R-Type Delta

R-Type Delta

Game title screen

Developer:	Irem
Director:	Hiroya Kita
Designer:	Koichi Kita
Release date:	PS1 Nov 19, 1998 NS, PS4, PS5, Series X/S, PC Nov 20, 2025
Previous game:	Kaitei Daisensou
Next game:	R-Type Final

R-Type Delta is a horizontal scrolling shoot 'em up developed by Irem and released on the PS1 in 1998. It was the fourth mainline R-Type game, and Irem's first 3D game.

For replay videos, visit the Video Index.

Gameplay Overview

R Type Delta is similar to prior entries in the series. It has a checkpoint system, a two-tiered charge shot, and the Force. Unlike in prior R-Type games, touching walls will not kill you. Delta also removes the infamous speed powerups of earlier R-Type titles in favor of a manual speed adjust, and also adds a bomb-like mechanic in the form of the Delta Weapon.

The game has three difficulty settings. On higher difficulties, enemies spawn and fire more frequently, and the Dose meter charges more slowly.

Controls

• ☐: Shoot / Charge Wave Cannon
• X: Force
• ◯/R2: Autofire
• △: Delta Weapon
• L1/L2 Change Speed

Ships

R-Type Delta includes 4 player ships. The three R-series ships are unlocked from the beginning, and the secret POW Armor ship is unlocked either by clearing the game on Human/Bydo difficulty or by playing any one stage 100 times.

Ship	Beams
R-9A2 FORCE TYPE: Standard Force - The classic Force with no special abilities. Wanders when detached. CHARGE SHOT: Diffusion Wave Cannon - The standard charge shot. Deals good damage and penetrates zako.	Red: Air-to-Air Laser Blue: Reflective Laser Yellow: Air-to-Ground Laser
RX-10 FORCE TYPE: Tentacle Force - While attached has two tentacles that shift with movement. When detached, aims and lunges at enemies. CHARGE SHOT: Shock Wave Cannon - An instant blast. Deals high single target damage, but only penetrates a short distance behind the initial target. Creates a large explosion when fully charged.	Red: Sting Ray Blue: Hound Ray Yellow: Snail Ray
R-13A FORCE TYPE: Anchor Force - Latches onto enemies, dealing continuous contact damage. Tethered to the ship by a chain that also deals damage. CHARGE SHOT: Lightning Wave Cannon - A homing lightning shot. Doesn't deal as much damage as the other two wave cannons, but has high coverage, even with rapid bursts.	Red: Shade Alpha Blue: Search Beta Yellow: Terminator Gamma

System Mechanics

Force

Upon picking up a laser crystal, a Lvl 1 Force will spawn in from the left side of the screen. The Force can be mounted to the front or back of your ship and will block projectiles and deal contact damage. You can launch the Force by pressing X.

The Force has three states when detached from the player. In the launch state, it barrels forward and deals high contact damage until it hits a wall, a high-health enemy, or the edge of the screen. It will then enter a wandering state where it moves slowly back towards the 3/4 point of the screen, after which it'll enter a resting state where it tries to vertically align itself with the player.

Picking up another laser crystal will level up the Force, allowing you to fire a special beam weapon when the Force is attached.

Bits & Missiles

You can acquire a maximum of two Bits which float above and below your ship. These bits deal contact damage and may also fire projectiles depending on your ship's beam weapon type.

Picking up a missile item allows you to fire missiles, which deal splash damage.

Dose

Damage dealt and bullets blocked with the Force raise your Dose meter. The length of the Dose meter depends on the difficulty setting.

Difficulty	Maxmimum Dose
Easy/Kids	4000
Normal/Human	8000
Hard/Bydo	24000

When Dose is at 100%, you gain the following effects:

• Force does more contact damage
• Force has a bigger hitbox
• You get a score bonus when dealing damage with the Force
• You can activate the Delta Weapon

Activating the Delta Weapon unleashes a screen filling attack that cancels enemy bullets and depletes your Dose meter. Note that the Delta Weapon does not grant invulnerability, so lasers and enemy collisions can still kill you.

Scoring

In addition to killing enemies, the player also gains score bonuses for utilizing the Force in different ways:

Force Action	Bonus	Bonus at Max Dose
Block an enemy projectile	+26	+53
Kill a zako	+16	+33
Contact an enemy	+1 per frame	+2 per frame

Optimal scoring involves using the Force as much as possible and avoiding use of the Delta Weapon. Most boss enemy spawns do not provide points, but blocking bullets does, meaning that bosses who fire regular bullets can be milked until they time out.

Strategy

See (Template Page)/Strategy for stage maps, enemy and boss descriptions, walkthroughs, and advanced play strategies.

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The R13 is likely the best ship for survival due to its high-coverage charge shot and ability to rapidly build Dose. Rapidly tapping the charge shot is an easy way to clear the screen of zako, something which becomes vital on stages 5 and 7. The Anchor Force deals very high DPS at 100% Dose.

The RX's Tentacle Force is a reliable shield due to its wide reach but can be a bit awkward to control. Its Yellow weapon is very useful on certain sections of the game, in particular Stage 5. The detached Tentacle Force deals a lot of damage.

Most areas of the game are recoverable, but dying on stages 6 or 7 can be brutal. The final boss in particular is much easier if the player has two Bits. It's possible to recover, but very difficult.

Version Differences

The HD Boosted version is accurate to the original, but also has some additional features:

• HD graphics (can be toggled off)
• Practice mode
• Option to remove slowdown
• Additional video options
• Remixed soundtrack

Trivia

• The RX's tentacles are a reference to Irem's X-Multiply
• The R13 has a special ending. Unlike the other 2 ships, it fails to escape the Bydo homeworld and becomes assimilated. It is later encountered as a boss in R-Type Final

References & Contributors

1. Page text, info, and formatting by Reflector88