Radiant Silvergun is a classic shoot-em-up with staggering import prices and rabid fans. Treasure, the iconic developer behind Ikaruga and Gunstar Heroes to name a few, introduced this legendary schmup ten years ago to eager Japanese gamers at the arcades and fro Sega Saturn home consoles. Fans of the punishing Ikaruga and import-hounds such as myself were left drooling and clamoring for an affordable and legal way to pick up this intriguing schmup. Fast forward to 2011, and we’ve been graced with a handy Xbox Live Arcade release that is well worth the asking price.
If you’ve ever played through the intriguing and challenging Ikaruga, you’ll find more than a few similarities here between the two games; Ikaruga being a spiritual sequel of sorts to Radiant Silvergun. Even some of the enemy designs and environments echo sentiments of the latter. In fact, most However, unlike most similar shooters, you have access to several different weapons and modes of fire rather right off the bat: seven to be exact, ranging from a sword that can absorb round enemy attacks, homing missiles, and of course the ever-dependent straight ahead firing mode. You can’t simply choose which weapon you want to use because it looks cooler than the rest — timing and memorization of attack patterns as well as what attack works best with each enemy is crucial, something I found myself forgetting after I lost life after life.
But I kept coming back, even though it meant restarting the game after downing several bosses after getting mmy bearings. Even easy mode proved to be too much for my casual schmup abilities, though the game’s story mode will allow you to earn extra lives depending on how long you play, as well as strengthened weapons that continue to stay upgraded even when you return to start a new game. These types of RPG-lite elements kept me starting and restarting until I felt I was strong enough to get further and further, though in the end I found myself continuing to fail miserably. I was okay with this, however, because when I screwed up, I knew it wasn’t the game simply leading me to my death. I just wasn’t good at it, and that’s a welcome feeling: the fact that your own skill is what causes your downfall, not technical flaws or cheap deaths.
Even through my short bursts of play and the few times I easily plowed through mid-stage bosses I continued to enjoy the beauty and complexity of Radiant Silvergun and the many ways it can be played, making it much more than your typical run-of-the-mill shoot-’em-up. Co-op play left much to be desired, however, as you cannot save online story mode progress. I was baffled as to why this could not have been included as my main play mode of choice lately when it is available is co-op, simply because I’m not always down for competitive multiplayer. For this journey I found myself going it alone, fighting through the pain to see how much better I could get. Despite all my swearing and slamming down the controller, I still enjoyed every second thanks to the updated graphics, spectacular soundtrack, and the thought that such a rarity is now readily available for play to the masses.
If you’re a schmup fan and have been looking for an easy and relatively cheap way to play this classic, I’d certainly recommend picking it up off of the Marketplace — however, if you’re coming to see some sort of gorgeous new makeover or experience it with friends, you will be sorely disappointed. It’s the nostalgia that’s the driving force behind this re-release, as well as its tight mechanics and varied character/level design. Whether you’re a pro or a newbie, you’ll find something to enjoy here. Just don’t forget to pick yourself up and dust yourself off after your first few deaths. I promise it’s worth it if you just keep trying.
