started on game journalists using video games as a political platform, it s very disrespectful to the medium. There is absolutely no need to turn video gaming into a funnel for people s political beliefs. I thought it would be funny if I did a parody for this but with religious beliefs where I would sneakily add in religious talking points like game reviews do with politics
@@TheElectricUnderground The end of the video was great, ha ha. Very accurate with how these fakes pretend to know what the fuck they are talking about with games yet provide very little detail, seem unable to play well enough to go in depth with the games they review. Some may interpret it as boasting, but I only review games I completed as I dont see alot of merit in reviews done by players who havent put work into the game. Though we probably seek more in depth reviews than most casual players.
Hey Mark! I kickstarted this one, but I've been disappointed so far with my few hours of gameplay. Totally agree with your point about the visuals (this tends to be my issue with shmups with 3D models/environments). I love the concept of all the unlockable ships... but it sucks that most of the rest fell short. Always appreciate your honest reviews!
i mean, sine mora is 2012 and for some reason still looks better than any other (or at least japanese-made) 3d shmup... why? idk, but level of details on some SM stages matches old classics like Dimahoo or Batrider, i'd say.
They even went out of their way and got feedback from the shmup community on the game and DID NOTHING WITH IT...Its a shame. Game is not even worth playing IMO the first thing that pops in my head when i hear "Euroshmup"
@@finnmarr-heenan2397A "euro shmup" is not a shmup from Europe but a term for that oddly designed shmup which has bullet spongy popcorn enemy's, tons of dead space, unavoidable damage that is meant to be tanked by large amounts of health. No bullet patterns and strange sparse level design Stuff like Sine Mora, SoldenerX, Jets n guns, They don't feel good to me personally. Plenty of good shmups have come out of europe though i have never played Tyrian
@@morsalty its free on gog try it out, definetly not a cave style arcade game but music slaps and its pretty crazy on turbo mode, also has a cool plot and tones of secrets(including street fighter style hidden moves)
Probably the most honest review we'll get for this one. As a long time fan of the series I was worried this was going to be a merciless roast, but it came across more like a eulogy lol. Disappointing to say the least, but we can't give a pass even to iconic series for a mediocre product. If something like this gets praised as a return to form then this is the only type of product we can expect to get in the future. I'm sure I'll still buy it at some point just for the 'stalgia, but definitely not at full price.
I hear what you’re saying Mark, but I’m still having a blast being “lost in the cosmos” 😅. Good review, although I don’t agree with everything you said, you were right about a few things, namely the generic bosses. As a newbie, relatively speaking, my opinion of the game is coming from someone that hasn’t been exposed to enough shmups to really think about things like level design and boss design, as opposed to someone, like yourself. I get that. I’ve only really played the first Rtype games, never played delta, Leo, or final, so I’m not sure how much better those games are compared to Final 2, but I wouldn’t say I couldn’t recommend this game, especially to someone who’s new to the series. The game has its flaws, but it’s worth playing (wait for it to go on sale if you must). Plus being able to customize your R-9 is awesome.
sad thing, now haters are using this reviews as a shield to cover their "final 2 suxx!" agenda, even if review aint that negative, and kinda subjective on some parts as Mark is not me or you, and you or me are not Mark, etc. etc. :D
Dude, the poetic review at the end was worth a month of Patreon alone! I haven't put enough time into it to make final judgements, but I tend to agree with many sentiments you've expressed, though the pacing is very similar to Final and Delta, so in that regard, Final 2 is on brand. I do think it looks pretty, but your point about the visual acuity in the game is well taken. There are definitely issues in that regard. I've taken a number of unexpected deaths from stuff I didn't know was hazardous.
Mark, I agree with every point brought up in your review. I hated this game at first, but it did grow on me as I tried to grind through and unlock all the ships. I think the core of R-Type is the force pod mechanic, knowing when to move it forward or backward, and using it as a shield, and RTF2 does the job in pod dynamics. Also wanted to say version "2.5" is out, they added 2 free levels and expanded the difficulty settings, so you may want to give a revisit. I play on the PS4 and I can see no issues, so they might have improved the Switch slowdown also. The new level 5.1 fits right into your criticism of being uninspired, even down to the boss..........
The nature of modern game design where the game is radically changed a year or so later ha. I ll keep an eye on the game but I probably won't re review the thing anytime soon
Have you played Natsuki Chronicles Mark? I was interested to see what you would think of it. It has analogue controls so you can control the speed of your ship. It actually feels really good to control (at least for me).
That ending poetic review would lead to an instant hire at Kotaku, lol. In all seriousness, I'm newer to shmups but ive wanted to say for a while that I really like your channel. I think I can understand your outlooks (both when I agree and disagree) due to also coming from a heavy fighting game background. You at least give great explanations to your rationale, which is useful in knowing how much the opinion may or may not be helpful to me in knowing what to expect in my own experience. I think the parts in this review that jumped out at me here is the generic look of everything (especially the bosses), and the questionable design choices like the inconsistent enemy patterns like the tanks. Good game design includes allowing the player to learn the game thru concepts introduced early on that are repeated later (often in tougher situations). You wouldn't have a grounded Green Koopa in Mario Bros just walk in a fixed direction at one speed, then Mario goes to the next level and have that exact same Koopa sprite move faster and jump at you when your hitbox gets too close. Just leads to unfair deaths, and the gameplay feels random and less rewarding to overcome.
My nostalgia and experience towards R-type comes from the sega master system version. Trying to put bias aside, I genuinely like that version over the arcade as original was always a bit too frustrating for me, and despite the former being in my childhood, it seems a lot more fair to play. Next time it showed up was when r-type dimensions came out for xbla and I was into achievement hunting (especially trying to 100% achievement lists in arcade games where possible). And there were two: *"Beam Me Up!:* _Using only full beam shots and without dying, complete stage 1 of R-Type or R-Type II in 1P Classic"_ and *"Dare Devil:* _Using rapid-fire and no power-ups, complete stages 1 & 2 of R-Type in a single game of 1P Classic"_
I remember 'beam me up' took a while but with some practice is fine, considering it's only 1 stage and you get choices on which game to do it on. Where as 'dare devil' seems like PST territory when I think about this game.. XD (fwiw there's an auto fire button, it's slower than mashing and you can't charge shots when you use it, you have to hold down only that button for 2 levels and btw; 'no powerups' includes not picking up the _Force Orb_ at the start and avoid touching it for both levels) I enjoy these types of challenges and I'm sure to a shmup expert this stuff is probably not very difficult.. I'm more of an enthusiast which probably related to what I like about this channel, it helps me reminisce about games that I won't necessarily think about or remember very often. So thanks for informing me that this sequel even exists. XD
And Stage 3. Man what happened? It looked like it was thrown together in a week. Delta had you fighting a Giant Walker in a beautiful Arctic setting and Final 1 had you fighting a Battleship over a busy and panicking Metropolis. There is NO such creativity and imagination here.
It's not as polished as the older r-type games, but if its the same devs of final and delta and they want to continue making games ill choose to support them. but yeah for me the difficulty pacing is kind of weird in this game, also not enough big organic creatures or enough movement, the dobkeratops tail doesnt even move around, little things that could have made the game better.
It s the same dev team as final 1, but not delta really. That part of the marketing was pretty misleading, my kujo had a much smaller role in the game then is let on (he worked on the game design plans, but was not the director)
Have you tried playing on "R-Typer" difficulty setting and above? Changes that first boss fight completely. Actually all boss fights, bullet patterns, enemy number and placement. By the way... the name of this developer comes from R-Type lore. You should definitely give the originals R-Type a far chance. Playing a bit of them just for the context of this review tells how little you care about them. Its a bit sad but its your honest opinion... So there's that.
I did play on the higher difficulties, and while it did fill out the stages more i felt like they also introduced their own problems as well ha, like how a lot of the enemies had really inflated health and felt like sponges on the higher difficulties. I am aware that the staff has a connection to irem, but this is still their first shmup and I think the end product shows that they were not totally prepared to deliver a strong follow up to the series. I'm going to make a vid on this, but just because a new studio may have a connection or related personnel to the old studio, that does not equal the same level of quality. Look at examples like mighty number 9, devil's 3rd, deathstranding, and shenmue 3
I had a feeling you wouldn't like this because you've mentioned not liking horizontal scrollers very much in past streams. I personally prefer them but they are also "less safe" than vert scrollers or danmakus due to their need to consider actual level design with environmental hazards, something not much outside of Treasure, G.Rev and Konami has dabbled with. I just think having that context makes a lot more sense for your review because I know you're a fan of Progear for example but that game nothing like most horis and closer to something like Dariusburst. I feel like with R-Type in particular, it always been a much slower, methodical game where positioning and foresight amd king. Reflexes aren't very useful here since your hitbox is much bigger than most games in the genre.
The "professional review" part had me laughing loudly and got me the satisfaction the game couldn't deliver. Having felt disappointed by several forms of journalism recently, your parody is just so perfect.
I'm really happy to hear that ha :-D Yeah it's been a growing frustration of mine as well where I feel like a lot of gaming journalism has become very insulated and honestly not that interested in conveying information about the game, especially when it comes to gameplay.
My only beef with this game is that there is no invincibility code, otherwise I loved it. I guess we expect much from games today but considering how many consoles this got ported to, it came out really well. I respect the right to your own opinion.
I agree with most of the opinions laid out in tour review, but eventhough I don't entirely disagree with the "Bosses are boring" segment, I'm watching the gameplay in the background with the swinging alien ball, and instantly noticed....you're playing it wrong! Shooting it constantly was forcing it to stay put in the other direction. There was a weak point on the opposite end glowing right above the ball that you didn't notice. Letting it swing back would have given you a chance to get in there and fire at it with the force pod. That could have made the fight more engaging with the way that you apporach them. Idk if this R-Type keeps the same strategy of boss design like the classics did, but that's part of it's identity. I think it would be a great idea for you to do a joint video with Junkie on the game. T'would be interesting to see both opinions on the game.
I am aware that I was being naughty and not fighting the boss as it was intended to be fought. However, a well made shmup needs to force the player to engage and not allow the player to get away with doing what I did and just sitting still and timing out the boss. This is exactly what I was criticizing in the video, the game needs to be more fully planned out with the boss fight design.
"secOndary studio" dude, granzella was fOrmed by irem staff members. kazuma kujo, the lead designer for r-type delta, final 1, and the tactics games was the lead designer for this as well. granzella is made up of a large handful of the irem team under a different nAme. granzella's name is even derived frOm the granzella revolution army in r-type tactics II. edit: other peOple addressed this in the comments, but w/e. yOu're actually complaining about the sleekness of the visuals and comparing them to starcraft. these visuals are in line with rtf1's visuals which were sleek as fuCk too. also complaining about different flight pAtterns of enemies. dude, this kind of slight variation isn't new. these enemies were in r-type 2, and some of them had a flight pattern where they moved up and down and others didn't -- some just mOved across the screen. this is a very unfair review frOm someone who clearly has no deep experience with the r-type franchise. this isn't the definitive r-type game, but it's still very solid. this review sounds more like your first r-type game, and you just dOn't like the nature of r-type.
It is a secondary studio of irem and this is still their first shmup. I am surprised that this studio is being argued as an equivalent to a legendary studio like irem. If Miyamoto leaves Nintendo is his new studio still considered 1st party Nintendo in your mind then? I have plenty of experience playing the other r type games and actually went back and forth from them to this one and double checked all my criticisms in comparison to older r types. You say this review is unfair but you really do feel that this game s quality stands beside the quality of the older games? As a "true fan" you feel comfortable with that statement? The message I hear is more like if I was a real r type fan I would excuse this games problems, look them over, and then push my audience to buy a game that I don t feel is well made and that I personally will probably not play again, is that right? During the review proceess I found that even the first r type game is much more polished with it s level design and even the visuals are much stronger. So if you are willing to say that this game is of comparable quality to the older r type games and that r type fans should all spend $40 without a second thought that s cool and everything but I don t feel that way and I have put forward fair criticism of the game. I said it was an honorable attempt that does not live up to the brand, you really feel that is an unreasonable position, being a true r type fan yourself?
"It is a secondary studio of irem and this is still their first shmup." the people involved are veterans of shmUp development, so give them a little more credit. just because it's under a different name doesn't mean these peOple suddenly had their memories wiped in how to develop a shmup. these guys have wOrked on r-type games before. "I am surprised that this studio is being argued as an equivalent to a legendary studio like irem." this studio is made up of irem staff members, sO why wouldn't it have credibility? "If Miyamoto leaves Nintendo is his new studio still considered 1st party Nintendo in your mind then?" it wOuldn't matter if it was first party or not. wHat matters are the minds involved in the creation of the thing itself. "I have plenty of experience playing the other r type games and actually went back and forth from them to this one and double checked all my criticisms in comparison to older r types." it certainly dOesn't sound like you've analyzed the games thoroughly enough, and you don't sound like someone who has much experience with this series. if you did, your criticisms of rtf2 would be more sOund. you dOn't understand horis or ever seem to play them. you mOstly focus on cave and raizing from wHat i've seen, which is okay, but memorizers and bullet hells are vastly different in their designs. yOu even suggested a smaller hitbox, but r-type doesn't work tHat way. if it had a smaller hitbox it would trivialize its methodical and rigid nature. you also have to keep your memory in check for multiple things in r-type. for example, in r-type 1, the yellow balls tHat fly at you at the start of stage three. yOu think your force orb might be able to block them, but you find out it dOesn't. it passes through the force orb and kills yOu. there's also the red lasers firing at you tHat can go through your force orb. you learn heavily in tHat stage wHat the force orb can protect you against, and you end up building an intuition for it. "tHat's a fast moving energy ball. lOoks sketch. i better dOdge it. oh, but tHat missile looks concrete. i bet i can block it with my force orb" "You say this review is unfair but you really do feel that this game s quality stands beside the quality of the older games?" i said in my previous post tHat it is not the definitive r-type, but it's still a solid entry. the level design is structured very much like delta and final 1. i think calling this a bad game and even cOmparing it to a euroshmup is insulting to the experienced shmup devs behind this project. "As a "true fan" you feel comfortable with that statement?" wHat is the purpose of bringing in this notion of a "true fan?" this appears to be irrelevant to my criticisms of your review. i'm aiming to inform yOu in order to help you, because disregarding any modesty to drive the pOint home, i am more knowledgeable with the design philosophy of horis and memorizers than you are because i play them frequently. (if you would like my credibility, go to my channel. i have a 2-ALL no-miss of the world and japan versions of the notoriously difficult r-type II, a no-miss of r-type final on r-typer difficulty, a 2-ALL no-miss of super r-type on hard & pro, a no-miss of r-type leo, and also have a no-miss in the r-type clones: z-out and the absurdly difficult rezon. i also have experience with other irem shmups and have a 2-ALL no-miss of the world and japan versions of x-multiply and a no-miss of image fight II on hard, so i'm nO stranger to memorizers and understand them pretty well.) the real question here is do you feel cOmfortable in giving an uninformed opinion of a series/type of shmup you've only dabbled in? "The message I hear is more like if I was a real r type fan I would excuse this games problems, look them over, and then push my audience to buy a game that I don t feel is well made and that I personally will probably not play again, is that right?" nO, tHat is completely incorrect. if yOu don't like the game, tHat's one thing. but you're coming at it from the perspective of someone who doesn't really understand r-type and criticizing elements of it tHat make it r-type. you stArted it off embarrassingly by acting like these people never had any experience with shmup design simply because it's under a different name. tHat's the biggest thing tHat absolutely blows my mind, and for you to stick to this pointless and baseless view presents itself as unreasonable. "During the review proceess I found that even the first r type game is much more polished with it s level design and even the visuals are much stronger. So if you are willing to say that this game is of comparable quality to the older r type games and that r type fans should all spend $40 without a second thought that s cool and everything but I don t feel that way and I have put forward fair criticism of the game." no dude, it's nOt fair at all. the first r-type is the mOst accessible in the series and the least demanding in terms of memorization. it's a polished and well designed game, but the safe spots you criticize rtf2 with are nothing new to r-type. the first r-type has safe spOts everywhere. every irem shmup has at least a few safe spOts. in a way, it's become part of the charm of memorizers. so again, an example of unfair criticism. if yOu dislike the game, tHat's fine. i just want to hear an informed opinion as to why, but your criticisms are often criticisms of wHat make r-type wHat it is. "I said it was an honorable attempt that does not live up to the brand, you really feel that is an unreasonable position, being a true r type fan yourself?" please stOp with this "true fan" nonsense. i'm taking time out of my day to help yOu better understand these kinds of shmups so tHat you can make a more informed review of a game you dislike. and yes, it is unreasonable because, to reiterate, your criticisms are often criticisms of wHat make r-type wHat it is. your criticisms are uninformed and lack the necessary knOwledge. i recommend spending more time with the series as well as other memorizers, and then redo this review so you can prOvide a more convincing opinion as to why this game is a flop.
@@BrainTemple Well said. And honestly, if you wanted to compare with other "Modernized Shmup" you could've compare with Gradius V or Vritra Hexa instead of directly comparing with Cave and Raizing games. Cause it sounds like you wanted R Type games to be more like your usual Danmaku Games when the game is clearly meant to be the other thing. And you claimed it as a design flaw and blamed on the game instead of its more on your preference. So Mark, if you want to do review of something that you are not all that familiar with (based on what I've seen your video, you clearly didn't played enough hori games) make sure to clear that out that your preference is your preference instead of going out "Older games doesnt age well" type of mentality. Cause no matter what you say about this old school games, people still play it and believe that these old games are still relevant for what they are. Even the infamous Gradius III arcade is super popular right now in Japan probably even more popular than your usual Danmaku. So please get some more perspectives before you judge the entire thing based on just your favorite Cave and Raizing games. Because Cave and Raizing isnt the only STGs that are relevent.
Nice review! I still personally enjoy R-Type Final 2, but my main problem with the game is that the bosses in this game are a joke. I definitely agree that their designs are extremely underwhelming, and I'm especially not a fan of stage 5.0 and 6.0 bosses that don't shoot at all. Also, the ending is just barebones, because after the credits scene, all I see was just the black screen with some text.
Hopefully they can address some of these issues in patches (but I guess it doesn't change the game underneath much). Have been revisiting Final and Delta as well as 1 and 2 recently. They're literally all impossible to complete without very specific techniques which require trial and error. Very different feel compared to a kinda moment to moment improvisation that more modern style shooters have. I personally think there is a place for R-Type style of shoot em up.
Talking about the grafx, I can't think of any "new" (not older than 10-15 years) STG where I thought it looks good, if the grafx were 3D based. There were all those late 90s/2000s games where they got it right with 3D grafx (all those Naomi games, Gradius 5 etc) but then it just always looked bad? Think of Eschatos (looks ok at best), Ginga Force, Raiden 3-5 (look very generic), Otomedius Excellent, Natsuki Chronicles...what were they thinking?
2014's Astebreed and 2012's Sine Mora still look better than any 3d shmup that came after them... Why, you say? Not sure, but perhaps cause shmups are now such niche and obscure genre, and japanese devs dont have budget on gfx , or even if they do - they concentrate on gameplay instead.
Agree the game has its flaws, but your “not recommended” verdict seem a bit too harsh on the game. May not be the best R-TYPE ever, but I’m enjoying the game and it’s definitely worth a try. Kudos for an entertaining review nonetheless.
I can see that but for me I just don t feel comfortable recommending it to my viewers at the $40 price point, I just don t think the game is polished enough for that, but I am also probably a bit more tough with my recommendations then other reviewers.
I pre-ordered this for Switch. Slowdown no problem, I love Super R-type as well :) It’s an acquired taste. Still need to receive my copy, but your review seems fair. Still I can’t wait to play it. Common, it’s R-type !! I am sure it will be enjoyable despite the flaws.
Yes I have no doubt there are players that will enjoy the game despite the issues I pointed out. For me though I just don t feel right recommending the game, especially at full price
To be honest, what really gets me about the Switch version is not the slowdown or the downgraded graphics... it's the loading screens. Not loading between levels, loading between respawns, and there will be plenty of respawns for sure
According to Moby games and wikipedia, the game is design by Kazuma Kujo, who designed R-type final 1. Granzella is staffed by ex-irem staff. I'm blaming the crowdfunding for the *meh* quality of this games. Games who were developed by "high profile game designer" using a crowdfunding platform always turns out like that it seems.
Are you just taking his word that the game is meh? It's basically universally lauded by R-Type fans. It's getting reviews in the 80 range and has an 80% positive rating on steam.
I actually did notice this as well. The big danger though is that having familiar names in advisory roles doesn t always lead to quality. I think we tend to really underestimate the importance of the talent of the lower staff when it comes to creating a really polished product. Just look at death stranding or mighty number 9 or devils third.
@@TheElectricUnderground What about death stranding? It has an 82% critic score. A lot of people really like that game. You seem to be incapable of understanding that your personal preference doesn't actually have any bearing on the quality or merit of a game. Like aside from all the actual misinformation you posted in your review of r-type final 2 you said you're not a fan of the series, said the only one in the series you like is the one that doesn't play anything like the series, then criticized rtf2 for being exactly what the series is, ignoring the misinformation. Like i don't like open world games, i don't like gta. I'm not going to review a gta game and give it a bad review because it's not a different game lol. I would review it as a gta game.
I enjoyed your review only slight criticism I’d have is your critique of journalists who don’t do their research is a teeny tiny bit hypocritical as you didn’t know that Granzella have some of the people who developed R-Type Delta and Final 1 (ex-Irem people) so they do have some relevant shmup experience. At any rate the rest of the review was spot on though and really well put together.
Ha damn it I knew I should have talked about this more in the video. I was aware of the director connection between irem and Granzella. However, I still stand by my criticism because this is the first shmup the studio has ever made and having an experienced director isn't the magic bullet of creating a polished game. You still often need an experienced dev staff, and I think the end result here shows that the staff was not prepared for the challenge. Think of how many games have been sold on the advertising of the director, but have still produced very dissapointing games like MIghty number 9, deathstranding, shenmue 3, and Devil's 3rd.
Hey Mark, not sure if you'll read this, but any input on the DLC of Final 2? I'm thinking about grabbing the complete set on PS4 and was curious if you've played the additional levels.
I pre-ordered and paid a full $60 for this game, and sadly I have to agree with your review. It's very very mediocre compared to previous R-Type games. (Both Delta and Final 1 were much better designed/presented, and Final 2 is seriously lacking in comparison.) I've been an R-Type fan since Super on SNES. I'm honestly getting real sick of projects baiting our nostalgia and not delivering in the end. It's not the worst R-Type I've played, but it still fails to deliver on the series' strengths. Delta is still my favorite game in the series.
I love the game, but there are so many balance issues. Ships that have lv 3 and lv 4 charge attacks are so awesome and so basically useless outside of a few sections. Why not just let them have normal charge times and counterbalance it with like only 2 ship speeds or your rapid fire being downgraded? Too many ships you have to grind for are junk. Also stuff like you canmake contact with walls....except ice?
While I agree with most of your criticisms, I gotta ask...did you play the game to the end? If not, I'd say you're selling the game short as the latter half features the best level designs in the game. Which is perhaps the game's biggest flaw. The quality of the level design is way out of balance, probably due to each stage being handled by different designers (side note: you can view the designer credits for each stage in score attack mode) Final 2 makes a bad first impression, but if you put the time in it's a very rewarding experience despite its flaws.
Yes I did, for the footage I wanted a fairly seemless run to show what the actual gameplay looks like, rather then hiding the games flaws with quick cuts and such. On the topic of the end though, what people really need to understand (and I will make a vid on this) is that shmup game design is cyclical, it s not linear. Shmups, in my opinion, have to be air tight in all the stages of the game, Because the genre is looped over and over again. So, even if the game suddenly morphed into dodonpachi in the last two stages and the tlb was hibachi, it is still a deeply flawed game. I do agree that the later stages are more lively and better designed, but I still think they still suffer the same problems, just to a smaller degree. The key takeaway though is what I said about the cyclical game design being key.
@@TheElectricUnderground Totally agree. This game needed more time in the oven. Hopefully they can remedy some of this with future updates. The course edit mode is a godsend but you really shouldn't have to rearrange a game's stages to fix the flow.
The funny thing for me about this negative review is that a lot of the criticisms you gave are also criticisms of R-Type Final 1. I'll admit, I have a little nostalgia for that game. I remember playing it as a kid on ps2, alongside Gradius V, Taito Legends 2 (Gekirindan is still my favorite shmup) and Castle Shikigami 2. But I remember R-Type Final more for being weird than being fun. It's an extremely slow example of a shmup, and a little boring too. Even back in the day, compared to Gradius V, or even the pixelated beauty of Darius on Taito Legends 2, it was also ugly. The unlockable ships were cool, but the pace was so dull. Great soundtrack, but poor visuals. I dunno. I can understand why some loved Final 1, but I'd still consider it only barely on the positive end of mediocre. Final 2 looks like the same thing, only worse.
I agree with everything you said about the visuals of the bullets and enemies. I’m enjoying the game and it’s kicking my butt but a few times my failures have felt a little unfair because the visuals are so unclear
Thanks for the review. I got Natsuki Chronicles, Deathsmiles, R-Type final 2, Dariusburst: CS, Super Hydorah, Infinos Gaiden or Satazius for the vertical shmup on my Steam wishlist. I can only get 2 game and I think I'll go for Deathsmiles and Infinos Gaiden(or probably Natsuki Chronicles) cuz Dariusburst CS is freaking expensive.
I really liked R-type final 2. Had a chance to play it. The only bad thing about it is the exorbitant price they're asking. These shmup companies are trying to pull this price gouging nonsense. Taito pulled that shit with Dariusburst Chronicles. It needs to stop. What IREM needs to do is release an ultimate R-TYPE collection.
Yes for sure! R type collection by m2! Gotta be m2 so they so the series justice and we don t get low effort laggy ports with no extra modes or features at all
Not read the Europgamer review personally but it sounds like a classic case of having a narratologist review something that was not designed for them. I get that review sites want to cater their reviews for all "player types" but a genre like shmups are so hard coded into ludology that very few are ever going to reach the point of being of interest to a narratologist gamer. A narratologist does not need to read a review of an R-Type game to know whether or not it is for them, they can see it isn't for them long before they'd consider reading a review. Shmups which do cross that border are the rare handful of games with a strong creative or artistic push behind them. I can see the value in having a narratologist explore something heavily inspired by Japanese cinematic tropes and manga like sin & punishment (or even something artistically stunning like a Futari) but R-Type aka one of THE space shooters, there isn't going to be much there they can give throughtful or educated examination or insight on. Some games just aren't designed for certain groups of people and the sooner reviews stop insiting on these hardline mismatches the better.
My main problem with review sites and shmups is that most of them don t take the genre seriously at all. They just throw out these quick last minute reviews and hardly ever address the core gameplay and stuff
It feels pretty weird when you realize that somebody from.... Forbes Games, wut... does much better game reviews and exposure articles then all these huge gaming portals like kotaku or ign, lol.
as i type this i'm ranting at my missus how much i cannot stand this game, i think you're points were spot on, the only good thing that's come out of final 2 is it's gonna make me appreciate final 1 a lot more
Although some of the criticism is fair, this is still a good R-TYPE game you’ll be missing on. Also... not supporting the devs will only reduce the chances of them doing another (better) R-TYPE.
(I'm playing my shmups on the Nintendo switch right now) my life style makes it hard to console or PC game a shmup. Having said that, there are so many other amazing games even in the R-type series I could be playing... I'm not willing to make the compromises in this game for the asking price. In fairness to you guys, I replayed the Demo before even seeing these comments and... I still stand by the fidelity is odd. Don't feel right to me 🤷🏽♂️ danmaku unlimited 3 is taking my time right now 🥰
I like the memorization aspects, like other games that pay homage to R-Type, Pulstar for example, another game with crazy surprises during the 1st run. My gripe with RTF2 is that it could have been so much more, but I do like a lot of aspects about it, speed control being one of them. Custom ships are pretty cool and the overall art direction although simple it has a very big feel, everything feels huge, the music ties in that feel too and it's both good and bad because it gives you moments were is awesome and moments where you're just meh, yes that is faulty design, or maybe they wanted to give you a break? I still play it, I like the stage access, I know segmentation is not for everyone but I enjoy it quite a bit. I really enjoy your channel and I'm grateful you take the time and effort to share your view. I agree with you in a lot of things, this time I'm not 100% with you but maybe 33% in, I play it on PS5 and it runs well, played the demo on PS4 and it was dropping frames so I've kept from the PS4 version. I'm here 'cause I saw this out of the corner of my eye in your videos list while I was hoping you've done a Resident Evil 4 in-depth look. I'm one of them old geezers that never played resident evil after dreamcast, so my last game was code veronica and I'm just now curious because you praise 4 quite a bit...and the remake, sure, maybe way later. I'm liking the RE4 arcade action style mix with survival, trying to play it nice, restarting a lot, not saving, figures that matters for score, any tips? any chances you can make a video, or maybe you know of a good one, so far the remake is making finding videos very slim pickings and I'd like to learn how to move proficiently. Thanks a lot and take care!
so about your complaints... Have you played Delta? Sounds so much like the problems I had (on Normal/Hard), poorly telegraphed screen filling attacks and enemies that quickly fly in while shooting as they appear. In Final 2 I don't like the plastic-like shine on everything, a problem with many Unreal Engine games, some of those environments look so sparse, it looks unfinished sometimes.
I haven't played delta, but I did play a bunch of the OG R type games to compare with this ones problems and they basically don t have them, so I thought it was a fair comparison. Judging by the comments people are saying that they like delta, but I haven t played it before
@@TheElectricUnderground Delta is a beast. You mentioned music in your video: I recall how much opera-like was the beginning of the firstnR-Type. IMHO the big emphasis on making original and memorable things was the heavy positive trait of R-Type. IMHO they even managed to get it in Delta. Regarding your review, I am afraid to guess you are right. I see nice moments but pretty uninspired ones, too. BTW The flying tanks are taken from R-Type 2 :(
@@TheElectricUnderground Yeah, it's a really interesting game I just think it's the most frustrating of all of them, the checkpoint placement specifically was absolutely brutal and unforgiving. But then there were parts full of creativity and great design, most of the bosses in particular were the best in the series. Actually if you've played Einhander they're pretty similar in tone and atmosphere. I can at least say it had a lot more going for it than Final/FInal2 more interesting setpieces environments and boss designs, looking at your footage a lot of it doesn't fit in with the style and lore of the rest of the R-type games
“Are we all not merely spaceships?” LOL. Good one Mark. Great points throughout, excellent analysis. Embarrassed to admit, I think I used to write like Eurogamer. I hope I’m long past that stage
I think that sort of writing can work in like an opinion editorial or something like that. The problem is that the consumer review is a bad venue for it, because it basically comminicates nothing to the consumer besides the reviewers literary ambition
The visuals gives me a Contra: Rogue Corps vibe, but it's much more appealing than that. You mentioned that the visuals aren't as bad as KOF XV's, which I have to ask did you mean XIV? I never was the biggest fan of R-Type, though I admire the impact it had on the genre, Leo is my favorite one in the series so far and I've been wanting to at least try the ones that I haven't. Sucks that Final 2 turned out this way, especially being the recent installment in this beloved shoot 'em up series, really was hoping it'd turn out better.
@@TheElectricUnderground kof 15 looks surely better than 14 because models are more stylized and lighting is better. also they are not made by chinese company, i think. chinese company is owning SNK's business side, instead.
They need to incentivize hitting the weakpoints more in that metronome boss fight...It looked so boring to just sit back and survive. They probably should have made it so you can't damage it period from the left side of the screen to encourage you to fly to the right side and attack it from your back.
abit of a late comment but wanted to vent my frustrations with the game as i wanted to love this new release but was sadly disappointed as well, first of the problems which are exclusive to the switch port: abysmal load times (really important cause i have the attention span of a gnat, this problem pretty much was what would cause me to die 20-30 times in a row as i had already for gotten what had killed me!) frame drops and slow down, this happens not only in intense bullet sections (which may or may not be a good thing) but also happens in cinematic sequences like the assault on the human fleet final stage (where it is most definetly not appreciated), slow down i believe also happens when you view your ship in the r museum, as it takes an eternity to circle around the model you are viewing. I honestly thought these things would not be a problem, logic being that the switch can handle bayonetta 2 and astral chain just fine. It also doesnt help that the switch experiences these problems even with the noticeable downgrade in visual presentation. these issues alone are bad enough, but there made worse by the fact that the developer opted to go for a multi platform release (pc, switch, ps4, maybe xbox not sure though) on launch which means that they could have potentially ironed out these issues but instead might have gotten too greedy, or maybe it could have been a failure to asses the proper scope of what they were trying to achieve, either way it does not reflect well on the developer. Issues I have with the game itself: Lack of levels compared to the original R-Type final while also cutting corners with level design, the geometric battleship comes to mind, it didnt bother me at all at first till you and shmup junkie pointed it out in your reviews then i was a bit bothered, then i saw the art direction of R Type delta and was pretty bothered, then i saw what the graphics looked like for the DLC stages then I was very very bothered (seriously it looked like they put in 3X the effort on the DLC than they did the base game, would have been nice to see some of that effort from the get go but npe guess they gotta get that sweet sweet money). The Rpg mechanics not meshing well with the games design, I mainly believe this to be a problem with the way resources are handled to elaborate: Some people have complained that there is an imbalance in resource distribution (the center resource is lacking, bydogen i think), i believe that if you look at the drop rates though, it should even out, its just that bydogen drops on the later stages so its obvious why this happens given how difficult the game is. This leads to having resource distributions somewhere along the lines of 2000, 0, 1600 which is iritating AF cause it feels like the R Museum is taunting you every time you want to buy a new ship. You don't get anything if you don't clear a stage, this is important because it means you are always going to play to win, and it also means that you are gonna develop a meta in order to grind resources efficiently. This discourages experimenting with new ships and playing the stages in order. What this meant for me is that i only used 3 ships despite having unlocked 50 of them, arrowhead > albatross and its succeeding upgrades > Leo into Leo 2 and nothing else. It also meant that i would grind level select alot (mainly the crab boss as it seems the most feesible for grinding bydogen) instead of going through the main level progression, as i was encouraged to perfect this one stage due to the lack of bydogen. It also discourages experimenting with higher dificulties This one is debatable but resource aquisition is abit on the slow side, what makes it worse though, and this is just speculation but the developers could have made resource acquisition intentionaly slow in order to buy time because they knew beforehand they would not be able to release the full roster of ships. I honestly think that whats going to happen is that when the full roster of ships drops the dev is gonna drop more resource packs into the shop because of how slow grinding is. just throwing in my two cents but i believe that one way to fix these problems is to simplify the resource system, you can get rid of the 3 divisions and just have one resource, or have all 3 resources convert automatically into 1 main resource upon returning to base (this way you can still keep the world building "flavor" the resources add). Another big fix would be to make it so that the player still receives resources despite not being able to clear a level, maybe tie resource gathering to enemies cleared so all the repetitive dying does not feel so pointless, also this way the player can simply return to base if they are feeling frustrated and still be rewarded a proportional amount for there efforts, this way the player doesnt have to play to win all the time and can feel free to experiment more with what's available to them. With all that said though, whats sad is I still see myself playing this game in the future when the full roster is finally available, just so i can go on a power trip with last dancer on a leo 2 load out with balmung missiles, watching all those enemies that gave me such a hard time my first few playthroughs simply melt is going to feel cathartic AF.
God the visuals are embarrassingly bad. Like worse than Final. Way worse. I still like Delta visuals best. I'll take those janky PS polygons over this shit any day.
If FINAL 2 could be accused of something, is that it is TOO faithful to the source material. If you could ever make a "safe" memorization style shumup, FINAL 2 is it.
Beat the game on 2 paths so far. I agree about the bullet design being difficult to discern sometimes. I also had a lot of cheap deaths in level 7.1. It’s overly cinematic and it’s hard to tell when something is in the background or if it can kill you. I swear most of the laser blasts were background, but then some of them kill you, especially at the end. Then you have to do the entire run all over again. Still enjoying it. But it definitely has issues.
great vid! as someone who hasnt played that much r type this doesnt seem that bad id be happy to play it... if they maybe dropped the prices a bit yknow ;)
This video literally changes the youtuber life of Mark. LOL I don't think I can handle any bullet hell shmup. And I play shnup mainly for survival (I suck at arcade-style shmup). So I seek titles like Gradius, Darius, and R-type, instead. This is what happens when I spend my money on one game without seriously thinking about it. So... just get as much value as I can from this. Am I right? The main value I got from this game is its DLC, which is MUCH better than the main levels (which makes me wonder how good is the older titles). Sure there are some reference to 'tactics' here and there. And later levels are better-designed. But still... If the developers really have plans about this series, I hope they can take your opinion into consideration. At least... make it "better than average".
I was interested having played most games in the series. But in the end I never bought Final 2 because for the price they're asking for and it being a sequel...they only have half the ships at launch, the music pales in comparison to Delta, the level design is pretty mediocre especially Stage 3, and the visuals seem really rushed and lazy (the ships are modelled beautifully I'll admit). Everything in this game felt rushed, and was made to meet a quarterly statement and not for quality.
That "professional review" at the end is great, I lol'd. I've been seeing this so much lately (just this week with Resident Evil 8 and Returnal, even) and it bugs the shit out of me. Aside from not understanding a genre or style, reviewers and critics at big sites often just like to make things overly wordy and stupid to avoid saying real criticism cause they're afraid of what the big bad video game developers might say or afraid that their lame ass website might fire them if they give an honest review that's anything but glowing. It's stuff you've talked about plenty before and very similar to what happened with you at Nintendo Life for speaking your mind. Very few are willing to do it, but that's kinda where you can separate something that's worth reading and something that's essentially a marketing piece for the game.
1000% right (that being right times 10!) I know it s very corrupt I think because they are basically pretending to care about the customer but really are serving the publishers.
Honestly, the game still has a lot to go to be considered an R-Type sequel, and I gotta agree with majority of your points there. I just only hope they pull a Sector D2, and they listen to the community and make actual design changes to the game. I actually made a comment on a separate video featuring gameplay of the game's bosses, and I pointed out some of the design flaws and missing content there, like for example, *the stage design with the giant warship being so scrappy, I can literally compare it to any other Unity model and say they're the exact same.* Again, this is just barely released, and is not a finished game, so Im just hoping the dev team actually takes criticism from the community and adds what's missing from the game to make it more complete and end up with a finished product that's worth being labeled a true successor.
You kill that second boss by point blanking it with the option, like hover the option on it's blue weakpoint. then it'll die very quickly. if you're hoping for the missiles hitting it and the brief moments your gun will be lined up with the weakpoint to do it then yeah you'll time out often. not a huge fan of the series, but this def feels like a weaker entry for sure.
Think this was overall a pretty good and informative review, with a pretty fun outro... But I gotta say I had a completely different experience with it, as I actually managed to beat the bosses and enemies on a timely manner, never suffering the trouble of things dragging out, or feeling like there is a need to resort to boring survival tactics of intentionally waiting out the clock.... But I guess it can just be chalked to the game being closer to my lane, as on top of that I also enjoyed everything else too like the music and the graphics (although the latter case could be due to playing the Steam Deck version on future updates).. All in all thanks for the vid.
Only thing I heard that doesn't make sense is kof 15 doesn't look good? I think in the trailers we've received the worst things are certain stages that are overexposed or background stage characters. Maybe you meant 14, which pre graphics update was not so good, but even so, had fine animations. It just needed better lighting and overall style direction. Which is the most important like you say. MKX had great graphics and fairly good art style for what they were making, but had bad/jank animations and it still made a crap ton of money. Well done art style wins!
I think both 15 and 14 are pretty bad graphically, but yes 14 is a nightmare ha. Going from the beatiful sprite work of 13 to the horrible 3rd models of 14 was shocking.
@@TheElectricUnderground 12/13 sprites almost made them bancrupt. So they don't get back to it ever (unless microsoft/sony/nintendo/sega would finance them). and they are not good enough to make nice 3d. though id play kof 14/15 over latest guilty gear, because despite GG looking "wow amazing", GG is too much flash and all mixing together in a mess, while "ugly kof" looks clean and reads visually good, which matters for play.
@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 for real they aren't exactly gonna try sprites after improving their 3d skills and selling 14 and samsho copies, as well as the whole bankrupt fact around 12 & 13....
@@TheElectricUnderground They said each character took them about 6 months and considering the game flopped, it's no wonder it wasn't sustainable for them at that time. The game is amazing but nobody played it then and people can't just start supporting it years later when it least matters. My biggest qualm with 14 wasn't so much the visuals as it was lacking in that bombastic freedom you get with meter from 02 UM Max Mode and 13 with the HD Combos. It made a lot of characters stale to play or restrictive.
I'm enjoying the game. It's vastly more playable than the first Final. That game had some good content but the massive slowdown and snail-like pace knocked it down a few pegs. I'll agree with a couple of your points, like the uninspired enemy design and boring bosses. I can't agree that it feels like a Euroshmup. This game actually controls well and has a great weapon system. The player ship designs, the power up system, and the weapons themselves are the best part of this game, and make the whole thing worth it to me. I see you're not an R-Type fan, which is fine. Fans of the series should enjoy it much more than you did. I'd probably rate it a 6.5/10. I can't comment on the performance issues, I'm playing on a PS5 with an arcade stick. It controls flawlessly and never drops frames.
20:29 I wasn't prepared for it to actually sound that generic. This is honestly a bit heartbreaking. I'm getting "free to play mobile MMO character creation screen" vibes from this. Hoooo haaa haaaaa *epic drums*
Not a bad review. I bought it on day one, and so far am enjoying it. It might not have the same polish as Final 1, but I am still happy we get a new R-Type at ALL.
Yes this is why I feel caught in a catch 22 for games like this. I know that some players are gonna enjoy it on a basic r type level, but it s not quiet quality enough for me to recommend
As an R Type fan all i can say is this, this game is only for R Type fans not for new people in the gender because yeah, the game feels rushed, feels sometimes empty and the music is bad, but that being said, i enjoying the game but because i’m an R Type fan that’s it.
Just when I thought this channel could not get any better you have a literary existential crisis. That was amazing!!. Some of that could be read unironically And really have some resonance. You were a poet and we didn’t even know it!. Well done.
Where on the one hand this game has really been torn apart by genre fans and that makes me sad, on the other hand there are loads of quality shmups out and coming out soon. I might get this if they update it or if it's super cheap, but for now I've got Rolling Gunner and Raiden IV Mikado (plus Darius Cozmic Revelation and Cotton Reboot coming soon).
Great review but I must say many of the issues you point out aren't nearly as bad on PC. The switch version is pretty bad especially the aesthetics and frame rate. The visual design looks better on PC. I'm personally enjoying the game dispite its flaws but the issues you are pointing out are legit.
@@TheElectricUnderground Its not just smoother, the visual fidelity fixes a few of the issues you had with its general aesthetic (being that there is more detail in the textures) and particularly distinguishing the foreground from the background. The muddy textures on Switch and lack of lighting causing darker shadows & color along with the frame rate makes the tells much harder to see incoming attacks. The Port of Bloodstained Ritual of the Night was also really bad, but they eventually fixed many of the issues. Hopefully Granzella takes the time to fix the switch port.
![It's Time to LEAVE Big Studio Gaming Behind! Escaping the Studio Gaming Cycle! [Uncut]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/P94-kJe8N2U/mqdefault.jpg)
Note here, despite what's said in the video, this isn't the case where the franchise was handed off to some uninvolved team.
Irem's game development was essentially shut down after they had to cancel Disaster Report 4 following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster of 2011 - making a disaster survival adventure game following the incident would have looked kind of bad. The company continued making pachinko and slot machines, but following that budget disaster, stopped making video games.
Granzella, the people who made R-Type Final 2 is made of people who used to work for the Irem game development division. The studio director, Kazuma Kujo, is the same person who was in charge of directing the complete Disaster Report series for Irem. This is the reason the first "big" Granzella game was to actually finish the 4th game - even if it was about 7 years late. Besides Kujo, a cursory look at the end titles of RTF2 would suggest at least two programmers (out of 9) also worked on R-Type Final almost 18 years ago. Yuki Iwai, who did the music also composed for the original Final and both R-Type Command games.
Even the name "Granzella" comes from a faction name from R-Type Command 2.
Will watch the review later, since I just had to come to point this out. I have kind of mixed feelings about the game myself - even if I'm definitely enjoying it, criticism is also very justified.
I knew I should have addressed this a bit more in the vid ha, but I was aware of the director's connection to irem. However, I think one thing we need to be careful of is this sort of notion that the director is the key to a quality game. I think the dymanics of the dev staff and studio is also incredibly important and there are actually a number of projects that were sold on their director involvement, but did not deliver in the end. Games like Mighty number 9, devil's 3rd, deathstranding, and shenmue 3. So I still stand by my criticism that the studio had not created a shmup before R Type Final 2 and I do think the lack of experience and polish shows in the product.
@@TheElectricUnderground Based on an interview with Kazuma Kujo from Granzella, several other former Irem staff members that worked R-Type Final 2 also worked on Final , Delta, and Command, including the original Irem programmer, the artist, and the music composer.
The senior members of the former R-Type developers from Irem who worked on RTF2 were Mr. Ifugi, Maru, Hatake, and Hiroaki, who also worked on R-Type Final, Delta, and Command 1 & 2. www.polygon.com/interviews/2019/6/25/18645066/r-type-final-2-kazuma-kujo-interview
@@karlvorndran2996 Yeah Mark's "rebuttal" loses a lot of weight in light of that
@@TheElectricUnderground There is no shame in admitting when you're wrong.
It was inevitable and I admit I had reservations after the initial footage and demo too. I've heard mixed reports by some who have been enjoying it and others not at all. So far your points are mostly things that concerned me from just the demo and footage. In an odd sadistic way it makes me want to play it even more to see what I think of it given that you pretty much hated near every aspect of it. I'm not a fan of slow, deliberate paced shmups and still like the early R-Type series despite that preference, simply because most of the early games had such engaging stage design and puzzles it made it fun to play and figure out. Like you said playing for survival was fun. And if you look at the original games, they are not "slow". Your ship is fast, sometimes too fast, and there is plenty of skill based dodging in addition to memorization. It's really the pace of the scrolling and larger enemies that is slow. Take away engaging level design and you're left with just a slow game. I'm in the category that didn't like Final too much and thought Delta was far far better, so given Final 2 seems very similar, I may feel the same way. But I'm going to give it the ol' college try, on my Switch version no less hahaha, and see what I think. Really appreciate the thorough review as I do value your take on the games. I watched a couple other early youtube reviews and it felt like a waste of time, they didn't actually say or evaluate much.
Yes I think the chips were pretty much stacked against this game from the start, I really hope my review helps convey all the aspects of the genre that are important to pay attention to. This whole notion that any old studio can whip up a good shmup needs to be debunked ha
@@TheElectricUnderground I’m not sure who all the actual programmers were, but the designer on this game was Kazuma Kujo who also did Final and was involved in Delta which is a very well made game. And he founded Granzella. So part of the excitement was this game was being handled by someone familiar with the series and it wasn’t a random studio. And yet... well I promise to give it a fair shake when I play.
@@ShmupJunkie I did see this in my research too! So I need to make a seperate vid on this topic but I think as gamers we need to be very skeptical about the actual key value game directors can have. Yes the role is important, but I think having a strong dev staff is also very important and we 've seen many examples of this misconception play out. Like mighty number 9, devil s third, death stranding, Shenmue 3, etc.
Junkie! You guys channels complete each other in a marvelous way! Two sides of a coin, both top quality.
It's basically the same thing as R-Type Final 1, flaws and all. So if you liked Final 1 then you might like this.
Fun fact: R-type Leo was Irem attempting to make a new franchise and then realizing they'd be throwing money away if they didn't call it R-type. That's why you don't get the shield and you aren't fighting the Bydo. I think it feels more like Irem trying to do a Thunder Force game but there is still some R-type flavor with some of the stage design.
I think R-type is one of the hardest shmups to replicate because its so weird. You made a comment about fighting the bosses backwards and that tells me they were at least somewhat on the right track and just missed on the execution. A huge part of R-type is memorizing the enemy waves and boss patterns and planning ahead for whether you want the shield behind you, in front of you or out in front. It takes a significant amount of time to move the shield from front to back and at times the level design will actually work against you if you're trying to swap shield positioning. I would guess that the people that love R-type really love this aspect of it.
Is it just me or does _R-Type Leo_ look a lot like _Metal Black_ from Taito?
I get very similar vibes from both games.
I'm an R-Type fan and personally I've been enjoying it. If it's guilty of anything it is that it is too much like R-Type.. which is what I wanted (but not what many modern shmuppers want). Personally I didn't have slowdown issues on switch but its a shame you did. The Euroshmup comparison is fair, but that's also a classic R-Type design choice.
The only reason I played this game as much as I did was to customize my ships... AND THAT'S IT. I learned all the patterns and exploits incidentally while farming for money/resources, NOT because the game was any fun. Your review, as difficult as it was, is SPOT ON! Thank you for your work. 😄
A lot of people disliked R-Type Final but I thought it was creepy and atmospheric and even those slow gaps in the action were used to set up the environment. The bosses were weird and creative with actual interaction (like the way the Dobkeratops's head would fall off and you had to dodge it before the second phase starts).
I got obsessed with that game and was blown away to learn that it wasn't exactly well regarded. I was SO hyped for this one but that demo turned me right off.
I appreciate your honest reviews.
If I want a review for a shmup I’m potentially interested in playing, your channel is always the first place I check.
I think the funny part of this review is that some of the gameplay criticisms as I was hearing you speak are ones I've had of classic shmups in general when trying to get into the genre. the Wonky scrolling in Trouble Shooter / Battle Mania, The sniper tanks in Raiden Fighters, stuff you'd just never see coming the first time around and once you figure it out, it's not as bad, but it's meant to "GET YA". I think Shmup Instinct is a really weird thing. Your laser example - now reviewing the footage - that big pink glow COULD indicate a giant pink laser? but I would have missed it for sure... This part of shmups deserves its own analysis. to be clear, im super not defending this game, I actually personally don't like that kind of gameplay design at all - but I feel like you kind of HAVE to deal with it if you want to explore a lot of the classic shmup library. Doesn't mean it has to show up in more recent efforts though...
The laser canons do have telegraphed glows, but they are too subtle and fast. The needed more obvious wind ups
@@TheElectricUnderground agree with ya completely. And that rotating laser what the fuck lol
I appreciate this review but definitely disagree with it overall. As someone older who's been a superfan of this franchise for decades and remembers playing the first R Type in an arcade, I'm so psyched they made a new R Type game and I'm having a blast playing through it, so much so that I didn't hesitate to purchase all available DLC content. I think Granzella got a lot more right than wrong, and I'm loving playing an R Type game with such awesome graphics and smooth control. And personally I like the momentary lulls in the action in R Type games. They give you a moment to think as well as providing a perfect place to pause the game. I'm running RTF2 on a PS4 Pro and a 65" Samsung QN90A tv and it's pure shooter heaven.
I take the genre and reviewing the genre seriously
The ending to this video is AMAZING hahahhaa I about died - "are we not merely" (page turn) "spaceships"
Glad you liked it!
@@TheElectricUnderground like is an understatement. Keep doing your thing Mark. Stay unapologetic, it's an opinion. You have great points
“the first incentive is you need to survive, then you need to score” is some actual life philosophy to take beyond arcade games. i’ll remember those words lol
One thing I loved so much with the original Final was the amazing atmosphere and the way it's storytelling was presented. It's so sad that Final 2 didn't continue that trend. It was just so different from other Shmups. And man, stage F-B was probably one of my favorite stages of all time in that game.
Agreed.
My favorite stages were 3.5 (the swamp where you fight the R-13A Cerberus), 6.1 (the "hamster wheel" where you fight the giant slug), F-A (the surreal "sludge world"), F-B (where you return to stage 1.0 as an enemy) and F-C (the gauntlet level where you travel back in time).
Man, R-Type Final had some great stages. (And some very bad ones too. lol)
A lot of the negative reviews on Steam is in Japanese.
Edit: OMG, that ending. LOL.
Oh that s really interesting to hear, I can understand the Japanese backlash for sure
To be clear, Kujo was not a director of any other r-type game other then R-type Final 1, which itself has mixed reception among players. R-type Delta and the older R-type games are directed Hiroya Kita. Also, Just to clarify another point about the dev history and how I said the studio didn't have any significant shmup releases, I was and am aware of the connection of ex - irem staff on the development team. However, my point was that it takes more then just an experienced director to produce a quality game (if you even want to count Kujo as experienced), he also needs a strong development staff to do the actual hands-on game creation and this new studio is a completely separate beast from irem despite staff connections. Honestly, I don't think it's right to equate the legendary studio Irem to this Granzella studio just because the director of Granzella, Kujo, worked on what can be considered the weakest entry into the R-Type series. In my eyes, the dip in quality In this game's case can't just be excused because it is branded as an R-Type game. Final 2 didn't have the polish and attention to detail that it needed. Also, even if you want to give Kujo the benefit of the doubt, we've seen similar examples from other games that have notable directors that fell short like Mighty number 9, devil s 3rd, Shenmue 3, and death stranding. Also I made a follow up video: th-cam.com/video/9zG5JPVx9OM/w-d-xo.html
I enjoyed R-Type Final 2 for what it was, but it shares too many issues that I had with Final 1 where the stages are boring and empty so they feel "slow".
Past R-Types are still slow but they're very engaging with more enemies & obstacles. The lack of engaging stages just prevented me from wanting to touch the game again. The only thing bringing me back is unlocking ships... but I already unlocked the Leo ship (best ship IMO) so I'm happy and done lol.
Poetic ending review was amazing!
Thanks my dude ha!
"You can't use score as a crutch for bad survival gameplay" : Karous does this very well tough ^-^
I'm a fan of horizontal shmups and a big fan of R Type. The problem for your criticism is that you are comparing the game to modern shmups, especially bullet hell. If you compare it to other R Type games, then I think it is a pretty good game. I would say it's the forth best game in the series, tied with Leo if you consider that an R Type game. My top three are R Type Delta, R Type, and R Type III. All these games have the same problems you have with this game, minus the bland level design and enemies. If you have ever played R Type Final on PS2, then you will see that this is a far superior game than that one. Of course with Final and with this game, the star of the show is the 100+ ships for you to unlock and play around in these stages. They could have been more innovative and take it in a new direction, implementing new ideas for the modern players. However, shmups is pretty niche and they need to see how successful this game becomes before they take bigger risks. I think they are playing on nostalgia while testing the water. If this game does well, then I think you can see another R Type game that hopefully will be better. For me, I'm just glad we have some shmups to play that is not trash. To me, this is an 7.5/10. I agree with your criticism of having better cohesiveness in the levels but R Type games have never had a central theme. I also agree with you that the graphic is a little bland and blocky. You have to understand the budget they had. I think they did an admirable job on their first attempt. I'm willing to support them so that they can make more and hopefully better shmups in the future. I enjoy the game but that maybe because I'm like horizontal traditional shmups more than vertical and bullet hell. Is it perfect, hell no. Do I enjoy the game, yes. For me, that is all that matters. I do play Ketsui and DDP and other cave games. They are pretty good but I'm just not good at dodging bullet. Also, I don't know if the footage you have shown in your video is yours or not, but if you play in on R Typer difficulty, it's a very different game. There are more enemies, bullet patterns and boss variations are different etc. Also, there are 11 stages in total. They are also remaking some old levels from previous games like R Type Delta, R Type, R Type Leo, etc as paid DLC. Give that a try and see if those games are the same as you've remembered. You have to right to your own opinion and I respect that. Maybe it's just not your cup of tea. I'm not trying to change your mind or persuading people to like the game. People who like the game know who they are and I'm certainly one of them.
I was comparing to the r type franchise primarily. I think it really falls short to the other games in the series that I have played. But I don t think it s pure garbage or anything. Just not up to a standard that I feel comfortable recommending
@@TheElectricUnderground I can understand that. Maybe I'm just so glad to have another R Type game to play that I have lowered my standard a little. At full price, it's hard to recommend to casual player. Hopefully when it gets discounted, then people will get to play it. I honestly really enjoy the game. I just didn't like that only half of the ships are done and the other half are still in development, and I don't even know if they will charge for those. Second, I was hoping the 3 DLC would be included since I'm paying full price. Instead, I have to buy them separately or with a season pass for all three, which sucks because they are trying to milk people for more money. Yes, I know they didn't have a lot of money to start with and it costs money to make games, but still felt a bit deceived and disappointed. If they make another one that is even better, then all is forgiven. JAJAJA
I like it too, it falls somewhere under Delta and above R-Type 3 for me. I expect it to get better as they refine it over time.
This should be pinned, imho. Cause i see most of commenters blindly follow Mark's (quality and detailed, yes) review, forgetting that it's one of possible viewpoints.
Granzella IS the spiritual successor/resurrection of IREM. Huge oversight there in the review....... I know some original R-Type devs are involved, though I don't know how many.
I was aware but the studio had not produced a shmup before this one. I understand that the director may have had some experience, but that does not equal a polished team. Look at mighty number 9, devil s 3rd, Shenmue 3, death stranding, all these games have a famous director but really lack the quality studio polish
@@TheElectricUnderground but also people reactions were more harsh than deserved, for example with Devil's Third - it had great and fun multiplayer, and campaign was not bad if you play more risky instead of cosplaying cover shooter. See iconoclast575 's mission score attack videos.
@@TheElectricUnderground So what? Einhänder was Square's first (and only) shoot'em up too and it was a gem.
@@DavidGerber didn't Square develop King's Knight a long time ago?
Holy shit, no it is not. This comments section is fucking schizophrenic
Thanks a lot for the critique ! Just discovered your channel very recently as I've decided to invest myself a bit more into shmups. Very comprehensive one and I dig the sometimes harsh but fair points you're doing: this is exactly what I'm looking for and I appreciate it a lot. Hope to see more from you. Also I believe Granzella has a few Irem veterans (appart from Kazume Kojo) so I'm not exactly sure if your agument about this game being done by people with no shmup experience is entirely true !?! Another point I want to make is I'm disturbed by the visual (technical) disparity between stages: like that 3rd level or again the water one which seem to be clearly unfinished or should I say with a degree of "finition" not on par with some other levels.
So I really wish I would have explained my point more in the review, but I was aware of the irem connection for the studio. However, it is my view that even having some veteren staff for a studio doesn t necessarily mean we are going to get a polished full quality product. For example games like Mighty number 9, devil s 3rd, Shenmue 3, and death stranding
Oh wow, I love the graphics though. They look like something in a Metroid game. The backgrounds are even better than the character sprites.
seems like the type you really need to play to get a feel for the game, but i can say the spaceship designs are dope
This is a good game, just the hitboxes are a pain. Even playing on the easiest difficulty, is a pain. I'm watching videos of players doing a good job, but for me just getting frustrated getting my ship blown up during boss battles.
I say the best way to make sure this game to have a good replay value is a DLC to at least unlock all ships and just throwing this out there, invincibility. It might deactivate getting trophies but for me I want to play it more.
I'm a casual shmup fan, but jeez the movement in the ship in this is so jittery
The poetic review got me good.
I m glad!!! Been something I 've wanted to point out for a while
Kujo mentioned in the interview that the new devs had never played or worked on a shmup game beforehand. Things didn't start to come together until development was wrapping up.
its classic gold, shhwing hahaha
This video was presented to you by Nike!
But seriously, this is what I thought when seeing footage of the first R-TYPE Final way back in PS2 days... didn't regret skipping that one, either.
Delta has an AMAZING soundtrack BTW.
It's always interesting to go back and watch reviews of games I've played. As an aspiring developer, it's something I like to do as I find it genuinely entertaining and I figure it probably deepens my understanding of what works and what doesn't in game design. Anyway, I actually just completed my first playthrough of this game on Switch and actually rather enjoyed it despite some uh... Rough edges. I actually don't really recall any performance issues, though there was a rather chunky update I downloaded before playing that probably factored into that. Personally, I'm hoping they'll get a chance to really clean up all those blemishes in a sequel.
I guess I just want to say... Anyone who's on the fence and is here before they buy, maybe still give it a chance. There certainly are very valid criticisms (especially the bosses being kinda meh) but I think there's still plenty to enjoy as well and, frankly, this is one of those games I'm just glad exists. If you like what you see in the demo, I think you'll find plenty to enjoy as well. And if you don't? Well, that's what demos are for.
What's wierd is that a lot of the performance issues were heavy in stage 1, and then somewhat smoothed out in the later stages, though that could have been just the lack of background assets in them ha.
Cool game but it definately lacks in alot of areas compared to other installments. A few issues I had :
Game feels a little too zoomed in. Its like they wanted to show ship and enemy detail at the cost of some gameplay accuracy. It makes manuevering harder than it should be at times. The bullets are quite large. Also the design of the bullets. I find its very easy to get hit by random enemies or projectiles without knowing what hit me. Too much blending with the explosions and shit. Nothing that I can really track well in my peripheral vision when focusing on other parts of the screen.
Music is servicable but much weaker than other games in the series. Nothing memorable.
Most bosses feel a little too simple and generic.
Inability to make a temporary save so you can resume when you turn the game back on, or switch to another game. This would be useful for a run of the hardest mode, where you might spend a few hours trying to get through the game. Another big reason that this should be in the game is that I had the fucking game crash TWICE on the final stage on normal. This wasted maybe 4 hours of my time. It took a while to get to the final stage both times and it happened on two different final stage routes. Back to back in the same day. This was on Series X and made me not want to work on the hardest mode anytime soon. Im still hesitant to try again on normal but will soon.
I agree though. It really isnt up to the gameplay, visual and music level of the older games. Even other 3D R-Types like Delta were much better. I remember the first Final being better too. The second boss feels like such a waste of time, as you said. Often I get to the end of the fight only to run into a plant or some shit. Its easy but tedious. The third boss is more simple patterns. The water boss was the only one that was a little more creative. This is definately one I will post a review on when I am able to actually complete the fucking game without it crashing. I may wait until I complete the hardest mode, but if it keeps crashing I will just review it after completing normal. Its always cool to see other perspectives. Agree that these "pro" reviews are way too political, vague and generalised. Barely any gameplay details in reviews these days. I didnt even see any mainstream reviews on this game yet, but havent dug any deeper than gamefaqs. Personally I wont review any game I havent completed and have alot to say about. There is alot of games I blazed through without appreciating them because I was going for the straight kill. I wouldnt try to create a narrative around that shit and pretend like Im familiar with the game, maybe throw in my complete life story and complain about the current president. Wouldnt be surprised if some of these reviews complained about the ship not being gendered.
Oh don t get me started on game journalists using video games as a political platform, it s very disrespectful to the medium. There is absolutely no need to turn video gaming into a funnel for people s political beliefs. I thought it would be funny if I did a parody for this but with religious beliefs where I would sneakily add in religious talking points like game reviews do with politics
@@TheElectricUnderground The end of the video was great, ha ha. Very accurate with how these fakes pretend to know what the fuck they are talking about with games yet provide very little detail, seem unable to play well enough to go in depth with the games they review. Some may interpret it as boasting, but I only review games I completed as I dont see alot of merit in reviews done by players who havent put work into the game. Though we probably seek more in depth reviews than most casual players.
Hey Mark! I kickstarted this one, but I've been disappointed so far with my few hours of gameplay. Totally agree with your point about the visuals (this tends to be my issue with shmups with 3D models/environments). I love the concept of all the unlockable ships... but it sucks that most of the rest fell short. Always appreciate your honest reviews!
Hey my dude long time no see!! I m glad my review was helpful to you! Shame the game didn t turn out better
@@TheElectricUnderground Indeed! I should be in the discords/streaming more often, back on the Strikers 1945 grind!
Not a fan of Sine Mora either, but I gotta give it credit for presentation. It's just leaps and bounds ahead of the somewhat recent 3d competition.
i mean, sine mora is 2012 and for some reason still looks better than any other (or at least japanese-made) 3d shmup... why? idk, but level of details on some SM stages matches old classics like Dimahoo or Batrider, i'd say.
They even went out of their way and got feedback from the shmup community on the game and DID NOTHING WITH IT...Its a shame. Game is not even worth playing IMO the first thing that pops in my head when i hear "Euroshmup"
@@morsalty wats wrong with euro shmups? i love tryrion ....i didnt like sine mora ex that much put it lokked great
@@finnmarr-heenan2397A "euro shmup" is not a shmup from Europe but a term for that oddly designed shmup which has bullet spongy popcorn enemy's, tons of dead space, unavoidable damage that is meant to be tanked by large amounts of health. No bullet patterns and strange sparse level design
Stuff like Sine Mora, SoldenerX, Jets n guns,
They don't feel good to me personally.
Plenty of good shmups have come out of europe though i have never played Tyrian
@@morsalty its free on gog try it out, definetly not a cave style arcade game but music slaps and its pretty crazy on turbo mode, also has a cool plot and tones of secrets(including street fighter style hidden moves)
Probably the most honest review we'll get for this one. As a long time fan of the series I was worried this was going to be a merciless roast, but it came across more like a eulogy lol. Disappointing to say the least, but we can't give a pass even to iconic series for a mediocre product. If something like this gets praised as a return to form then this is the only type of product we can expect to get in the future. I'm sure I'll still buy it at some point just for the 'stalgia, but definitely not at full price.
Exactly my feelings 100%
dude you gotta shoot while your force is detached
Yes I know ha, I left it on to show how stale the level design is, you hardly ever need to use it. That s also why I just hang out on the boss fights
I hear what you’re saying Mark, but I’m still having a blast being “lost in the cosmos” 😅. Good review, although I don’t agree with everything you said, you were right about a few things, namely the generic bosses. As a newbie, relatively speaking, my opinion of the game is coming from someone that hasn’t been exposed to enough shmups to really think about things like level design and boss design, as opposed to someone, like yourself. I get that. I’ve only really played the first Rtype games, never played delta, Leo, or final, so I’m not sure how much better those games are compared to Final 2, but I wouldn’t say I couldn’t recommend this game, especially to someone who’s new to the series. The game has its flaws, but it’s worth playing (wait for it to go on sale if you must). Plus being able to customize your R-9 is awesome.
sad thing, now haters are using this reviews as a shield to cover their "final 2 suxx!" agenda, even if review aint that negative, and kinda subjective on some parts as Mark is not me or you, and you or me are not Mark, etc. etc. :D
Dude, the poetic review at the end was worth a month of Patreon alone! I haven't put enough time into it to make final judgements, but I tend to agree with many sentiments you've expressed, though the pacing is very similar to Final and Delta, so in that regard, Final 2 is on brand. I do think it looks pretty, but your point about the visual acuity in the game is well taken. There are definitely issues in that regard. I've taken a number of unexpected deaths from stuff I didn't know was hazardous.
Mark, I agree with every point brought up in your review. I hated this game at first, but it did grow on me as I tried to grind through and unlock all the ships. I think the core of R-Type is the force pod mechanic, knowing when to move it forward or backward, and using it as a shield, and RTF2 does the job in pod dynamics.
Also wanted to say version "2.5" is out, they added 2 free levels and expanded the difficulty settings, so you may want to give a revisit. I play on the PS4 and I can see no issues, so they might have improved the Switch slowdown also. The new level 5.1 fits right into your criticism of being uninspired, even down to the boss..........
The nature of modern game design where the game is radically changed a year or so later ha. I ll keep an eye on the game but I probably won't re review the thing anytime soon
Have you played Natsuki Chronicles Mark? I was interested to see what you would think of it. It has analogue controls so you can control the speed of your ship. It actually feels really good to control (at least for me).
Yeah why no review of this game?
Coming at KOF15's graphics was uncalled for haha!
Could have targeted KOF14's announcement to make it a little softer.
@@thelastgogeta Yeah, I thought maybe he meant XIV... I actually like the look of XV to be honest. Not as good as the 2D games of course.
That ending poetic review would lead to an instant hire at Kotaku, lol.
In all seriousness, I'm newer to shmups but ive wanted to say for a while that I really like your channel. I think I can understand your outlooks (both when I agree and disagree) due to also coming from a heavy fighting game background. You at least give great explanations to your rationale, which is useful in knowing how much the opinion may or may not be helpful to me in knowing what to expect in my own experience.
I think the parts in this review that jumped out at me here is the generic look of everything (especially the bosses), and the questionable design choices like the inconsistent enemy patterns like the tanks. Good game design includes allowing the player to learn the game thru concepts introduced early on that are repeated later (often in tougher situations). You wouldn't have a grounded Green Koopa in Mario Bros just walk in a fixed direction at one speed, then Mario goes to the next level and have that exact same Koopa sprite move faster and jump at you when your hitbox gets too close. Just leads to unfair deaths, and the gameplay feels random and less rewarding to overcome.
and that's why we have red koopas, koopas with wings and so on. To make it clear they differences
My nostalgia and experience towards R-type comes from the sega master system version. Trying to put bias aside, I genuinely like that version over the arcade as original was always a bit too frustrating for me, and despite the former being in my childhood, it seems a lot more fair to play.
Next time it showed up was when r-type dimensions came out for xbla and I was into achievement hunting (especially trying to 100% achievement lists in arcade games where possible).
And there were two: *"Beam Me Up!:* _Using only full beam shots and without dying, complete stage 1 of R-Type or R-Type II in 1P Classic"_ and
*"Dare Devil:* _Using rapid-fire and no power-ups, complete stages 1 & 2 of R-Type in a single game of 1P Classic"_
I remember 'beam me up' took a while but with some practice is fine, considering it's only 1 stage and you get choices on which game to do it on. Where as 'dare devil' seems like PST territory when I think about this game.. XD (fwiw there's an auto fire button, it's slower than mashing and you can't charge shots when you use it, you have to hold down only that button for 2 levels and btw; 'no powerups' includes not picking up the _Force Orb_ at the start and avoid touching it for both levels)
I enjoy these types of challenges and I'm sure to a shmup expert this stuff is probably not very difficult.. I'm more of an enthusiast which probably related to what I like about this channel, it helps me reminisce about games that I won't necessarily think about or remember very often. So thanks for informing me that this sequel even exists. XD
Ha that s great! No problem! Fingers crossed for an r type collection from m2 someday
And Stage 3. Man what happened? It looked like it was thrown together in a week. Delta had you fighting a Giant Walker in a beautiful Arctic setting and Final 1 had you fighting a Battleship over a busy and panicking Metropolis. There is NO such creativity and imagination here.
It's not as polished as the older r-type games, but if its the same devs of final and delta and they want to continue making games ill choose to support them. but yeah for me the difficulty pacing is kind of weird in this game, also not enough big organic creatures or enough movement, the dobkeratops tail doesnt even move around, little things that could have made the game better.
It s the same dev team as final 1, but not delta really. That part of the marketing was pretty misleading, my kujo had a much smaller role in the game then is let on (he worked on the game design plans, but was not the director)
@@TheElectricUnderground Kujo is credited as " Director, Lead Game Designer"
Have you tried playing on "R-Typer" difficulty setting and above? Changes that first boss fight completely. Actually all boss fights, bullet patterns, enemy number and placement. By the way... the name of this developer comes from R-Type lore. You should definitely give the originals R-Type a far chance. Playing a bit of them just for the context of this review tells how little you care about them. Its a bit sad but its your honest opinion... So there's that.
I did play on the higher difficulties, and while it did fill out the stages more i felt like they also introduced their own problems as well ha, like how a lot of the enemies had really inflated health and felt like sponges on the higher difficulties. I am aware that the staff has a connection to irem, but this is still their first shmup and I think the end product shows that they were not totally prepared to deliver a strong follow up to the series. I'm going to make a vid on this, but just because a new studio may have a connection or related personnel to the old studio, that does not equal the same level of quality. Look at examples like mighty number 9, devil's 3rd, deathstranding, and shenmue 3
Even on R-typer the first level and boss is a walk in the park, but after that it gets hard real fast.
I had a feeling you wouldn't like this because you've mentioned not liking horizontal scrollers very much in past streams. I personally prefer them but they are also "less safe" than vert scrollers or danmakus due to their need to consider actual level design with environmental hazards, something not much outside of Treasure, G.Rev and Konami has dabbled with.
I just think having that context makes a lot more sense for your review because I know you're a fan of Progear for example but that game nothing like most horis and closer to something like Dariusburst.
I feel like with R-Type in particular, it always been a much slower, methodical game where positioning and foresight amd king. Reflexes aren't very useful here since your hitbox is much bigger than most games in the genre.
I would like to see Last Resort 2 though. LR was like r-type, but faster and with more control of Force.
The "professional review" part had me laughing loudly and got me the satisfaction the game couldn't deliver. Having felt disappointed by several forms of journalism recently, your parody is just so perfect.
I'm really happy to hear that ha :-D Yeah it's been a growing frustration of mine as well where I feel like a lot of gaming journalism has become very insulated and honestly not that interested in conveying information about the game, especially when it comes to gameplay.
My only beef with this game is that there is no invincibility code, otherwise I loved it. I guess we expect much from games today but considering how many consoles this got ported to, it came out really well. I respect the right to your own opinion.
no need for invincibility while you get a infinite credits and you could buy some tickets for full bits/retain powerups after death
I agree with most of the opinions laid out in tour review, but eventhough I don't entirely disagree with the "Bosses are boring" segment, I'm watching the gameplay in the background with the swinging alien ball, and instantly noticed....you're playing it wrong!
Shooting it constantly was forcing it to stay put in the other direction. There was a weak point on the opposite end glowing right above the ball that you didn't notice. Letting it swing back would have given you a chance to get in there and fire at it with the force pod. That could have made the fight more engaging with the way that you apporach them. Idk if this R-Type keeps the same strategy of boss design like the classics did, but that's part of it's identity.
I think it would be a great idea for you to do a joint video with Junkie on the game. T'would be interesting to see both opinions on the game.
I am aware that I was being naughty and not fighting the boss as it was intended to be fought. However, a well made shmup needs to force the player to engage and not allow the player to get away with doing what I did and just sitting still and timing out the boss. This is exactly what I was criticizing in the video, the game needs to be more fully planned out with the boss fight design.
"secOndary studio" dude, granzella was fOrmed by irem staff members. kazuma kujo, the lead designer for r-type delta, final 1, and the tactics games was the lead designer for this as well. granzella is made up of a large handful of the irem team under a different nAme. granzella's name is even derived frOm the granzella revolution army in r-type tactics II.
edit: other peOple addressed this in the comments, but w/e.
yOu're actually complaining about the sleekness of the visuals and comparing them to starcraft. these visuals are in line with rtf1's visuals which were sleek as fuCk too.
also complaining about different flight pAtterns of enemies. dude, this kind of slight variation isn't new. these enemies were in r-type 2, and some of them had a flight pattern where they moved up and down and others didn't -- some just mOved across the screen.
this is a very unfair review frOm someone who clearly has no deep experience with the r-type franchise. this isn't the definitive r-type game, but it's still very solid. this review sounds more like your first r-type game, and you just dOn't like the nature of r-type.
It is a secondary studio of irem and this is still their first shmup. I am surprised that this studio is being argued as an equivalent to a legendary studio like irem. If Miyamoto leaves Nintendo is his new studio still considered 1st party Nintendo in your mind then? I have plenty of experience playing the other r type games and actually went back and forth from them to this one and double checked all my criticisms in comparison to older r types. You say this review is unfair but you really do feel that this game s quality stands beside the quality of the older games? As a "true fan" you feel comfortable with that statement? The message I hear is more like if I was a real r type fan I would excuse this games problems, look them over, and then push my audience to buy a game that I don t feel is well made and that I personally will probably not play again, is that right? During the review proceess I found that even the first r type game is much more polished with it s level design and even the visuals are much stronger. So if you are willing to say that this game is of comparable quality to the older r type games and that r type fans should all spend $40 without a second thought that s cool and everything but I don t feel that way and I have put forward fair criticism of the game. I said it was an honorable attempt that does not live up to the brand, you really feel that is an unreasonable position, being a true r type fan yourself?
"It is a secondary studio of irem and this is still their first shmup."
the people involved are veterans of shmUp development, so give them a little more credit. just because it's under a different name doesn't mean these peOple suddenly had their memories wiped in how to develop a shmup. these guys have wOrked on r-type games before.
"I am surprised that this studio is being argued as an equivalent to a legendary studio like irem."
this studio is made up of irem staff members, sO why wouldn't it have credibility?
"If Miyamoto leaves Nintendo is his new studio still considered 1st party Nintendo in your mind then?"
it wOuldn't matter if it was first party or not. wHat matters are the minds involved in the creation of the thing itself.
"I have plenty of experience playing the other r type games and actually went back and forth from them to this one and double checked all my criticisms in comparison to older r types."
it certainly dOesn't sound like you've analyzed the games thoroughly enough, and you don't sound like someone who has much experience with this series. if you did, your criticisms of rtf2 would be more sOund. you dOn't understand horis or ever seem to play them. you mOstly focus on cave and raizing from wHat i've seen, which is okay, but memorizers and bullet hells are vastly different in their designs. yOu even suggested a smaller hitbox, but r-type doesn't work tHat way. if it had a smaller hitbox it would trivialize its methodical and rigid nature. you also have to keep your memory in check for multiple things in r-type. for example, in r-type 1, the yellow balls tHat fly at you at the start of stage three. yOu think your force orb might be able to block them, but you find out it dOesn't. it passes through the force orb and kills yOu. there's also the red lasers firing at you tHat can go through your force orb. you learn heavily in tHat stage wHat the force orb can protect you against, and you end up building an intuition for it. "tHat's a fast moving energy ball. lOoks sketch. i better dOdge it. oh, but tHat missile looks concrete. i bet i can block it with my force orb"
"You say this review is unfair but you really do feel that this game s quality stands beside the quality of the older games?"
i said in my previous post tHat it is not the definitive r-type, but it's still a solid entry. the level design is structured very much like delta and final 1. i think calling this a bad game and even cOmparing it to a euroshmup is insulting to the experienced shmup devs behind this project.
"As a "true fan" you feel comfortable with that statement?"
wHat is the purpose of bringing in this notion of a "true fan?" this appears to be irrelevant to my criticisms of your review. i'm aiming to inform yOu in order to help you, because disregarding any modesty to drive the pOint home, i am more knowledgeable with the design philosophy of horis and memorizers than you are because i play them frequently. (if you would like my credibility, go to my channel. i have a 2-ALL no-miss of the world and japan versions of the notoriously difficult r-type II, a no-miss of r-type final on r-typer difficulty, a 2-ALL no-miss of super r-type on hard & pro, a no-miss of r-type leo, and also have a no-miss in the r-type clones: z-out and the absurdly difficult rezon. i also have experience with other irem shmups and have a 2-ALL no-miss of the world and japan versions of x-multiply and a no-miss of image fight II on hard, so i'm nO stranger to memorizers and understand them pretty well.) the real question here is do you feel cOmfortable in giving an uninformed opinion of a series/type of shmup you've only dabbled in?
"The message I hear is more like if I was a real r type fan I would excuse this games problems, look them over, and then push my audience to buy a game that I don t feel is well made and that I personally will probably not play again, is that right?"
nO, tHat is completely incorrect. if yOu don't like the game, tHat's one thing. but you're coming at it from the perspective of someone who doesn't really understand r-type and criticizing elements of it tHat make it r-type. you stArted it off embarrassingly by acting like these people never had any experience with shmup design simply because it's under a different name. tHat's the biggest thing tHat absolutely blows my mind, and for you to stick to this pointless and baseless view presents itself as unreasonable.
"During the review proceess I found that even the first r type game is much more polished with it s level design and even the visuals are much stronger. So if you are willing to say that this game is of comparable quality to the older r type games and that r type fans should all spend $40 without a second thought that s cool and everything but I don t feel that way and I have put forward fair criticism of the game."
no dude, it's nOt fair at all. the first r-type is the mOst accessible in the series and the least demanding in terms of memorization. it's a polished and well designed game, but the safe spots you criticize rtf2 with are nothing new to r-type. the first r-type has safe spOts everywhere. every irem shmup has at least a few safe spOts. in a way, it's become part of the charm of memorizers. so again, an example of unfair criticism.
if yOu dislike the game, tHat's fine. i just want to hear an informed opinion as to why, but your criticisms are often criticisms of wHat make r-type wHat it is.
"I said it was an honorable attempt that does not live up to the brand, you really feel that is an unreasonable position, being a true r type fan yourself?"
please stOp with this "true fan" nonsense. i'm taking time out of my day to help yOu better understand these kinds of shmups so tHat you can make a more informed review of a game you dislike.
and yes, it is unreasonable because, to reiterate, your criticisms are often criticisms of wHat make r-type wHat it is. your criticisms are uninformed and lack the necessary knOwledge. i recommend spending more time with the series as well as other memorizers, and then redo this review so you can prOvide a more convincing opinion as to why this game is a flop.
@@BrainTemple Well said. And honestly, if you wanted to compare with other "Modernized Shmup" you could've compare with Gradius V or Vritra Hexa instead of directly comparing with Cave and Raizing games. Cause it sounds like you wanted R Type games to be more like your usual Danmaku Games when the game is clearly meant to be the other thing. And you claimed it as a design flaw and blamed on the game instead of its more on your preference. So Mark, if you want to do review of something that you are not all that familiar with (based on what I've seen your video, you clearly didn't played enough hori games) make sure to clear that out that your preference is your preference instead of going out "Older games doesnt age well" type of mentality. Cause no matter what you say about this old school games, people still play it and believe that these old games are still relevant for what they are. Even the infamous Gradius III arcade is super popular right now in Japan probably even more popular than your usual Danmaku. So please get some more perspectives before you judge the entire thing based on just your favorite Cave and Raizing games. Because Cave and Raizing isnt the only STGs that are relevent.
Nice review! I still personally enjoy R-Type Final 2, but my main problem with the game is that the
bosses in this game are a joke. I definitely agree that their designs are extremely underwhelming,
and I'm especially not a fan of stage 5.0 and 6.0 bosses that don't shoot at all. Also, the ending is
just barebones, because after the credits scene, all I see was just the black screen with some text.
Yeah these elements seem rushed and unpolished saldy
26:00 eurogamer's gotta make a new division for you: Shmup Foundry.
Hopefully they can address some of these issues in patches (but I guess it doesn't change the game underneath much). Have been revisiting Final and Delta as well as 1 and 2 recently. They're literally all impossible to complete without very specific techniques which require trial and error. Very different feel compared to a kinda moment to moment improvisation that more modern style shooters have. I personally think there is a place for R-Type style of shoot em up.
Talking about the grafx, I can't think of any "new" (not older than 10-15 years) STG where I thought it looks good, if the grafx were 3D based. There were all those late 90s/2000s games where they got it right with 3D grafx (all those Naomi games, Gradius 5 etc) but then it just always looked bad? Think of Eschatos (looks ok at best), Ginga Force, Raiden 3-5 (look very generic), Otomedius Excellent, Natsuki Chronicles...what were they thinking?
2014's Astebreed and 2012's Sine Mora still look better than any 3d shmup that came after them... Why, you say? Not sure, but perhaps cause shmups are now such niche and obscure genre, and japanese devs dont have budget on gfx , or even if they do - they concentrate on gameplay instead.
and in late 90s early 00s arcades were not as extinct as nowodays... and generated much more revenue to make devs go wild
Agree the game has its flaws, but your “not recommended” verdict seem a bit too harsh on the game. May not be the best R-TYPE ever, but I’m enjoying the game and it’s definitely worth a try. Kudos for an entertaining review nonetheless.
I can see that but for me I just don t feel comfortable recommending it to my viewers at the $40 price point, I just don t think the game is polished enough for that, but I am also probably a bit more tough with my recommendations then other reviewers.
I pre-ordered this for Switch. Slowdown no problem, I love Super R-type as well :) It’s an acquired taste.
Still need to receive my copy, but your review seems fair. Still I can’t wait to play it. Common, it’s R-type !! I am sure it will be enjoyable despite the flaws.
Yes I have no doubt there are players that will enjoy the game despite the issues I pointed out. For me though I just don t feel right recommending the game, especially at full price
To be honest, what really gets me about the Switch version is not the slowdown or the downgraded graphics... it's the loading screens. Not loading between levels, loading between respawns, and there will be plenty of respawns for sure
@@Azorpatch yeah hopefully as this gets updates they can reduce that a bit
According to Moby games and wikipedia, the game is design by Kazuma Kujo, who designed R-type final 1.
Granzella is staffed by ex-irem staff.
I'm blaming the crowdfunding for the *meh* quality of this games.
Games who were developed by "high profile game designer" using a crowdfunding platform always turns out like that it seems.
Are you just taking his word that the game is meh? It's basically universally lauded by R-Type fans. It's getting reviews in the 80 range and has an 80% positive rating on steam.
I actually did notice this as well. The big danger though is that having familiar names in advisory roles doesn t always lead to quality. I think we tend to really underestimate the importance of the talent of the lower staff when it comes to creating a really polished product. Just look at death stranding or mighty number 9 or devils third.
@@TheElectricUnderground
What about death stranding? It has an 82% critic score. A lot of people really like that game.
You seem to be incapable of understanding that your personal preference doesn't actually have any bearing on the quality or merit of a game.
Like aside from all the actual misinformation you posted in your review of r-type final 2 you said you're not a fan of the series, said the only one in the series you like is the one that doesn't play anything like the series, then criticized rtf2 for being exactly what the series is, ignoring the misinformation.
Like i don't like open world games, i don't like gta. I'm not going to review a gta game and give it a bad review because it's not a different game lol. I would review it as a gta game.
I enjoyed your review only slight criticism I’d have is your critique of journalists who don’t do their research is a teeny tiny bit hypocritical as you didn’t know that Granzella have some of the people who developed R-Type Delta and Final 1 (ex-Irem people) so they do have some relevant shmup experience. At any rate the rest of the review was spot on though and really well put together.
Ha damn it I knew I should have talked about this more in the video. I was aware of the director connection between irem and Granzella. However, I still stand by my criticism because this is the first shmup the studio has ever made and having an experienced director isn't the magic bullet of creating a polished game. You still often need an experienced dev staff, and I think the end result here shows that the staff was not prepared for the challenge. Think of how many games have been sold on the advertising of the director, but have still produced very dissapointing games like MIghty number 9, deathstranding, shenmue 3, and Devil's 3rd.
@@TheElectricUnderground true that - fair enough :-) point well made !
Hey Mark, not sure if you'll read this, but any input on the DLC of Final 2? I'm thinking about grabbing the complete set on PS4 and was curious if you've played the additional levels.
No I didn't, I would say if you like the original game (I don't really) then the dlc will probably be in line with that content.
To have a well rounded view of things we need to be able to accept and be open to all kinds of perspectives and opinions 😊
I pre-ordered and paid a full $60 for this game, and sadly I have to agree with your review. It's very very mediocre compared to previous R-Type games. (Both Delta and Final 1 were much better designed/presented, and Final 2 is seriously lacking in comparison.) I've been an R-Type fan since Super on SNES.
I'm honestly getting real sick of projects baiting our nostalgia and not delivering in the end. It's not the worst R-Type I've played, but it still fails to deliver on the series' strengths.
Delta is still my favorite game in the series.
I love the game, but there are so many balance issues. Ships that have lv 3 and lv 4 charge attacks are so awesome and so basically useless outside of a few sections. Why not just let them have normal charge times and counterbalance it with like only 2 ship speeds or your rapid fire being downgraded? Too many ships you have to grind for are junk.
Also stuff like you canmake contact with walls....except ice?
It s like Pokemon, flying type is weak to ice ha ;-D
@@TheElectricUnderground the perfect comment, honestly lol
While I agree with most of your criticisms, I gotta ask...did you play the game to the end? If not, I'd say you're selling the game short as the latter half features the best level designs in the game. Which is perhaps the game's biggest flaw. The quality of the level design is way out of balance, probably due to each stage being handled by different designers (side note: you can view the designer credits for each stage in score attack mode)
Final 2 makes a bad first impression, but if you put the time in it's a very rewarding experience despite its flaws.
Yes I did, for the footage I wanted a fairly seemless run to show what the actual gameplay looks like, rather then hiding the games flaws with quick cuts and such. On the topic of the end though, what people really need to understand (and I will make a vid on this) is that shmup game design is cyclical, it s not linear. Shmups, in my opinion, have to be air tight in all the stages of the game, Because the genre is looped over and over again. So, even if the game suddenly morphed into dodonpachi in the last two stages and the tlb was hibachi, it is still a deeply flawed game. I do agree that the later stages are more lively and better designed, but I still think they still suffer the same problems, just to a smaller degree. The key takeaway though is what I said about the cyclical game design being key.
@@TheElectricUnderground Totally agree. This game needed more time in the oven. Hopefully they can remedy some of this with future updates.
The course edit mode is a godsend but you really shouldn't have to rearrange a game's stages to fix the flow.
The white Nikes cracked me up lol. So many astute arguments - Time for Electric Underground to develop his own Shmup?? Ayyyyy?? ;)
yep working on it! It's going to be pretty crazy I can say that much
The funny thing for me about this negative review is that a lot of the criticisms you gave are also criticisms of R-Type Final 1. I'll admit, I have a little nostalgia for that game. I remember playing it as a kid on ps2, alongside Gradius V, Taito Legends 2 (Gekirindan is still my favorite shmup) and Castle Shikigami 2. But I remember R-Type Final more for being weird than being fun. It's an extremely slow example of a shmup, and a little boring too. Even back in the day, compared to Gradius V, or even the pixelated beauty of Darius on Taito Legends 2, it was also ugly. The unlockable ships were cool, but the pace was so dull. Great soundtrack, but poor visuals. I dunno. I can understand why some loved Final 1, but I'd still consider it only barely on the positive end of mediocre. Final 2 looks like the same thing, only worse.
Ha ha ha , you used the italian cover art of super r-type , old memories came to my mind with that gig logo on the boxes
Same in Germany 👍
I agree with everything you said about the visuals of the bullets and enemies. I’m enjoying the game and it’s kicking my butt but a few times my failures have felt a little unfair because the visuals are so unclear
Thanks for the review. I got Natsuki Chronicles, Deathsmiles, R-Type final 2, Dariusburst: CS, Super Hydorah, Infinos Gaiden or Satazius for the vertical shmup on my Steam wishlist. I can only get 2 game and I think I'll go for Deathsmiles and Infinos Gaiden(or probably Natsuki Chronicles) cuz Dariusburst CS is freaking expensive.
yes I am yet to buy Darius CS for the same reason, a hefty price!
That's a solid list of shmups
Dariusburst CS is worth it.
I really liked R-type final 2. Had a chance to play it. The only bad thing about it is the exorbitant price they're asking. These shmup companies are trying to pull this price gouging nonsense. Taito pulled that shit with Dariusburst Chronicles. It needs to stop. What IREM needs to do is release an ultimate R-TYPE collection.
Yes for sure! R type collection by m2! Gotta be m2 so they so the series justice and we don t get low effort laggy ports with no extra modes or features at all
Not read the Europgamer review personally but it sounds like a classic case of having a narratologist review something that was not designed for them.
I get that review sites want to cater their reviews for all "player types" but a genre like shmups are so hard coded into ludology that very few are ever going to reach the point of being of interest to a narratologist gamer. A narratologist does not need to read a review of an R-Type game to know whether or not it is for them, they can see it isn't for them long before they'd consider reading a review.
Shmups which do cross that border are the rare handful of games with a strong creative or artistic push behind them. I can see the value in having a narratologist explore something heavily inspired by Japanese cinematic tropes and manga like sin & punishment (or even something artistically stunning like a Futari) but R-Type aka one of THE space shooters, there isn't going to be much there they can give throughtful or educated examination or insight on.
Some games just aren't designed for certain groups of people and the sooner reviews stop insiting on these hardline mismatches the better.
My main problem with review sites and shmups is that most of them don t take the genre seriously at all. They just throw out these quick last minute reviews and hardly ever address the core gameplay and stuff
It feels pretty weird when you realize that somebody from.... Forbes Games, wut... does much better game reviews and exposure articles then all these huge gaming portals like kotaku or ign, lol.
as i type this i'm ranting at my missus how much i cannot stand this game, i think you're points were spot on, the only good thing that's come out of final 2 is it's gonna make me appreciate final 1 a lot more
It did make me want to play and review r type leo, so there is that ha
Yeah... I knew something wasn't right when I played that demo ... Will not pick up even on sale 😔
fingers crossed we get an m2 r type collection in the future though! That would be rad.
Shame since you will be missing out on what's a great return to R-type.
Although some of the criticism is fair, this is still a good R-TYPE game you’ll be missing on. Also... not supporting the devs will only reduce the chances of them doing another (better) R-TYPE.
(I'm playing my shmups on the Nintendo switch right now) my life style makes it hard to console or PC game a shmup. Having said that, there are so many other amazing games even in the R-type series I could be playing... I'm not willing to make the compromises in this game for the asking price. In fairness to you guys, I replayed the Demo before even seeing these comments and... I still stand by the fidelity is odd. Don't feel right to me 🤷🏽♂️ danmaku unlimited 3 is taking my time right now 🥰
Also, I can see I have a taste bias here, I can see me and electric Underground have a bit of a preference alignment 😌
I like the memorization aspects, like other games that pay homage to R-Type, Pulstar for example, another game with crazy surprises during the 1st run. My gripe with RTF2 is that it could have been so much more, but I do like a lot of aspects about it, speed control being one of them. Custom ships are pretty cool and the overall art direction although simple it has a very big feel, everything feels huge, the music ties in that feel too and it's both good and bad because it gives you moments were is awesome and moments where you're just meh, yes that is faulty design, or maybe they wanted to give you a break? I still play it, I like the stage access, I know segmentation is not for everyone but I enjoy it quite a bit.
I really enjoy your channel and I'm grateful you take the time and effort to share your view. I agree with you in a lot of things, this time I'm not 100% with you but maybe 33% in, I play it on PS5 and it runs well, played the demo on PS4 and it was dropping frames so I've kept from the PS4 version.
I'm here 'cause I saw this out of the corner of my eye in your videos list while I was hoping you've done a Resident Evil 4 in-depth look. I'm one of them old geezers that never played resident evil after dreamcast, so my last game was code veronica and I'm just now curious because you praise 4 quite a bit...and the remake, sure, maybe way later.
I'm liking the RE4 arcade action style mix with survival, trying to play it nice, restarting a lot, not saving, figures that matters for score, any tips? any chances you can make a video, or maybe you know of a good one, so far the remake is making finding videos very slim pickings and I'd like to learn how to move proficiently. Thanks a lot and take care!
Never before has a review in the form of such eloquent poetry graced mine ears.
;-D
so about your complaints... Have you played Delta? Sounds so much like the problems I had (on Normal/Hard), poorly telegraphed screen filling attacks and enemies that quickly fly in while shooting as they appear.
In Final 2 I don't like the plastic-like shine on everything, a problem with many Unreal Engine games, some of those environments look so sparse, it looks unfinished sometimes.
I haven't played delta, but I did play a bunch of the OG R type games to compare with this ones problems and they basically don t have them, so I thought it was a fair comparison. Judging by the comments people are saying that they like delta, but I haven t played it before
@@TheElectricUnderground Delta is a beast. You mentioned music in your video: I recall how much opera-like was the beginning of the firstnR-Type. IMHO the big emphasis on making original and memorable things was the heavy positive trait of R-Type. IMHO they even managed to get it in Delta. Regarding your review, I am afraid to guess you are right. I see nice moments but pretty uninspired ones, too. BTW The flying tanks are taken from R-Type 2 :(
@@TheElectricUnderground Yeah, it's a really interesting game I just think it's the most frustrating of all of them, the checkpoint placement specifically was absolutely brutal and unforgiving. But then there were parts full of creativity and great design, most of the bosses in particular were the best in the series.
Actually if you've played Einhander they're pretty similar in tone and atmosphere.
I can at least say it had a lot more going for it than Final/FInal2 more interesting setpieces environments and boss designs, looking at your footage a lot of it doesn't fit in with the style and lore of the rest of the R-type games
“Are we all not merely spaceships?” LOL. Good one Mark. Great points throughout, excellent analysis. Embarrassed to admit, I think I used to write like Eurogamer. I hope I’m long past that stage
I think that sort of writing can work in like an opinion editorial or something like that. The problem is that the consumer review is a bad venue for it, because it basically comminicates nothing to the consumer besides the reviewers literary ambition
The visuals gives me a Contra: Rogue Corps vibe, but it's much more appealing than that. You mentioned that the visuals aren't as bad as KOF XV's, which I have to ask did you mean XIV?
I never was the biggest fan of R-Type, though I admire the impact it had on the genre, Leo is my favorite one in the series so far and I've been wanting to at least try the ones that I haven't. Sucks that Final 2 turned out this way, especially being the recent installment in this beloved shoot 'em up series, really was hoping it'd turn out better.
I honestly get them confused, whichever kof was made by the Chinese company and swapped in those nightmarish 3d models ha
@@TheElectricUnderground kof 15 looks surely better than 14 because models are more stylized and lighting is better. also they are not made by chinese company, i think. chinese company is owning SNK's business side, instead.
"Sucks that Final 2 turned out this way" it surely is better than half of people here making it sound like, lol.
Glad I'm not alone with my take on this game. I returned it the next day. Thank you for reviewing this Mark.
Yeah I wasn t exactly looking forward to being the messenger of bad news, but I thought it was important
They need to incentivize hitting the weakpoints more in that metronome boss fight...It looked so boring to just sit back and survive. They probably should have made it so you can't damage it period from the left side of the screen to encourage you to fly to the right side and attack it from your back.
Yes they needed to an extra attack to force you go engage for sure
abit of a late comment but wanted to vent my frustrations with the game as i wanted to love this new release but was sadly disappointed as well,
first of the problems which are exclusive to the switch port:
abysmal load times (really important cause i have the attention span of a gnat, this problem pretty much was what would cause me to die 20-30 times in a row as i had already for gotten what had killed me!)
frame drops and slow down, this happens not only in intense bullet sections (which may or may not be a good thing) but also happens in cinematic sequences like the assault on the human fleet final stage (where it is most definetly not appreciated), slow down i believe also happens when you view your ship in the r museum, as it takes an eternity to circle around the model you are viewing.
I honestly thought these things would not be a problem, logic being that the switch can handle bayonetta 2 and astral chain just fine. It also doesnt help that the switch experiences these problems even with the noticeable downgrade in visual presentation.
these issues alone are bad enough, but there made worse by the fact that the developer opted to go for a multi platform release (pc, switch, ps4, maybe xbox not sure though) on launch which means that they could have potentially ironed out these issues but instead might have gotten too greedy, or maybe it could have been a failure to asses the proper scope of what they were trying to achieve, either way it does not reflect well on the developer.
Issues I have with the game itself:
Lack of levels compared to the original R-Type final while also cutting corners with level design, the geometric battleship comes to mind, it didnt bother me at all at first till you and shmup junkie pointed it out in your reviews then i was a bit bothered, then i saw the art direction of R Type delta and was pretty bothered, then i saw what the graphics looked like for the DLC stages then I was very very bothered (seriously it looked like they put in 3X the effort on the DLC than they did the base game, would have been nice to see some of that effort from the get go but npe guess they gotta get that sweet sweet money).
The Rpg mechanics not meshing well with the games design, I mainly believe this to be a problem with the way resources are handled to elaborate:
Some people have complained that there is an imbalance in resource distribution (the center resource is lacking, bydogen i think), i believe that if you look at the drop rates though, it should even out, its just that bydogen drops on the later stages so its obvious why this happens given how difficult the game is. This leads to having resource distributions somewhere along the lines of 2000, 0, 1600 which is iritating AF cause it feels like the R Museum is taunting you every time you want to buy a new ship.
You don't get anything if you don't clear a stage, this is important because it means you are always going to play to win, and it also means that you are gonna develop a meta in order to grind resources efficiently. This discourages experimenting with new ships and playing the stages in order. What this meant for me is that i only used 3 ships despite having unlocked 50 of them, arrowhead > albatross and its succeeding upgrades > Leo into Leo 2 and nothing else. It also meant that i would grind level select alot (mainly the crab boss as it seems the most feesible for grinding bydogen) instead of going through the main level progression, as i was encouraged to perfect this one stage due to the lack of bydogen. It also discourages experimenting with higher dificulties
This one is debatable but resource aquisition is abit on the slow side, what makes it worse though, and this is just speculation but the developers could have made resource acquisition intentionaly slow in order to buy time because they knew beforehand they would not be able to release the full roster of ships. I honestly think that whats going to happen is that when the full roster of ships drops the dev is gonna drop more resource packs into the shop because of how slow grinding is.
just throwing in my two cents but i believe that one way to fix these problems is to simplify the resource system, you can get rid of the 3 divisions and just have one resource, or have all 3 resources convert automatically into 1 main resource upon returning to base (this way you can still keep the world building "flavor" the resources add). Another big fix would be to make it so that the player still receives resources despite not being able to clear a level, maybe tie resource gathering to enemies cleared so all the repetitive dying does not feel so pointless, also this way the player can simply return to base if they are feeling frustrated and still be rewarded a proportional amount for there efforts, this way the player doesnt have to play to win all the time and can feel free to experiment more with what's available to them.
With all that said though, whats sad is I still see myself playing this game in the future when the full roster is finally available, just so i can go on a power trip with last dancer on a leo 2 load out with balmung missiles, watching all those enemies that gave me such a hard time my first few playthroughs simply melt is going to feel cathartic AF.
This is a great assessment of the issues of the game :-)
Are you going to review Natsuki Chronicles?
Yes at some point I will :-)
"Not bullet hell. 4/10"
There, saved you 30 minutes of whatever drivel he'd have written for such a review.
@@blossom357 LOL
God the visuals are embarrassingly bad. Like worse than Final. Way worse. I still like Delta visuals best. I'll take those janky PS polygons over this shit any day.
I also like leo's colorful bouncy visuals, so charming and bright.
just found your channel and have been watching a lot of your reviews, you do a very solid job
If FINAL 2 could be accused of something, is that it is TOO faithful to the source material. If you could ever make a "safe" memorization style shumup, FINAL 2 is it.
That is interesting, like they went so r type that they went backwards ha, it s definetly possible
Beat the game on 2 paths so far. I agree about the bullet design being difficult to discern sometimes. I also had a lot of cheap deaths in level 7.1. It’s overly cinematic and it’s hard to tell when something is in the background or if it can kill you. I swear most of the laser blasts were background, but then some of them kill you, especially at the end. Then you have to do the entire run all over again.
Still enjoying it. But it definitely has issues.
great vid! as someone who hasnt played that much r type this doesnt seem that bad id be happy to play it... if they maybe dropped the prices a bit yknow ;)
Yeah that changes the ballgame a lot I think, really hard for me to recommend at full price
This video literally changes the youtuber life of Mark. LOL
I don't think I can handle any bullet hell shmup. And I play shnup mainly for survival (I suck at arcade-style shmup). So I seek titles like Gradius, Darius, and R-type, instead. This is what happens when I spend my money on one game without seriously thinking about it. So... just get as much value as I can from this. Am I right?
The main value I got from this game is its DLC, which is MUCH better than the main levels (which makes me wonder how good is the older titles). Sure there are some reference to 'tactics' here and there. And later levels are better-designed. But still...
If the developers really have plans about this series, I hope they can take your opinion into consideration. At least... make it "better than average".
I was interested having played most games in the series. But in the end I never bought Final 2 because for the price they're asking for and it being a sequel...they only have half the ships at launch, the music pales in comparison to Delta, the level design is pretty mediocre especially Stage 3, and the visuals seem really rushed and lazy (the ships are modelled beautifully I'll admit).
Everything in this game felt rushed, and was made to meet a quarterly statement and not for quality.
Agreed, the game needed more polish for sure
Don't mind me, just dropping some engagement.
❤
That "professional review" at the end is great, I lol'd. I've been seeing this so much lately (just this week with Resident Evil 8 and Returnal, even) and it bugs the shit out of me. Aside from not understanding a genre or style, reviewers and critics at big sites often just like to make things overly wordy and stupid to avoid saying real criticism cause they're afraid of what the big bad video game developers might say or afraid that their lame ass website might fire them if they give an honest review that's anything but glowing. It's stuff you've talked about plenty before and very similar to what happened with you at Nintendo Life for speaking your mind. Very few are willing to do it, but that's kinda where you can separate something that's worth reading and something that's essentially a marketing piece for the game.
1000% right (that being right times 10!) I know it s very corrupt I think because they are basically pretending to care about the customer but really are serving the publishers.
Honestly, the game still has a lot to go to be considered an R-Type sequel, and I gotta agree with majority of your points there. I just only hope they pull a Sector D2, and they listen to the community and make actual design changes to the game.
I actually made a comment on a separate video featuring gameplay of the game's bosses, and I pointed out some of the design flaws and missing content there, like for example, *the stage design with the giant warship being so scrappy, I can literally compare it to any other Unity model and say they're the exact same.*
Again, this is just barely released, and is not a finished game, so Im just hoping the dev team actually takes criticism from the community and adds what's missing from the game to make it more complete and end up with a finished product that's worth being labeled a true successor.
You kill that second boss by point blanking it with the option, like hover the option on it's blue weakpoint. then it'll die very quickly.
if you're hoping for the missiles hitting it and the brief moments your gun will be lined up with the weakpoint to do it then yeah you'll time out often.
not a huge fan of the series, but this def feels like a weaker entry for sure.
there is also a really easy safespot on the 2nd boss ha, so you could get up and eat a snack during the fight i suppose ha
That is something that you do in R-Type 1 on Stage 1, yes. I remember it was mindblowing for me as "tactic" aspect.
Think this was overall a pretty good and informative review, with a pretty fun outro... But I gotta say I had a completely different experience with it, as I actually managed to beat the bosses and enemies on a timely manner, never suffering the trouble of things dragging out, or feeling like there is a need to resort to boring survival tactics of intentionally waiting out the clock.... But I guess it can just be chalked to the game being closer to my lane, as on top of that I also enjoyed everything else too like the music and the graphics (although the latter case could be due to playing the Steam Deck version on future updates)..
All in all thanks for the vid.
Great review! Sad that finality wasnt final enough... Maybe third times the charm.
Only thing I heard that doesn't make sense is kof 15 doesn't look good? I think in the trailers we've received the worst things are certain stages that are overexposed or background stage characters. Maybe you meant 14, which pre graphics update was not so good, but even so, had fine animations. It just needed better lighting and overall style direction. Which is the most important like you say. MKX had great graphics and fairly good art style for what they were making, but had bad/jank animations and it still made a crap ton of money. Well done art style wins!
I think both 15 and 14 are pretty bad graphically, but yes 14 is a nightmare ha. Going from the beatiful sprite work of 13 to the horrible 3rd models of 14 was shocking.
@@TheElectricUnderground 12/13 sprites almost made them bancrupt. So they don't get back to it ever (unless microsoft/sony/nintendo/sega would finance them). and they are not good enough to make nice 3d. though id play kof 14/15 over latest guilty gear, because despite GG looking "wow amazing", GG is too much flash and all mixing together in a mess, while "ugly kof" looks clean and reads visually good, which matters for play.
@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 for real they aren't exactly gonna try sprites after improving their 3d skills and selling 14 and samsho copies, as well as the whole bankrupt fact around 12 & 13....
@@TheElectricUnderground They said each character took them about 6 months and considering the game flopped, it's no wonder it wasn't sustainable for them at that time.
The game is amazing but nobody played it then and people can't just start supporting it years later when it least matters. My biggest qualm with 14 wasn't so much the visuals as it was lacking in that bombastic freedom you get with meter from 02 UM Max Mode and 13 with the HD Combos. It made a lot of characters stale to play or restrictive.
In my opinion, the series already ended at the first R Type Final
It really did, I m doing a follow up video explaining exactly why too
I think you edited the glacial load times out a bit to be extra kind. The part where you mention it's boring. This...is...true..
Oh damn I forgot to mention the load times, yeah on switch they are some neo geo CD stuff, dang it wish I would have remembered.
What advice do you have for a new / rerelease shmups collector for switch, what games can I afford?
th-cam.com/video/hpxGKor_2l0/w-d-xo.html here you go :-) it s a bit of an older list so don t forget to add crimzon clover to it as well :-)
I'm enjoying the game. It's vastly more playable than the first Final. That game had some good content but the massive slowdown and snail-like pace knocked it down a few pegs. I'll agree with a couple of your points, like the uninspired enemy design and boring bosses. I can't agree that it feels like a Euroshmup. This game actually controls well and has a great weapon system. The player ship designs, the power up system, and the weapons themselves are the best part of this game, and make the whole thing worth it to me. I see you're not an R-Type fan, which is fine. Fans of the series should enjoy it much more than you did. I'd probably rate it a 6.5/10.
I can't comment on the performance issues, I'm playing on a PS5 with an arcade stick. It controls flawlessly and never drops frames.
20:29 I wasn't prepared for it to actually sound that generic. This is honestly a bit heartbreaking. I'm getting "free to play mobile MMO character creation screen" vibes from this. Hoooo haaa haaaaa *epic drums*
Not a bad review. I bought it on day one, and so far am enjoying it. It might not have the same polish as Final 1, but I am still happy we get a new R-Type at ALL.
Yes this is why I feel caught in a catch 22 for games like this. I know that some players are gonna enjoy it on a basic r type level, but it s not quiet quality enough for me to recommend
As an R Type fan all i can say is this, this game is only for R Type fans not for new people in the gender because yeah, the game feels rushed, feels sometimes empty and the music is bad, but that being said, i enjoying the game but because i’m an R Type fan that’s it.
Just when I thought this channel could not get any better you have a literary existential crisis. That was amazing!!. Some of that could be read unironically And really have some resonance. You were a poet and we didn’t even know it!.
Well done.
Glad you enjoyed it :-) it was pretty fun to write
Where on the one hand this game has really been torn apart by genre fans and that makes me sad, on the other hand there are loads of quality shmups out and coming out soon.
I might get this if they update it or if it's super cheap, but for now I've got Rolling Gunner and Raiden IV Mikado (plus Darius Cozmic Revelation and Cotton Reboot coming soon).
Great review but I must say many of the issues you point out aren't nearly as bad on PC. The switch version is pretty bad especially the aesthetics and frame rate. The visual design looks better on PC. I'm personally enjoying the game dispite its flaws but the issues you are pointing out are legit.
Yeah I figured the pc version would run smoother for sure.
finally a karma police hits switch, haha. switch went too much self important being the platform everyone ports to, lol
@@TheElectricUnderground Its not just smoother, the visual fidelity fixes a few of the issues you had with its general aesthetic (being that there is more detail in the textures) and particularly distinguishing the foreground from the background. The muddy textures on Switch and lack of lighting causing darker shadows & color along with the frame rate makes the tells much harder to see incoming attacks.
The Port of Bloodstained Ritual of the Night was also really bad, but they eventually fixed many of the issues. Hopefully Granzella takes the time to fix the switch port.
I don't get why people buy games on switch, it's always the same problems, bad frame rates and poor graphics.
@@buckroger6456 It depends on the game tbh, If the game has no issues I prefer the switch because its handheld. But for the most part I play on PC.