Update []: City Connection has revealed a release date for R-Type DX: Music Encore, its upcoming compilation featuring the Game Boy Color ports of the arcade games R-Type and R-Type II, as well as a special new mode that allows back-to-back playthroughs of each game.

The game will be released on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam on April 30th, 2026, according to the announcement (which was made yesterday during a livestream on City Connection's YouTube channel), with new footage being released to give a preview of some of its upcoming features, including its new "what if" soundtrack (mentioned below).

Here's some more information about the upcoming release:

That long-imagined IF has finally become reality. Fight straight through from the First Bydo Mission to the Second Bydo Mission in “Ultimate Challenge,” the series-spanning ultimate mission.

In Music Encore, relive this legendary IF with brand-new soundtracks that can be enjoyed exclusively in this mode!
“Ultimate Challenge” features its first-ever full soundtrack.

Even scenes that originally shared music have been given
dedicated tracks faithful to the arcade experience,
allowing every stage to be played with the same musical structure
as the original arcade version.

The music is composed by WASi303, a specialist in retro game sound. By harnessing authentic sound chips from portable hardware, he delivers an experience that preserves the original feel of the era
while offering something fresh and new."

Original Story []: In the run-up to the Tokyo Game Show, City Connection has revealed that it will release a new version of Bits Studios' 1999 Game Boy Color title R-Type DX for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam) later this year.

The developer/publisher announced the game, which is being called R-Type DX: Music Encore, yesterday on social media, with the new title including emulated versions of Bits Studios' Game Boy Color ports of the arcade games R-Type and R-Type II, as well as the game's "DX Mode" (referred to in the press release here as the "Ultimate Challenge" mode), which allows consecutive playthroughs of both titles back-to-back.

That's not all, either, as City Connection has also shared that the package will include a new "what if" soundtrack for this special mode, which will add "dedicated tracks, faithful to the arcade version, to scenes in the original ‘R-Type DX’", as well as modern features such as a rapid fire toggle, rewind, quick saves, and more. Here's some PR:

R-Type

In the year 220X, humanity witnessed true darkness!! The first encounter with extraterrestrial life to be recorded in cosmic history.

Space Era 220X—
In an alternate dimension hundreds of light-years away lies the Bydo Empire.
What humanity saw there were alien beings overflowing with hatred and bloodlust.
Survival or extinction—humanity’s fate hung in the balance as the battle began, armed with the ultimate weapon: the Force!

R-Type II

Once again, the terrifying Bydo return—their counterattack has begun!
The malevolent Bydo Empire, a force that annihilates everything in its path within an alternate dimension,
was believed to have been eradicated by the “R-9” fleet humanity dispatched.
But it survived.
It had fled to another dimension, regaining its strength in secret.

Now, the Bydo Empire, seething with hatred, has torn through the dimensional barrier to strike at humanity once more.
In response, mankind has deployed the enhanced “R-9” craft—together with the ultimate weapon, the Force…

The game is scheduled to release in Winter 2025, and will available to play ahead of time at the Tokyo Game Show on September 25th, which is being held at the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba City, Japan.

A special talk is also planned for this event on Saturday, September 27th, with Kazuma Kujo (Granzella / Chief Producer & Game Designer for ‘R-Type Tactics I･II Cosmos’, Planner for ‘R-Type Δ’) Hiroya Kita (Rocket Ryoko / Director for ‘R-Type Δ’), and Nobuhiro Yoshikawa (City Connection / Producer for R-Type Delta: HD Boosted and R-Type DX: Music Encore) coming together to talk about these recent projects.

[source x.com]