RE: R-Type (classic game) : back when shooters were king
I remember games like R-Type fondly. I'm too young to remember the originals, and my family didn't have consoles until I was several years into my elementary school career, but I think that hte formula is quite classic and potentially timeless.
One of the issues that I see with it making a resurgence is that it's the sort of game that requires a lot of effort to get right. In theory, you could design an R-Type style game on a fairly low budget, but the actual design has to be done by skilled people. If you have a novice do it you wind up with a bunch of issues.
Another thing is just the styles. People are into bullet-hell games, which are enough like R-Type that they draw off a lot of the equivalent market share, but they're also niche. Someone like me with the reflexes of a narcoleptic gerbil doesn't do well with them, and the mainstream appeal winds up lacking.
I really have a hard time getting on board with the "bullet-hell" games. I have tried a couple of the more popular ones and I just can't understand the appeal. But to be fair i tend to stay away from the most difficult games anyway.
The earlier R-type games had many flaws such as "flickering" because the very weak systems couldn't process all the projectiles at once. Therefore, you would randomly die at the hands of something that wasn't even on your screen. haha! As if R-type wasn't difficult enough!