R-Type Delta - Human 1CC, R13 - 782,098 Pts (HD Boosted)

This clear was definitely something new for me. Taking a break from my long battle with another game, I decided to try R-Type Delta on the side. Although I was initially hesitant to buy HD Boosted for fear of inaccuracies, hearing of a later patch which readded the original slowdown made me pick it up. In this run I have the original slowdown active, and I'm also using the original graphics and aspect ratio for authenticity. Although, I have actually tried the PS1 original and they seem extremely close, so do consider the port now that it's been fixed. As for the game itself, Delta has all of the R-Type series staples minus the speed power-ups. But do not be fooled, for all its flashiness and over-the-top presentation, it remains an R-Type game, for better or for worse. Total power-loss upon death, checkpoints, memorization-driven stage design, etc. It is not for everyone, and certainly not every shmup player. Even as someone who tends to enjoy memorization in shmups, I found it a bit egregious here. There's no sugarcoating it: you need to memorize everything in this game in order to succeed. However, this game does implement a new ability: the Delta attack, which you can perform by filling the Dose meter, achieved by defeating or damaging enemies with the Force Pod. The problem is it isn't the reliable screen-clearing attack you might expect, so you have to kind of plan around it as well. But once you've learned the game thoroughly enough, you'll quickly have the clear within your grasp. That being said, it was hard not let my nerves get the better of me. One mistake at the wrong checkpoint in the lategame can mean resetting if you aren't versed in its checkpoint recovery, but sometimes you can miraculously save yourself, like I did at the beginning of stage 7. But difficulty is another flaw of Delta. At least on Human (which is effectively normal), stages 1-4 are quite doable after a few hours, but the real difficulty spike comes in around stage 5. In fact, most of my practice involved repeating stages 5 and 6. Also, the final boss is kind of harsh without bits.