Silhouette Mirage

"2D at it's most challenging."

I love 2D. I consider it a better medium than 3D. There are just some things you can do with 2D sprites that cannot be done with 3D polys. Not only that, but 2D also brings with it a heavy dose of nostalgia. Upon seeing screenshots for Silhouette Mirage, my mind harkened back to the days of Mario Bros., Metroid, Sonic The Hedgehog, Kirby... The game interested me. Not only was it 2D, but it was undeniably Japanese, and I love that in a game, when you know that it couldn't have been created by anyone else other than the Japanese. *sigh* I picked up the game on the spot. And while I do like it, sometimes the challenge is so irritatingly high that I throw down my controller in frustration.

Gameplay - Silhouette Mirage carries with it one of Treasure's unmistakably unique concepts: the main character, Shyna, can attack in two different ways, depending on which way you're facing. Either Silhouette or Mirage. Silhouettes can only be killed with Mirage attacks and vice-versa. When attacking a Silhouette with a Silhouette attack, or a Mirage with a Mirage attack, you'll drain their spirit power and add it to yours. You constantly need to keep your spirit power full, for without it your attacks will grow weak. Also, if you want to buy new attacks from Hare Warez, you need to continuously use the Cash Bash on enemies, a hilarious attack in which Shyna grabs the offending enemy and proceeds to smack him with her hair, thereby knocking change from his pockets. The change can be used for new attacks, life refills or spirit refills, all of which are vital to success. Bosses are also high in count here, and you fight them in an average of about 3 a level. The bosses are inventive, funny(just look at Pablo) and some are downright disturbing(a flying homicidal trout who wishes for you to buy her flowers, for instance). The gameplay is superb, yet it falters in one area...difficulty. This game is so challenging that less patient players will rip their controller right out of the socket, throw it against the wall, step on it, run it over 7 times, shoot it, and kick it across the street. I'm not kidding here. This game is NOT for the players who just want to cruise through a game. Even the difficulty selection, when unlocked, doesn't help much. It costs too much to buy items, and the refills hardly refill at all. The difficulty is far too ludicrous, and it detracts from the enjoyment of the game.

Story - Silhouette Mirage feature a well-written story with wonderful dialogue, especially that of Zohar. Shyna, Messenger of Justice, must track down the core of the disturbance in the ''Edo'' System and repair it. The tear in the system has caused people to either be Silhouette or Mirage, and in rare cases, a Protesian...one who is both Silhouette and Mirage, like Shyna. A plot twist here and there adds to the overall story, and it's a good one.

Graphics and Audio - This is one of the prettiest 2D games I've ever played. It features tons of layers of parallax(though not as much as the Saturn version) and all the animations are smooth. The character designs are wonderful and you'll either like or hate the characters. The voices are great as well, ranging from Zohar's ''I'll crush you!'' to Shyna's lovable-yet-annoying ''Reflector!''

Replayability - The game has 5 ''paths'' to take through to the end of the game, and going through each of the paths unlocks new options once you finish it. The manual also states that there is something special once you unlock all paths, but I haven't gotten that yet. So you'll have to play it 5 times, if you want to get everything. I don't mind it, but your mileage may very.

Buy or Rent - If you find yourself to be a patient gamer, and you have a passion for 2D and flying florist fish, then by all means pick up Silhouette Mirage. Others would be wise to rent and test the difficulty. If, at the end of your playtime, your controller is battered, bruised, and beaten, then stay FAR from this game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/17/00, Updated 02/17/00