At Armless Octopus, we’re no strangers to a good shmup. What I believe turns most people off from the genre are two factors: 1) the absurd difficulty, and 2) how similar each title in the genre is. I mean it’s really just a ship shooting directly at things on screen, right? Wrong. Radiant Silvergun takes a few of the standard conventions you’ve come to expect from the genre and adds a twist. Originally released in 1998 in Japan for both the Sega Saturn and in what was then a thriving Japanese arcade scene, Radiant Silvergun has managed to stand the test of time.
That’s not to say that the steep difficulty curve gamers faced back then isn’t still present in this release, because it most certainly is. While enemies relentlessly fire upon your lightly armored vessel, you come to expect that you will die, and quite a bit at that. Your time is not spent in vain however, thanks to Radiant Silvergun’s persistent upgrade system, which carries over the experience and levels that you acquire with each progressive Story Mode playthrough. This comes as both the title’s greatest strength, but also its greatest weakness.
In total there are 7 weapons, all of which the player starts with from the very beginning, but continued use of each weapon will actually upgrade them. The tried-and-true formula of shoot-die-respawn is still in full effect, however, but players will feel increasing power with each playthrough. As with many Eastern titles, Radiant Silvergun comes with a bit of a grind. Hours of leveling are required to acquire the obligatory proficiency with the title’s weapons, which level up in one of three categories: spread, homing, and vulcan.
Stepping away from standard conventions, there are no power-ups to acquire along the way either. At first glance this may seem overwhelming, but a nice overlay to the right of the screen displays what each attack does and how to perform it. The assortment of weapons in your arsenal is spectacular, including a sweeping 360-degree blade, a lock-on-laser that can blast through barriers, and a series of homing missiles, similar to pistol from Panzer Dragoon. Each provides a solution to a particular problem and really forces you to think as you make your way through some tight sequences. While simply smashing away at the first thing that comes your way may seem like an easy solution to clearing a stage, Radiant Silvergun instead rewards players for taking a more tactical approach. A combo multiplier is applied to your experience each time you kill three enemies of the same color in a row, which come red, blue, and yellow varieties. Additional points are also awarded for fully destroying each part of a boss instead of just going for the easy kill and taking out the core.
Despite being 13 years old, Radiant Silvergun still remains aesthetically pleasing. The source code was used to port the game to the Xbox 360′s hardware rather than simply emulating the Sega Saturn. Furthermore, the original’s appearance remains intact, and players can switch to the higher resolution visuals and filters on the fly. The game continues to use original 4:3 playfield, but utilizes a 16:9 aspect ratio to house UI elements like weapon level, player score, and chain counter along the left and right borders.
In addition to an adjustable difficulty each time you continue in Story Mode, Radiant Silvergun also offers Arcade and Practice modes for those looking for a more controlled experience. The ability to fine tune the amount of lives you have, how quickly the screen scrolls, as well as the overall difficulty is a much welcome feature to beginners in order to mitigate frustration. Furthermore, there is both a couch co-op and Xbox LIVE multiplayer option for players seeking out a buddy. I never had to wait more than a few seconds to find others to play with. The only shortfall to this is the fact that your Story Mode levels do not carry over, so you are forced to start back at level 1.
Ultimately, Radiant Silvergun remains one of the shining gems of the shoot-em-up genre. Precise controls, adjustable difficulty, an assorted array of weapons, and beautifully updated display features are just a few of the amenities offered. While the tedium required to level up your weapons and reach the end will certainly test the patience of many gamers, those willing to spend the time necessary to conquer this title are in for a satisfying experience.
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Radiant Silvergun was purchased for this review for $15. A free demo is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
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Dave Voyles
