R-Type II

The player controls a ship called the R-9C, which is an improved version of its predecessor game's ship, the R-9. The ship's design was changed slightly, and the Wave Cannon is given a new charge level. Two new types of weapons (the Search Laser and Shotgun Laser) were added, bringing the total number of weapon types up to five. A new anti-ground unit bomb was added to the missile inventory.

Though the number of levels was decreased from the previous game, the number of enemies, their durability, and the number of bullets they shoot were greatly increased. Enemy movements and terrain were also made trickier, bringing the game's difficulty up considerably. The same revival system is used as in R-Type , where the player is brought back to a checkpoint whenever their ship is destroyed. The game consists of six levels.

Though an ending screen is displayed after the player finishes all of the levels once through, the game's true ending is only displayed after the player completes the levels a second time under increased difficulty. The game starts off in a ruined Bydo base, and continues through a giant cave where waterfalls can prevent the ship from progressing. The player battles several huge battleships in the third level, and the terrain constantly shifts around during the fourth and fifth levels. The final level takes place on the Bydo home planet, where the alien organisms are cloned and mass-produced.