Silhouette Mirage

"A very unique idea turned into a very unknown game"

Silhouette Mirage is one of those titles that went under everyone's radar. It wasn't a hit and upon playing it I realize it isn't for everyone. It's rather quirky and has its very own style going on for it. Is it worth looking for a copy? Read on!

You're a young girl whose has been sent to stop this evil person from destroy the cyber world. The plot is something like that. It's kind of hard to follow and it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense but the characters were really cool so that kind of made up for it all.

Graphically this game is a blissful experience. The worlds and character models are vibrant and full of life. Just amazing that the PS1 could pull this off. Character models may feel over used at times but it still looks down right amazing. Sprites are top notch. The levels themselves are nicely detailed and while there is a fair amount of them, they all have a vastly different look. Just a very good eye candy experience here.

The voice work is pretty good as well. Classic anime voice work of the time so don't expect voice work like we get these days. It's still good though, even if some of the characters have a high pitched voice. The music in the game is very nice, a pleasure to my ears. I really liked the boss themes though. The sound effects are a bit limited thought but that's okay.

Control in the game is very simple. Jump and shoot. That's about it. Oh and you can grab/block. It's very easy to get the hang of but while you may understand the control, you may not be doing damage due to the gameplay so it can be a bit frustrating at first.

I've never played a game like this before. Instead of being your typical run and gun 2d shooter the game uses an interesting idea that your main character has two sides. Imagine them as night and day. The enemies are weak based upon their color. This means you'll need to be facing a specific direction for your shots to actually cause damage.

It gets interesting with boss fights because they tend to be weak against both sides of you but you need to be shooting the correct side. Otherwise it just gets blocked. It's a very original idea for the genre and it does keep things interesting and the boss fights tend to be a bit intense due to this.

The level design is rather linear but every once in awhile the game throws you a curve ball and you run into something you just can't figure out without thinking outside the box the game has created for you. My least favorite puzzle is in the second or third stage with a jump you just can't do but if you move a certain way you can roll up a slight incline and fix it that way. You will quickly start using this technique and as you advance in the game it continues to throw these kinds of things at you.

Despite being original and interesting, the game does a few things wrong. The AI does feel a bit dead at times. The bosses put up a nice fight but the constant stream of normal enemies in the stages gets dull because they pretty much have almost no AI. They might as well just stand there.

The game also offers power ups that you can buy at the store. They aren't overly expensive but some are worthless. The homing one caused me more harm than good and I stupidly bought it right before the final boss and ended up having to reload my save because of it.

The game is actually kind of long. The stages last a while and there is plenty of them. Once you beat the game a few minor things open but nothing that really warrants another play through.

With it all said and done I must admit that SM is one of the more unique titles to be played by me this year. It has some minor flaws in its design but ultimately it's a fresh and interesting idea. 2D fans should love the graphical style while those "old school" gamers will love the simple yet fresh game play.

Story - 7/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 9/10
Replay value - 4/10

Final Score - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/22/07