R-Type round 2??!!

[Ajora]

I recently finished playing through all of R-Type 1 (PS1 R-Types) on the hardest difficulty setting. It wasn't... easy. I assumed that if you finish the game on normal, then the second loop would just be the exact equivalent of the game on hard mode, and if you finish the game on hard mode then the second loop would just be a repeat of hard mode. It seems to me that regardless of whether you finish the game on normal or hard, the second round is essentially ultra hard mode, with enemies firing at you exponentially more than they did on hard mode.

And I thought the second round of R-Type 3 was brutal. This just seems overkill, even for the genre's notoriously high standards. Have any of you actually finished R-Type on the second round?

[Shepardus]

Yeah, a number of people have. Most recently, Jaimers cleared it. I've heard R-Type II is significantly harder, the hardest in the series.

[Jaimers]

R-Type 1's 2nd loop isn't really hard by any of the genre's standards.
Just copy a route and you're basically good to go. The execution isn't even all that hard either since R-Type 1's design isn't very complex.
Once you have a proper route the 2nd loop isn't even all that different from the 1st loop.

And yeah R-Type II is way harder.

[Perikles]

R-Type 1's 2nd loop isn't really hard by any of the genre's standards.

That's a bit of an exaggeration, though - you still have to play for two loops without making any significant mistake (as checkpoint recoveries are very tough) or having any simple solutions such as bombs at your disposal. Granted, compared to Irem's hardest 2-ALLs (Image Fight and R-Type II), the first R-Type is considerably easier, but a 2-ALL of the first R-Type is still more challenging than a lot of other achievements in that timeframe. The stretch from the 2-5 boss through (and including) 2-7 in particular is not something a novice of the genre will be able to handle without a lot of practice and dedication.

In case you're interested to change it, one of your statements in the video description of your 2-ALL is not quite correct: the bits do not protect against bullets, it's just that the pod nullifies bullets even from angles that look like you should get hit. The only R-Type game where bits protect you against regular projectiles is R-Type III when you use the Hyper (well, maybe there's a ship or two in R-Type Final with a similar property, don't know about that).

[Ajora]

I've yet to try out R-Type 2, but I did play through Super R-Type a few years ago. I don't think it was that hard, but the lack of checkpoints made it frustrating for all of the wrong reasons. Can't say I was too fond of it on account of the horrendous slowdown and aforementioned lack of checkpoints. Kind of a waste that the soundtrack had to be so good.

[Jaimers]

a 2-ALL of the first R-Type is still more challenging than a lot of other achievements in that timeframe.

I guess I should say that I was moreso making a comparison with the entire genre as a whole. I can't say that something I can learn and beat in 2 days to be one of the harder challenges in the genre. It's no Futari Ultra.
I do admit that I might be biased since I beat R-Type II first. A lot of the experiences gained there might have crossed over to I.
I agree about the timeframe thing though.

The stretch from the 2-5 boss through (and including) 2-7 in particular is not something a novice of the genre will be able to handle without a lot of practice and dedication.

Eh, I don't know. 2-6 felt almost exactly the same as 1-6 to me. 2-7 is kinda scary but really basic once you learn the enemy positions. 2-8 is a joke.
If anything I would say that 2-4 is the gatekeeper of the game since that stage felt by far the hardest.
It's more in line with R-Type II's design where things are really chaotic with stuff constantly coming from all sides. And you have to actually do stuff like misdirecting enemy shots.
It's probably one of the stages that changes the most in the loop.

Thanks for the bit correction. I didn't even notice.

[Shepardus]

In case you're interested to change it, one of your statements in the video description of your 2-ALL is not quite correct: the bits do not protect against bullets, it's just that the pod nullifies bullets even from angles that look like you should get hit. The only R-Type game where bits protect you against regular projectiles is R-Type III when you use the Hyper (well, maybe there's a ship or two in R-Type Final with a similar property, don't know about that).

My life is a lie

[mamboFoxtrot]

^ Yeah, I found that one out the hard way once

[Perikles]

I guess I should say that I was moreso making a comparison with the entire genre as a whole. I can't say that something I can learn and beat in 2 days to be one of the harder challenges in the genre. It's no Futari Ultra.

Sure, our differing viewpoints (if you even can call it that) are almost entirely semantical. There's no doubt that there are countless achievements out there that are harder - inordinately harder, even - than getting a 2-ALL of R-Type. On the other hand, if we were to rank every single shmup ever made by difficulty (arcade, console, portable, computer), said achievement would definitely tower of the vast majority of them. I would say that a clear that is harder than the lion's share of what the entire genre has to offer can be called fairly tough. That an exceptional player such as yourself is able to effortlessly obliterate the game does not necessarily contradict that statement, I think.