R-Type and Assault of the Familiars.

As promised, the R-9 steps up and by hook or by crook, there was an R-Type in every shmup.

We'll play this by ear but with a lot of cheer.

To increase the tension, I'll detail regular enemy and boss names (aliases excepted) that feature in R-Type and R-Type II.

When possible, monikers will also be assigned to others.

Unless stated, all images are captured from the arcade.

First off, the meat of C64 controversy king Denaris is happy to get this party started.

Sonar (left)

Zoid (left)

Bold (left)

An unsubtle background steal.

Cytron (left)

Finally, X-Out is mine, all mine.  (C64 version shown).

Now let's see what Aicom's Pulstar on Neo Geo is made of.

Gouger (left)

Dop (left) gives chase and becomes an uninspiring boss.

It looks pretty innocent but the insect things move around the screen in a similar fashion and strategy is needed to progress.

Harsh (left) from R-Type II

Forget Denaris, Blood Money on the Amiga took the piss.

Worm (left)

This floor also rings a bell...

Parodius Da!, Konami 1990

Boss 'tributes' from Pulstar.

Cyst (left) and Iveprowfent

That very curious name has given me a headache so I took ibuprofen, rather than paracetamol.

It's not done yet as the 'penis' is cut and pasted from another boss in R-Type II.

Barakus

Awesome, right?  Fucking hey it is.

To finish up, please note the waterfall and POW Armour.

The snake thing emerging from the openings provided by giant maggot boss Ohme in Capcom's Ghouls 'n Ghosts behaves in a similar manner to the worm that goes in and out the tubes of Cyst.

Aicom's masterpiece creates a tinkered design.

Subatomic (left) from R-Type II and Natsumi

Planet destroying weapon Subatomic was built from the corpse of Dobkeratops.

Andro Dunos was a very shitty 1992 Neo Geo effort by Visco.

Here's an equally shitty attempt to disguise 'inspiration'.

Rios (left) from R-Type II

I mean, come on...

In BlaZeon, you begin as a spaceship but a special zap later from your tranquilander on certain enemy robots allows you to assume the role of a Bio-Cyborg and with it, their powers and abilities.

A scene from the intro to demonstrate the 'blue' front of your craft.

Right Atlus, you're busted big time.

Compiler

Three individual parts that clamp together to become one?

Ha ha!

This boss from Denaris moves around unpredictably and doesn't split, but smacks of relevance.

While Metal Gear has Solid Snake, this variety is infinitely more famous.

Shell

Its durable outer casing is to blame for the misleading name.

Here's how others interpreted such an iconic creation.

Slayer (left) and IO (right), both on C64.

Project X (left) and Katakis (right), both on Amiga

Pulstar has its own brilliant boss monster.

Kuuka

Mothership or Battleship?  That is the question.

The former can be The Very Best Of Led Zeppelin and the latter is a supreme cinematic turkey.

Anyway, however you label this particular obstacle, Irem ensured they became staple diet and an impossible act for others to follow.

Admire the genius provided by the Warship.
The boosters are called Spare Engines and the spiny thing is known as the Multiple Gun Tower.  Representing another questionable phallus, you must survive or destroy the Core.

The Dirty Dozen is a classic 1967 war film and I present the alternative cut.

Trust SNK to be greedy...

Amongst the mayhem of R-Type II in 1989, Irem branched out with X-Multiply by literally injecting alien parasites inside a living human host and miniaturized spaceship (X-002) must stop at nothing to 'cure' the infection.

Saturn owners could enjoy pixel perfect versions of this and Image Fight in 1998.

Aside from that little history lesson...

Pulstar's biological behemoth is a modified Rokusu, particularly when you consider the fin-like wings.

Can you rip off the cliche of fleeing an explosion, usually associated with an action film?

R-Type II (left) and U.N. Squadron (right)

On this evidence, yes.

To wrap this package up, you must adapt to my way of thinking.

It's apparently Life or Death (left) in Pulstar's rather troublesome final stage and adjacent is the depressing ending when the Cerberus is used in R-Type Delta (PS1).

In R-Type Final, it appears as a boss in the hidden stage Forest Watchdog.

Is it pure coincidence that the R13 is a little stuck?  We'll never know...

While this marks the end of another eventful journey, the Bydo will be back as there's even more to disclose.

To complete the final assault, cancel all prior engagements because tickets for Metro City are selling out fast.

Commence maniacal laugh now. 

Yah ha ha ha, yah ha ha ha.

If that's not accurate, then I'll be Damnd.