Radiant Silvergun

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In Radiant Silvergun, play as the last survivors of the human race in a shooting game with strategic combat. Battle enemies in six stages across various terrains, and level up your weapons for more firepower. Chain attacks together and destroy enemies in a specific order for hidden bonuses and high scores.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 88 reviews

story4 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

Radiant Silvergun is a masterclass in the shmup genre, featuring innovative gameplay mechanics, a deep scoring system, and a rich narrative that sets it apart from other shooters.
The game offers a diverse arsenal of weapons and a robust training mode, making it accessible for newcomers while still providing depth for veteran players seeking to master its complexities.
The port, while not perfect, allows players to experience a beloved classic with updated features, including improved controls and the ability to save weapon levels between playthroughs.

The port suffers from technical issues, including input lag, crashes on certain systems, and a lack of resolution options, which detracts from the overall experience.
Many players have reported that the port feels lazy, with minimal enhancements over previous versions and missing features from the original Sega Saturn release.
AMD users in particular have experienced significant performance issues, including frame rate drops and black screens, making the game unplayable for some.

story
25 mentions
16 % positive mentions
72 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The story in this game is surprisingly deep for a shmup, featuring a compelling narrative with hand-drawn anime cutscenes and a poignant soundtrack by Hitoshi Sakimoto. Players appreciate the story mode's RPG-like mechanics, which allow for weapon progression and branching paths, enhancing replayability and engagement. However, some critiques mention pacing issues compared to the original version, suggesting that while the story mode is enjoyable, it could benefit from balance adjustments.
- “Fantastic Hitoshi Sakimoto soundtrack and surprisingly poignant story for a shmup.”
- “Speaking of the story, RSG has a surprisingly deep one for a shmup, accompanied by hand-drawn anime cutscenes done by Studio Gonzo.”
- “This landmark entry in the shooter genre made its mark on the world not by excelling but subverting typical shooter norms by including things like RPG mechanics and an extensive, well thought out story with excellent animated cutscenes and voice work.”
- “I'm sad to report, the pacing for the story mode is a bit of a mess relative to the Saturn original.”
- “The storyline's alright as you follow your doomed crew of lovable cutesy anime stereotypes in their last stand against, essentially, god, having escaped an earlier apocalypse, and there's a great, heroic atmosphere to proceedings.”
- “If you play the story mode, your save file will continuously accrue experience points for your weapons earned from previous playthroughs which, over time, allow most bosses to be shredded with little resistance.”
gameplay
14 mentions
21 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game is widely praised for its innovative mechanics and balance, catering to both veteran and newcomer players. It features a responsive control system, a variety of weapons, and unique level designs, all complemented by an engaging story and impressive soundtrack. Reviewers note that it successfully subverts traditional shooter norms by incorporating RPG elements and a compelling narrative, making it a landmark title in the genre.
- “Gameplay is balanced for veteran and newcomer shmup players alike thanks to its progression system.”
- “Easy to understand but hard to master scoring mechanics, arcade mode where you choose a path and story mode where you go through every path with additional surprises on top, compelling story with cutscenes and dialogues (for a game of this genre), amazing soundtrack, etc.”
- “The gameplay is responsive with no discernible input lag.”
- “If you're not familiar with the gameplay, you have seven vastly different weapons always available to you and it's your job to know what to use and when.”
- “This landmark entry in the shooter genre made its mark on the world not by excelling but subverting typical shooter norms by including things like RPG mechanics and an extensive, well thought out story with excellent animated cut scenes and voice work.”
- “The theme of the game is all about time loops and such, with leitmotifs being used left and right for the gameplay.”
graphics
10 mentions
30 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are a mixed bag, featuring enhanced and redrawn visuals that capture the charm of the original while offering adjustable detail levels. However, players have noted limitations such as a locked resolution at 720p, occasional graphical glitches, and a desire for higher fidelity updates. Overall, the visuals are appreciated for their era, but there is room for improvement in terms of resolution and stability.
- “The visuals are gorgeous for the era during which this game came out, especially the very dynamic backgrounds that really bring life to the levels.”
- “Enhanced and redrawn graphics, which are fully optional, with various levels of detail that can be adjusted to the player's taste.”
- “Its been a smooth experience so far and the updated HD graphics look good; however, I do wish they implemented higher resolutions, hopefully that will come in a patch.”
- “From my understanding, the resolution is locked at 720p, so it's a missed opportunity to bring this game to a higher graphical fidelity.”
- “I believe there's also some graphical glitches, at least with the default graphic settings (pretty sure I saw weirdly-colored explosions at some boss, for example).”
- “Hi-res mode with effects (bloom) causes some weird graphical glitches.”
music
9 mentions
89 % positive mentions
11 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its stunning orchestral compositions by Hitoshi Sakimoto, contributing significantly to the overall experience with memorable and iconic tracks. While some users note that the tunes are short and loop frequently, the soundtrack remains a standout feature, enhancing both the gameplay and emotional depth of the story. Overall, the music is considered a masterpiece that leaves a lasting impression on players.
- “Fantastic Hitoshi Sakimoto soundtrack and surprisingly poignant story for a shmup.”
- “The OST is also a masterpiece; most of it gets stuck in my head in a good way.”
- “The music consists of stunning orchestral pieces, composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, who was also responsible for many well-known RPG soundtracks, such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story.”
optimization
6 mentions
33 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for its performance issues, particularly when compared to older versions and other platforms, with players noting a lack of slowdown that was originally intended in retro titles. While some improvements over the Switch port have been observed, the overall experience remains subpar, especially for newcomers who may find the life counter system unfair in story mode.
- “Performance seems decent, but as far as I can tell, some of the gripes with the 360 port remain (lack of slowdown).”
- “On paper, this sounds like a straight-up bonus, but the retro classics were very often made with slowdown in mind since they were all running on single systems with consistent performance.”
- “Considering it will run on a six-year-old mobile processor and originally ran on a board with a couple of pedestrian 30MHz CPUs, this is an exceptionally poor showing performance-wise.”
- “It's clearly an optimization issue.”
- “May feel slightly better than the Switch port (had some stuttering last time I played it), but still inferior to the Xbox Live Arcade version in my opinion.”
stability
3 mentions
33 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
67 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates solid stability with smooth performance during gameplay; however, players have reported occasional graphical glitches, particularly with default settings and high-resolution modes that include effects like bloom.
- “That being said, it runs great and plays great.”
- “I believe there are also some graphical glitches, at least with the default graphic settings. I'm pretty sure I saw weirdly colored explosions during a boss fight, for example.”
- “Hi-res mode with effects (bloom) causes some weird graphical glitches.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a grand and heroic tone that complements its storyline, which follows a doomed crew of cutesy anime characters in a last stand against a god-like entity. Unlike typical upbeat techno or rock soundtracks found in many shmups, the music and overall ambiance effectively enhance the narrative's dramatic scope.
- “The storyline's alright as you follow your doomed crew of lovable cutesy anime stereotypes in their last stand against, essentially, god, having escaped an earlier apocalypse, and there's a great, heroic atmosphere to proceedings.”
- “It's not the usual upbeat techno/rock fare of many other shmups, but its grand scope fits the atmosphere of the game's story very well.”
humor
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its playful and whimsical approach, allowing players to create their own manga characters, which adds a lighthearted and entertaining element to the otherwise intense 3D shoot 'em up gameplay.
- “What it looks like at first: funny draw your own manga characters in a gorgeous 3D shmup.”
- “The humor is spot-on, with witty dialogue and hilarious character interactions that keep you laughing throughout the game.”
- “I love how the game incorporates absurd situations and quirky characters that make every moment entertaining.”
replayability
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players highlight the game's strong replayability, attributing it to its engaging music, compelling story, and impressive art direction, which contribute to its lasting appeal and status as a favorite in the arcade shooter genre.
- “Everything ranging from its music, story, brilliant art direction, and replayability made it not just my favorite arcade shooter game when I first played it on 360 all those years ago, but one of my favorite games of all time.”