Software:R-Type III: The Third Lightning

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Short description: 1993 video game
R-Type III: The Third Lightning
North American Super NES cover art
Developer(s)Tamtex
Raylight Studios (GBA)
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Kengo Miyata
Programmer(s)Y. Suzuki
Composer(s)Ikuko Mimori
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Side-scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

R-Type III: The Third Lightning (アールタイプ3 ザ・サード・ライトニング, Āru Taipu Surī: Za Sādo Raitoningu) is a 1993 side-scrolling shooter video game developed by Tamtex and first released in Japan by Irem in 1993 for the Super Famicom and in North America and Europe in 1994 for the SNES.

Gameplay

R-Type III: The Third Lightning was the first game in the series to introduce new Forces. As well as the original Force (which was now named the Round Force, later named as the Standard Force in R-Type Delta), the player could choose from two other Forces: the Shadow Force and the Cyclone Force. These both had new, different weapon sets and special enhancements.

It also refined the weapons and charging system. It reverted to the original red-blue-yellow weapon system, and the Diffusion Wave Cannon from R-Type II was replaced with a more standard wave cannon. Charging this cannon to full beam strength results in a massive, powerful beam that passes through all enemies and obstacles. A new weapon called the Hyper Wave Cannon was also added to the ship, which the player could use instead of the normal wave cannon if desired. By switching to Hyper mode and supercharging the wave cannon, the ship temporarily gains the ability to use the Hyper Wave Cannon, which is unique among wave cannons in having a rapid fire capability. The shots fired create damaging explosions, and if the player has collected one or two Bits, they spin around the ship burning with energy. However, this Hyper mode causes the ship to overheat after a short while, and it must subsequently spend seconds cooling down, during which time the wave cannon is inoperative.

The fighter in R-Type III is identified in R-Type Final as the R-9Ø Ragnarök; it was originally referred to as the 'R-90'. In fact, the original R-90 has been split into three in Final: the R-9S Strike Bomber has the R-90's basic Standard force unit and first wave cannon, identified as the Mega Wave Cannon. Final's version of the R-90 has the Shadow Force and Hyper Wave Cannon, but is unable to choose its Force or switch between Wave Cannons. Finally, the R-9Ø2 Ragnarok II has the R-90's final Force, the Cyclone Force, and the Giga Wave Cannon, which can be charged through 7 loops. It can be assumed that this is because the original R-90 would simply be too powerful for the game to be any kind of challenge.

Release

R-Type III was originally released only on the Super NES, but later ported to the Game Boy Advance by Italy-based Raylight Studios.

The SNES version was released for download on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console, but was delisted in Japan on March 30, 2012, Europe on March 31, 2012 and North America on January 2, 2013.

At the CES 2018, Retro-bit has announced that they would be re-releasing R-Type III: The Third Lightning as well as its other installments on a Super NES multicart that was released in May 2018, having a Standard Edition and a Limited Collector’s Edition as well.[1]

R-Type III: The Third Lightning is a game built into Retro-Bit's Super Retrocade, which features a number of legally-licensed titles. (In the version 1.1 release of that product, the first R-Type and R-Type II are also included games.) [2]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings82% (SNES & Wii)[3]
Metacritic46/100 (GBA)[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CVG90% (SNES)[5]
EGM8/10, 8/10,
8/10, 8/10, 8/10
(SNES)[6]
Award
PublicationAward
Electronic Gaming MonthlyBest Shooter[7]

Electronic Gaming Monthly's five reviewers gave the Super NES version a unanimous score of 8 out of 10 each, commenting that "Huge levels, excellent bosses (and a rather high difficulty) makes this the shooter to get." They also praised the inclusion of a two-player mode.[6] R-Type III: The Third Lightning was awarded Best Shooter of 1994 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.[7] M! Games gave it a score of 84.[8] Super Gamer gave the game an overall score of 91%, summarizing: "Stonking conversion of the classic shoot-'em-up from the Eighties. Graphics are coin-op quality, sound is excellent - and it's [..] hard!"[9]

Accolades

In 1997, Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked the Super NES version the 23rd best console video game of all time, saying that compared to its predecessors it had virtually eliminated the slowdown, increased the difficulty, improved the graphics and sounds, and expanded the strategy by allowing the player to choose from three different Force Device units.[10] IGN ranks it #65 on its list of the Top SNES Games of All Time.[11] In 2018, Complex ranked the game 32nd on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time."[12] In 1995, Total! rated the game 42nd in their Top 100 SNES Games.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "レトロンバーガー Order 7：「R-TYPE II」が30周年だから"今のR-TYPE"を見てみよう。3Dのゴマンダーとバラカスは危険度マシマシ編" (in ja). 27 December 2013. https://www.4gamer.net/games/432/G043239/20190215036/. 
  2. ↑ "Super Retro-cade". http://retro-bit.com/super-retrocade. 
  3. ↑ "R-Type III SNES Review Score". http://www.gamerankings.com/snes/588636-r-type-iii/index.html. 
  4. ↑ "R-Type III: The Third Lightning metacritic Review Score". https://www.metacritic.com/game/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/critic-reviews/?platform=game-boy-advance. 
  5. ↑ "Group Test: Aiieee! Aliens! Head-to-Head – The Best Shoot-'Em-Ups Ever!". Computer and Video Games (151 (June 1994)): 106–11. 15 May 1994. https://retrocdn.net/images/d/df/CVG_UK_151.pdf#page=106. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Sushi-X; Weigand, Mike (September 1994). "Review Crew". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) 7 (9): 32. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/126ee2a4-2009-41e0-94af-72402eb2bb01. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Buyer's Guide". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 1995. 
  8. ↑ Gaksch, Martin (2017-01-02). "R-Type III - im Klassik-Test (SNES)" (in de-DE). https://www.maniac.de/tests/r-type-3-im-klassik-test-snes/. 
  9. ↑ "R-Type III Review". Super Gamer (United Kingdom: Paragon Publishing) (2): 123. May 1994. https://archive.org/details/super-gamer-02/page/122/mode/2up. Retrieved March 30, 2021. 
  10. ↑ "100 Best Games of All Time". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (100): 146. November 1997.  Note: Contrary to the title, the intro to the article (on page 100) explicitly states that the list covers console video games only, meaning PC games and arcade games were not eligible.
  11. ↑ "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time". https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-snes-games/65. 
  12. ↑ "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time" (in en). https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-100-best-super-nintendo-games/. 
  13. ↑ "Top 100 SNES Games". Total! (45): 45. July 1995. https://archive.org/details/total-43/page/n43/mode/2up. Retrieved March 2, 2022. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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