The Final R-Type really goes down with a Big Bang.
And then, after R-Type Delta on the PSone revived the series, Irem announced that this will be the last R-Type. While this is very sad, Irem really brought something big to us.
R-Type Final takes the old formula - and improves all of it.
You do not have one or three or five ships - you can collect a total of 101 Ships - Gran Typeismo! The ships are quite different because there are a lot of different Wave Cannons, Forces and Missiles which give each ship a different feeling to it - you don't have to learn 16 levels by heart anymore, you need to memorize 16 Levels in 101 different combination as each ship requires a little different strategy!
I already mentioned that there are a lot of different Wave Cannons and Forces. There differences are really interesting, as they require a different tactic for each one. There is your standard "charge the Beam and fire a really powerful Shot"-Wave Cannon, but there are Wave Cannons which provide a constant beam, others provide some sort of shield barrier and others lead to "tentacles". The Weapons are really nice done.
The game has a total of 16 Stages, although you will only play 6 or 7 of them in a game since some stages have multiple variations (For Example, there are 5 different "Stage 2"'s, and a certain condition will decide which one will be played). This makes the actual Game rather short - which is R-Type like.
But every minute spent playing will be worth it. While the game can be frustrating at higher difficulty levels (again - it's an R-Type game, remeber that!), Irem included some easier difficulty levels as well. There are 5 in total, and they are different enough to provide entertainment to both the R-Typer and to the casual shooter fan - well done.
Apart from the Main game, there is a "vs. AI" Mode. This is a rather unique mode that fells a little bit like Core Wars (if anyone remembers that). 2 Ships battle, and you have to set up a tactic for your ship to use. You cannot control the ship itself, you can only set specific parameters (Aggressive or Defensive? Use the Wave Cannon of the Laser? Stay away or be always near the enemy?) which have to bet set wisely as each ship has it's pros and cons.
There is also a mode where you can replay all your finished stages without having to play the previous ones - a very nice thing to have as you can retry specific stages with specific ships until you really manage to get them right.
The Graphic is really great - your Weapons are realy making fireworks on the screen and blowing up stuff never looked so good in any R-Type game. The sound itself is also well done, just the music lacks a bit of quality sometimes - I still remember the Theme Song of the First Level in the First R-Type, but R-Type Final fails a little bit to provide distinctive tracks. But then again - The atmosphere created by spectacular graphic and sound effects provide a memorable experience.
R-Type Final is sadly the last R-Type but it offers a big bang to all R-Type Fans by keeping all of R-Type's strengths and improving on them, yet it offers something to the more casual players thanks to 5 difficulty levels.
If you like horizontal Shooters, R-Type final is a must-buy.