R-Type Final closes the saga in grand style. Countless ships to unlock, a solemn melancholy mood and sublime design. A sumptuous farewell to one of the greatest shmups ever.
Your verdict
Category
Shooter2 players7+
Description
An Irem horizontal shoot'em up released in 2003 (Korea, Japan, Europe, US), the ultimate entry in the R-Type franchise. 99 different playable ships, the franchise's iconic orbital Force system and eight worlds of nightmarish corridors. Irem's creative testament with an exhaustive gallery mode of franchise archives. A majestic farewell to the horizontal shmup.
R-Type Final review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"Pleasant"
Addictiveness
"Captivating"
Difficulty
"Punishing"
The culmination of a demanding saga, this horizontal shoot-'em-up bets on calculated slowness over frenzy: lethal scenery, narrow passages and the famous Force pod to position with care call for anticipation and patience. Memorizing the screens and placing your shots outweigh reflexes. Methodical and stern, it rewards rigor and closes the series with a deliberate difficulty.
Lifespan
"Massive"
Collecting more than a hundred ships, each with unique handling, turns this shmup into an endless completion quest. Surviving demanding stages, unlocking every craft and aiming for the perfect score takes countless attempts. That generosity, the high point of the R-Type series, earns the title a stubborn reputation as a cult shooter.
The saga's final chapter, this shooter confronts you with the biomechanical horror of the Bydo, an organic entity whose guardians seem to suffer as much as they attack. The Force pod, both shield and weapon, remains the key to piercing their teeming flesh. Melancholy and dense, this conclusion tends to the visual unease of its creatures as much as to the demands of its battles.
Is R-Type Final still worth playing in 2026?
A shoot'em up from Irem, R-Type Final concludes the legendary horizontal shooter series, where you pilot a fighter equipped with the famous Force pod to cross levels of surgical difficulty against waves of biomechanical enemies and colossal bosses. The purity of the demanding game design, the impressive richness of ships to unlock and the legacy of the saga appeal to fans of shoot'em ups and purists of the genre. The high difficulty and the methodical pace bound the appeal to the general public. For a fan of horizontal shoot'em ups or of the R-Type series, the title keeps a perfectly preserved demand and richness.
