Hah! I seem to remember that R-Type DX on the Color was really good, wasn’t it?

Yeah, it’s incredible! The only thing that lets it down slightly is the vertical scrolling (and the fact that they split the levels on two separate releases - I think the TGX16 version got them all in one).

I mean, the arcade is clearly the best version… (if you’re talking the original game).

For the ports… the Spectrum is great for sheer chutzpah, but the PC Engine port is probably the most faithful of all the versions that weren’t running an emulator. The Sega Mastersystem is also extremely good, on much less powerful hardware.

Also, the coders who ported these games often wouldn’t have access to the arcade cabinets at all, other than some hastily recorded VHS footage. So getting a port that actually felt like the original was a rare treat. Most of the time the ports felt like they were inspired by the source material more than anything.