The black sheep of the R-Type franchise!

Without doubt the most controversial game in the R-Type canon among fans, and the least seen in arcades, Leo was the third coin-op title in the series to be released by Irem.

Although this is the case R-Type Leo is actually effectively a prequel to
R-Types I & II in that it is supposedly set in a time before the invention of the iconic R-Type 'Force' Pod. Remember that? Yes the best bit about the first two games is ominously not in this game..

It's R-Type, but not as we know it. Here's a snake-like
Giger-rip-off alien about to eat my reflect-laser.

So imagine, if you will, a hard-core R-Type fan, who's blasted the evil Bydo empire to hell and back in the first two installments, and has whittled away hours in some dingy smoke-filled arcade learning every intricacy of the Force. What are they going to do when they get their hands on this game? Cry like a big girl, that's what.

Level one's graphically impressive asteroid belt -
lovely parallax backgrounds here.

So then, I hear you ask, what do you get as a substitute for this sans-Force predicament? What incredible new concept can Irem come up to best the superb roaming Force pod attachment with? Well what about two little side pods above and below your ship? Why not. Side pods, are after all, cool. Look they fire in the opposite direction to which you are moving your ship and everything. And if you hold down the fire-button they homicidally zap off across the screen reducing any unfortunate Bydo they meet to its component molecules pretty sharpish. An idea so ground-breakingly brilliant that it was later featured in the classic Neo-Geo shooter Last Resort. And loads of other games probably, I just can't think of any right now..

The less-than-amazing stage two boss fires
these spinny chain lasers at you.

Ok..Ok.. it's not a perfect or particularly ambitious system then we have here. Yes it doesn't allow for the depth and range of playing styles possible in the original R-Types. Leo is designed as straightforward action-shooter, in marked contrast to the cerebral, slower-paced first two classic games. If R-Type is DeNiro and R-Type II is Pacino, both sophisticated, understated, unequovically brilliant, then R-Type Leo is Arnie with a big gun, dangling some poor sod off a cliff. Which depending on your point of view may, or may not be a good thing.

This boss has a familiar look about it don't you think?

So what else can I say about R-Type Lite.. I mean Leo? Well the weapons are familiar enough, you can choose between three types - the famous blue reflect lasers of old, a new red piercing beam weapon, and a versatile green homing laser. Not bad, quite fun. Reflect lasers are always good I say. The pods are useful for protecting you from attacks from above or below, but personally I do feel very naked without being able to bolt an attachment onto the front or aft of my R9 if you know what I mean.. (and I think you do).

This is actually just one of two mid-level bosses that hop
around the screen in tandem, causing much
consternation to the R9 Fighter Corps.

Did I ever get to play R-Type Leo at the arcade? No. Released as it was in the dying years of the Golden Age of shootemups, with every arcade owner now trying to cram their facilities with multiple versions of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat and with a seeming reluctance to stock any new shooters (a fate that also befell Konami's infinitely more sophisticated R-Type-inspired Xexex) I was denied the privilege.

The first form of the final boss, in classic R-Type
bio-mechnical style. Tip - don't position your ship here.

However I've since got to know the game well in PCB form thanks to encounters at various arcade and shmup-gatherings (being such a rare game the PCB is notoriously hard to track down.. I never managed to find one myself) and R-Type Leo has finally revealed the ace up its sleeve - its simultaneous two-player mode. I once blasted my way through the whole game in tandem with Malc and had a glorious time, and subsequently played it two-player on a 50-inch screen Super Megalo, one of the definite highlights of an arcade meet a few years back. No doubt about it, Leo is designed predominently as a two-player game, and is rather lacking in single player mode. Oh, and if you ever track down the JAMMA PCB at a decent price, grab it. Either that or grab it, then sell it to me.. Mike