One of the best-remembered shoot-em-ups of the 1980s celebrates its 30th anniversary this year – R-Type. Extremely ambitious for the time period, R-Type managed to revolutionize the shoot-em-up genre in many meaningful ways.

The game originally arrived in arcades in July of 1987 and was ported to a number of home consoles, such as the TurboGrafx 16, Commodore 64, Atari ST and the Game Boy, starting the year after. The side-scroller had a pretty straightforward plot: the player controlled a spaceship, the R-9, and aimed to destroy an evil alien force known as the Bydo.

R-Type was noted for its high level of difficulty; the levels were designed so that the player would inevitably lose and be forced back to an earlier part in the level in order to learn how to proceed properly. The game also had an innovative weapon system that focused on various power-ups and chargeable shots. Levels were designed with specific weapons in mind, as well.

The game received critical acclaim upon release even with the noted high difficulty, and home ports to the ZX Spectrum and Sega Master System were also favorable. The game saw a number of sequels from it developer, Irem, including R-Type II and Armed Police Unit Gallop. R-Type also inspired a number of games from other developers in the early 1990s, such as Xexex, Rezon, and Thunder Force IV. Three decades after its first arrival in arcades, R-Type’s legacy continues to inspire.