Radiant Silvergun
Radiant Silvergun is a vertically-scrolling shooter video game, developed by Treasure Co. Ltd. It was released in arcades in 1998 and subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn, with added cutscenes by noted animation studio GONZO. The game was not released outside of Japan.
The game is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the 'maximalist' school of vertical shooter design. (Contrast this with Ikaruga's studied minimalism.) It features a unique and innovative weapons system, with seven weapons available at any time. The player has three buttons to control the weapons; the weapon fired depends on the combination of buttons pressed.
Unlike in most other shoot 'em ups, there are no power-ups. All weapons are available from the start. Weapons can 'level up', however, becoming more powerful as the player uses them to score points. (Failure to properly level up the weapons in the early stages leads to a very frustrating later game.) The game is designed so that there is almost always a 'right' weapon for any situation. Indiscriminate firing is severely punished.
Treasure prefaces every boss fight with the evocative phrase "NO REFUGE" and some cryptic advice on how to fight the boss in 'steps', alongside the Engrish meme "BE ATTITUDE FOR GAINS". This advice has attained some fame among the game's fans for its Zen obliqueness.
The Saturn release of the game is not particularly rare, but demand for the game is so high that the title has become the archetypal "eBay darling", with copies changing hands for over £100/$100 on a regular basis. While not as valuable or rare as some Neo-Geo titles, the acclaimed gameplay makes Radiant Silvergun one of the most sought-after and prized titles in gaming history.
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Categories: Computer and video game stubs | Arcade games | Sega Saturn games | Scrolling shooters