R-Type Delta

[Firehawke]

LRG is a large part of why I'm almost entirely digital-only now.

I know that opinion won't be popular, but seriously.. fuck those guys. They keep grabbing the stuff I'd want physically, too, which makes it worse.

[TransatlanticFoe]

The Radiant Silvergun situation isn't really relevant to today's Embracer Group situation. In that case, pre-Embracer's purchase, Livewire published the game. The physical release came up shortly after Embracer bought them but so quickly that Embracer wouldn't have driven that decision.

Embracer, via Clear River Games, released physical editions of not only Radiant Silvergun but also Mushi, DFK and Espgaluda II. Those were alll Livewire published titles which had a Limited Run release in the US and, I think with the exception of Mushi, a Superdeluxe (Limited Run's pre-Embracer Japanese arm) release - but were eshop only in Europe. Livewire's licence expired and they removed them from the eshop, so presumably this allowed Embracer to do a European physical release. It happened 2 years down the line, so folk in Europe were in exactly the same situation (and indeed one we're frequently in) - import now and pay more, or wait in hope that an European release is coming.

Since then, Embracer have aligned the two companies (or rather send Clear River stock to be re-badged and sold as Limited Run) so that it's transparent that US and Europe are getting a release and when. Though often lagging behind a Japanese release, so the merry dance of "import or wait" is still there.

Get angry at Limited Run for their practices. And Embracer for continuing to, well, embrace their practices in the US instead of doing a normal retail release - Embracer would absolutely do the Limited Run model in Europe if it thought it would work. But Europe has two Limited Run-style companies (First Press, Strictly Limited) in dire straits and with rock bottom reputation, so a retail release makes sense. And we're grateful for it - usually Europe gets totally fucked over!

[CerealPT]

considering how many cave games have been delisted on the defunt 360 and on the switch yeah, I will take LRG antics over a digital only future.

[dai jou bu]

But Europe has two Limited Run-style companies (First Press, Strictly Limited) in dire straits and with rock bottom reputation, so a retail release makes sense. And we're grateful for it - usually Europe gets totally fucked over!

I was wondering if you could set things straight for me since I’m slightly confused about ININ games and SLG because they seem to have overlap in publishing the same games, and their websites don’t mention anything their relationships to each other.

Are they both owned by the same company, or does ININ have publishing rights outside of Europe for the catalog that SLG also publishes. I always assumed that SLG was the “super-premium iconoclast publisher” (they’re ballsy enough to not even put an age rating label on the games they release, a move that not even LRG does) while ININ was their mass-market retail arm. They have a presence at the gamestops over in the United States (that’s how I got some of the Cotton games at a really good price), but I also made the assumption they also released the same games in retail stores within Europe as well.

Also, if I had to pick the lesser of two evils, SLG has been consistently better than LRG with their products. Aside from not having an age rating label on the packaging art, their customer service and the stuff they put inside the collectors editions are better thought out since I almost never think twice about getting the highest tier version of their collectors editions if it’s a game I’m interested in buying. Not to mention their prices are a little bit more reasonable.

I’m actually genuinely surprised clear River games scooped up r-type delta instead of SLG because they also have a big chunk of Irem’s catalog in their pipeline, not to mention they’re very pro-shmup.

considering how many cave games have been delisted on the defunt 360 and on the switch yeah, I will take LRG antics over a digital only future.

No you don’t. They will literally ship your product to the address you put down on the order over a year ago after you no longer live there, and will sometimes still send it there even if you use their address correction form and will be not only be nearly impossible to reach once it ships, but will then tell you they can’t do anything about it and you need to talk to the post office once it reaches the last part of the delivery.

The post office will then tell you they can’t do anything until the first delivery attempt if it’s unsuccessful but since anyone can sign for it, that’s basically code for “you’re SoL” (Cresta, yeah, that was the game they shipped to my old address).

So you send an email about the incident, then swear to never use LRG again until you get a reply almost 3 months later, and they finally rectify the situation.

… you sure you want to have this kinda high-stakes russian roulette to your several-hundred dollar orders? I know these numbers are nowhere near the level of your lowest high score so a 3 digit value game does look inconsequential, but there’s no score multiplier if you manage to pull off the impossible in this kind of scenario.

[Jucksalbe]

I was wondering if you could set things straight for me since I’m slightly confused about ININ games and SLG because they seem to have overlap in publishing the same games, and their websites don’t mention anything their relationships to each other.

They are just different labels of the same company (United Games).

[OldSkoolShmuper]

Happy that R-Type Delta is coming to modern consoles.

Still hoping R-Type Tactics 1 & 2 Cosmos is still getting released in 2025.

[AGermanArtist]

Based on the promo, they seem to have done a good job with this. I've been playing it a bit lately uprezzed to 9 x native resolution in Duckstation, which makes it look super sharp, but I'd definitely buy this, it's seemingly a step beyond that. Do we know who's responsible for the update?

[OldSkoolShmuper]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPbg3d_E3PE

Release date for Japan: 11/20/2025

[hamfighterx]

I love the wildly over-the-top marketing copy for this one. Although I like the game, I would suggest that it may be a bit bold to say it "took the gaming world by storm". I was working in a game store when the PS1 version released, and despite my best efforts to convince people to play more R-Type, I may have been the only person I ever saw buy the game. Oh well, their loss, but now all those fools can experience this ESSENTIAL PIECE OF GAMING HISTORY. Thanks, City Connection!

A Timeless Classic Returns
R-Type Delta is one of the finest shoot ‘em ups ever and took the gaming world by storm upon its release in 1998. Now, 27 years later, history repeats itself with R-Type Delta: HD Boosted. With its tight level design, three selectable ships, powerful Delta Attacks, and the brilliant Force mechanic, this new edition proves that gaming classics of this caliber are truly timeless. If you played R-Type Delta back in the day, this is the perfect opportunity to return to its dark science fiction action. If you’ve never experienced this essential piece of gaming history before, now is the time.

Sharper Than Ever
R-Type Delta: HD Boosted features high-resolution graphics that hone the polygonal edges of this PlayStation masterpiece until they’re sharp enough to cut glass. You simply haven’t experienced R-Type Delta until you’ve played it in high definition! Of course, the game also comes equipped with modern quality-of-life improvements.

Environmental Storytelling
What has always made R-Type Delta so fantastic is its dark, eerie atmosphere. Shoot-’em-ups are not typically known for storytelling, but R-Type Delta: HD Boosted excels with its simple, minimalist environmental storytelling, characteristic of the late ’90s. It’s a narrative that is as fascinating as it is unsettling, as adrenaline-pumping as it is deeply disturbing. And all this without a single word being spoken.

The Meaning of Delta
The name “Delta” carries several meanings. Firstly, the Greek letter delta resembles a triangle, which coincidentally has as many sides as there are playable ships in the game. It is also the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, and R-Type Delta is the fourth game in the R-Type series. Additionally, the delta triangle is the simplest type of polygon, which is fitting since R-Type Delta was the first game in the series to use three-dimensional polygon graphics instead of two-dimensional sprites.

Story
The year is 2163, and the badly damaged R9 Arrowhead fighter has just returned to Earth after its mission to destroy the Bydo Empire. The vessel is rescued by the battle-cruiser Croque-Monsieur and transported to an orbital space station. One year later, astronomers in Central Asia observe mysterious objects falling from the sky, and moments later, control is lost over the orbiting annihilation platform Moritz-G. This high-tech machine, capable of destroying the entire planet, descends over a city and levels it to the ground. Although its planet-destroying weapons have not yet been activated, its advanced defense systems make Moritz-G virtually impossible to approach. A desperate military operation is launched, and the prototype ship R9aII Delta is deployed to resolve the situation. Thus begins the epic battle that is R-Type Delta!

And I'm just gonna post this passage a second time, because it is as fascinating as it is unsettling:

Shoot-’em-ups are not typically known for storytelling, but R-Type Delta: HD Boosted excels with its simple, minimalist environmental storytelling, characteristic of the late ’90s. It’s a narrative that is as fascinating as it is unsettling, as adrenaline-pumping as it is deeply disturbing. And all this without a single word being spoken.

[xEbb1993x]

Well, talk about egotistical.

[Jucksalbe]

It did get pretty good reviews back in the day, but yeah, let's not pretend there was a big mass market interest or anything for the game. The paragraph about "The Meaning of Delta" reads like someone needed to reach their minimum word count.

[hamfighterx]

It feels too unhinged to be AI. Marketing person showing us that human touch, while practicing their epic prose with an eye toward breaking out that manic tone in the novel they're working on as a side project. It's got more personality than the typical sterile press release, I'll give it that!