R-Type Tactics I & II remakes are in development, and they’ll likely support online multiplayer

Written by. Ryuki Ishii based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-04-29 08:37 JST)

Granzella announced during their official livestream on April 28 that remakes of R-Type Tactics (known as R-Type Command in the West) and R-Type Tactics II: Operation Bitter Chocolate are in development. The release window and available platforms have yet to be announced.

The original R-Type Tactics and R-Type Tactics II: Operation Bitter Chocolate came out in Japan in 2007 and 2009 respectively, both on PlayStation Portable. They are based on Irem’s horizontally scrolling shooter R-Type but are made as turn-based tactical strategy games.

The first R-Type Tactics tells the tale of an ongoing conflict between humanity and the Bydo Empire, and you start out as an officer of the Earth’s defense forces. Battles take place in a variety of locations, and available units include fighters from the R-9 series, the POW armor, battleships, and carrier ships. The sequel R-Type Tactics II: Operation Bitter Chocolate takes place 9 years after the events of the first game and depicts a war between two human factions.

According to Granzella’s chief creator Kazuma Kujo who made an appearance during the livestream, the decision for the company to develop the remakes came out of the blue. The two remakes will be made as a single release and include additional features. Kujo also mentioned during the livestream that he considers online multiplayer support to be an essential feature for the remakes. As a side note, the original versions supported multiplayer combat and co-op through ad hoc connections.